tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post4781258626783669598..comments2024-03-17T10:11:46.952-04:00Comments on Film Experience Blog: "Attend the Tale"? Sweeney Todd TrailerNATHANIEL Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-43184843059835209742007-12-25T02:34:00.000-05:002007-12-25T02:34:00.000-05:00You are all getting worked up for nothing. I recen...You are all getting worked up for nothing. I recently saw this movie, and I completely enjoyed it. Tim Burton has done a wonderful job, the movie is not "scary", per say, more disturbing. I am the biggest scardey-cat you could ever meet( The SCARY MOVIE films scare me), and I sat through the entire movie. Depp did a wonderful job with the role, and he hit every note with sincerity and conviction. As was stated earlier ( by someone anonymous), alot of the songs a spoken-sung, not actually sung. If the cast was chosen by the original creator himself, then you owe the actors the benefiet of the doubt, at the very least. After all, there must have been SOME reason why Sondheim chose them, don't you think? Also, as a side note, you can't really say something is awful until you've ACTUALLY seen it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-19655630425320273482007-10-16T12:20:00.000-04:002007-10-16T12:20:00.000-04:00To anonymous 3:05pm: Sondheim actually wasn't real...To anonymous 3:05pm: Sondheim actually wasn't really given the chance to approve Depp. Depp came with the project but Burton reassured him that Depp wouldn't have agreed to do it if he didn't think he could.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-53213073719924837802007-10-12T01:36:00.000-04:002007-10-12T01:36:00.000-04:00I don't get the concept of Sweeney Todd as a music...I don't get the concept of Sweeney Todd as a musical, but Alan Rickman and JD on the screen together is enough to get this woman moving to the nearest theater. Tim Burton's reputation probably proceeds him but genius is genius whether the unwashed masses like it or not. I have a little secret to tell you Ray I am probably older than dirt to you, and growing up is so overrated. Don't take it so hard. Stop and smell the roses, but in this case just go and enjoy the view.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-16483813053740140062007-10-10T15:05:00.000-04:002007-10-10T15:05:00.000-04:00Geez, everyone is making these grand pronouncement...Geez, everyone is making these grand pronouncements on the basis of a 2-1/2 minute trailer. Maybe a little more background will help: Sondheim approved all the actors, so if it's good enough for the creator, why not give it a chance? Also, anyone who knows the score knows that Depp did exactly what the score calls for...the whole part leading up to "I will have vengeance..." is actually spoken/shouted/NOT sung. The fact that the studio is not selling it as a musical is due to pure cowardice on their parts, so don't blame the producers, director, et. al. for that...but hey, if you suggest to the average filmgoer that they go see a musical about the 19th-century vengeance story of a barber and his accomplice who murder people and turn them into meat pies, how many do you think are going to line up? I expect this is just an introductory trailer, and one with more singing will be released closer to 12/21. And finally, having seen the original Broadway show and the revival, it's obvious that this story can have many interpretations, and if you don't like Burton's, the revival will be touring this fall and winter. Just wait and see what Burton comes up with before you dismiss his work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-38948345299223693722007-10-08T17:08:00.000-04:002007-10-08T17:08:00.000-04:00//This is probably why it is tricky to market a mo...//This is probably why it is tricky to market a movie like this.//<BR/><BR/>Excellent point, anon 7:55 (who are you people really? C'mon give yourselves monikers - it makes it so much easier for the rest of us.) I hadn't quite thought of it in those terms. I've read elsewhere on the 'net Burton being quoted as saying "there will be music...there will be blood" and that's one of the reasons that perhaps this was better left to the stage - because onstage you're not likely to feel it necessary to go into the blood and gore - all that is implied (people are having their throats cut and being turned into meat pies, duh. Do we need to see the entire process every bloody step of the way?)<BR/><BR/>Burton's comments are another reason I'm not rushing to the theater to see this - onscreen blood doesn't "do it" for me, except in very small doses. Not that Burton has exactly been a goremeister in the past, but still, it makes me just a touch nervous.<BR/><BR/>But perhaps the movie will in it's own way touch on some of the issues and qualities that caused the stage play to open to "mixed reviews" as Elias says in his post, although now it's considered a modern masterpiece (darn foolish pollyanna streak within me...)<BR/><BR/>RedSatinDollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-52141873931494620462007-10-08T07:55:00.000-04:002007-10-08T07:55:00.000-04:00I think the reason they're trying to downplay the ...I think the reason they're trying to downplay the MUSICAL aspects of it is so that they can get the horror fanboys excited for it as well. Most of them tend to avoid musicals and most of them are ignorant of the actual source material. And some people who enjoy musicals like "Hairspray", "Dreamgirls' and "Chicago" may be turned off by the bloody material. This is probably why it is tricky to market a movie like this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-25288879873184603832007-10-08T07:03:00.000-04:002007-10-08T07:03:00.000-04:00//"When was the last time Burton made an actual fi...//"When was the last time Burton made an actual film with characters that resemble living humans?"//<BR/><BR/>Well there was that one time in 19..., no, wait a minute, I'm thinking of someone else. Nevermind.<BR/><BR/>Seriously, there was a moment of real human recognition for me near the ending of Big Fish - the son completing the father's tale just GOT to me. It's a pity Burton doesn't draw on that power and simplicity more often.<BR/><BR/>RedSatinDollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-15802867739291065842007-10-07T22:16:00.000-04:002007-10-07T22:16:00.000-04:00Elias, THANK YOU for clarifying that - I understan...Elias, THANK YOU for clarifying that - I understand your original point so much better (and am rather gratified to see that we are, indeed, in agreement. I certainly agree with your earlier remark that another direction might have done this material greater justice. I can't see or think of the Burton trailer without thinking "Edward Scissorhands/Nightmare Before Christmas/Beetlejuice...oh heck, haven't we seen this all before? When is Burton going to get tired of drinking from the same well?"<BR/><BR/>To try to downplay the music of Sweeney Todd is sheer madness by the way, because my memory of it (which admittedly is fuzzy and based on the 1982 video recording shown on PBS) is that Sweeney is more "operatic" than the traditional Broadway musicals, and the story is told primarily if not exclusively through song, as opposed to the old "write the book and stick in pop tunes" of the 1920's theater (that has since come back round to us - unfortunately - in last quarter-century) or even the musicals of Oscars and Hammerstein era, in which the music was written specifically for the plays and served the incidents and characters onstage.<BR/><BR/>RedSatinDollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-51569992301760580222007-10-07T17:38:00.000-04:002007-10-07T17:38:00.000-04:00I see what you're saying. But let me clear up the ...I see what you're saying. But let me clear up the point I was trying to make. Sondheim's musicals were theatrical, yes, but they were being released when the British invasion was just occuring. When Webber, Boublil and Schönberg, Kander and Ebb were all releasing their Mega Musicals that wiped all the others out of the water (as far as audiences were concerned). These were the shows that attracted the crowds with their big sets, extravagant costumes, falling chandeliers and helicopters. I mean, when Sweeney Todd was originally released, it opened to mixed reviews. However, the reason it's so much appreciated now, is because the story, characters, and like you said, writing is what drives the show. Therefore, I think Burton may be disconnected with those specific elements. I'm not discounting the fact that the original broadway production of Sweeney did, in fact, have camp. However, unlike Les Mes, Chicago, Phantom of the Opera, which relies so heavily on the camp, 'Sweeney Todd' doesn't need that. I'm just worried Burton and the studios may discount any of the elements that made the theatre version so special, and try to recreate something entirely different...E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-25249092665773340202007-10-07T17:36:00.000-04:002007-10-07T17:36:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-5292508238496622652007-10-07T16:18:00.000-04:002007-10-07T16:18:00.000-04:00Elias I disagree ever so slightly with your assess...Elias I disagree ever so slightly with your assessment - the original production of Sweeney Todd definitely had campy, over-the-top elements - it was a "big", ambitious musical that in some ways set the stage (forgive the pun) for 20 years worth of big, over the top musicals.<BR/><BR/>What Sweeney Todd (and Sunday in the park with George) possessed (which I think we can all agree on, so I know I'm preaching to the choir) that the musicals of Andrew Rice Webber et all lack is real human interest, sympathy for even the most unlikeable characters, and above all else brilliant writing, brilliant lyrics, brilliant music. That's why the revival of Sweeney Todd is in it's way as brilliant as the original - it was able to distill the original to the essence of of it's writing because the writing at the core was so great to begin with. You can't do that with so many of the musicals that populate the stage in the last 20 years - take away the glitz and they are nothing.<BR/><BR/>What worries me is that Burton has played around with and disfigured what made the play really great to begin with.<BR/><BR/>RedSatinDollAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-3868916121315362522007-10-07T12:37:00.000-04:002007-10-07T12:37:00.000-04:00I agree. There's no denying that the musical has m...I agree. There's no denying that the musical has made its way into the mainstream. But remember that most, if not all, of the musicals that were released (and successful) in the past were over-the-top, campy, and extremely theatrical. Sondheim musicals are none of that. They're dark, performance-driven, and they rely heavily on the story. 'Sweeney' can't hide behind glitz, lights, and dance numbers. What the studios believe, in my opinion, is that it needs to rely on the star appeal, story, and the "magic" of Tim Burton. I just hope it doesn't backfire. I agree with you, they just need to accept the fact that it's a musical and concentrate on what makes a Sondheim musical great. <BR/><BR/>Which is why I wish they had chosen a different director with theatre experience (Sam Mendes, as originally planned)E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-4812674910215405442007-10-07T12:36:00.000-04:002007-10-07T12:36:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-68682694068001986702007-10-07T10:48:00.000-04:002007-10-07T10:48:00.000-04:00Elias you're right. I'm sure that's what they're d...<B>Elias</B> you're right. I'm sure that's what they're doing. trying to appeal to people who've never heard of this musical (it saddens me that enormous classics aren't more well known in popular culture but thems' the breaks)<BR/><BR/>But regardless my objection to it is there is really no basis on the part of studios to assume that people don't like musicals. They're living in the past.<BR/><BR/>The past 6 years have been very kind to them at the box office (with the exception of the true stinkers) and at the Oscars. Time to wake up and smell the 00s.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-68444281153818905212007-10-07T00:26:00.000-04:002007-10-07T00:26:00.000-04:00I must say that I think dubbing over Depp in Cry-B...I must say that I think dubbing over Depp in <I>Cry-Baby</I> was deliberate and actually part of the film.<BR/><BR/>Still doesn't give me confidence about Depp in <I>Todd</I>.Glenn Dunkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05424659636310160482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-31799413143742550742007-10-06T21:34:00.000-04:002007-10-06T21:34:00.000-04:00It's risky. I think Burton is attempting to appeal...It's risky. I think Burton is attempting to appeal to the non-musical fans (which is not his key demographic). Remember Rent? Yikes! I'm just hoping they release a trailer showing some musical numbers soon, and Burton doesn't choose style of substance (again!), or else I'd expect some pissed off Sondheim fans.E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-44157842631728891182007-10-06T21:33:00.000-04:002007-10-06T21:33:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.E Dothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092167817913017197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-9739613161627336272007-10-06T13:13:00.000-04:002007-10-06T13:13:00.000-04:00What ever happened to the intensive singing boot c...What ever happened to the intensive singing boot camp thing? Isn't that what they did in <EM>Moulin Rouge!</EM> and <EM>Chicago</EM>? And Nicole and Renée ended up doing quite respectable (if not GREAT) singing.<BR/><BR/>You'd think Sondheim would be insisting on something like that for Depp. If he had to audition for Sondheim, then Sondheim must've though him up to it, or at least potentially up to it.<BR/><BR/>But there's something very wrong with casting Depp INSTANTLY in the role of Sweeney Todd and then not making sure he was trained adequately for the singing. It's an iconic musical role that many many actors (myself included) would kill to get, and could sing without extensive additional training. Casting someone incapable of singing the part just because he's a movie star and Burton's muse is not really fair regardless, but if you must do it, the least you can do is train him to make sure he can sing it. If not, it's flat out disrespectful to the material.<BR/><BR/>In acting class last year, one day we had an assignment where we had to come in and sing a song as an acting exercise. And every last one, even the non-singers, was able to carry a tune and even sound quite good. I was actually a little surprised. But I honestly believe that most actors can sing you give them the chance. Even the ones who'd rather not. I'll be pretty mad at Depp if he f***s this up.adam k.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13485604493059621307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-5494646526852655812007-10-06T12:01:00.000-04:002007-10-06T12:01:00.000-04:00The academy is loving giving people an Oscar on th...The academy is loving giving people an Oscar on their 3rd nom recently - maybe it really will be Depp's turn then...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-40614968689402224662007-10-06T01:30:00.000-04:002007-10-06T01:30:00.000-04:00like i've been saying from the very beginning. the...like i've been saying from the very beginning. they dubbed Depp for CRYBABY of all things (which has, what a 7 note range?) so, yikes. maybe they plan to do the whole thing talk/singy like Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. <BR/><BR/>if so: blahNATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-17324525974114193672007-10-05T23:40:00.000-04:002007-10-05T23:40:00.000-04:00Well, lest we forget, he's not a singer.Sigh.Well, lest we forget, he's not a singer.<BR/><BR/>Sigh.adam k.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13485604493059621307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-64904091873373420272007-10-05T23:02:00.000-04:002007-10-05T23:02:00.000-04:00It's interesting there was so little singing in th...It's interesting there was so little singing in the trailer, but more interesting that the singer they did show sounded distinctly...weak. Johnny Depp kind of sounded like a mid-range emo frontman at the end of a 3 hour show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-2906959892954673582007-10-05T16:57:00.000-04:002007-10-05T16:57:00.000-04:00Gah! I was comipiling a list of to-sees, how could...Gah! I was comipiling a list of to-sees, how could I forget this?!?!Emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09809699267788752653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-46771215027263842682007-10-05T14:39:00.000-04:002007-10-05T14:39:00.000-04:00I want Johnny Depp to be great in this and win the...I want Johnny Depp to be great in this and win the Oscar, b/c I adore "Sweeney Todd", but that trailer did nothing to quash my doubts about how the final product will turn out. It's usual Burton macabre, but that's so been there, done that at this point. Until I actually hear a song come out of Depp's mouth in this film, I'll keep doubting. I'll end on a positive note and say that the techs look incredible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-32041184532421839282007-10-05T11:18:00.000-04:002007-10-05T11:18:00.000-04:00Bleh. Just another Tim Burton movie, with what loo...Bleh. Just another Tim Burton movie, with what looks like some recycled Captain Jack mannerisms from Depp. You wouldn't know this was a musical from watching this trailer...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com