Sweeney Todd

I love the music of Sweeney Todd. And the movie does not disappoint. Johnny Depp is fantastic, as is Sacha Baron Cohen. Helena Bonham Carter is great, too. The songs have been in my head for days, ever since seeing it again. (Heck, hearing the review on NPR, which heavily quoted the music, planted the seed of that earworm.)

They cut some scenes, but mostly the chorus stuff, which was usually folded into the orchestration. The villanous judge's personality was cut down a little bit. I think it makes the story more tragic to have him be less detestable. Fascinating.

I also noticed that the funny parts of the script were deemphasized. It all fit together as one masterful artistic vision and story, and the parts that would have distracted from the main story were weakened or removed. Very well done.

Johnny Depp was particularly fantastic. I gained new understanding of the path of the character of Todd. He's dangerous, evil, vengeful, but then he snaps. It's awesome to behold. I look forward to seeing There Will Be Blood, because I'm believe those who tell me it's even better. But I have heard that it, like Sweeney Todd, is what all the previous work has been building to. The careers of Depp and Burton up to this point all laid the ground work and the foundation for this most excellent film.