Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
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A vengeful barber in Victorian London uses his razor and a local baker's shop to exact a bloody revenge.
The story
In 1846, a man named Benjamin Barker arrives in London after being falsely convicted and exiled by the corrupt Judge Turpin. Adopting the alias 'Sweeney Todd,' he reopens his barber shop on Fleet Street above a failing meat pie shop owned by Mrs. Lovett. While Todd seeks revenge against the man who stole his life, he begins to murder his customers. With the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, he processes the bodies into meat pies. The story follows the escalating tension as the pair's business prospers while the truth of their gruesome operation remains hidden from the public.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After being exiled to Australia by Judge Turpin, Benjamin Barker returns to London as 'Sweeney Todd.' He partners with Mrs. Lovett, who is in love with him, to run a barber shop and a meat pie business. They decide to bake the bodies of Todd's victims into pies. The plot follows the parallel journeys of Anthony, a sailor who falls for Todd's daughter Johanna, and the various victims of Todd's blade. The tension peaks when Anthony attempts to rescue Johanna from an asylum. Todd eventually confronts the Judge, and in a final confrontation, he discovers that the 'beggar woman' he killed was actually his wife, Lucy. He realizes Mrs. Lovett lied about her death. In a final act of madness, he kills her and is eventually killed by the boy Toby, who discovers the truth of the shop's contents.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tim Burton
- Writers
- John Logan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Johnny Depp · Sweeney Todd; Helena Bonham Carter · Mrs. Lovett; Alan Rickman · Judge Turpin; Timothy Spall; Sacha Baron Cohen
- Genres
- Gothic; musical; slasher
- Themes
- revenge; obsession
- Tone and mood
- macabre; dark
- Premise and plot tags
- musical; slasher; period piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, praised for its performances, musical numbers, and design. It is widely considered one of the greatest musical films of the 21st century.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 86% · scale: percentage · review count: 231; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 39
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe · Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy · 2008 · win; BAFTA · Best Costume Design and Make Up and Hair · 2008 · nomination; Academy Award · Best Achievement in Costume Design · 2008 · nomination; Academy Award · Best Achievement in Art Direction · 2008 · win; MTV Movie Award · Best Villain · 2008 · win; Teen Choice Award · Choice Movie Villain · 2008 · win; Scream Award · Best Horror Movie · 2008 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was the first collaboration between Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Sacha Baron Cohen.; The production used orange-colored fake blood to appear correct on desaturated color film.; The film's marketing was criticized for not clearly advertising it as a musical.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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