Slog - Comments on Terry Teachout on Sweeney Todd: Better Than Fosse's Cabaret, Better Than Sir Carol Reed's Oliver!, Better Than Sex with God http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha Reviews of Sweeney Todd are embargoed until the movie opens on December 21, but critics are leaking their enthusiasm all over the internet. Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal (and one of my favorite theater critics) says it's the best thing in the history of ever. Stephen Sondheim came to the theater to introduce the film, looking like a cat who'd just dined on canary under glass. "For those of you who know the show... forget it," he said. "This is not a film of a musical, it's a movie based on a musical." Then the lights went down... Copyright 2008 Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:12:44 -0800 Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:29:24 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by blaire holy crap. im so excited

]]> blaire http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864000 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864000 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:14:47 -0800 Comment by Michigan Matt I can't wait.I can't wait.I can't wait!!

]]> Michigan Matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864021 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864021 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:16:46 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Looking forward to seeing this at the sneak preview!

But God never complained about sex with me ...

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864025 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864025 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:17:28 -0800 Comment by Peter I'd pay a lot of money to not have to see this train wreck.

]]> Peter http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864045 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864045 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:20:28 -0800 Comment by PA Native Better than Guys and Dolls?

]]> PA Native http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864072 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864072 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:22:59 -0800 Comment by Darrell @4: So far it seems like it's anything BUT a train wreck. The early reviews leaked are pretty unanimous about what a great film this is.

]]> Darrell http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864081 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864081 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:23:29 -0800 Comment by Holmes It's DEPP and BURTON.

They could wipe their exploded wart puss on a photo of an aborted conjoined-twin fetus and it would get rave reviews.

]]> Holmes http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864119 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864119 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:27:14 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Is there any way to watch and enjoy the movie without having to look at Johnny Depp?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864143 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864143 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:29:25 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways I'm seeing this Sunday at SIFF; I can't wait even though screenings at SIFF are sort of a nightmare because they're packed and I'm a bit claustrophobic...

but I'm confused by some of the other comments on here...the movie of Guys and Dolls isn't very good, in my opinion, and well, it really isn't a beloved member of the movie musical canon by any standards.

Tim Burton USUALLY gets poor reviews from mainstream critics and Johnny Depp has only started receiving mainstream love in the last three or four years. I'm also scared that all the blood is going to scare off the aged members of certain film academy who are more inclined to like shit like "Crash"...

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864205 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864205 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:33:54 -0800 Comment by Peter @6, I hate musicals and Burton's tiresome goth thing is like shit frosting on the turdcake

]]> Peter http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864230 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864230 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:35:37 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways it figures that FNARF hates Johnny Depp, the alt poster boy of choice for the last 20 years...

I'm suspecting he's more of a Benecio del Toro fan; they're hardcore!

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864234 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864234 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:35:46 -0800 Comment by Greg Hey, you guys have fun. I'm going to be at home, watching Stargate and drinking some beers.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864266 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864266 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:39:25 -0800 Comment by jibb Watched the trailer, and it was a waste of time. I can not believe I fell for the hype genarated, and wasted my time watching the trailer. Depp can not sing, and the movie looks hamfisted and tarded. A nightmare before chrismas was good, but evey movie made by depp and co since then has disapointed(except the first pirate movie). depp should just make porn, so the dweeds can jerk off to something sensible, and spare the rest of use the hype.

]]> jibb http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864336 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864336 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:48:59 -0800 Comment by Fnarf My idea of a modern-day screen idol is Stephen Fry or Richard E. Grant, Steve Coogan or Rob Brydon. You know, someone who can speak, and read, and act a little. I'm not sure I've ever seen Del Toro in anything. Does he ever play human beings? Johnny Depp never has.

Wait, that's not quite true. He was almost good in Ed Wood, where the woodenness actually worked in his favor. And the character somewhat resembled a person.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864343 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864343 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:50:07 -0800 Comment by Brendan Kiley I'm with you, Fnarf: I'd rather watch Steve Coogan or Stephen Fry any day. But Terry Teachout is no slouch critic and if he says it's good—well, I dare to dream.

]]> Brendan Kiley http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864372 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864372 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:52:26 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle I think they meant Showboat or maybe the archival print of the musical with that famous Rat Packer, Sammy Davis Jr (can't remember the title, set in New Orleans).

Much better than Guys and Dolls.

Still, most of my friends will be seeing this at the SIFF screening on Sunday too.

But, yes, Stephen Fry is much better.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864416 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864416 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:56:24 -0800 Comment by libzilla All That Jazz is one of the best movies made, and I think that was a Broadway play before it was a movie. The film reviewers that will put this new piece of crap from depp above All that jAZZ SHOULD BE drafted into the army, and sent to iraq for an extended tour. My hate knows no bounds at this insult thrusted onto me, and what I know is right.

]]> libzilla http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864425 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864425 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:57:18 -0800 Comment by COMTE Really? Better than "West Side Story", too?

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864552 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864552 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:12:00 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Porgy and Bess is what you're thinking of, Will, and it's magnificent. Guys and Dolls is an, ah, acquired taste, shall we say, though it does feature Marlon Brando in one of his sillier roles. The great Rat Pack musical, though, is Robin and the Seven Hoods, featuring Sammy's mind-blowing song and dance number with a Thompson machine gun in (and on) a bar -- shooting all the while.

Best film from a Broadway musical is an impossible goal; best in the past thirty years might be doable.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864609 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864609 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:18:33 -0800 Comment by NealH Re: Guys and Dolls, I always thought a bit bizarre that Brando was cast as Sky Masterston and Sinatra as Nathan Detroit, instead of the other way around. So, while I love the show and music, the movie never seemed right to me.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Sweeney Todd turns out.

]]> NealH http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864843 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864843 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:46:01 -0800 Comment by Tim I am excited about the movie as well. But, what most people don't know that the picture that is display, has a picture of Big Ben in the background in the window, well what the researchers of the movie came to find out is that it didn't exsist for another 50 years in this time period....check it out. They have now done a lot of damage control, accepting the fact that someone didn't do their research.

]]> Tim http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864933 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c864933 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:58:01 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Obligatory pendantic note: Big Ben is a bell. The building you refer to, in which it sits, is the Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament, aka the Palace of Westminster. Yes, I know, who gives a fuck, but by law all references to Big Ben must refer to this confusion of nomenclature.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865061 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865061 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:26:00 -0800 Comment by RHETT ORACLE The feeling I have about Sweeney Todd is this: if you saw the musical and didn't like it, then you won't like the movie. If you have no intellectual investment in this major hunk of Sondheim's genius, it's understandable that the uninitiated, the uncaring or the I-don't-get-its, stay home and hush. ST is an opera, it is in Cockney, it is unbelievably gory and it is a tragically gorgeous story.

]]> RHETT ORACLE http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865077 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865077 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:32:11 -0800 Comment by SDA in SEA I would gladly bear Johnny Depp's child.

]]> SDA in SEA http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865122 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865122 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:48:20 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle No, I think I meant another film.

But, if you don't want to see a musical, with lots of blood, you probably shouldn't see Sweeney Todd.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865135 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865135 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:52:26 -0800 Comment by Line Out Fan i think i would be more excited if this was made as originally pitched, with stop action animation, therefore allowing angela lansbury to sing the title she's too old to play anymore. depp seems passable as sweeney, though i don't think he's going to have the chops that len or george had.

]]> Line Out Fan http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865200 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865200 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:21:38 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Sammy never made a musical set in New Orleans. Porgy and Bess is as close as it got (Charleston, SC) -- and the only one with a revival print. The only other musicals he was in were Robin Hood, The Threepenny Opera, and Sweet Charity.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865232 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865232 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:41:15 -0800 Comment by Andy Niable Jeebus, does it cure cancer too?

]]> Andy Niable http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865585 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865585 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:51:50 -0800 Comment by Hal Come on! It's a fawking musical for Christ's sake!

]]> Hal http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865681 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c865681 Theater Wed, 05 Dec 2007 23:20:39 -0800 Comment by Rose Red It looks like he's hanging out in Edward Scissorhands' attic!

]]> Rose Red http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c867445 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/12/terry_teachout_on_sweeny_todd_better_tha#c867445 Theater Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:29:24 -0800