Wednesday, October 21, 2015
A film haunting me till its "coming out." As of today I love straight razors.
TIM BURTON – JOHNNY DEPP – SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF
FLEET STREET
– 2007
This film in its
original version is entirely or nearly entirely sung and the music is probably
the best part of the film. It is thus a musical tragedy, mind you, not drama.
First, Tim Burton
recreates in color the bleak black and white vision we can have of London
Second, the actors are
so great in their roles and characters that we do believe they are what they
pretend to be. Sweeney Todd is really a monster at first look, at first sight,
and he will not vary from that identification one single iota. He may be
justified in his monstrosity or monster-ness, but he is a monster through and
through. And he drags everyone around him into that ugliness. He is only motivated
by vengeance and he finds in the pie-maker a perfect accomplice though she
would stop at the meat of Sweeney Todd’s victims and may forget about the
vengeance itself. But circumstances are never what you can control entirely and
Sweeney Todd will have his own vengeance fully and totally, though he made a
few mistakes.
Third, there is no
hope whatsoever. In the film at least. He abandons the younger ones behind, the
youngest has just killed Sweeney, the two others, the sailor and Todd's
daughter are just abandoned alone and frightened, though they should not be too
much since the preying predator of a judge has disappeared in Sweeney’s Todd
meat grinder. You can also imagine what the good old English Victorian society
is going to do to them when they are discovered or captured in that vast
cemetery of corpses and cadavers. At the same time you may imagine some kind of
clemency for the sailor since he committed no crime, well, except at the
“loony-bin” where he kidnapped Johanna. As for the girl her fate is more
obscure since she is a girl and has to be protected and she comes from Bedlam.
So, this is this and back to Bedlam.
Fourth, the speaking
is voluntarily fuzzy, misty, dark, difficult to follow, often too low, and that
is done on purpose. The dialogue is not so much important, apart from a few
sentences now and then. It is an atmosphere that is created as if everyone was
more or less whispering or mumbling in order not to be overheard or understood,
misunderstood maybe. And the cockney of the actors is not always cockney, some
pale and fuzzy imitation. But this linguistic opaque texture creates the
atmos-fear of angst and fright.
But fifth, in this
atmos-fear the most important element is the music and the singing. It is in no
way attractive, charming, harmonious or whatever you may expect from music and
singing. It is always the same tone, even when the tune is changing, a very
minor dirge that stretches out without any kind of harmony or even attractive
rhythm. It is a slow tempo for a very flat music and a minimal singing. A dirge
I said, maybe even more than that, the complaint of surviving undead living-dead
ghosts. We are in the deepest most sinister cul-de-sac blind alley you can
imagine in full darkness, with no public light, just a smidgeon of moonlight
between two heavy clouds and a lot of dark ill-smelling if not foul smoke
coming out of the chimney of this diabolical barbershop-cum-pie-factory.
And Sweeney Todd is so
much engulfed in his vengeance that he does not see anything any more. He is
made blind by his desire, impulse and need to kill in order to alleviate his
conviction that he was convicted for no reason at all and eliminated for the
only sake of stealing his wife Lucy. And that leads him to the supreme killing:
he kills his own wife who has become a deranged, hallucinating and totally
mental beggar roaming around the judge’s house, her own predator. Sweeney Todd does
not recognize his own wife except when it is too late. He nearly performs the
same crime of oblivion and blindness with his own daughter, though he is
distracted just in time, at the last moment when the razor was just going to
hit her throat. He even gets rid of his main accomplice, Mrs. Lovett who loves
it too much to accept it all, probably out of pure blind vanity and addiction,
the addiction to his own vengeance and killing, and she will burn in the
furnace before burning in hell for all eternity. And his unaware – well, at
least for a short while – child accomplice is getting just like him at the end
and the final razor cut sinks deep in our sensitive mind. Nothing to save that
Sweeney Todd and his world! Victorian it is to the very last second and even
right into the credits.
If you believe in
love, stay away. If you believe in the beauty of man's heart somewhere, at
least the hearts of a few people, stay away: there is not one single beautiful
heart in this film, not even Johanna who has been warped by her detention in
the soiled hands of Judge Turpin who has the mind of a turnip merged with
terpenoids that have the soul of a rubber tire and the taste or turpentine. But
what is Tim Burton trying to do? To scare us witless out of our pants and
frocks with what the world really is behind the shiny and sparkling façade of a
fake and hypocritical vicious court of justice with wigs and potbellied rotten
beadles, white ermine fur and red robes? Probably, but maybe it is his vision
of the world and that is very frightening.
A pessimistic film to
make us feel relieved when we get out of it because Tim Burton has read his Aristotle
and he sings his cathartic faith every morning while shaving with an electric
razor, which is a lot less dangerous that the foldable machete we call a
barber’s straight razor: after all, the world is not that bleak.
But is it or is it
not? Maybe it is after all. Maybe it is not all in all.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
AMAZON.COM
5 STARS
Colorful black
and red
By on
March 30, 2008
AMAZON.CO.UK
2
of 3 people found the following review helpful
By on 30
March 2008
IMDB
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU,
Olliergues, France, March 30, 2008
10
STARS A dark parable of light
***
This review may contain spoilers ***
Nothing to compare with the French version seen at the
cinema some years ago. This film in its original version is entirely or nearly
entirely sung and the music is probably the best part of the film.
First Tim Burton recreateS in color the bleak black and white vision we can have ofLondon
Second the actors are so great in their roles and characters that we do believe they are what they pretend to be. Sweeney Todd is really a monster at first look and will not vary from that identification one single iota. He may be justified in his monstrosity or monster-ness, but he is a monster through and through. And he drags everyone around him into that ugliness.
Third there is no hope whatsoever. In the film at least. He abandons the younger ones behind, the youngest has just Killed Sweeney, the two others, the sailor and Todd's daughter are just abandoned alone and frightened. You can also imagine what the good old English Victorian society is going to do to them when they are discovered or captured in that vast cemetery of corpses and cadavers.
Fourth the speaking is voluntarily fuzzy, misty, dark, difficult to follow, often too low, and that is done on purpose. The dialogue is not so much important, apart from a few sentences now and then. It is an atmosphere that is created as if everyone was more or whispering or mumbling in order not to be overheard or understood, misunderstood maybe.
But fifth in this atmosphere the most important element is the music and the singing. It is in no way attractive, charming, harmonious or whatever you may expect from music and singing. It is always the same tone, even when the tune is changing, a very minor dirge that stretches out without any kind of harmony or even attractive rhythm. It is a slow tempo for a very flat music and a minimal singing. A dirge I said, maybe even more than that, the complaint of surviving undead living dead ghosts. We are in the deepest most sinister cul-de-sac blind alley you can imagine in full darkness, with no public light, just a smidgeon of moonlight between two heavy clouds.
And Sweeney Todd is so much engulfed in his vengeance that he does not see anything any more. He does not recognize his own wife except when it is too late. He nearly does the same thing with his own daughter, though he is distracted just in time. He even gets rid of his main accomplice probably out of pure blind vanity and addiction, the addiction to his own vengeance and killing. And his unaware child accomplice is getting just like him at the end and the final razor cut sinks deep in our sensitive mind. Nothing to save that Sweeney and his world. Victorian to the very last second and even right into the credits.
If you believe in love, stay away. If you believe in the beauty of man's heart somewhere, at least the hearts of a few people, stay away: there is not one single beautiful heart in this film. But what is Tim Burton trying to do? To scare us witless out of our pants and frocks with what the world really is behind the shiny and sparkling façade? Probably.
A pessimistic film to make us feel relieved when we get out of it: after all, the world is not that bleak. But is it or is it not?
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
First Tim Burton recreateS in color the bleak black and white vision we can have of
Second the actors are so great in their roles and characters that we do believe they are what they pretend to be. Sweeney Todd is really a monster at first look and will not vary from that identification one single iota. He may be justified in his monstrosity or monster-ness, but he is a monster through and through. And he drags everyone around him into that ugliness.
Third there is no hope whatsoever. In the film at least. He abandons the younger ones behind, the youngest has just Killed Sweeney, the two others, the sailor and Todd's daughter are just abandoned alone and frightened. You can also imagine what the good old English Victorian society is going to do to them when they are discovered or captured in that vast cemetery of corpses and cadavers.
Fourth the speaking is voluntarily fuzzy, misty, dark, difficult to follow, often too low, and that is done on purpose. The dialogue is not so much important, apart from a few sentences now and then. It is an atmosphere that is created as if everyone was more or whispering or mumbling in order not to be overheard or understood, misunderstood maybe.
But fifth in this atmosphere the most important element is the music and the singing. It is in no way attractive, charming, harmonious or whatever you may expect from music and singing. It is always the same tone, even when the tune is changing, a very minor dirge that stretches out without any kind of harmony or even attractive rhythm. It is a slow tempo for a very flat music and a minimal singing. A dirge I said, maybe even more than that, the complaint of surviving undead living dead ghosts. We are in the deepest most sinister cul-de-sac blind alley you can imagine in full darkness, with no public light, just a smidgeon of moonlight between two heavy clouds.
And Sweeney Todd is so much engulfed in his vengeance that he does not see anything any more. He does not recognize his own wife except when it is too late. He nearly does the same thing with his own daughter, though he is distracted just in time. He even gets rid of his main accomplice probably out of pure blind vanity and addiction, the addiction to his own vengeance and killing. And his unaware child accomplice is getting just like him at the end and the final razor cut sinks deep in our sensitive mind. Nothing to save that Sweeney and his world. Victorian to the very last second and even right into the credits.
If you believe in love, stay away. If you believe in the beauty of man's heart somewhere, at least the hearts of a few people, stay away: there is not one single beautiful heart in this film. But what is Tim Burton trying to do? To scare us witless out of our pants and frocks with what the world really is behind the shiny and sparkling façade? Probably.
A pessimistic film to make us feel relieved when we get out of it: after all, the world is not that bleak. But is it or is it not?
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
JOHNNY DEPP – SWEENEY
TODD
The film is perfect in colors (black, white and red) and
atmosphere for a bleak dark somber horrible story in London in the beautiful 19th century. It fits
very well the injustice of this society and the vengeance wanted by the victim
of this injustice. It pushes vengeance to the extreme of insanity that makes
the husband victim kill his own ex-wife, and the young hooligan that had been
saved from the gutter by this vengeful man kill him in his last resort. More
melodramatic than I you die. Johnny Depp does not save this super musical
production. Horror is beautiful when there is some light still there to show
the darkness of this horror. Here absolutely everything is dramatic, tragic and
disgustingly terrible, including cannibalism, one case of lynching, not to
speak of creely crawly cockroaches all over the place. In other words it does
not stand a second showing or viewing. It loses too much then. I guess Stephen
King’s advice to go down to grossness if all the rest does not work, condemns
the film to no future because there cannot be any pleasure in the second
helping of the same grossness.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University
Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID
IMDb – Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com – MAY 30,
2008
A dark parable of light
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Sweeney Todd could have been a swine representing
"der Tod", in German in the text, death in one word. And he does
represent a fate that should be ashamed of existing. A young barber is the
husband of a beautiful woman and the barber is sent to forced labor for no
other reason than to clear the way for the judge. The wife will be the
possession of the judge but she will poison herself, though she will survive as
a deranged homeless woman. The daughter will be adopted by the judge for his
unique later use. This Victorian society is shown as being absolutely horrible,
disgusting. That denial of justice creates and feeds the desire to get his
vengeance in the barber when back from his deportation. He will manage to get
his vengeance, with the help of a woman who will lead him to opening a kind of
human butchery to produce meat pies that are amazingly successful. This
Victorian society is hypocritical for one and cannibalistic for two. This
horror will lead to the worst crime. Sweeney will kill the surviving ghost of
his own wife. When he recognizes his guilt he is then killed by the young teen
orphan he had retrieved from absolute enslavement. A new Oliver Twist of some
sort. The story is ugly, horrible, gross, unbearable and yet the film is
admirable. Why? Because Tim Burton transforms this clair obscur
of the soul and the society into a clair obscur on the screen
that provides us with a full black and white film in an orgy of colors. Because
Johnny Depp is the best at expressing a world that is totally out of sync with
purely dramatic and aesthetic means that his body serves perfectly. He has just
the right face to carry the ugly make-up of an unrecognized monster, for
example. In other words a cinematographic master-piece with no original content
or so little.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
MARK SALISBURY FLEET STREET
This book
is a marvellous treasure. It is dedicated to the film of Tim Burton and hence
to Johnny Depp whose bleak and disquieting face is on the cover all surrounded
by red and dry blood dark red brown. He is the man you just do not want to meet
in a back alley in London
The book
gives you explanations about the making of the film, the choosing criteria for
the main actors and the supporting actors, the designing of the set and the
costumes, in one word everything. If you like the film, if you like films in
general, if you like the cinema, this book is absolutely indispensible.
But the
book is essentially a picture book and there you will be lost in reverie and a
dream-catcher’s dreamscape, not even trying to relive the film, but thrown into
it at once and soaked into it as long as you can take it, and I must say I
turned the pages very slowly because that blood bath in that entirely fictional
but fascinating universe is the source of the highest ever excitement and
exhilaration leading to mental, physical and even erotic pleasure. It is not
cathartic. It is absolutely real in your own mind and skull. You are holding
the razors and committing rapture on these hate-inspiring criminal minded small
social climbers that end up judge, priest, cop or whatever, guarding the doors
of the aristocratic and financial temple.
But the
book is even better because it provides us with large excerpts of the script,
the dialogue, and the style of that dialogue is absolutely mesmerizing. Tim
Burton is always making poetical films. But this one reaches the level of a
poetic epic. Sweeney Todd is some kind of Robin Hood in the vestment of a
social and moral Hercules.
He is the
sword of God, the fire of hell and the punishment of all your sins and crimes,
you, the middle men of the financial moral and hypocritical dictatorship of
some kind of aristocracy. That film would have been loved by the hardliners of
the communist revolution who would not have seen the poetry but who would have
only excogitated in a rush and considered in no time at all the social and
political justice in this revolutionary barber who cleans up society in its own
blood and feeds the flesh of his own crime to the gullibility and greedy hunger
of the masses.
If you are
not convinced about the poetry, the justice and the revolutionary meaning of
this Sweeney Todd, just listen to his hymn, gospel and blues to his own razors.
These are
my friends.
See how
they glisten.
See this
one shine,
How he
smiles in the light.
My friend,
my faithful friend.
Speak to
me friend,
Whisper,
I’ll listen.
I know, I
know –
You’ve
been locked out of sight
All these
years –
Like me,
my friend.
Well, I’ve
come home
To find
you waiting.
Home,
And we’re
together,
And we’ll
do wonders,
Won’t we?
Get the
DVD, get this book, get the music, get everything you can about this Tim
Burton’s Sweeney Todd and you will be happy till Christmas and New Year, till
Doomsday comes.
Dr Jacques
COULARDEAU
IMDb – Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com – MAY 30,
2008
TIM BURTON
Nothing to
compare with the French version seen at the cinema some years ago. This film in
its original version is entirely or nearly entirely sung and the music is
probably the best part of the film.
First Tim
Burton recreateS in color the bleak black and white vision we can have of London
Second the
actors are so great in their roles and characters that we do believe they are
what they pretend to be. Sweeney Todd is really a monster at first look and
will not vary from that identification one single iota. He may be justified in
his monstrosity or monster-ness, but he is a monster through and through. And
he drags everyone around him into that ugliness.
Third
there is no hope whatsoever. In the film at least. He abandons the younger ones
behind, the youngest has just Killed Sweeney, the two others, the sailor and
Todd’s daughter are just abandoned alone and frightened. You can also imagine
what the good old English Victorian society is going to do to them when they
are discovered or captured in that vast cemetery of corpses and cadavers.
Fourth the
speaking is voluntarily fuzzy, misty, dark, difficult to follow, often too low,
and that is done on purpose. The dialogue is not so much important, apart from
a few sentences now and then. It is an atmosphere that is created as if
everyone was more or whispering or mumbling in order not to be overheard or
understood, misunderstood maybe.
But fifth
in this atmosphere the most important element is the music and the singing. It
is in no way attractive, charming, harmonious or whatever you may expect from
music and singing. It is always the same tone, even when the tune is changing,
a very minor dirge that stretches out without any kind of harmony or even
attractive rhythm. It is a slow tempo for a very flat music and a minimal
singing. A dirge I said, maybe even more than that, the complaint of surviving
undead living dead ghosts. We are in the deepest most sinister cul-de-sac blind
alley you can imagine in full darkness, with no public light, just a smidgeon of
moonlight between two heavy clouds.
And
Sweeney Todd is so much engulfed in his vengeance that he does not see anything
any more. He does not recognize his own wife except when it is too late. He
nearly does the same thing with his own daughter, though he is distracted just
in time. He even gets rid of his main accomplice probably out of pure blind
vanity and addiction, the addiction to his own vengeance and killing. And his
unaware child accomplice is getting just like him at the end and the final razor
cut sinks deep in our sensitive mind. Nothing to save that Sweeney and his
world. Victorian to the very last second and even right into the credits.
If you
believe in love, stay away. If you believe in the beauty of man’s heart
somewhere, at least the hearts of a few people, stay away: there is not one
single beautiful heart in this film. But what is Tim Burton trying to do? To
scare us witless out of our pants and frocks with what the world really is
behind the shiny and sparkling façade? Probably.
A pessimistic
film to make us feel relieved when we get out of it: after all, the world is
not that bleak. But is it or is it not?
Dr Jacques
COULARDEAU
# posted by Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU @ 7:21 AM 
