Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Blu-ray Disc, 2008, 2-Disc Set)

I first seen the movie (Nov. 2008) in standard definition without surround sound, and not within the comforts of my own home. Regardless, I knew then that this movie was was going to be among my first picks to add to my Blu Ray collection as soon as I watched it.

The film was met with some criticism for not being advertised clearly as a musical. HOWEVER, and I CANNOT stress this enough, had the film been advertised clearly as a musical, I may never have watched it. I'm not a fan of musicals by any means, as a matter of fact I try and avoid them. So it was a great surprise to me when I learned (about 15-20 minutes into the film) that Sweeney Todd was a full on musical.

Keeping in mind what I said above, I loved this movie. Not only does Johnny Depp play his role as Sweeney perfectly, but he even manages to hold his own while singing as well. I found myself wanting to listen to Depp sing "My Friends" several times... Enough times so that I've seen the film enough times to remember the lyrics to my favorite songs.

Granted that I do not watch musicals, this may or may not be for those of you who do. Why? Simply because I do not like musicals but found myself compelled to watch this film several times. Also granted that I do not watch musicals, it may be that Depp will not stand up to your expectations if you are keen on the genre.

I think anyone who hasn't at least rented this film is missing out on a great movie. So do yourself a favor if you haven't already seen it and go rent it.


Now I mentioned Sweeney Todd was among my first picks to add to my Blu Ray collection. These are the other films also in that category: Transformers, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Batman Begins.

Each of the films that are in my collection rank a 9 or higher (including Sweeney Todd) overall to me. Also, Sweeney Todd comes in easily in my top 5 favorite Blu Ray movies. My top five Blu Rays picks are currently:

Transformers 9.75/10 (#1)
Can't give Transformers a perfect 10 because some of the lore to the Transformers characters was either off or completely disregarded all together. Overall an excellent movie experience on Blu Ray with surround sound.

The Dark Knight 9.75/10 (#2)
The Dark Knight was a great movie, and Heath Ledger played the role of The Joker perfectly. Had I been posting this before I'd just finished watching Transformers again for the 3rd time... I would have chosen The Dark Knight. However, the film overall is just not as entertaining as Transformers was to me, even though it is a great movie. (PS, I've seen The Dark Knight more times than Transformers -- I watched it 3 times in the theater alone -- so don't think it's because I haven't seen the film enough)

Sweeney Todd 9.5/10 #3
HOW did I miss this film back in 2007!? Big mistake on my part! While the above two films are both excellent choices, making Sweeney Todd my #3 almost feels a crime. It's the only movie, that I know of, that I watched once through almost every evening for a week. That was also BEFORE I purchased it on Blu Ray. Now that I actually own the film... I will be able to enjoy it in High Definition with surround sound!

Iron Man 9.5/10 #4
Easily the 2nd best movie of 2008, with Dark Knight being the 1st. Has a little bit of action/entertainment for the whole family. I was however a little disappointed with the villain for the film however. Overall, a great movie to pick up on Blu Ray.


Batman Begins 9.0/10 #5
A great movie, just not quiet as good as the above.

This Is one of my Favorite Musical's of all Time!
Johnny depp's Vocal Performance Is absoulty amazing and So Is Helena Bonham Carter!
They are Great actors and you can clearly see that in this Film!
Even If your not a Musical Person this is definetly a must see for the Horror/Drama/Musical Fan!
This is the Best sweeney Todd I have ever seen all the Charaters in the movie are fantastic singers and great actors!!!
You Can really See how much Mrs.lovett Is passionalty in love with Mr.Todd!
If you really want to hear Johnny Bleting it out singing about Killing people then this is the movie for you!
(I guess If you wanted you can Pertend he's killing your eneimes How amazing Hott depp Killing people you hate):)LOL
with songs like, My friends, It's Priest, and Johanna! It will win your heart over!
It's an amazing Musical
Plus it's Dirceted By Tim Burton! And the Costumes are Amazing with an academy award winner Coleen Atwood it's a threesome your dying to not miss!!!
So For all of you Johnny Depp Fans and Tim Burtin Fans this is a must see movie.
I also recommned the soundtrack to fall asleep to!
I mean what more could you ask for Johnny depp Singing you to Sleep!:)
And you Can Always Dream of Sweeney Todd and you Can Be Mrs.lovett! or vice versa for the guys out there who Like Helena Bonham Carter!
Sweeney Will Have Revenge if you don't watch this film!!

Not everyone will enjoy this film, as some people just won't enjoy a movie that is basically a musical 3/4 of the time. I really think Johnny Depp is adept at playing roles like this. A dark classic from Britain, Sweeney Todd really transfers well on the big screen... and this movie is a must-have for fans of musicals and dark comedies.

This is an obvious Tim Burton film. It has his style written all over it. The dark, gorey vibe, mixed in with the musical play-write. The concept of the movie is cool; a barber that kills people with a friend that makes human meat-pies. Awesome!

I just had to copy and paste what a critic already said. Johnny Depp has once again impressed the audience with his acting ability. Though not the bestest singer in the world, he managed to capture and integrate the sorrow and hatred of his film character into his singing. It's already difficult for a professional singer to do so, and that's what makes him, whom is not a professional singer, commendable.

I was not able to compare the quality between blu-ray and DVD discs. Perhaps the difference will stand out more with a high quality LED television.