A BUNCH of SWEENEY Film Clips..(Priest, Toby, Pirelli etc.) — Page 2

AHHHHHH I can't wait!!!!!

I'm watching the featurettes now, and in the "Behind the Scenes" one, there's quite a bit from when they were filming "The Worst Pies in London." Not sure how I feel about Helena. Different than I'm used to.

And there's more "A Little Priest"! Yay!

Updated On: 11/27/07 at 01:15 PM

Michael Bennett, I agree. Loved her reactions. I think that after seeing the movie as a whole, I am really going to like it.

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Helena's longing look in the back of "My Friends" as Sweeney is singing really got me excited...

GOD I can't wait!

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I keep watching the Priest clip, It's so excellent.

I was just about to comment on the little boy - I think he's a FANTASTIC Tobias!

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Sondhead,
everything you say is true, but it only applies to the Sondheim stage version. None of it applies to the movie version which does not have the conceit of being told/reenacted for us by the characters' older selves. So none of what you cite has any bearing on how old Tobias should be in the movie.

The legends in which the character of Tobias originated all refer to him as a lad or a boy. In fact, his character is based on two boys from the original legend. They both worked for Todd (this was before Lovett and Pirelli were in the legend.) It was actually the other boy who figured prominently in the legend and was the one who tried to expose Todd. Tobias was more of the other boys sidekick.

I can't wait to see what seeing a child in this role does to the dynamics of it!

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Updated On: 11/27/07 at 02:13 PM

Bonham Carter will be controversial, since she differs so much from any Lovett, at least that I've seen onstage. You will see that in the balance of the film, she does land the laughs - just not in the raucous music hall tradition of the Lovetts in the stage version. But her Lovett is quiet, sardonic, world weary, resigned, lonely and more and more terrified as the plot thickens. You can see a bit of that terror creeping in during the "Not While I'm Around" clip, but the last shot of her in that song in the film proper will haunt you for days.

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Wow. Did Sascha just do what he thought I did?

Timothy Spall was excellent, as was Alan Rickman. Helena seems to be the one character who you actually have to see the entire movie in order to recieve a full impact. And I must say that this rendition of "Not While I'm Around" is the only one that actually brought tears to my eyes. (I wish we got more of Tobias acting though, because he doesn't really do much other than sing in the clips). The only one I'm concerned about is Johnny Depp. Don't get me wrong, he was very good in the clips. I'm just afraid that he isn't even better in the movie.

After watching the "How Long 'Til Pirelli Gets Back" clip, I'm starting to think Helena will be deserving of a Oscar nomination here.

(of course I'm "racing to the finish line" with that call)

Her line readings manage to be funny, off-the-wall, heartfelt and truthful all at the same time... and her reactions to everything are priceless! I can tell that she HAS made the part entirely her own... but the brilliant thing is that these lines seem to be tailor-made for her, and we all know they're not!

That is genius work, on her part.

EDIT: I keep thinking, "this is the role she was born to play," which is incredible! It's 180 degrees from the way it was originally conceived.

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Updated On: 11/27/07 at 03:07 PM

Wow, I can't believe how much WORST PIES and PRIEST they showed in the behind the scenes feature. I love it.

Who'd a guessed?

Now we have to be so careful here because Tim Burton has disappointed before with his lame third acts when he forgets he has a script... but but BUT....

This looks soooo good.

Who would have guessed that a director like Tim Burton could handle such a delicate piece - yes, I say delicate. Burton seems to have realized that Sweeney Todd is an opera on stage and a chamber piece in the movies. If it had been played as broad as the stage - and I mean the divine Miss Lansbury - it would have fallen into camp. Using non-singers and great actors like Rickman, Bonam Carter and yes, Depp makes us lean in to listen and become so much more a part of the story. I felt like an unindicted co-conspirator as opposed to a viewer.

The little kid is wonderful. What a GREAT idea. It's so religious and perverse in one breath. The sullied alter boy, a cherub in the pits of hell. THAT ALONE had me at hello.

This is pure cinematic grand guignol.

And Sascha Baron Cohan, again inspired. I don't care if he can't sing worth beans. You just know you're going to soak up his scenes. He looks like a living Bugs Bunny character.

Seriously, this piece seems to be as well put together as "Hairspray" and "Chicago" and what a decade musical theatre on film is having.

Who'd a guessed?

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