blog




  • Essay / View of the Tim Burton musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

    The 2007 Tim Burton film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical comedy that retells the legend of Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp). Todd is a barber who returns to Victorian London after being wrongly exiled by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Turpin falls in love with Todd's wife and after what appears to be his suicide and takes in his daughter, Johanna (Jayne Wisener). Todd and his landlady/lover Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) descend into madness as they begin serving the public meat pies made from human flesh, which Todd kills and she cooks. Additionally, a sailor named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) runs away with Johanna after numerous attempts to keep her away from her guardian. The film ends with Todd taking revenge on Turpin, discovering that his wife survived his suicide attempt, killing Mrs. Lovett, and being killed by the young boy Todd and Lovett took in. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayThe first act of the film ends with the song “A Little Priest”. That's when Mrs. Lovett slyly suggests that they use Todds murder victim's meat in her meat pies. This scene contains a lot of cuts between Todd, Lovett and the people on the street. This creates the idea of ​​constant movement and lets the viewer know that something important in the plot is happening. This constant cutting also creates a feeling of rush. This, coupled with the adagio of the music, makes the scene appear to be unfolding quickly. The audience feels rushed and uncomfortable. Likewise, the close-ups of Lovett and Todd, although mainly Todd, are quite close to his face. This also contributes to creating unease between the audience and the stage. The camera is close to the face. These shots, coupled with the actor's performances, highlight the descent into madness that Todd and Lovett endure. This song also uses many circular panning shots. Added to this is the rotation of Todd and Lovett's dance. These shots are also close-ups or mid-body shots; this only allows the viewer to see Todd and Lovett walk past the camera. This thus creates a dizzying sensation, which shows the couple descending into madness and madness. This is the first time we see the two men begin to concoct a plan, and the constant movement further informs the audience that what they are going to do is quite evil and sinister. The song that showcases Todd's state of mind is the cover of "Johanna." » This song is sung by Sweeney Todd and Anthony. The two characters discuss Johanna's character. Tony expresses his love and desire to be with her, while Todd faces the idea that he will never meet his daughter or become her father. The initial shot pans from top to bottom. It shows Antoine walking down a desolate, dark London street; this sets the tone of the song. The dark lighting and high contrast, techniques originating from the German Expressionist movement, ensure that the audience is aware of how dark things are for the main characters and who haunts everything. This also serves as setup for what comes next, which is Todd brutally murdering a large number of people. While making this seem more in place with the song, it also brings high contrast to the blood in these shots. The red stands out brightly against the darkness, attracting the audience's attention. This song also uses rhythmic montage to show the progression of events and different characters. It follows that Todd kills people, Lovett makes them.