View source for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film)



{{Use British English|date=April 2023}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = Sweeney Todd:<br>The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
| image          = Sweeneylarge.jpg
| caption        = American theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Tim Burton]]
| screenplay     = [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]]
| based_on       = {{Plainlist|
* {{based on|''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'' by [[Stephen Sondheim]] and [[Hugh Wheeler]]}}
* {{based on|''Sweeney Todd''<br>1970 play|[[Christopher Bond]]}}
}}
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Richard D. Zanuck]]
* [[Walter F. Parkes]]
* [[Laurie MacDonald]]
* John Logan
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Johnny Depp]]
* [[Helena Bonham Carter]]
* [[Alan Rickman]]
* [[Timothy Spall]]
* [[Sacha Baron Cohen]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Dariusz Wolski]]
| editing        = [[Chris Lebenzon]]
| music          = [[Stephen Sondheim]]
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[DreamWorks Pictures]]<ref name="NUM">{{cite web |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Sweeney-Todd-The-Demon-Barber-of-Fleet-Street#tab=summary |website=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] |publisher=Nash Information Services, LLC |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]<ref name="NUM"/>
* [[Walter F. Parkes|Parkes/MacDonald Productions]]<ref name="NUM"/>
* [[The Zanuck Company]]<ref name="NUM"/>
* [[Image Nation]]<ref name="NUM"/>
}}
| distributor    = {{Plainlist|
* [[DreamWorks Pictures]]/[[Paramount Pictures|Paramount Distribution]]{{efn|Through [[DreamWorks Pictures]] and [[Paramount Pictures]].}} (United States)<ref name="NUM"/><ref name="AFI">{{cite web|title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)|website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=4 April 2023|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55176-SWEENEY-TODDTHEDEMONBARBEROFFLEETSTREET?sid=a752298c-c644-4f1d-81c1-82f175a8559b&sr=18.526894&cp=1&pos=0}}</ref><ref name=takings />
* Warner Bros. Pictures (International)<ref name="AFI"/><ref name=takings />
}}
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|2007|12|03|[[Ziegfeld Theater]]|2007|12|21|United States|2008|01|25|United Kingdom}}
| runtime        = 116 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 116:14--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/sweeney-todd-demon-barber-fleet-street-2008-0 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130829042157/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/sweeney-todd-demon-barber-fleet-street-2008-0 | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 August 2013 | title=''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (18) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=18 December 2007 | access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref>
| country        = {{plainlist|
* United Kingdom
* United States<ref>{{cite web |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]] |publisher=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]] |url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=28323 |access-date=17 November 2020}}</ref>
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $50 million<ref name=takings /><ref name=slasherfilm/>
| gross          = $153.4 million<ref name=takings />
}}

'''''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''''' is a 2007 [[Gothic film|Gothic]] [[musical film|musical]] [[slasher film]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandoval |first=Mariana |date=2020-10-14 |title=A Mid-Victorian Tale Of Madness: Sweeney Todd |url=https://theartofcostume.com/2020/10/14/a-mid-victorian-tale-of-madness-sweeney-todd/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=The Art of Costume |language=en-US}}</ref> directed by [[Tim Burton]] from a screenplay by [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]], based on the stage musical [[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street|of the same name]] by [[Stephen Sondheim]] and [[Hugh Wheeler]], which in turn is based on the 1970 play ''Sweeney Todd'' by [[Christopher Bond]]. The film retells the melodramatic [[Victorian era|Victorian]] tale of [[Sweeney Todd]] ([[Johnny Depp]]), an English barber and [[serial killer]]. After arriving in London, Todd seeks revenge on [[Judge Turpin]] ([[Alan Rickman]]) who wrongfully convicted and exiled him in order to steal his wife. Sweeney Todd murders his customers and, with the help of his accomplice, [[Mrs. Lovett]] ([[Helena Bonham Carter]]), processes their corpses into [[meat pies]]. The film marks the first collaboration between Depp, Bonham Carter, Rickman, Spall and Baron Cohen (the second being ''[[Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016 film)|Alice Through the Looking Glass]]'' in 2016).

Having been struck by the cinematic qualities of the stage musical while a college student, Burton had entertained the notion of a film version since the early 1980s. However, it was not until 2006 that he had the opportunity to realize this ambition, when [[DreamWorks Pictures]] announced his appointment as replacement for director [[Sam Mendes]]. Sondheim, although not directly involved, was extensively consulted during production. Depp, not known for his singing, took lessons in preparation for his role, which producer [[Richard D. Zanuck]] acknowledged was something of a gamble.

''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' had its premiere at the [[Ziegfeld Theater]] in [[New York City]] on 3 December 2007, and was released in the United States on 21 December 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2008. The film received critical acclaim, and was praised for the performances of the cast, musical numbers, costume and set design, and faithfulness to the musical. It grossed over $153 million against a production budget of $50 million. Since its release, the film has been widely assessed as one of the [[List of films voted the best|greatest musical films]] of the 21st century.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="collider.com">{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/best-musicals-all-time-ranked/#39-sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-39-2007/|title=The 30 Best Musicals of All Time, Ranked|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=11 May 2023 }}</ref><ref name="huffingtonpost.co.uk">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/movie-musicals-best-21st-century-20-years-list_uk_5ea2bd7dc5b6f9639812fbad |title=From La La Land To Chicago: 20 Best Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century |website=[[HuffPost]] |date=26 April 2020 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="movieweb.com">{{cite web |url=https://movieweb.com/best-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century-so-far/ |title=Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century, So Far |website=[[MovieWeb]] |date=2 January 2022 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="slashfilm.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/645398/the-14-greatest-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century/ |title=The 14 Greatest Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century |website=[[/Film]] |date=28 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="denofgeek.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/best-movie-musicals-21st-century/ |title=Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century |website=[[Den of Geek]] |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="500 Greatest films of all time">{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/empires-500-greatest-movies-of-all-time/ |title=500 Greatest films of all time |website=Empire |access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="empireonline.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies-century-page-2/ |title=The 100 Greatest Movies Of The 21st Century: 90-81 |website=Empire |date=23 January 2020 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="nextbestpicture.com">{{cite web |url=https://nextbestpicture.com/the-top-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century-so-far/ |title=The Top Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century So Far |website=Next Best Picture |date=18 July 2018 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="The 100 Greatest Movies of the 21st">{{cite web | url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies-century-page-2/ | title=The 100 Greatest Movies of the 21st Century: 90 – 81 | date=23 January 2020 }}</ref><ref name="The 35 Best Musicals of All Time">{{cite web | url=https://screenrant.com/best-musicals-all-time/#sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-2007 | title=The 35 Best Musicals of All Time | website=[[Screen Rant]] | date=3 February 2020 }}</ref>}}

==Plot==
In 1846, Benjamin Barker, a barber, arrives in [[London]], accompanied by the young sailor Anthony Hope. A flashback reveals that sixteen years prior, Benjamin was [[Miscarriage of justice|falsely convicted]] and exiled to [[Australia]] by the corrupt [[Judge Turpin]], who lusted after Benjamin's wife, [[Lucy Barker|Lucy]] ("No Place Like London"). Benjamin adopts the alias "[[Sweeney Todd]]" and returns to his old shop on [[Fleet Street]], situated above [[Mrs. Lovett|Nellie Lovett]]'s failing meat pie shop ("The Worst Pies in London"). Recognizing Benjamin, Mrs. Lovett tells him that once he was exiled, Turpin raped Lucy at a masquerade ball in his home and drove her to suicide before adopting the couple's daughter, [[Johanna (character)|Johanna]], as his [[Ward (law)|ward]] ("Poor Thing"). Todd vows revenge and re-opens his barbershop after Mrs. Lovett, who is unrequitedly in love with him, presents him with his old [[straight razor]]s ("My Friends"). 

Anthony [[Love at first sight|becomes enamored]] with Johanna after seeing her sing by a window above the street ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"). A beggar woman warns him about Judge Turpin ("Alms! Alms!"), who invites Anthony into his house before setting his henchman and personal bailiff, [[Beadle]] Bamford, upon him. The Beadle throws Anthony into the street and beats him with a cane, but Anthony vows to return and rescue Johanna ("Johanna").

Rival barber and [[snake oil]] salesman [[Adolfo Pirelli]] is publicly humiliated by Todd at a shaving contest in front of Bamford ("Pirelli's Miracle Elixir/The Contest"). At his barbershop, Todd is distressed that Turpin has not yet arrived after The Beadle promised he would visit before the end of the week. Mrs. Lovett encourages him to calm down and come up with a plan ("Wait").

Pirelli visits Todd and reveals that he recognized him by his distinctive straight razors, and attempts to blackmail Todd using the knowledge of his former identity. Todd panics and kills Pirelli, hiding his body in a trunk. Mrs. Lovett is shocked but accepts Todd's justifications, having grown emotionally attached to Pirelli's downtrodden assistant Tobias [[Tobias Ragg|"Toby" Ragg]], whom she adopts as a son.

Intent on marrying Johanna, Judge Turpin visits Todd's shop for a grooming at Bamford's recommendation ("Ladies in their Sensitivities"). They sing a duet ("Pretty Women") but before Todd can kill Turpin, Anthony bursts in and inadvertently reveals his intentions on eloping with Johanna. Judge Turpin storms out and has Johanna committed to an asylum, offering her her freedom in exchange for her hand in marriage. Todd laments that Johanna is gone forever, and vows revenge on all of London for wronging him ("Epiphany").

Trying to figure out what to do with Pirelli's body, Mrs. Lovett suggests that they cook him in a pie. Todd and Mrs. Lovett decide that Todd will kill his customers and Mrs. Lovett will bake their bodies into meat pies to feed to the public ("A Little Priest"). Todd rigs his barber chair with a mechanism to drop his victims' corpses through a trapdoor and into her basement [[bakery]], where she bakes them into pies. Meanwhile, Anthony continues to search for Johanna, Todd laments his missing daughter, and the beggar woman tries to warn the public about Mrs. Lovett's pies ("Johanna Reprise").

With both their businesses prospering and customers raving about the pies while unaware of their contents ("God, That's Good"), Mrs. Lovett tells an uninterested Todd of her hopes to marry him and retire ("By the Sea"). Anthony poses as a wig maker in order to rescue Johanna from the asylum, planning on hiding her in Todd's barbershop. Toby becomes wary of Todd and tells Mrs. Lovett of his suspicions, vowing to protect her ("Not While I'm Around"). After he discovers Pirelli's purse in her possession, Mrs. Lovett locks him in the basement and intends on killing him.

The Beadle arrives to inspect reports of the stench from the chimney, but is tricked and murdered by Todd. Toby finds a toe in a pie in the basement, then finds the piles of butchered corpses, and finally, watches The Beadle's body fall through the trapdoor into the basement. Mrs. Lovett informs Todd of Toby's suspicions and the pair search for the boy after he escapes into the sewers. Meanwhile, Anthony brings Johanna, disguised as a boy, to the shop and has her wait there while he leaves to find Todd.

The beggar woman enters the shop looking for Bamford and Johanna hides in the chest. The woman recognizes Todd, but upon hearing Turpin approaching, Todd kills her and drops her through the trapdoor. Todd explains to Turpin that Johanna had repented and is returning back to him, offering a free shave in the meantime. Todd reveals himself as Benjamin Barker, before slashing Turpin's throat and dropping him into the basement.

Todd discovers Johanna but does not recognize her, preparing to kill her as well. Meanwhile, the dying Judge Turpin clutches at Mrs. Lovett's dress, causing her to scream and distract Todd; he allows Johanna to flee the shop and hurries to the bakehouse to finish the job. He then recognizes the beggar woman as his wife Lucy and Mrs. Lovett admits that she lied to him about her death. He pretends to forgive her and they waltz together, before he kills her by throwing her into the oven. Toby emerges from the sewer and picks up Todd's straight razor as Todd mourns Lucy. Todd allows Toby to slit his throat, and Toby walks away as Todd dies in the basement, holding Lucy's body ("Finale").

==Cast==
<!--Cast and order per closing credits-->
{{Cast listing|
* [[Johnny Depp]] as [[Sweeney Todd|Benjamin Barker / Sweeney Todd]], a vengeful barber who sought to make Judge Turpin pay for destroying his life
* [[Helena Bonham Carter]] as [[Mrs. Lovett|Nellie Lovett]], the owner of the worst meat pie shop in London
* [[Alan Rickman]] as [[Judge Turpin]], a corrupt judge who framed Benjamin Barker in order to steal away his wife
* [[Timothy Spall]] as Beadle Bamford, Turpin's personal bailiff
* [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] as [[Adolfo Pirelli]], a barber and snake oil salesman who was once Barker's protégé
* [[Jamie Campbell Bower]] as Anthony Hope, a young sailor who accompanied Barker back to England via ship
* [[Laura Michelle Kelly]] as [[Lucy Barker|Lucy Barker / Beggar Woman]], Benjamin's wife
* [[Jayne Wisener]] as [[Johanna (character)|Johanna Barker]], Benjamin and Lucy's daughter and Turpin's ward
* [[Ed Sanders (actor)|Ed Sanders]] as [[Tobias Ragg|Tobias "Toby" Ragg]], Pirelli's apprentice, later taken in by Sweeney and Lovett
* [[Anthony Head]] as Gentleman in street
* Laura Meakin as Asylum Patient 
* Philip Philmar as Mr. Fogg

}}

==Production==

===Development===
{{Multiple image|perrow=3|total_width=340
| image1 = Tim Burton (7587109150).jpg
| image2 = John Logan headshot color 2009.jpg
| image3 = Richard D. Zanuck (cropped).jpg
| footer = Director [[Tim Burton]] (left), screenwriter and co-producer [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]] and co-producer [[Richard D. Zanuck]]
}}
[[Tim Burton]] first saw [[Stephen Sondheim]]'s 1979 stage musical, ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'', as a [[California Institute of the Arts|CalArts]] student in London in 1980.<ref name=slasherfilm>{{cite news |author=Brownfield, Paul |title=Tim Burton's slasher film |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2007-11-25 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-25-ca-burton25-story.html |access-date=2007-12-14}}</ref> Burton recalled his experience of seeing the show, saying, "I was still a student, I didn't know if I would be making movies or working in a restaurant, I had no idea what I would be doing. I just wandered into the theatre and it just blew me away because I'd never really seen anything that had the mixture of all those elements. I actually went three nights in a row because I loved it so much."<ref name="PrinceP18">{{cite journal |last=Prince |first=Chris |year=2008 |title= Director's Cut|journal= Ultimate DVD |issue=89 |page=18 |publisher=[[Visual Imagination]]| issn=1468-6112}}</ref> Burton was not a fan of the musical genre but was struck by how cinematic the musical was, and repeatedly attended subsequent performances.<ref name=ew>{{cite magazine |author=Daly, Steve |title='Sweeney Todd': A Musical on the Cutting Edge |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=2007-10-31 |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/11/03/sweeney-todd-inside-cutting-edge-musical/ |access-date=2007-11-06 |archive-date=5 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905184059/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20155983,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |author=Gold, Sylviane |title=Demon Barber, Meat Pies and All, Sings on Screen |newspaper=New York Times |date=2007-11-04 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04gold.html?_r=1&ref=movies&oref=slogin |access-date=2007-11-07}}</ref> He described it as a [[silent film]] with music,<ref name=nytimes/> and was "dazzled both by the music and its sense of the macabre."<ref name=slasherfilm/> When his [[Film director|directing]] career took off in the late 1980s, Burton approached Sondheim with a view to making a cinematic adaptation, but nothing came of it. Sondheim said, "[Burton] went off and did other things."<ref name=nytimes/>

Director [[Sam Mendes]] had been working on a film version of the story for several years, and in June 2003 Sondheim was approached to write the script.<ref name=ew/><ref>{{cite magazine |author=Susman, Gary |title=Tuning Up |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=2003-06-26 |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,461190,00.html |access-date=2007-12-13 |archive-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015005720/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,461190,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although he turned down the offer, Mendes and producer [[Walter F. Parkes]] obtained his approval to use writer [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]] instead. Logan had previously collaborated with Parkes on ''[[Gladiator (2000 film)|Gladiator]]'', and claimed his biggest challenge in adapting the Sondheim stage play "was taking a sprawling, magnificent Broadway musical and making it cinematic, and an emotionally honest film. Onstage, you can have a chorus sing as the people of London, but I think that would be alienating in a movie."<ref name=manychanges>{{cite magazine |author=Buckley, Michael |title=Stage to Screens: Logan, Zanuck and Parkes of "Sweeney Todd," Plus "Atonement" Writer Hampton |magazine=[[Playbill]] |date=2007-12-16 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/113573.html |access-date=2007-12-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218132534/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/113573.html |archive-date=18 December 2007 }}</ref> Mendes left to direct the 2005 film ''[[Jarhead (film)|Jarhead]]'', and Burton took over as director after his project, ''[[Tim Burton's unrealized projects#Ripley's Believe It or Not!|Ripley's Believe It or Not!]]'', fell apart due to its excessive budget.<ref name=ew/><ref>{{cite news |author=Stax |title=Believe It Not: Sweeney before Ripley |publisher=IGN |date=2006-06-13 |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/712/712364p1.html |access-date=2007-12-15}}</ref>

When Burton was hired, he reworked the screenplay with Logan.<ref name=manychanges/> Logan felt they agreed over the film's tone due to "share[d] stunted childhoods watching [[Amicus Productions|Amicus]] movies".<ref name=slasherfilm/> Turning a three-hour stage musical into a two-hour film required some changes. Some songs were shortened, while others were completely removed.<ref name=Levy>{{cite news |author=Levy, Emanuel |title=Sweeney Todd: The Making of a Musical Movie |publisher=Emanuel Levy |year=2008 |url=http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=8130 |access-date=2008-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919083911/http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=8130 |archive-date=19 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Burton said, "In terms of the show, it was three hours long, but we weren't out to film the Broadway show, we were out to make a movie, so we tried to keep the pace like those old melodramas. Sondheim himself is not a real big fan of movie musicals, so he was really open to honing it down to a more pacey shape."<ref name="PrinceP18"/> Burton and Logan also reduced the prominence of other secondary elements, such as the romance between Todd's daughter Johanna and Anthony, to allow them to focus on the triangular relationship between Todd, Mrs. Lovett, and Toby.<ref name=Levy/><ref>{{cite news |author=Martinfield, Seán |title=Depp cleaves a wedge into Broadway Musical |publisher=San Francisco Sentinel |date=2007-12-24 |url=http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8434 |access-date=2008-01-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602202136/http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8434 |archive-date=2 June 2008 }}</ref>

===Casting===
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| total_width       = 300
| align             = right
| image1            = Johnny Depp-2757 (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Helena Bonham Carter 2011 AA.jpg
| image3            = Alan Rickman at BAM -17.jpg
| image4            = Timothy Spall World Premiere The Party Berlinale 2017 02.jpg
| image5            = Sacha Baron Cohen, 2011.jpg
| image6            = Jamie Campbell Bower by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| image7            = Laura-Michelle-Kelly.jpg
| image8            = Jayne Wisener.jpg
| image9            = Edward Sanders (Eddy Atlantis) With Sid.jpg
| footer            = '''Top row:''' [[Johnny Depp]] (left), [[Helena Bonham Carter]] and [[Alan Rickman]].<br />'''Middle row:''' [[Timothy Spall]] (left), [[Sacha Baron Cohen]] and [[Jamie Campbell Bower]].<br />'''Bottom row:''' [[Laura Michelle Kelly]] (left), [[Jayne Wisener]] and [[Ed Sanders (actor)|Ed Sanders]].
}}

DreamWorks announced Burton's appointment in August 2006, and [[Johnny Depp]] was cast as Todd.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sweeney Todd to Start Filming Early 2007 |publisher=ComingSoon.net |date=2006-08-17 |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16051 |access-date=2007-11-06 |archive-date=23 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723040645/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=16051 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Christopher Lee]], [[Peter Bowles]], [[Anthony Head]], and five other actors were set to play the ghost narrators, but their roles were cut (Head does appear in an uncredited cameo as a gentleman who congratulates Depp after the shaving contest). According to Lee, these deletions were due to time constraints caused by a break in filming during March 2007, while Depp's daughter recovered from an illness.<ref>{{cite news|title=A ghost is exorcised |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=2007-05-13 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/05/13/dp1301.xml#head7 |access-date=2007-11-06 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005153302/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fopinion%2F2007%2F05%2F13%2Fdp1301.xml#head7 |archive-date=5 October 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Burton's domestic partner [[Helena Bonham Carter]] was cast in October 2006, as well as [[Sacha Baron Cohen]].<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |url=http://www.zap2it.com/movies/zap-cartersweeneytoddcasting,0,3247389.story |title=Carter Lands Killer 'Sweeney Todd' Role |website=Zap2it |date=2006-10-18 |access-date=2024-08-10 |archive-date=31 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131144625/http://www.zap2it.com/movies/zap-cartersweeneytoddcasting,0,3247389.story |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hecklerspray.com/borat-and-boham-carter-sign-up-for-sweeney-todd/20065400.php |title=Borat And Bonham Carter Sign Up For Sweeney Todd |publisher=Hecklerspray.com |date=2006-10-19 |access-date=2013-10-23}}</ref> In December 2006, [[Alan Rickman]] was cast.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news/rickman-joins-sweeney-todd-cast_1016231 |title=Rickman Joins Sweeney Todd Cast |magazine=Contactmusic.com |access-date=2013-10-23}}</ref> In January 2007, [[Laura Michelle Kelly]] was cast as Lucy Barker.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8049| title= Laura Michelle Kelly Joins Cast of Burton's ''Sweeney Todd''| date= 23 January 2007| publisher= bloody-disgusting.com| access-date= 2013-11-11| quote= Laura Michelle Kelly has joined the cast of Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd to play Lucy Barker, according to various sources.| url-status=dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070125204347/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8049| archive-date= 25 January 2007}}</ref> [[Timothy Spall]] was added to the cast, and said he was urged to audition by his daughter, who wanted him to work with Depp. He recalled, "I really wanted this one – I knew Tim was directing and that Johnny Depp was going to be in it. My daughter, my youngest daughter, really wanted me to do it for that reason – Johnny Depp was in it. (She came on set to meet Depp) and he was really delightful to her, she had a great time. Then, I took her to the junket – and (Depp) greeted her like an old pal when he saw her. I've got plenty of brownie points at the moment."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news/spall-took-sweeney-todd-role-to-please-depp-loving-daughter_1057080 |title=Spall Took Sweeney Todd Role To Please Depp-loving Daughter |publisher=ContactMusic.com |date=22 January 2008 |access-date=2013-10-23}}</ref>

Three members of the cast had never been in a film before: [[Ed Sanders (actor)|Ed Sanders]] was cast as Toby, [[Jayne Wisener]] as Johanna, and [[Jamie Campbell Bower]], who auditioned, and after four days got the part of Anthony said, "I think I weed myself. I was out shopping at the time and I got this call on my mobile. I was just like, 'OH MY GOD!' Honestly, I was like a little girl running around this shop like oh-my-god-oh-my-god-oh-my-god."<ref>{{cite web|last=Vilkomerson |first=Sara |url=http://www.observer.com/2007/he-s-19-he-s-beautiful-and-he-s-bloody-good |title=He's 19, He's Beautiful And He's Bloody Good &#124; The New York Observer |publisher=Observer.com |year=2007 |access-date=2013-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205071929/http://www.observer.com/2007/he-s-19-he-s-beautiful-and-he-s-bloody-good |archive-date=5 February 2012}}</ref>

===Filming===
[[Principal photography|Filming]] began on 5 February 2007 at [[Pinewood Studios]], and was completed by 11 May, despite a brief interruption when Depp's daughter was taken seriously ill.<ref>{{cite magazine | last= Richards | first= Olly | title = Sweeney Todd | magazine = [[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |date=October 2007 | page = 100}}</ref> Burton opted to film in London, where he had felt "very much at home" since his work on ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'' in 1989.<ref name=slasherfilm/> Production designer [[Dante Ferretti]] created a darker, more sinister London by adapting [[Fleet Street]] and its surrounding area. Burton initially planned to use minimal sets and film in front of a [[Chroma key|green screen]], but decided against it, stating that physical sets helped actors get into a musical frame of mind: "Just having people singing in front of a green screen seemed more disconnected".<ref name=nytimes/>

Depp created his own image of Todd. Heavy purple and brown make-up was applied around his eyes to suggest fatigue and rage, as if "he's never slept".<ref name=cuttingloose>{{cite magazine | author = Daly, Steve | title = Johnny Depp: Cutting Loose in ''Sweeney Todd'' | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = 2007-10-31 | url = https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20155516_20155530_20156283,00.html | access-date = 2007-11-06 | archive-date = 27 May 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180527182231/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20155516_20155530_20156283,00.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> Burton said of the character Sweeney Todd, "We always saw him as a sad character, not a tragic villain or anything. He's basically a dead person when you meet him; the only thing that's keeping him going is the one single minded thing which is tragic. You don't see anything else around him."<ref name="PrinceP20">{{cite journal |last=Prince |first=Chris |year=2008 |title= Director's Cut |journal= Ultimate DVD |issue=89 |page=20 |publisher=[[Visual Imagination]]| issn=1468-6112}}</ref> Depp said of the character, "He makes [[Sid Vicious]] look like the innocent paper boy. He's beyond dark. He's already dead. He's been dead for years."<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/2007/11/03/johnny-depp-cutting-loose-sweeney-todd/ | magazine=Entertainment Weekly | first=Steve | last=Daly | title=Johnny Depp: Cutting Loose in ''Sweeney Todd'' | date=3 November 2007 | access-date=20 April 2020 | archive-date=19 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219092106/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20471622_20156283,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Depp also commented on the streak of white in Todd's hair, saying, "The idea was that he'd had this hideous trauma, from being sent away, locked away. That streak of white hair became the shock of that rage. It represented his rage over what had happened. It's certainly not the first time anyone's used it. But it's effective. It tells a story all by itself. My brother had a white spot growing up, and his son has this kind of shock of white in his hair."<ref name=":0" />

Burton insisted that the film be bloody, as he felt stage versions of the play which cut back on the bloodshed robbed it of its power. For him, "Everything is so internal with Sweeney that [the blood] is like his emotional release. It's more about catharsis than it is a literal thing."<ref name=ew/> Producer Richard D. Zanuck said that "[Burton] had a very clear plan that he wanted to lift that up into a surreal, almost ''[[Kill Bill]]'' kind of stylization. We had done tests and experiments with the neck slashing, with the blood popping out. I remember saying to Tim, 'My God, do we dare do this?'"<ref name=nytimes/> On set, the fake blood was coloured orange to render correctly on the [[Colourfulness|desaturated]] colour film used, and crew members wore [[Bin bag|bin liners]] to avoid getting stained while filming.<ref name=cuttingloose/> This macabre tone made some studios nervous, and it was not until [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], DreamWorks and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] had signed up for the project that the film's $50 million budget was covered.<ref name=slasherfilm/> Burton said "the studio was cool about it and they accepted it because they knew what the show was. Any movie is a risk, but it is nice to be able to do something like that that doesn't fit into the musical or [[Slasher film|slasher movie]] categories."<ref name=fiddlerroof>{{cite news | last = Newgen | first = Heather | title = Burton, Depp on the Making of ''Sweeney Todd'' | publisher = ShockTillYouDrop.com | date = 2007-12-19 | url = http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=4044 | access-date = 2007-12-17 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071218101300/http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=4044 | archive-date = 18 December 2007 }}</ref>

After the filming, Burton said of the cast, "All I can say is this is one of the best casts I've ever worked with. These people are not professional singers, so to do a musical like this which I think is one of the most difficult musicals, they all went for it. Every day on the set was a very, very special thing for me. Hearing all these guys sing, I don't know if I can ever have an experience like that again."<ref name="PrinceP18"/> Burton said of the singing, "You can't just lip synch, you'd see the throat and the breath, every take they all had to belt it out. It was very enjoyable for me to see, with music on the set everybody just moved differently. I'd seen Johnny (Depp) act in a way I'd never seen before, walking across the room or sitting in the chair, picking up a razor or making a pie, whatever. They all did it in a way that you could sense."<ref name="PrinceP20"/>

Depp said of working with Baron Cohen, when asked what he was like in real life (meaning, not doing one of his trademark characters), "He's not what I expected. I didn't look at those characters and think, 'This will be the sweetest guy in the world'. He's incredibly nice. A real gentleman, kind of elegant. I was impressed with him. He's kind of today's equivalent of [[Peter Sellers]]."<ref name=":0" />

==Music==
{{Main|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The Motion Picture Soundtrack}}
[[File:Stephen Sondheim - smoking.JPG|thumb|left|170px|Composer and lyricist [[Stephen Sondheim]]]]
Burton wanted to avoid the traditional approach of patches of dialogue interrupted by song, "We didn't want it to be what I'd say was a traditional musical with a lot of dialogue and then singing. That's why we cut out a lot of choruses and extras singing and dancing down the street. Each of the characters, because a lot of them are repressed and have their emotions inside, the music was a way to let them express their feelings."<ref name="PrinceP20"/>

He cut the show's famous opening number, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd", explaining, "Why have a chorus singing about 'attending the tale of Sweeney Todd' when you could just go ahead and attend it?" Sondheim acknowledged that, in adapting a musical to film, the plot has to be kept moving, and was sent [[MP3]] files of his shortened songs by Mike Higham, the film's music producer, for approval. Several other songs were also cut, and Sondheim noted that there were "many changes, additions and deletions... [though]... if you just go along with it, I think you'll have a spectacular time."<ref name="manychanges" /> To create a larger, more cinematic feel, the score was re-orchestrated by the stage musical's original orchestrator, [[Jonathan Tunick]], who increased the orchestra from 27 musicians to 78.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/movies/moviesspecial/04gold.html|title=Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd|last=Gold|first=Sylviane|date=2007-11-04|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-01-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The ''Deluxe Complete Edition'' soundtrack was released on 18 December 2007. Depp's singing was described by a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' reviewer as "harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful".<ref name=NYTScott>{{cite news |last=Scott | first=A. O. | author-link= A. O. Scott | title=Murder Most Musical |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=21 December 2007 |url= https://movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/movies/21swee.html |access-date=2015-05-12}}</ref> Another critic adds that, though Depp's voice "does not have much heft or power", "his ear is obviously excellent, because his [[pitch (music)|pitch]] is dead-on accurate... Beyond his good pitch and [[Phrase (music)|phrasing]], the expressive colorings of his singing are crucial to the portrayal. Beneath this Sweeney’s vacant, sullen exterior is a man consumed with a murderous rage that threatens to burst forth every time he slowly takes a breath and is poised to speak. Yet when he sings, his voice crackles and breaks with sadness."<ref>{{cite news |author=Thomasini, Anthony |title=An Actor Whose Approach to Singing Lets the Words Take Center Stage |newspaper= The New York Times |date=2008-01-12 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/arts/music/12depp.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1213480870-PLdds9R9fuQFBW8+TkFtkw |access-date=2008-08-13}}</ref>

==Marketing==
The film's marketing has been criticized for not advertising it as a musical. Michael Halberstam of the ''Writers' Theatre'' said, "By de-emphasizing the score to the extent they did in the trailer, it is possible the producers were condescending to us – a tactic which cannot ultimately end in anything but tears."<ref>{{cite news | author = Lazare, Lewis | title = Is 'Sweeney Todd' marketing giving moviegoers a haircut? | newspaper = [[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date = 2007-12-10 | url = http://www.suntimes.com/business/689434,CST-FIN-lew10.article | access-date = 2007-12-10 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211140114/http://www.suntimes.com/business/689434,CST-FIN-lew10.article | archive-date = 11 December 2007 }}</ref> In the UK, a number of audience members walked out of the film on realizing it was a musical, and complaints that advertisements for the film were deliberately misleading were made to both the [[Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)|Advertising Standards Authority]] and [[Trading Standards]] agency.<ref>{{cite news| last = Rose| first = Steve| title = What the Sweeney Todd trailer failed to tell us about the film | publisher = guardian.co.uk| date = 2008-02-05| url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/05/features.steverose| access-date = 2008-07-04 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Cinema Fans Accuse Sweeney Todd Of False Advertising | publisher = femalefirst.co.uk| date = 2008-02-05| url = http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/Sweeney+Todd-47735.html| access-date = 2008-07-04}}</ref> The studios involved opted for a low-key approach to their marketing. Producer Walter Parkes stated, "All these things that could be described as difficulties could also be the movie's greatest strengths." Warner Bros. felt it should take a similar approach to marketing as with ''[[The Departed]]'', with little early exposure and discouraging talk of awards.<ref>{{cite news | author =Zeitchik, Steven | title = D'Works/Par seeks perfect pitch for 'Todd' | work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date = 2007-11-15 | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iadcd4c24edf0481567824decbeecbc25 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081012023111/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iadcd4c24edf0481567824decbeecbc25| archive-date= 2008-10-12 | access-date=2013-11-11}} {{subscription required|s}}</ref>

==Release==
''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' officially opened at the United States [[box office]] on 21 December 2007, in 1,249 theatres, and took $9,300,805 in its opening weekend. Worldwide releases followed during January and February 2008, with the film performing well in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Japan]].<ref name=takings>{{cite web |title=Box office release data| publisher = Box Office Mojo, LLC. | date = 2008-03-20|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sweeneytodd.htm|access-date=2008-06-30}}</ref> The film grossed $52,898,073 in the United States and [[Canada]], and $99,625,091 in other markets, accumulating a worldwide total of $152,523,164.<ref name=takings /> In the United States, the [[Marcus Corporation|Marcus Theaters Corporation]] was not initially planning to screen the film following its premiere, because it was unable to reach a pricing agreement with Paramount.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marcus Theatres and Paramount Pictures unable to reach agreement to show ''Sweeney Todd''|publisher=The Business Journal, Milwaukee|date=2008-01-14|url=http://www.marcustheatres.com/index_sub.cfm?pageid=subpages/sweenytodd.html&CFID=5803576&CFTOKEN=97826629|access-date=2007-12-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227024932/http://www.marcustheatres.com/index_sub.cfm?pageid=subpages%2Fsweenytodd.html&CFID=5803576&CFTOKEN=97826629|archive-date=27 December 2007}}</ref> However, the dispute was resolved in time for the official release.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marcus Theatres not running 'Cloverfield'|publisher=The Business Journal|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/01/14/daily5.html?jst=b_ln_hl|access-date=2008-07-04|date=2008-01-14}}</ref>

===Critical reception===
[[File:Johnny Depp (July 2009) 2.jpg|thumb|right|170px|[[Johnny Depp]]'s performance as [[Sweeney Todd]] received critical acclaim, earning him a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].]]
Although Sondheim was cautious of a cinematic adaptation of his musical, he was largely impressed by the results.<ref name=slasherfilm/> ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' received critical acclaim, and the performances, visuals, production design, costume design and faithfulness to its source material were praised. The review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 232 reviews and an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Full of pith and [[Grand Guignol]] grossness, this macabre musical is perfectly helmed and highly entertaining. Tim Burton masterfully stages the musical in a way that will make you think he has done this many times before."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sweeney_todd_the_demon_barber_of_fleet_street_2007 |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |access-date=10 August 2021 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film an average score of 83 out of 100, based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): Reviews |access-date=2010-03-14 |website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> ''Sweeney Todd'' appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |title=Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists |access-date=2008-01-05 |website=[[Metacritic]]|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080102102034/http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml |archive-date = 2 January 2008}}</ref>

Of the reviewers, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' rated it an A-minus and added, "Burton and Depp infuse the brilliant cold steel of Stephen Sondheim's score with a burning passion. Helena Bonham Carter and a superb supporting cast bring focused fury to this musical nightmare. It's bloody great." ''Time''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[Richard Corliss]] named the film one of its top ten movies of 2007, placing it fifth.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Corliss| first = Richard| title = The 10 Best Movies| newspaper = Time magazine| page = 40
| date = 2007-12-24}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave it four stars out of four, lauding Burton's visual style.<ref>{{cite news| last = Ebert| first = Roger| author-link = Roger Ebert| title = Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street| publisher = rogerebert.suntimes.com| date = 2007-12-21| url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/REVIEWS/712200305| access-date = 2008-07-04| archive-date = 3 October 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121003120512/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071220%2FREVIEWS%2F712200305| url-status = dead}}</ref> In his review in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', Todd McCarthy called it "both sharp and fleet" and "a satisfying screen version of Stephen Sondheim's landmark 1979 theatrical musical ... things have turned out uniformly right thanks to highly focused direction by Tim Burton, expert screw-tightening by scenarist John Logan, and haunted and musically adept lead performances from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Assembled artistic combo assures the film will reap by far the biggest audience to see a pure Sondheim musical, although just how big depends on the upscale crowd’s tolerance for buckets of blood, and the degree to which the masses stay away due to the whiff of the highbrow."<ref>{{cite magazine| last = McCarthy| first = Todd| title = Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |magazine= Variety | publisher = variety.com| date = 2007-12-03| url = https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935560.html?categoryid=31&cs=1| access-date = 2008-07-04}}</ref> Lisa Schwarzbaum of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a B-plus in its ''Movie Reviews'' section and stated, "To stage a proper Sweeney Todd, necks must be slit, human flesh must be squished into pastries, and blood ought to spurt in fountains and rivers of death. Enter Tim Burton, who&nbsp;... has tenderly art-directed soup-thick, tomato-red, fake-gore blood with the zest of a Hollywood-funded [[Jackson Pollock]]." She went on to refer to the piece as "opulent, attentive&nbsp;... so finely minced a mixture of Sondheim's original melodrama and Burton's signature spicing that it's difficult to think of any other filmmaker so naturally suited for the job."<ref>{{cite magazine| last = Schwarzbaum| first = Lisa| title = Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)| magazine = Entertainment Weekly| publisher = [[Entertainment Weekly]]| date = 2007-12-21| url = https://ew.com/article/2008/01/04/sweeney-todd-demon-barber-fleet-street/| access-date = 2008-07-04| archive-date = 20 August 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140820010841/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20165791,00.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

In its ''DVD Reviews'' section, ''EW''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Chris Nashawaty gave the film an A-minus, stating, "Depp's soaring voice makes you wonder what other tricks he's been hiding... Watching Depp's barber wield his razors... it's hard not to be reminded of [[Edward Scissorhands]] frantically shaping hedges into animal topiaries 18 years ago... and all of the twisted beauty we would've missed out on had [Burton and Depp] never met."<ref>{{cite magazine| last = Nashawaty| first = Chris| title = Johnny Depp and Tim Burton: A DVD Report Card| magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]]| publisher = Entertainment Weekly| date = 2008-04-04| url = https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20186999,00.html#20381801| access-date = 2008-07-08| archive-date = 18 July 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140718070200/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20186999,00.html#20381801| url-status = dead}}</ref> In ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Peter Travers]] awarded it 3½ out of 4 stars and added, "''Sweeney Todd'' is a thriller-diller from start to finish: scary, monstrously funny and melodically thrilling&nbsp;... [the film] is a bloody wonder, intimate and epic, horrific and heart-rending as it flies on the wings of Sondheim's most thunderously exciting score."<ref>{{cite magazine| last = Travers| first = Peter| title = Sweeney Todd | magazine = Rolling Stone| publisher = rollingstone.com| date = 2007-12-13| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/sweeney-todd-20071213| access-date = 2008-07-04}}</ref> As with ''Time'', the critic ranked it fifth on his list of the best movies of 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine| last = Travers| first = Peter| title = Peter Travers' Best and Worst Movies of 2007 | magazine = Rolling Stone| publisher = rollingstone.com| date = 2007-12-19| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17686508/peter_travers_best_and_worst_movies_of_2007/5| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071223160332/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17686508/peter_travers_best_and_worst_movies_of_2007/5| url-status = dead| archive-date = 23 December 2007| access-date = 2007-12-20}}</ref> Kirk Honeycutt of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' said, "The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages."<ref>{{cite news|last=Honeycutt |first=Kirk |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2007-12-04 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?rid=10285 |access-date=2008-07-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115053330/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?rid=10285 |archive-date=15 January 2009 }}</ref> [[Harry Knowles]] gave the film a highly positive review, calling it Burton's best film since ''Ed Wood'', his favorite Burton film, and said it was possibly superior. He praised all of the cast and the cinematography, but noted it would probably not appeal to non-musical fans due to the dominance of music in the film.<ref>{{cite news |author= Knowles, Harry |title=Harry loves the delicious meat pies of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |publisher=[[Ain't It Cool News]] |date=2007-11-02 |url=https://www.aintitcool.com/node/34665 |access-date=2007-11-07 |author-link= Harry Knowles}}</ref>

===Retrospective reception===
Since its release, the film has been widely assessed as one of the greatest musical films of the 21st century. It was listed as number 490 on ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]''{{'}}s 500 Greatest films of all time in 2008 and it appeared at number 88 on its list of the 100 Greatest Movies Of The 21st Century in 2020. In 2018, ''[[Den of Geek]]'' included it on its list of the "Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century," with David Crow calling it "an ingenious work that Burton contemplated for decades. That's also probably why it's his last great film too. Leaning into the horrific conceit of a musical that is about a vengeful barber murdering any loner who steps into his shop, and letting the landlady downstairs, Mrs. Lovett, bake them into meat pies, the film version of ''Sweeney Todd'' more closely resembles 1930s [[Universal Classic Monsters|Universal horror movies]] or '40s [[Val Lewton]] chillers than it does traditional stagecraft." ''Next Best Picture'' ranked it number 10 on its list of "The Top Movie Musicals of the 21st Century So Far," with Daniel Howat writing "While many film musicals rely on bright colors and charming songs, ''Sweeney Todd'' dwells in the darkness. It's not without some faults, but it deserves its spot on this list for the variety it provides."<ref>{{cite web | title=The Top Movie Musicals of the 21st Century So Far | date=18 July 2018 | url=https://nextbestpicture.com/the-top-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century-so-far/#google_vignette }}</ref>

In 2020, ''[[HuffPost]]'' ranked it number 11 on its list of the "20 Best Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century," with Daniel Welsh calling it "An oft-underrated offering from film director Tim Burton that mixes his loves of the macabre and the musical."

In 2021, ''[[/Film]]'' ranked it number 14 on its list of "The 14 Greatest Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century," with Leah Marilla Thomas writing "Don't let anyone tell you that ''[[Dear Evan Hansen]]'' couldn't be a black comedy because it's a musical and musicals have to be sincere. ''Sweeney Todd'' is about a man who murders his clients and has his downstairs neighbor bake them into meat pies she sells to the neighborhood. That's way worse than fabricating emails to manipulate a grieving family. It's not even a little bit sincere, but it's darkly entertaining and a great musical."

In 2022, ''[[MovieWeb]]'' ranked it number 6 on its list of the "Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century So Far", with Rachel Johnson writing "With many unique songs such as 'No Place Like London', 'Pretty Women' and 'Not While I'm Around', it's no wonder audiences were hooked."

In 2023, ''[[Collider (website)|Collider]]'' ranked it number 21 on its list of the "30 Best Musicals of All Time," with Jeremy Urquhart writing "It's incredibly morbid, but might prove to have a very dark sense of humor for those who like their comedy pitch-black. The dark, moody look of the film pairs extremely well with all the memorable songs, and of the many collaborations between director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp, this is easily one of their best." It also ranked number 32 on ''[[Screen Rant]]''{{'}}s list of "The 35 Best Musicals of All Time."{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="collider.com">{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/best-musicals-all-time-ranked/#39-sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-39-2007/|title=The 30 Best Musicals of All Time, Ranked|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=11 May 2023 }}</ref><ref name="huffingtonpost.co.uk">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/movie-musicals-best-21st-century-20-years-list_uk_5ea2bd7dc5b6f9639812fbad |title=From La La Land To Chicago: 20 Best Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century |website=[[HuffPost]] |date=26 April 2020 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="movieweb.com">{{cite web |url=https://movieweb.com/best-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century-so-far/ |title=Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century, So Far |website=[[MovieWeb]] |date=2 January 2022 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="slashfilm.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/645398/the-14-greatest-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century/ |title=The 14 Greatest Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century |website=[[/Film]] |date=28 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="denofgeek.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/best-movie-musicals-21st-century/ |title=Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century |website=[[Den of Geek]] |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="500 Greatest films of all time">{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemarealm.com/best-of-cinema/empires-500-greatest-movies-of-all-time/ |title=500 Greatest films of all time |website=Empire |access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="empireonline.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies-century-page-2/ |title=The 100 Greatest Movies Of The 21st Century: 90-81 |website=Empire |date=23 January 2020 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="nextbestpicture.com">{{cite web |url=https://nextbestpicture.com/the-top-movie-musicals-of-the-21st-century-so-far/ |title=The Top Movie Musicals Of The 21st Century So Far |website=Next Best Picture |date=18 July 2018 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="The 100 Greatest Movies of the 21st">{{cite web | url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies-century-page-2/ | title=The 100 Greatest Movies of the 21st Century: 90 – 81 | date=23 January 2020 }}</ref><ref name="The 35 Best Musicals of All Time">{{cite web | url=https://screenrant.com/best-musicals-all-time/#sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-2007 | title=The 35 Best Musicals of All Time | website=[[Screen Rant]] | date=3 February 2020 }}</ref>}}

==Awards and nominations==
''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' received four nominations at the [[65th Golden Globe Awards]], winning two: [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy]], and Depp for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|his performance]] as Sweeney Todd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2007 |title=65th Golden Globe Awards Nominations & Winners |access-date=2008-01-13 |publisher=goldenglobes.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217005657/http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2007|archive-date=2008-12-17}}</ref> Burton was nominated for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director]], and Helena Bonham Carter was nominated for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy|her performance]] as Mrs. Lovett.<ref name="65gg">{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/81 |title=Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2008 Golden Globe Awards for Year Ended December 31, 2007 |access-date=2007-12-13 |date=2007-12-13 |publisher=goldenglobes.org |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214020838/http://www.goldenglobes.org/news/id/81 |archive-date = 14 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = The Golden Globe Nominations! | publisher = ComingSoon.net | date = 2007-12-13 | url = https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=40172 | access-date = 2007-12-13 | archive-date = 3 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121003062420/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=40172 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The film was included in the [[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]]'s top ten films of 2007, and Burton was presented with their award for Best Director.<ref>{{cite web|title=Awards for 2007 |publisher=[[National Board of Review of Motion Pictures]] |url=http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=2007 |access-date=2007-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211184324/http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=2007 |archive-date=11 December 2007}}</ref> The film was also nominated for [[61st British Academy Film Awards|two BAFTA Awards]]: [[BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] and [[BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair|Make Up and Hair]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.co.uk/awards/film/film-awards-nominees-in-2008,224,BA.html|title=Film Awards Nominees in 2008 – Film – Awards – The Bafta site|access-date=2008-01-17|date=2008-01-17|publisher=bafta.co.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704054331/http://www.bafta.co.uk/awards/film/film-awards-nominees-in-2008,224,BA.html|archive-date=4 July 2008}}</ref> ''Sweeney Todd'' further received three Oscar nominations at the [[80th Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] for Depp, [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Achievement in Costume Design]], winning [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Achievement in Art Direction]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html | title=80th Academy Awards nominations | publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] | access-date=2008-01-22 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080123152423/http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/index.html |archive-date = 23 January 2008}}</ref> Depp won the award for Best Villain at the [[2008 MTV Movie Awards]], where he thanked his fans for "sticking with [him] on this very obtuse and strange road,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2008/winners.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828092613/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2008/winners.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 August 2008 |title=MTV Movie Awards Winners |access-date=2008-07-07 |publisher=mtv.com}}</ref> and the Choice Movie Villain award at the [[Teen Choice Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Teen Choice Awards Winners |agency=Associated Press |date=2008-08-03 |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gyhNC8FWQtoG_N7y0gWoKA2PV18gD92B7PLO0 |access-date=2008-08-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806231716/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gyhNC8FWQtoG_N7y0gWoKA2PV18gD92B7PLO0 |archive-date=6 August 2008 }}</ref> At [[Spike (TV channel)|Spike TV]]'s 2008 [[Scream Awards]], the film won two awards: Best Horror Movie, and Best Actor in a Horror Movie or TV Show (Depp).<ref>{{cite news | url=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081019/nysu005.html?.v=101 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026024704/http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081019/nysu005.html?.v=101 | url-status=dead | archive-date=26 October 2008 | title=Legendary Filmmaker George Lucas Makes Surprise Appearance at Spike TV's 'Scream 2008' | publisher=Yahoo.com | accessdate=2008-10-19}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! style="width:5%;"| Year
! style="width:25%;"| Award
! style="width:35%;"| Category
! style="width:25%;"| Nominee
! style="width:10%;"| Result
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 2007
| [[London Film Critics' Circle|London Film Critics' Circle Award]]
| British Actress of the Year
| [[Helena Bonham Carter]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="37" style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Award]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Johnny Depp]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction]]
| [[Dante Ferretti]] and [[Francesca Lo Schiavo]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| [[Colleen Atwood]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Evening Standard British Film Award]]
| Best Actress
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{won}}
|-
| [[American Cinema Editors]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical|Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical]]
| [[Chris Lebenzon]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[British Academy Film Award]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| Colleen Atwood
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair|Best Makeup and Hair]]
| [[Ivana Primorac]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award]]
| colspan="2"| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| colspan="2"| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast|Best Cast]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Johnny Depp
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer|Best Young Performer]]
| [[Ed Sanders (actor)|Ed Sanders]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Tim Burton]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[Golden Globe Award]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy|Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]
| Johnny Depp
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy|Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy]]
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Tim Burton
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="5"| Italian Online Movie Award
| Best Actor in a Leading Role
| Johnny Depp
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Art Direction
| Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Costume Design
| Colleen Atwood
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Make-up
| Ivana Primorac
| {{won}}
|-
| [[MTV Movie Award]]
| Best Villain
| Johnny Depp
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[National Movie Award]]
| colspan="2"| Best Musical
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Performance (Male)
| Johnny Depp
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Performance (Female)
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="8"| [[Saturn Award]]
| colspan="2"| [[Saturn Award for Best Horror Film|Best Horror Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Johnny Depp
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Alan Rickman]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Tim Burton
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Costume|Best Costume]]
| Colleen Atwood
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Make-up|Best Make-up]]
| [[Peter Owen (make-up artist)|Peter Owen]] and Ivana Primorac
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Writing|Best Writing]]
| [[John Logan (writer)|John Logan]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Scream Award]]
| Best Horror Actor
| Johnny Depp
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Horror Actress
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Director
| Tim Burton
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[2008 Teen Choice Awards|Teen Choice Award]]
| [[Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain|Choice Movie: Villain]]
| Johnny Depp
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| rowspan="4"| [[Empire Award]]
| colspan="2"| [[Empire Award for Best Horror|Best Horror]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Empire Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Johnny Depp
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Empire Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Helena Bonham Carter
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Empire Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Tim Burton
| {{nom}}
|}

==Home media==
''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' was released on [[DVD]] on 1 April 2008, and on [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] on 21 October 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/releasedates.html | title=Release Dates For Blu-Ray Discs | publisher=High-Def Digest | access-date=2008-07-04}}</ref> An [[HD DVD]] release was announced for the same date, but due to the discontinuation of the format, Paramount canceled this version in preference for international distribution of the Blu-ray release.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/1522 | title=Paramount Cancels Majority of HD DVD Slate (Updated) | publisher=High-Def Digest | access-date=2008-03-22 | archive-date=4 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304024438/http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/1522 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The DVD version has thus far sold nearly two million copies, bringing in more than $38 million in revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/SWENY-DVD.php |title=The-numbers.com |publisher=The-numbers.com |access-date=2013-10-23}}</ref>

The movie was released in 4K on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray]] on 3 September 2024.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sweeney-Todd-The-Demon-Barber-of-Fleet-Street-4K-Blu-ray/345308/ |title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 4K Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital HD) |access-date=2025-03-04 |via=www.blu-ray.com}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film)}}

* {{IMDb title|0408236}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-am26659 ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|id=659874}}
* {{AFI film|55176}}
* {{mojo title|sweeneytodd}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|sweeney_todd_the_demon_barber_of_fleet_street_2007}}
* {{Metacritic film}}

{{Navboxes
|title =''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''
|list =
{{Sweeney Todd}}
{{Stephen Sondheim}}
{{Tim Burton}}
{{John Logan}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title =Awards for ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''
|list =
{{GoldenGlobeBestMotionPictureMusicalComedy 2001-2020}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Horror Film 1991–2010}}
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street}}
[[Category:2007 American films]]
[[Category:2007 British films]]
[[Category:2007 English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s serial killer films]]
[[Category:2000s slasher films]]
[[Category:2007 films]]
[[Category:2007 horror films]]
[[Category:American films about revenge]]
[[Category:American musical drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic horror films]]
[[Category:American serial killer films]]
[[Category:American slasher films]]
[[Category:American splatter films]]
[[Category:Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:British films about revenge]]
[[Category:British musical drama films]]
[[Category:British romantic horror films]]
[[Category:British serial killer films]]
[[Category:British slasher films]]
[[Category:British splatter films]]
[[Category:American crime horror films]]
[[Category:DreamWorks Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language horror films]]
[[Category:Films about cannibalism]]
[[Category:Films about food and drink]]
[[Category:Films about hairdressers]]
[[Category:Films about rape in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Films about uxoricide]]
[[Category:Films based on adaptations]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Stephen Sondheim]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tim Burton]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Films produced by Richard D. Zanuck]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walter F. Parkes]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in the Victorian era]]
[[Category:Films shot at Pinewood Studios]]
[[Category:Films shot at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden]]
[[Category:Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Logan (writer)]]
[[Category:Gothic horror films]]
[[Category:Musical horror films]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:Romantic period films]]
[[Category:Sweeney Todd]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:The Zanuck Company films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]
[[Category:English-language musical films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Teen Choice Award–winning films]]
[[Category:2007 musical films]]
[[Category:Rape and revenge films]]
[[Category:American rape and revenge films]]
[[Category:British rape and revenge films]]
[[Category:Black comedy films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film)|access_date=2026-03-06}}