Johnny Depp Movies

[jillywilly65]

Cheza
even though I know that it's fake it still creeps me out! Blah..my bro has done FX in Hollywood for years and I still never get used to it. My oldest brother gave me some stuff to check out online last night before bed that kept me awake for about 2 hours it was the
Dark Knight trailor...I am freaking out over Heath Ledger as the Joker.. It's not for the faint of heart..yikes..shoot I think I'll stick to Michael Keaton as Batman or watch the old tv show on TVLAND...lol

[Cheza]

Heath Ledger's Joker is VERY INTENSE from what I've seen...nightmarish is the appropriate word for that! They were showing clips on Showbiz Tonight the other night of that flick.

What I thought was funny was in the VH1 special Johnny was saying he got used to getting it in his mouth, nose, etc. and that it was sweet because it had sugar in it...we used to use karo syrup and stuff when we made the fake blood when I did theatre. Alan Rickman's comment was that it "gets in every orifice on your body...I can just say it got in my underwear" ;D ;D ;D ;D

SG, is it true they cut the judge's solo song? If so, I think that's just wrong, but it wasn't on the soundtrack I got...and it's supposed to be the complete one. If I'm up to it, I'm going to go catch it tomorrow...I've been ill again. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to be "well" again!

[Sunflower Gypsy]

Hey C!...not sure on that one...what was the name of the song? or what was it about? I've not heard much on what songs got left out of the movie or soundtrack. Wish I could be of more help.

On a sidenote...If you do get to see the movie...remember one thing..is gonna be a WILD ride!

SG

[Cheza]

SG, I thought his song was called "Johanna", but I'm not sure now that I've seen two on the soundtrack by that name that have Sweeney & Anthony on them. The judge's song is a solo number that shows just what a sick, twisted, evil man he is...he's expressing his lust for his ward in it if I remember correctly from the concert version I saw.

[Sunflower Gypsy]

Hey C!...yep...'Pretty Women' was the judges song. 'Johanna' was first sung by Anthony..then later in the movie..Anthony and Sweeney were in separate locations( Sweeney in the attic where the barber shop was..and Anthony is walking down a road)..singing 'Johanna' at the same time...each singing it for different reasons.

SG

Ps: The Judge starts to sing the 'Pretty Women' song when he goes for a shave at Sweeney's shop..then as he starts to sing..Sweeney joins in(again for Sweeney there is a reason why he does...you'll have to see the movie to find out why)

[Cheza]

I think I know why.... ....I'm versed in the musical version....

I'm not talking about "Pretty Women"...that's another song. He has one alone in the stage show. I've got a copy of the script for it around here somewhere. I'll have to find it and look it up. Peace.

[Cheza]

*WARNING: POSSIBLE SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD EVEN THOUGH I'VE TRIED TO TAKE GREAT CARE NOT TO SPOIL ANYTHING...IF YOU FEAR I DO...SKIP THIS POST*

SG, I SAW IT! It was AMAZING! Being versed in the play, it was not as wild a ride for me as it would be for someone not versed in the story, but it was FANTASTIC. I'm so proud of the cast/crew right now. I was so afraid it would be horrible. I have a few minor quibbles, but nothing major (like I saw with RENT). They did cut the judge's song I spoke of...and Toby's hair in stage productions is shocked white at the end. I handled the blood just fine. I didn't find it excessive. There just was a lot because, for pete's sake, he is cutting a major artery when he slits their throat. When an artery is cut, blood gushes due to the heart beating...the amount shown made sense. The roaches in the pie shop grossed me out more than the blood...that and the scene where a certain character figures out what is going on...SG, you know the one.

Minor quibbles:
1. Judge's song that was cut...during which in the stage production he whipped himself...but yet I'm torn on whether it was really needed or not...I have heard it was filmed...so maybe it will be an extra on the DVD...BUT in my script it says it was not included in the original production of the show due to time constraints...so maybe Sondheim himself suggested the cut...who knows...

Lyrics to his "Johanna" (which is in the scene after the contest with Pirelli on the street) are as follows...and it is a LONG number...(note, stage direction before song reads: "The lights shift to a room in Judge Turpin's house. The judge is in his judicial clothes, a Bible in his hand. In the adjoining room, Johanna sits sewing":

Judge (sings):
"Mea culpa, mea culpa,
Mea maxima culpa,
Mea maxima maxima culpa!
God deliver me! Release me!
Forgive me! Restrain me! Pervade me!

(He peers through the keyhole of the door to Johanna's room)

Johanna, Johanna
So suddenly a woman,
The light behind your window -
It penetrates your gown...
Johanna, Johanna,
The sun - I see the sun through your -

(Ashamed, he stops peering)

No!
God!
Deliver me!

(He sinks to his knees)

Deliver me!

(Starts tearing off his robes)

Down!
Down.
Down...

(Now naked to the waist, he picks up a scourge (a whip) from the table)

Johanna, Johanna,
I watch you from the shadows.
You sigh before your window
And gaze upon the town...
Your lips part, Johanna,
So young and soft and beautiful -

(He whips himself)

God!

(Again and again he whips himself as he continues)

Deliver me!
Filth
Leave me!
Johanna!
Johanna!
I treasured you in innocence,
And loved you like a daughter.
You mock me, Johanna,
You tempt me with your innocence,
You tempt me with those quivering -

(Whips himself)

No!

(Again and again)

God!
Deliver me!
It will -
Stop -
Now! It will -
Stop -
Right -
Now.
Right -
Now.
Right -
Now...

(Calm again, having kneed his way over to the door he peers through the keyhole)

Johanna, Johanna,
I cannot keep you longer.
The world is at your window,
You want to fly away.
You stir me, Johanna,
So suddenly a woman,
I cannot watch you one more day!

(Again whips himself into a frenzy)

God!
Deliver me!
God!
Deliver me!
God!
Deliver -

(Climaxes)

God!!

(Panting, he relaxes; when he is in control again, he starts to dress)

Johanna, Johanna,
I'll keep you here forever,
I'll wed you on the morrow.
Johanna, Johanna,
The world will never touch you,
I'll wed you on the morrow!
As years pass, Johanna,
You'll tend me in my solitude,
No longer as a daughter,
As a woman.

(He is fully dressed again)

Johanna, Johanna,
I'll hold you here forever then,
You'll keep away from windows and
You'll
Deliver me,
Johanna,
From this
Hot
Red
Devil
With your
Soft
White
Cool
Virgin
Palms..."

(Magisterial again, picking up the Bible, he produces a key and opens the door, the key forgotten, still in the lock. Johanna jumps up.)

I'm betting that key is the one she throws down to you-know-who...this song goes right before the scene where he presents himself as a candidate for husband...we don't see it either. He just talks about it to Beadle.

2. Pirelli didn't sound Irish to me in the scene in Sweeney's shop, what do you think? That's really splitting hairs, but that shows how good this adaptation was when I quibble over an accent! I need to see that scene again.

3. Toby should have been driven mad while in the bakery room...in the stage productions as I said his hair is usually white from the shock he received in the end when he reappears...and yes, he does what he does in the film, but sings some nonsense first. Sweeney also does what he does right before Toby reappears. The film was very faithful to the play in many ways.

By the way, there is a novelization of the story out in conjunction with the movie, but it's ending is completely different and that's got me befuddled. The one that waltzes to death is poisoned instead, Johanna doesn't end up with Anthony...it's a mess, you get the picture. I don't understand it at all. Maybe sometime down the line I can read that and get it, but if you see it and think it's like the movie it's not. I was looking at it at B&N tonight.

If you want somit like the movie, go to the drama section and get the play instead...the playscript I have says it was $14.95...it's the same title: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - the authors are Sondheim/Wheeler (Sondheim = music/lyrics of course and Hugh Wheeler wrote the book).

An interesting footnote is that Christopher Bond, who wrote the play that inspired Sondheim's version of the story of Sweeney wrote the introduction to the work. The story of Sweeney began making the rounds in the 1830's in London. Something caught my eye in the intro though...he says there is no evidence of a real Sweeney in London, BUT there was a Jacobin barber in Paris during the French Revolution that cut his customers throats (motive unclear...profit or difference in politics). I must research this more since I teach A Tale of Two Cities which deals not only with the French Revolution at its' core, but also with Fleet Street and the Old Bailey. Jerry Cruncher lives just off of Fleet Street, and of course, Charles Darnay is tried at Old Bailey, where we meet Sydney Carton, his doppleganger.

As Nancy would say...End of Cheza novel.

[Sunflower Gypsy]

Hey C! GLAD ya like the ST movie!...I LOVED it as well...the flow..the story...music and of course Johnny Depp's singing and performance as Sweeney Todd! Since I had to go to hour away place to see the movie..my NEXT viewing will be when the DVD comes out(sigh)..and the wait begins for the arrival of that DVD! BUT I'm glad that I at least got to see Johnny's movie!

Thanks for your thoughts on the movie...including you likes and minor dislikes. It's cool to have someone so well versed on ST and have someone to chat about JD/ST movie. Thanks for the info on the production book and the judge song info(script layout).

As for the novel by Robert L. Mack(edited by that is)'Sweeney Todd' tie-in book. Yep...it was weird to see Johnny on the cover and to find as I started to read the novel to realized that this isn't the version of ST that included the revenge plot that we see in the movie out now. Turns out that this is the original tale of ST that made it's debut in the 1840's periodical publication papers(there was 28 issues). The revenge plot came much later around the 1970's right? I think if I read the timeline right it was Christopher Bond who wrote the version that included the revenge plot.

Hope ya get to see the movie again...if ya do and want to add more thoughts..that would be cool. If ya don't get to see it again..then we both will be waiting on the DVD make it's way to our DVD players! huh?!

SG

[Cheza]

Hmmm....it's the original??? I will definitely have to check that out then, but I thought the revenge thing was always involved. Bond's version inspired Sondheim's...so definitely the revenge plot was in play by then. Very interesting. Thanks for the info.

BTW, the closest theatre for me is 20-30 minutes. I drove over an hour to catch the film yesterday.

Peace.

[Sunflower Gypsy]

Hey C!

As check out the book more and looked in other places on the web about this specific book..turns out that this is the original tale...and was the story first published in the 1840's..it apparently was the first printed version. In the book there is a chronology that starts with 1846 and runs to 2007 with Tim Burton's movie. Yes... your correct in the info on the C. Bond play version including the revenge plot. It states within the novel timeline that the 1973 version by Christopher Bond(play wise) and Hugh Wheeler book version..both inspired SS version that was ultimately used for Tim Burton's movie version. All of this info can be found with that book 'Sweeney Todd: Demon of Fleet Street' edited by Robert L. Mack..also on the web if you do a search on Christopher Bond and Hugh Wheeler and SS..you'll find that info there as well.

If ya do get to see the movie again...I'd really be interested in your second viewing thoughts. If ya don't and are planning of getting the DVD in few months( 3-5 is the average I've seen in movies coming out on DVD..minus Pirates 3 that waited 7(special case there))...then we can both posts more thoughts on the movie based on any extras they put on the DVD(here's hoping for cool extras and easter eggs )...and more thoughts on the movie itself. ttyl


SG

[Cheza]

I'm going to have to look into this more. In the intro to the play Bond said that Sweeney was created in the 1830's by a freelance journalist named George Dibden-Pitt...I see a copy of his play of Sweeney available on B&N. Yet, Wiki (which I loathe, but consulted) gives a different author...one Thomas Prest. It syas Dibden-Pitt adapted the play from Prest's story...so we may never know what's right.

Sweeney was originally written for a "Penny Dreadful"...London's equivalent of The National Enquirer or Weekly World News - that is one thing various sources agree upon. It was a broadsheet paper that sold for a penny. Bond goes on to say that, "Sweeney was a psychopath who killed for profit and Mrs. Lovett a harridan who baked the bodies."...due to the belief that the story was true amongst the public, Dibden-Pitt quickly adapted the story into a stage version and it became an instant success.

Hugh Wheeler wrote the book for Sondheim's musical...he was his collaborator...not an inspiration. Sondheim wrote the lyrics and music for the songs, Wheeler wrote the bits of dialogue that connect them...even though Sweeney is almost an opera (sung-through).

I hope we have great extras and some neat easter eggs as well. Ttyl.

Peace.

[Cheza]

P.S. Wiki also told that Mark and Anthony are interchangeable characters...so I guess in that book she ends up with "Anthony" after all...it should also be noted in some versions, including that one methinks, Johanna IS NOT Sweeney's daughter...so it must be markedly different. I think it's a bit wrong to market it in conjunction with the movie when it is so markedly different.

[Sunflower Gypsy]

Hey C!...Yep it's veryyy interesting to see all the versions there were and how far they went back. But I guess the version that's the best imo is the one that has the backstory of Sweeney's wrongful imprisonment and the things that happen to his wife and child. The music for SS's version is amazing! Tim Burton movie version ROCKS...I really LOVED AMC theaters sound system..it really made the music sound sooo AMAZING!

Thanks again for providing more info on Sweeney Todd tale and the backstory to all the versions. I tell ya it's amazing how one story... movie and one actor(Johnny Depp) can cause such stir in conversation huh? Thanks for providing such a great dialogue chat about the movie...story and JD.

Come on ST DVD!! It's gonna be GREAT movie to see on DVD and to see what kind cool things they will have in the Extras/EEggs. I hope the months it takes to get it out on DVD go by VERY fasttt! ttyl
SG

[jillywilly65]

Rob and I just finished watching The Tale of Sweeney Todd onDemand and it starred Ben Kingsley as Mr Todd and Campbell Scott and Mr Carlyle. It was ...interesting. It seemed like it was a PBS production made for tV maybe? I don't recall it at all . It was made in 97 so it is a little old. I knew nothing of the story before this so this may be all the more reason to watch JD's version now..on DVD, in the daytime with the lights on....LOL

[Cindy]

I just got back from seeing Sweeney Todd and thought it was incredible. I had heard about the story for years and years and knew it was a Sondheim musical...but nothing prepared me for how great this film was. It is the best film I have seen this year...and that says a lot since with NetFlix in my household, I usually watch 2-3 films a week. I keep up with nearly all the current films, particularly the ones that are getting award buzz. I like to have seen all the Globe and Oscar contenders before the awards go out so I can make up my own mind. This one is prime!

[IWOmusic]

Sorry, I wasn't a blown-away by this film. Yes, effects are well done and the acting is good, but not great imho.
OK, now for the Blooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood...
I am admittedly not a fan of slasher films, and this part turned-me-off in the film. During some of the throat-slitting scenes people in the audience began to laugh. The slashing wasn't done in a comical way (if that is even possible) nor was the laughter the kind that one does when uncomfortable.....just your regular "ha-ha" variety. This is what ended up creeping me out the most.
Obviously blood is necessary to this story, but it was so over-done that it really got in the way. No spoilers here....but the ending felt inclomplete. Oh and the music was OK, and I'll probably like it more if I heard it again. A stand-out song for me was "A Little Priest" which I found catchy and had clever lyrics.

[Cheza]

jillywilly65 said:

Rob and I just finished watching The Tale of Sweeney Todd onDemand and it starred Ben Kingsley as Mr Todd and Campbell Scott and Mr Carlyle. It was ...interesting. It seemed like it was a PBS production made for tV maybe? I don't recall it at all . It was made in 97 so it is a little old. I knew nothing of the story before this so this may be all the more reason to watch JD's version now..on DVD, in the daytime with the lights on....LOL

I've heard of this version, but never seen it. Does it contain the revenge plotline?

[jillywilly65]

Bear with me, since I haven't seen any other nor read it so it was all new to me.
A Mr Mannheim went to get a shave and he had riches and ST claimed them for himself lets say?! ANd a mute boy Charlie as his assistant( begrudgingly)An American Mr Carlyle comes to get back the riches Mr Mannheim seems to have taken So the whole thing is around Carlyle searching for Mannheim .Then we learn of ST's military time in Africa and cannibalism and a young Alice who he now takes care of as a pledge to her "dying " father . Alice falls in love with Carlyle and lets say Carlyle and Alice and Charlie live happily ever after. The meat pie lady and ST aren't so lucky.

[jillywilly65]

I am not making sense probably so I am having a hard time retelling what we saw today in case it is the same storyline I don't want to ruin it.
Sorry

[Cheza]

Iwo, I think part of the reason you may have felt that way about the ending is that it doesn't end quite as it does on stage. In the end, Anthony, Johanna, and the Officers of the Guard come running into the room and Toby moves to the grinder and goes back to work - telling them that Mrs. Lovett doesn't allow anyone in that room because there's so much work to be done. Then there is the Epilogue to the story ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" theme basically reprised) where the living and the dead join in the song that concludes the work.

A favorite group of lines from the Epilogue...

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd!
He served a dark and hungry god!
To seek revenge may lead to hell
But everyone does it, and seldom as well
As Sweeney,
As Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet...
...Street"

Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett are the last two to exit the stage...she goes into the wings while he goes upstage...and glares at the audience malevolently one last time before slamming an iron door on the stage toward the audience...then blackout.

There's a DVD version of a National Tour featuring Angela Lansbury's Mrs. Lovett and George Hearn (I think) as Sweeney. I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of that to watch where I can compare the two. Many Sondheim purists have said that is the definitive version, but I can't help but wonder what they are thinking now that this one is out and being seen.

Sondheim is definitely not sunshine and daisies most of the time. Some of my students were going to see it over break...I'm anxious to hear what they thought.