In 1979, a songwriter/playwright by the name of Stephen Sondheim debuted one of the first splatter musicals in Broadway history with SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. The mix of musical numbers and scenes of cannibalism, murder, and macabre gave fans of horror a musical they could understand, and fans of musicals a glimpse into the brutally violent and ridiculously gory world of the horror genre.
Now, almost 40 years later, SWEENEY TODD is coming to the big screen. Director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp have teamed up on a number of slam-bam projects over the years (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, ED WOOD, etc…), and this time they’ve come together to bring Burton’s favorite musical to the big screen.
During the course of filming on the sound stages in London, journalist Mark Salisbury was allowed on set to observe, interview, and learn all there is to know about the history of SWEENEY TODD. Taking excerpts from the screenplay, and over 200 photographs from behind the scenes and the film itself, Salisbury put together SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET based on his experiences, a hardbound companion to the film that’s sure to get Burton and Depp fans interested. Is it worth the clams to pick up, or would a simple flip through in the bookstore do? Let’s find out!
The book is split up into a few different sections. The first section explores the history of SWEENEY TODD, from it’s creation in folklore (is it a true story, or is it made up?), to its debut on Broadway. It’s a nice section, filled with original playbills and concept art from the play, as well as a few from the film. This section then switches gears and goes into the history of how Burton and Depp got involved, and who helped get the movie off the ground.
The history section is followed by sections on how Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and the rest of the actors were cast in their respective parts. Salisbury not only interviews Burton, but all of the actors to hear how they got involved with the project. I found the tidbits of how Depp had never sung a song in his life before being cast in the film, and how Carter’s casting was the most difficult of all to be the most interesting – by far, one of the better sections in the book.
The other sections analyzed the ‘look’ of the film, which was particularly cool to read about, considering Burton’s signature visual flair – I’m glad he was able to put it to good use in this film as well. The sets and props were also given some time in the sun, with new images of what was created to go with the interviews.
What would a book be about SWEENEY TODD without a section on the music – Sodheim and company discuss the music in-depth, and as it’s a musical, it’s only right they did so. My one complaint is, without ever seeing the play OR the movie when reading this book, I had to imagine what the music sounded like. If you ask me, including the film’s soundtrack with this book would’ve made it the ultimate companion piece.
The last section contains excerpts from the script, as well as the lyrics to some of the songs, telling the story through words and photographs. If you’ve seen the movie, this will likely help you reply it in your mind, if you haven’t, and you haven’t seen the play either, this little section is chalked full of SPOILERS – so be cautious if you haven’t seen it yet (like me).
Overall, I have to give this book props – at least the first half. The interviews painted quite the picture of what the casting and filming was like, and put Burton on a pretty high pedestal as a director with a unique and visual flair – which I can’t really argue with. The history of the story, play, and movie was also particularly fun to read, as I didn’t know the background or back story of SWEENEY TODD – putting this in the beginning really put the whole book into context.
I also have to give it up for the visual layout and the some 200 featured photographs. Each page was made to look Victorian style, with the added flair of blood splatter, in true SWEENEY TODD fashion – nice touch! As for the pictures themselves… well, we are talking a Tim Burton film here, so the pictures are amazing. High in contrast, gothic, and even the behind the scenes photos had style – these are not you average, everyday behind the scene stills, these are pieces of art! However, the font size of the captions describing each image were a little too small for me – a little bigger would have been nice.
My only real complaint has to do with the retelling the story at the end – and not just because it gave away the movie for me. It just didn’t seem to fit with what the rest of the book was going for. A photo gallery of concept art would have been appreciated here, or even a section just on the lyrics of a few songs… but retelling the story through song and images? What am I, like 5 years old? Boring and unnecessary within the context of the rest of the book.
Slight qualms aside, the book companion to SWEENEY TODD offers a truly behind the scene glimpse at the creation of TODD, the journey that brought the play to the big screen, and what the actors had to go through to sing Broadway songs without prior singing experience. The book also offers quite the collection of stills, behind the scene images, and concept art that look spectacular on the big, glossy pages. If they would have thrown in the soundtrack with the book, and left out the picture-book storytelling at the end, this would have been perfect. But if you’re a fan of the movie – or Tim Burton – then I’d recommend picking this up for your coffee table collection. However, if you only have a slight interest in reading what has to be said on TODD, then a simple browse through at the bookstore will suffice.
2.5 on 4 Stars
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