Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Film: B-
It is not
the worst pie in London, nor the best; but this new slice of Blu-ray delight
will tantalize your ears and eyes, even though the film may leave a bad taste
in your mouth. Tim Burton’s musical
venture Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street returns to home theaters, but this time in an upgraded
Blu-ray edition.
This
reviewer was not so impressed by the film the first time around, but this
Blu-ray release highlights the amazing parts of the film well; the visuals and
songs. So take a look back at the
previous review, but even more so, look forward to the Blu-rays fantastic
upgraded quality.
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6868/Sweeney+Todd:+The+Demon+Barber
Whereas
the film is the same the picture and sound quality have been majorly upgraded
for this new Blu-ray release. The picture
is presented in a 1080p AVC Encoded 1.85 X 1 High Definition image that looks
great. Tim Burton’s art direction and
scenery really shines through the darkness with this upgraded image quality. The blacks are deep, the grays are distinct,
the browns pop and overall the Blu-ray transfer gives the film a new level of
distinction and clarity that differentiates even the smallest details. The few colorful scenes that do exist in the
film glow with vibrant reds, blues, and yellows and there surprisingly never
seems to be grit or contrast issues throughout the film. All in all the Blu-ray is a more than
excellent upgrade for a film that on DVD made the viewer squint to see through
the darkness and plethora of odd and bad color tones that ruined the experience.
The sound
quality on Sweeney Todd also is a
major upgrade in its Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track as it gives the film a level of
precision and clarity that was not heard on the DVD. The soundstage is fuller and the vocals are
no longer competing with an over powerful orchestra; the TrueHD track bringing
the sound back into balance. There are
instances of the dialogue being a tad low and garbled, but those events are far
and few in between. The lips may be out
of synch with the musical numbers as well, but I challenge anyone to find a
musical that does the vocal/image overlay perfectly. Once again a solid upgrade.
The
extras are exactly the same as those found on the 2-Disc special edition
reviewed elsewhere on this site, as noted above. The one distinction that can be made is that
all the extras (except the Press Conference) are now presented in High
Definition, which is a noticeable change.
Tim
Burton’s rendition of Sweeney Todd
is definitely different than the stage production and whereas it did not totally
live up to this reviewer’s expectations from all the hype, it is still an
entertaining film with excellent musical scores. It is by far not Burton’s best work, but how
good has his work been lately anyhow?
- Michael P. Dougherty II
