Sweeney Todd

[heathfield]

I hear that the new Sweeney Todd film is a musical, but the makers, realising that many people (like me) don't like musicals very much, have left out all singing from the film's trailer.
Isn't this a bit of a con, and a case for Trading Standards?

[Quizmonkey]

I don't recall anything misleading in the trailer. If you see the name Stephen Sondheim, I would suggest that's a pretty big clue. Maybe the "many people like you" should open their minds a bit...

[andy-hughes]

I agree heathfield - I saw a trailer at the cinema, and if I didn;t know already, I would not assume from the clips I saw that it is a musical.

Quizmonkey - a massive amount of people don't know who Sondheim is - cultural snobbery is an unattractive trait.

[katejess44]

I have to agree with both heathfield and Andy on this one.

I had no idea it was a musical and when I caught a glimpse of the trailer I spoke to my partner about going to see it.

Quizmonkey, .....just how closely do you watch trailers when they come on the television?

I freely admit, I dont watch that closely during any commercial break and consequently missed Sondheim's name appearing. Had I seen it, I wouldn't have bothered asking my partner if he wanted to go, because I certainly no longer have any desire to see it.

I have studied drama and have had to endure many a musical, and would dearly love to enjoy them. The simple truth is that I just don't like them. So does that lump me in with the blinkered 'many people like you' scenario? I would hope not.

Not liking musicals doesn't make me a theatrical heathen, it just means that they are not to my taste.

[katejess44]

In A Pickle, I can absolutely see your point when you say that you feel that Sondheim has been pushed out and I really do think that it's a shame because there is such a huge Sondheim fan base who might want to see the film who may not necessarily realise that he has even contributed to the film.

I also think that it is very sneaky of the powers that be (studio bosses or whomever else) that they have not advertised the fact that it is a musical in order to attract more Tim Burton or Johnny Depp fans......I would have thought that any die hard Tim Burton or Johnny Depp fan would want to see the film whether it is a musical or not, but perhaps I am wrong.

Whether you are a musical fan or not, I think we are all of the same opion that the advertising for this film is somewhat misleading.

[jno]

there's singing in the trailer, though not a lot. I was looking for it, I saw it.

[Postdog]

Just saw this post. I was considering seeing it on the strength of the trailer and then found out it was a musical, which turned me right off. I cannot stand watching musicals at the flicks (don't mind on TV tho) and I for one would have felt cheated and lied to.

[Hellyon]

Interestingly Tim Burton's 'Nightmare Before Christmas' was advertised in exactly the same way - absolutely no indication on any poster, trailer, interview that it was, in fact, a musical - came as a bit of a shock to Mr H and I.

Whilst the trailers for ST do not mention it is a musical I have to say that there have been quite a few interviews with Johnny Depp in which he was asked how he coped with the singing and a lot of emphasis that the film is based on the musical theatre show so slightly more clue this time.

[heathfield]

Thanks for all the replies. It's not that I dislike all musicals, (Personally, I reckon 'Singing In The Rain' is one of the finest films ever made), but I find an awful lot of stuff is just oh-so-dull. Sondheim is a prolific writer, but perhaps less than half-a-dozen of his songs have any appeal for me. And as for (Sir) Andrew Lloyd Webber - Blechhh!

[Quizmonkey]

Bet you're not as much of a Sondheim anorak as me, Pickle!

[loobie]

I saw a trailor and saw singing and have read how much Depp hated the singing parts so that kinda gives a clue!!!! But...

1) It is supposed to be an absolutely fantastic film
2) Depp is in it looking hot

For these reasons it will defo be viewed by me!!!!

The only thing that puts me off is Depp doing a cockney accent of which sounds just like jack sparrow!!!!

Oh and Lloyd Webber...oh hail him!!!!!!

[jno]

IaP, you've probably seen Hollywood Revue of 1929, which has the earliest filmed version of Singin' in the Rain - rather good as I recall, though it's yonks since I saw it. (Not in 1929, of course.)

[Quizmonkey]

Pickle - I used to run the Society! (well, I was on the committee, in the good days when it had some amazing people involved - now I'm not even a member). And yes I've met him a few times. I sometimes amaze myself with the detail about the shows that my brain somehow retains - and how nerdy it must sound to non-Sondheimites!

[dundurn]

Isn't Sondheimy still a crime in some countries?
;-)