Sweeney Todd
Tim Burton's new movie Frankenweenie hit the big screen yesterday after the film opened the BFI London Film Festival last week.
And to celebrate we are looking at some of the best work of the director and today it is the turn of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Sweeney Todd was one of the most ambitious projects that Burton had ever tackled in his career as he was taking on the musical for the very first time.
The grim and gothic nature of the story was right up Burton's street as he brought the Stephen Sondheim musical to life.
He once again teamed up with his old pal Johnny Depp - who was Oscar nominated for the central performance that he delivered.
It is a powerfully unsettling performance from Depp this time around and he showed off a voice that was pretty good.
He mixes the humour, horror and romance so seamlessly - not to mention that he makes Todd a character that you actually quite like.
Burton really has struck gothic gold, as Gotham city comes to London, delving into his obsession with the morbid and slightly grotesque going deeper and darker than he ever did with Corpse Bride or Beetlejuice.
He sticks with his usual muted colour palette of browns, greys, and blacks which he beautifully contrasts with the streams of red gore, reminiscent of the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List.
This is Sweeney Todd on a grand scale as Burton brought together a fantastic cast that included Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen and put them in a world that looked just so fantastic.
But with a musical the music aspect of the film is incredibly important and Burton has included songs that are incredibly accessible - some are moving while some a very funny.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the best Burton/Depp collaborations and it really brought out some of the best aspects of Depp as an actor and Burton as a filmmaker.
Bleak yet stunning cinematography mixed with a booming soundtrack and Burton never lets this lavish production get in the way of the story that he is trying to tell.
Frankenweenie is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw