johnnydeppreads reviews sweeney todd
Tuesday, 19 February 2008 | | |
JohnnyDeppReads reviews SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by
Mark Salisbury
I was prepared to like Mark Salisbury's SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber
of Fleet Street. I like the musical it was based on. I like Depp and
Burton and Sondheim. What I wasn't prepared to do was love this book!
Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton have teamed up again for this film
adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's acclaimed musical thrilled "Sweeney
Todd." Mark Salisbury's book is an in depth, informative chronicle of
the making of the movie which opens here in the US this December. Mr.
Salisbury's book never gets boring and the author never lectures the
reader while sharing this book's story. Salisbury hit all the right
notes when he wrote this companion book by layering the backstory of
the legend of Sweeney Todd with the present day circumstances that put
the players in the right spots at the right time to bring this version
of SWEENEY TODD to the screen.
The well crafted book with 175 glossy, big pages with more than 200
photographs and illustrations and it is divided into two parts.
Salisbury uses pictures and production artwork to tell the "making of"
story in Part One, weaving in quotes from producer Richard Zanuck,
director Tim Burton and cast members Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham
Carter, Alan Rickman as well as crew and other cast members to help
the reader grasp the goings on behind the scenes. Salisbury was wise
to also add his own first hand experiences while on the SWEENEY TODD
set at Pinewood Studios to bring an overview of the different pieces
that brought this musical thriller together. The author then has the
reader "attend the tale of Sweeney Todd" in Part Two, by adding
illustrations, production stills and sketches to text pieces from the
script. This is no ordinary companion book, this is a companion book
that brings humanity and heart to an often macabre, gruesome and
bloody story. It's easy to see that this is a labor of love by the
author.
Mark Salisbury is the former editor of Britain's Empire magazine and
is the author of numerous movie books, many in collaboration with Tim
Burton. Mr. Burton penned the forward to this book.
This is not your average glossy, trendy coffee table book. It's a must
read for SWEENEY TODD fans, the fans of Stephen Sondheim, Tim Burton
and Johnny Depp. And it also serves as a wonderful invitation to those
who've never met the demon barber of Fleet Street, to those who've
never seen a musical and to those who've not yet seen the magic that
Burton and Depp bring to a project, to get to know how a book can work
hand in hand with a film. Mark Salisbury has written what I consider
to be a Sweeney Todd primer. Get one for yourself and several as
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET is published by Titan
Books
Hardcover $30.00.
ISBN 13-9871844767044 - 175 pages
Publication date: December 2007