Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical slasher film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, based on the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, which in turn is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The film retells the melodramatic Victorian tale of Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), an English barber and serial killer who, while seeking revenge on Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who wrongfully convicted and exiled him to steal his wife, murders his customers and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), processes their corpses into meat pies.

Having been struck by the cinematic qualities of the stage musical while young, Burton had entertained the notion of a film version since the early 1980s. However, it was not until 2006 that he had the opportunity to realize this ambition, when DreamWorks Pictures announced his appointment as replacement for director Sam Mendes. Sondheim, although not directly involved, was extensively consulted during production. Depp, not known for his singing, took lessons in preparation for his role, which producer Richard D. Zanuck acknowledged was something of a gamble.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street had its premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on 3 December 2007, and was released in the United States on 21 December 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2008. The film received critical acclaim, and was praised for the performances of the cast, musical numbers, costume and set design, and faithfulness to the musical. It grossed over $153 million against a production budget of $50 million. Since its release, it has been widely assessed as one the greatest musical films of the 21st century.