It’s the first time that Johnny Depp works as a singer in a movie, despite also dedicating himself to music and belonging to several bands throughout his life, he has never sung before.
It’s the sixth time that Johnny Depp and Tim Burton work together, after Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow. For Helena Bonham Carter it’s her fifth collaboration with the director.
Helena Bonham Carter shot the movie a few months pregnant with her second child, who was also Tim Burton’s, her director and partner by then.
The movie was in development for a while with Sam Mendes and Russel Crowe involved in the project as director and protagonist, respectively.
Tim Burton insisted in the film being bloody, since he felt that the theatrical versions of the play that reduced the bloodshed, stole its power. For him, “everything is so internal with Sweeney, that blood is like his emotional release”.
Some of the scenes in which Sweeney opens his razor fast, it’s actually a mechanical razor. There’s a button that Depp would push to open it. Depp asked the props department to design this razor for him, since he had difficulties to open the real ones.
The music was recorded during a period of four days in the Air Studios of London, and the orchestra of 64 reunited musicians for the film was the most numerous one that had played a Sondheim music sheet.
Helena Bonham Carter rehearsed her songs while practicing baking techniques, to perfect the fast and syncopated rhythm of the music.
At the end of the song “A Little Priest”, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter adopt the same pose as the promotional material used for the Broadway’s original production.
For the role of Mrs. Lovett, the names of Meryl Street, Emma Thompson, Toni Collette, and the singer Cyndi Lauper were shuffled. On the other hand, the role of Johanna was about to belong to Anne Hathaway before the director decided that an unknown would play the role.
The address of Mrs. Lovett’s shop, number 186, is a reference to the London legend of Sweeney Todd, who set up his barbershop in this same address.
In the theatre plays, the roles of the protagonists have been interpreted by actors around 50-60 years old (the first representation in 1979, they had Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury). In its cinematographic version it was decided to lower their age to around 40 to fit the story better.
The first public to watch something of Sweeney Todd was in September of 2007 in the Venice Film Festival, where Burton was awarded with a Gold Lion Award for his achievements in his career. 8 minutes of the film were released, including Depp singing the song “My Friends”.
Laura Michelle Kelly is only six years older than Jayne Wisener. In the movie they are mother and daughter of Sweeney Todd.
In the entire film there’s only one digital effect and it’s the beach scene.
Sacha Baron Cohen took barber classes from his own hairdresser. He says that it took him about 16 hours to properly grab the blade.
Do you know any other interesting facts? Tell us in the comments.