Got an early opportunity to view the two disc set, and, although I strongly recommend a purchase, the single disc edition is all you need.Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Specs:
Paramount Home Entertainment has announced 1-disc and 2-disc special editions of the Tim Burton directed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street which stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The film itself will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround track. The only extra feature on the 1-disc release will be a Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd featurette. The 2-disc will include that, along with 8 additional featurettes (Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber, Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, Sweeney's London, The Making of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition, Designs for a Demon Barber, A Bloody Business, and The Razor's Refrain), a Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp feature, a Sweeney Todd Press Conference, a photo gallery, and the trailer.
Also available from the 1st April will be a HD DVD release of the film. This will include a high-definition widescreen presentation, along with 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus, and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD tracks. All of the 2-disc extras will be included.
The single disc includes the movie and a featurette running almost half an hour in which we hear from Burton, Sondheim and the cast. It is quite good and provides the extra measure needed to deepen your enjoyment of the film.
Disc two (in my opinion), only serves to dull the pleasure and adds nothing. It includes a long and rather tedious feature on "The Real History of the Demon Barber", which does manage to prove that Sweeney Todd is an entirely fictional figure traced back to the "penny dreadful" novels of the 1840's. This is followed by "Sweeney's London" which does its best to contradict this by assuming the character is real and taking us to actual street locations and likely settings.
There are also the usual featurettes on costumes and set design, and a press conference with director and stars containing insipid questions and comparitively intelligent answers.
I was not able to view "Musical Mayhem" in which Sondheim discusses the Broadway show. Even if it is good, I'm not sure it is enough to make the bonus disc in any way essential.