VOA常速英语2007年-Burton, Depp Team Up Again for "Sweeney Todd"

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
23 December 2007

A "musical thriller¹" that swept Broadway's Tony Awards almost three decades ago has final made it to the screen. Appropriately, the film version of the macabre² operetta is directed by Tim Burton and stars his frequent collaborator³, Johnny Depp. Alan Silverman has a look at Sweeney Todd: The Demon⁴ Barber of Fleet Street.

The ghostly figure emerging from thick fog shrouding⁵ a London dock has been through a hellish journey: an escape from prison and a rescue at sea. But it is not quite a joyful⁶ homecoming.

At the dodgy end of Fleet Street he finds the faded barber pole still hangs on the doorway⁷ above Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop; but gone are the loving wife and beautiful daughter from whom he had been ripped away by a jealous judge.

So begins a murder spree as gentlemen and dandies flock to Sweeney Todd's barber chair, only to be dispatched by a slice of his razor. As the bodies pile up, Todd and Mrs. Lovett come up with a plan: grind them up, bake them into pies and serve them to her unsuspecting customers.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street took Broadway by storm in 1979. Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim says, of all the filmmakers who wanted to make a screen version, Tim Burton, with his penchant⁸ for the macabre, was the ideal choice. "I knew it from the time he came to me 20 years ago that he really loved the story. That was the first thing: he likes the story and he likes the musical. He's not a particular fan of stage musicals, but something about this spoke⁹ to him and I absolutely trusted that. He didn't have to be persuaded about the story. He didn't want to change the story. He wanted the story just the way it was. I was also enthusiastic about some of his movies, but the real point was that he loved the material," he says.

Director Burton says it felt to him like the old-fashioned gothic horror films that he enjoyed as a kid. "You take away the voices and it's like a great old movie score. It's a melodramatic story, so to me, if you took out the music it would lend itself to one of those old horror movies that we've talked so much about for years," he says. "It is very cinematic. And the music ...when you listen to the soundtrack, you get the story by the music and we just thought that was a cool way of doing it: not have 10 pages of dialog, somebody sings, another dialog, another song ...you know, keep it musical. I thought that was a real strength of the piece."

Burton wanted his friend Johnny Depp for the title character; but could he handle all the complex music?. I had absolutely no idea if he could sing," says the director. "He said he thought he could do it, but I strangely had absolutely no fear of that whatsoever¹⁰. I worry about a lot of things, but I strangely did not fear that at all and he exceeded my expectations, so I was very lucky."

"Like Tim was saying, he didn't know if I could sing, likewise I didn't know if I could sing," says Depp, who adds it was a challenge. I had a feeling because of my background in music that I could hit a note or two, but I didn't know if I could sustain a note. I really didn't know if I could pull it off. That's why I said to him 'I think I can do it, let me go off and try some stuff.' So I went into a buddy's studio - like a little garage studio - and started to record the songs, just to see if I could get over the initial fear. I did that and started to get a bit more confident; but the idea of me standing¹¹ in front of a guy at a piano singing scales ...my instinct said this is wrong. It doesn't matter if you know how to sing, just sing. That's what I did."

For Sweeney Todd creator Stephen Sondheim the film succeeds because of the acting¹², not necessarily the singing. "I'm interested in storytelling. What I like about song writing is songs used to tell a story. That's why I don't write songs apart from theatrical¹³ pieces. I like songs that are part of a dramatic texture¹⁴ and therefore I like the scenes to be acted. I want to follow the story and that means you lean on the actors. I'm used to what I would call 'untrained' singing and if any of the leading roles in the film had been cast with a professional 'Singer,' then it would have been out of balance and I think it would not have worked so well. But they are all merely actors who are musical. That's why I think it works so well," he says.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street also features Helena Bonham Carter as pie-maker Mrs. Lovett. Alan Rickman plays the nefarious¹⁵ Judge Turpin with Timothy Spall as his henchman, Beadle Bamford. Sacha Baron¹⁶ Cohen also appears as the rival barber Pirelli who becomes "Sweeney Todd's" first victim and Mrs. Lovett's first tasty ingredient.

1 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

2 macabre   

adj.骇人的，可怖的

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards.他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• Mr Dahl was well-known for his macabre adult stories called 'Tales of the Unexpected'.达尔先生以成人恐怖小说集《意料之外的故事》闻名于世。

3 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

4 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

5 shrouding   

n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The mist shrouding the walley had lifted. 笼罩山谷的雾霭散去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. 硕大有凹陷的下巴上满是深色的短须。 来自互联网

6 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

7 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

8 penchant   

n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向

参考例句：

• She has a penchant for Indian food.她爱吃印度食物。
• He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.他喜欢拿人开玩笑。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

14 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

15 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

16 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。