Something snaps in our dear Mr. Todd and he decides to take his vengeance upon the world and opens his barber shop with the sole purpose of providing a steady supply of filling for Mrs. Lovett's meat pies in the shop below. It's his fondest hope that he'll be able to lure both the evil judge (Rickman) and his henchman (Spall) beneath his razor and enact revenge, but in the meantime everybody is ripe for the slaughter.

While none of the four leads - Depp, Bonham Carter, Spall, or Rickman - are musical theatre types, they are more than equal to the task of the singing that is required of them, and any deficiencies they might have in range or strength of voice is more than compensated for by their acting abilities. The story is of course ideally suited to Tim Burton's macabre vision, and by sticking to his usual nearly black and white palette for the scenery, he has great fun with geysers of blood during the "shaving" sequences.

I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Sacha Baron Cohen as the pseudo-Italian barber Perelli, as being over the top worked perfectly in that instance. He also showed himself able to take it down a notch or two when necessary, as in the scene where he confronts Todd and threatens to reveal him for who he really is. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the two actors playing the young lovers, Todd's daughter and her beau, a former shipmate of Todd's from his exile.

Of course, their roles were less character and more plot device, serving as the means to bring Todd and the evil judge together. Still it would have been nice if they had some acting ability instead of just being pretty voices, as it made them stand out like sore thumbs when compared to the other more accomplished actors in the cast. Depp, Bonham Carter, Spall, and Rickman are all as magnificent as one has come to expect of them from past performances. Bonham Carter is especially wonderful, as she seems to have discovered quite a talent for playing evil characters in recent years.

While I appreciated the widescreen format of the special edition, and the 5.1 surround sound, the second disc of "Special Features" really wasn't that special. There was the usual self-congratulating, making of the movie featurette where everybody talks about how wonderful they are without really telling you anything about how the movie was made. The only two extra bits of any interest — a look at the history behind the story Sweeney Todd and an interview with Stephen Sondheim — could have been easily included on the same disc as the movie.

Tim Burton's adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street is a wonderful movie full of great performances. But if you are going to buy it on DVD, shave some costs and don't bother with the special edition and its extra disc; it's a waste of money.