Why So Blu?

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Paramount dropped itself a nifty October “Spooky Season” release with its Paramount Scares, Volume 1 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray set. One of the novelties in this package was a mystery title. In what was one of the worst kept secrets, that title was Tim Burton’s adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Regardless of “cat out of the bag” happening early, its fantastic to have this one updated to 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray. I mean, the standard Blu-ray rocked the VC-1 encoding. Via the standard Blu-ray included, all the previous bonus features are ported over. And, of course there are stickers and a magazine with an article about it that are part of the set as well. Sweeney Todd is not yet available standalone, so if you want it now you’ll have to order the Paramount Scares, Volume 1 set. Which, you can do by clicking on the paid Amazon Associates link at the bottom of the page.

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Film

Evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) lusts for the beautiful wife of a London barber (Johnny Depp) and transports him to Australia for a crime he did not commit. Returning after 15 years and calling himself Sweeney Todd, the now-mad man vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who uses them in her meat-pie shop. Though many fall to his blade, he will not be satisfied until he slits Turpin’s throat.

A year ago, I did a podcast episode on this where Scott Mendelson (The Wrap) and Sabina Graves (iO9/Gizmodo) discussed the film in great details. Its a wonderful conversation and you can find it here.

Video

Disclaimer: Screen captures used in the review are from studio promotional images of the film, not the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc.

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Well, I never knew what I needed in life was this 4K transfer on Sweeney Todd’s 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray debut, but here we are. This is an absolutely gorgeous looking image. And its in its true 1.85:1 aspect ratio to boot. A top notch masterclass in contrast and restoration that is just a marvel to look at. Its appearance is very filmic, full, bold and carries a ton of information in terms of finer details. What a stunner!

Depth: Depth of field is incredible strong here with every environment proving spacious and the pushback multidimensional in scale that feels quite large. Movements are filmic and smooth with no issues of motion distortions anywhere to be found.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and natural and the MVP of this transfer. They are beautiful and this film has such loving shadows and darkness. Such a beauty. They help to contrast colors and showcase their radiancy. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors really lift off here, and you’ll see it from the bursting blood that paints the opening credits. The contrast really takes everything up a notch and the HDR assists in crafting some nice glows and whatnot.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and makeup work is insanely good and holds up to this scrutiny in 4K.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean

Audio

Audio Format(s): English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, English Descriptive Audio

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: Sweeney Todd retains its 5.1 TrueHD track and that’s absolutely fine. Its a marvelous track and really pulsates and hits with good impact as a musical should in beats and slashings in the film. There’s good layering and depth to go around with a really well balanced track that plays with volumes and knows how to strike.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: The subwoofer hums along with the tunes in the film and also is there to hit when the impact moments call for it, be it a wave at sea, an slice or impalement. Or, you know, a corpse hitting the floor.

Surround Sound Presentation: Around the room, the film sweeps and wanders from song to song. The rear channels build an ambiance and concert while also playfully noting off screen activity and helping to acknowledge angle changes and action moving about an environment.

Dialogue Reproduction:  Vocals are crisp and clear.

Extras

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street comes with the standard Blu-ray edition and a redeemable digital code. All bonus features are found on the standard Blu-ray disc, which is the same as the previously released one.

Burton + Depp + Carter = Sweeney Todd (HD, 26:08)

Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007 (SD, 19:42)

Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (1080i, 12:05)

The Making of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (SD, 24:03)

Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition (HD, 19:16)

Designs for a Demon Barber (HD, 10:56)

A Bloody Business (HD, 8:53)

Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (SD, 11:36)

The Razor’s Refrain (HD, 8:40)

Photo Gallery (HD)

Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:33)

Summary

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street may be one of the more taken for granted films of this millennium, many forgetting just how great a force it is. Now, as a surprise title in the Paramount Scares inaugural set, it wows once more with its brand new transfer. Everything is carried over, including the audio. This is a terrific upgrade over the old Blu-ray which was released during the initial years of the format. I’ve mentioned the Paramount Scares set is quite a treat, so pick that up if its something you’re able to do. If not, I’m sure it’ll have a standalone release in the near future.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street on 4K UHD Blu-ray is only available as part of the Paramount Scares, Volume 1 box set.

This is a paid Amazon Associates link