EM- Deconstruction: Sweeny Todd (Tim Burton,2007)

Deconstruction: Sweeny Todd (Tim Burton) (2007) 

Budget: $50 million

Gross: $53 million 

The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the hit Broadway musical. 

• - Starts in an animated form showing blood, London town and a barber shop.  Introduce the main ideas of the film.
• - It starts to rain (stereotype of London) the rain then turns to blood to introduce the horror themes of the film. 
• - The cartoon then takes us to a barber shop where blood splashes against the window. We then see the barber chair which is the main focus of the film.
• - Victorian style pictures drawn in blood - Introduces the era of the film/blood is a common theme
• - Blood from pictures drip onto the barber chair down onto the clogs. Audience is taken on a journey down to the sewers. Conveys that this is where most of the action will take place. 

• - No characters in the first 2 minutes of the film. Audience focuses on the main themes of the film and therefore are not distracted by the introduction of the characters 
• - Graphics in the opening scene are cartoon like. This makes the opening scene more comical for the audience and therefore it is polysemic.
• - The titles appear in the middle of the screen in white text. The white text signifies that it is a serious/dramatic film. 
• - The main title of the movie appears half way through the opening scene when it  falls with the blood down the sewers. This sets the tone for the movie and also shows that it is a horror. 
• - Sinister organs are played throughout the opening scene.
• The music creates a tense and dramatic mood and also creates suspense.
• - As the title appears the music becomes more dramatic and builds up to emphasise the title of the film
• This film is a good example of using blood in the opening. We should use this to influence our decision on using blood.