In his column for La Scena Musicale magazine examining Tim Burton's film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, writer and BBC presenter Norman Lebrecht wonders what happens "when a movie outshines the outstanding original." He quotes the composer himself as saying that Burton's Sweeney is "the first musical that has ever transferred successfully to the screen."

Skeptical at first, Lebrecht admits that "even the inner circle of Sondheim purists" see Burton's telling of the tale "as a remarkable reinvention." And, he adds, in all its permutations, "Sweeney never fails." So what does Lebrecht think now that he's seen the film himself?

He calls the casting of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles as "an irresistible billing," sees Depp as "ideally suited" to play Sweeney, and applauds the entire cast as "heaven-sent." Even the famed Sondheim sound is deepened "more lavishly" when accompanied by additional underscoring made possible by the big-screen adaptation.

"Is this then, as the composer claims, the first stage musical ever to make a successful switch to the movies?" asks Lebrecht, then answers:

After several weeks' reflection, I'd go one further: I cannot recall any modern theatre play—Pinter, Miller, O'Neill, Albee, Neil Simon, whoever—that has made the leap to screen carrying so little of its stage baggage while its character remains intact. Sweeney Todd is a gripping, skillful, troubling, ineradicable masterpiece of a 21st-century movie. All that came before is gaslight.

To read the "Lebrecht Weekly" article, visit scena.org.