Playbill's Steven Suskin makes no bones about being a fan of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd. With the opening of the new Tim Burton-directed film version, he rejoices in the possibility that millions of new fans will now discover what he and legions of die-hard fans have known for years: "the magic of Sweeney Todd, at root, is in the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim." And as sacrosanct as the original may be for Suskin, "the newly released soundtrack album soars in its own ways."

Suskin recognizes that Burton's choice of casting Johnny Depp in the title role was a surprising one, but is ultimately, "perhaps, the key to the success of the film."

One major boon for the music on screen is the grander scale of its orchestrations, something only Hollywood could bring to Broadway. For the film, longtime Sondheim collaborator Jonathan Tunick was able to supplement his original orchestrations. "And what a difference," writes Suskin. "When those strings soar on the soundtrack, they truly soar." Additionally, "Tunick, being so very good at what he does, knows the value of retaining the quieter moments as well."

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