Burton: Blood is crucial to 'Sweeney Todd'

Tim Burton has emphasised the importance of blood in his horror musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The director said he told bosses at DreamWorks and Warner Bros that "blood was part of the production" as soon as he approached them about making the film.

Talking about their initial meetings, he said: "It's an amazing thing that [we said]: 'We're gonna do an R rated musical with no professional singers, with lots of blood, about a serial killer and cannibalism', and they go 'Great!'. That was unheard of, I've never had that happen in my life before."

He added that the blood used on set had been orange, saying: "It was our own special recipe, very sticky, very sweet and it burns your eyes."

Student Ed Sanders, who plays Toby in the film, agreed that it was not as realistic as it appeared onscreen. He revealed: "For a start, [it] was orange, and you could also see it actually pumping in through the pipes around the people they were killing's necks."

Star Johnny Depp recently revealed that he is squeamish at the sight of his own blood.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - which also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall - opens in UK cinemas on January 25.