SCENE STEALER

Tim Burton’s apocalyptic take on Steven Sondheim’s Grand Guignol musical, “Sweeney Todd” -- wherein the demon barber’s butchered customers plunge from his chair into meat pies -- sent prop master David Balfour (“The Da Vinci Code’s” Codex) seeking some unusual inspiration: the painting “A Vision of the Last Judgment,” by the great poet and artist William Blake. “I thought [Blake’s work] would be quite apt for the feel of these razors,” Balfour says. Or as Sweeney calls them, “my faithful friends.” Here’s how Balfour and company helped Sweeney swing his razor high in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” opening Dec. 21.

-- Ron Magid