Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)

Too much of everything

One of my all time favorites.

hyped garbage

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

This has the feeling of going to the theater and seeing it live. That is because this is exactly what they have done. Because of that it is very good and is not done often enough. There is a silent live action film of Peter Pan done before Disney animated the story which was filmed much like the stage play that was originally done, and it is one of the best adaptions of that story because it was filmed that way.Sweeney Todd is about a wild murderous Barber and has a great Steven Sondheim musical sound track. All of it is here and lots more. The live stage feel is a great perspective and it is invaluable that this television version was done.Angela Lansbury recreates her Tony winning role here and is absolutely great, this shows why she won that award. The actor who plays Sweeney Todd is excellent at it, so good he has done it several times since this version. This show first came to my attention because of the great music. Now that I have seen the story as done here, I better understand the meaning of the music.TCM has done a great service by running this without the commercials except for the Intermission break. It is the best way to see it as the commercial breaks are not needed.

I am not a fan of Broadway musicals but I can say without a doubt that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street is certainly my personal favourite. Why? Well I think the story is pretty good and some of the music is the best I've heard in the genre. I saw the Tim Burton blockbuster made a couple of years ago and I thought it was okay but then I discovered this version which is considered by many to be the definitive version to watch and... I agree.The plot in case you don't know is that a barber named Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd returns after 15 years of being shipped away wrongly because a courtroom judge wanted his wife. He goes to where his establishment was but finds it an unsuccessful pie shop and the owner named Mrs Lovetts tells him that his wife took poison and Judge Turpin raised Sweeney's daughter isolated from the rest of the world. Determined to get his revenge Sweeney establishes himself as a good barber to the rest of London. However, after a rival Barber who recognizes him threatens to blackmail him Sweeney kills him. This sets the idea in motion that, because meat is apparently expensive that if anyone comes in alone to Sweeney's barber shop that he should kill them and Lovetts serves them as pie to the public and they shall set their business going (or... whatever you want to call that!) until the Judge enters looking for a shave.The acting is amazing. I have never heard of George Hearn but he was the highlight of the show with his performance as Todd. I mean he plays the role coming off as downright psychotic in some scenes but in others he could come off as downright normal. His singing voice is also really really good. I could also say all the cast members are very very good. I would only bring up three exceptions - Judge Turpin (I mean he DID come across as a creepy old bastard but I just think his singing voice strikes me the wrong way), Tobias (I know they couldn't get a little kid to do it especially in a story this dark and twisted but even then I didn't really like the performance, mainly for the same reason as the Judge, something about their performance strikes me the wrong way) and Joanna but that maybe because she's my least favourite character in the entire musical.As far as the production goes I think the orchestra did a really good job and I also liked that it wasn't just the rotating set that was on the stage when I saw it live. I mean if you know what I'm talking about then I know that thing wouldn't be easy to make but I did prefer people rushing out and bringing the stuff in and out that's necessary to that part of the story. Just call it personal preference - either way for a stage production this is really good production design.I really don't think I can say anything else because I've covered almost everything. I would say if you're a slight fan of the Tim Burton movie or like the Broadway musical and haven't seen this I suggest that you check it out. I haven't seen many adaptations of Sweeney Todd but I think after this I won't be able to top it... still, I'm going to check them out anyway.

Last year, I fell in love with the Tim Burton's version of Sweeney Todd so I wanted to check out the other versions of this musical and I found this one at the library. Though I think Burton's is best, probably because I like film a lot better than theater, this is still a great production of the story. I haven't seen any of the other versions but I am trying to get my hands on them.After seeing Johnny Depp as Todd, it's hard for me to imagine anyone else in the role, but George Hearn does a fantastic job. Angela Lansbury is great, as always and all of the singing is fantastic. I found myself singing along. This is a play you won't want to miss, but try and see it before you see the film version so you won't have a biased view like me.

Televised in 1982, from a Los Angeles production, this is probably the finest example of a filmed stage musical you are likely to encounter. Issued on DVD in 2004 in a remastered digital transfer, it is quite stunning. Hearn and Lansbury give the performances of their lives and the rest of the cast are quite obviously caught up in the electricity generated. Of course it is Sondheim's music and lyrics that make this possible. If anyone doubts that he is one of the "greats" of the American Musical form listen to this. The sets are stark, as befits the plot, and clever in allowing the swift scene changes required and the cameras catch the action without obliterating the fact that this is a stage production. A central, move-able and revolving platform is Mrs. Lovett's pie shop, with the barber's shop upstairs. Around it are various gantries and moving stairs to allow the rest of the action to take place. The brutal tale of injustice leading to revenge, murder and mayhem is liberally spiced with dark humour and comic moments. Sondheim does for barber shops what Hitchcock did for showers ! An important work in American musical theatre is here given an electrifying performance.