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

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Directors:

Terry Hughes
Harold Prince

Writers:

Christopher Bond (play)
Hugh Wheeler (musical)

Release Date:

12 September 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Drama | Thriller | Horror

Plot:

Benjamin Barker alias Sweeney Todd, returns to London after being deported to find out what happened...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Barber | Murder | Trapdoor | Imprisonment

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Angela Lansbury	...	Nellie Lovett
George Hearn	...	Sweeney Todd
Cris Groenendaal	...	Anthony Hope
Sara Woods	...	Beggar Woman
Edmund Lyndeck	...	Judge Turpin
Calvin Remsberg	...	The Beadle
Betsy Joslyn	...	Johanna
Sal Mistretta	...	Pirelli
Spain Logue	...	Birdseller
Walter Charles	...	Passerby
Michael Kalinyen	...	Jonas Fogg
Roy Gioconda	...	Company
Skip Harris	...	Company
Duane Morris	...	Company
Patricia Parker	...	Company

Also Known As:

Sweeney Todd (Australia)

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles County Music Center - 135 N. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou opened at the Uris Theater on February 6, 1979, ran for 557 performances and won the 1979 Tony Awards for the Best Musical, Book and Score.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As the company gathers in front of the oven in "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd", the camera catches Sweeney moving into position for his entrance.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Man: [singing] Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. His skin was pale and his eye was odd. He shaved the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again. He trod a path that few have trod, Did Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996)

George Hearn: The Definitive Sweeney

I own a copy of this film and have always loved it. I comment here, however, because I saw the PBS presentation of a concert version of Sweeney Todd earlier this week. That production was put on by the San Francisco Opera and starred George Hearn and Patti LuPone. In the early '80s Hearn replaced Len Cariou as Sweeney (Cariou had won the Tony for his performance). I saw Hearn and Angela Lansbury (who also won the Tony for her performance as Mrs. Lovett) perform Sweeney on broadway. They must have made the film at about the time I saw the show. To this day, the most moving moment I can ever remember in the theatre occurred when Hearn sang "These are my Friends." ("These are my friends, see how they glisten." "My arm is complete again!")

Hearn's performance in the San Francisco Opera production convinced me that he has lost nothing in the nearly twenty years since I first saw him perform the piece on Broadway and later in the film. What a talent! He is sympathetic, funny, and scary -- all at once; and he can sing, boy can he sing. All of this reminded me of how terrific the film is. Highly recommended. Ten out of ten.