Sweeney Todd

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
(Sondheim)

This isn't just "based on an old musical," it is the Sondheim/Wheeler Broadway hit musical. I'm more curious as to how Carter will handle:

A Little Priest


MRS. LOVETT:
Seems a downright shame...
TODD: Shame?
LOVETT:
Seems an awful waste...
Such a nice, plump frame
Wot's 'is name has...
Had...
Has!
Nor it can't be traced...
Bus'ness needs a lift,
Debts to be erased...
Think of it as thrift,
As a gift,
If you get my drift!

No?

Seems an awful waste...
I mean, with the price of meat
What it is,
When you get it,
If you get it...

TODD: HAH!
LOVETT:
Good, you got it!

Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop!
Bus'ness never better using only pussycats and toast!
And a pussy's good for maybe six or seven at the most!
And I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste!

[Simultaneously]

TODD:
Mrs. Lovett, what a charming notion
LOVETT:
Well, it does seem a waste...

TODD:
Eminently practical
And yet appropriate as always!
LOVETT:
It's an idea...

TODD:
Mrs. Lovett, how I've lived
Without you all these years, I'll never know!
How delectable!
Also undetectable!
LOVETT:
Think about it!
Lots of other gentlemen'll
Soon be comin' for a shave,
Won't they?
Think of
All them
Pies!

TODD:
How choice!

How
Rare!

TODD:
For what's the sound of the world out there?
LOVETT:
What, Mr. Todd?
What, Mr. Todd?
What is that sound?
TODD:
Those crunching noises pervading the air!
LOVETT:
Yes, Mr. Todd!
Yes, Mr. Todd!
Yes, all around!
TODD:
It's man devouring man, my dear!
BOTH:
And [LOVETT: Then] who are we to deny it in here?

TODD: (spoken) These are desperate times,
Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for!
LOVETT: Here we are, now! Hot out of the oven!
TODD: What is that?

LOVETT:
It's priest. Have a little priest.
TODD:
Is it really good?
LOVETT:
Sir, it's too good, at least!
Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh,
So it's pretty fresh.
TODD:
Awful lot of fat.
LOVETT:
Only where it sat.
TODD:
Haven't you got poet, or something like that?
LOVETT:
No, y'see, the trouble with poet is
'Ow do you know it's deceased?
Try the priest!

TODD: (spoken) Heavenly!
Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps,
but then again, not as bland as curate, either!

LOVETT:
And good for business, too -- always leaves you wantin' more!
Trouble is, we only get it on Sundays!

Lawyer's rather nice.
TODD:
If it's for a price.
LOVETT:
Order something else, though, to follow,
Since no one should swallow it twice!
TODD:
Anything that's lean.
LOVETT:
Well, then, if you're British and loyal,
You might enjoy Royal Marine!
Anyway, it's clean.
Though of course, it tastes of wherever it's been!
TODD:
Is that squire,
On the fire?
LOVETT:
Mercy no, sir, look closer,
You'll notice it's grocer!
TODD:
Looks thicker,
More like vicar!
LOVETT:
No, it has to be grocer --
It's green!

TODD:
The history of the world, my love --
LOVETT:
Save a lot of graves,
Do a lot of relatives favors!
TODD:
Is those below serving those up above!
LOVETT:
Ev'rybody shaves,
So there should be plenty of flavors!
TODD:
How gratifying for once to know
BOTH:
That those above will serve those down below!

LOVETT: (spoken) Now let's see, here... We've got tinker.
TODD: Something... pinker.
LOVETT: Tailor?
TODD: Paler.
LOVETT: Butler?
TODD: Subtler.
LOVETT: Potter?
TODD: Hotter.
LOVETT: Locksmith?

Lovely bit of clerk.
TODD:
Maybe for a lark.
LOVETT:
Then again there's sweep
If you want it cheap
And you like it dark!
Try the financier,
Peak of his career!
TODD:
That looks pretty rank.
LOVETT:
Well, he drank,
It's a bank
Cashier.
Never really sold.
Maybe it was old.
TODD:
Have you any Beadle?
LOVETT:
Next week, so I'm told!
Beadle isn't bad till you smell it and
Notice 'ow well it's been greased...
Stick to priest!

(spoken) Now then, this might be a little bit stringy,
but then of course it's... fiddle player!
TODD: No, this isn't fiddle player -- it's piccolo player!
LOVETT: 'Ow can you tell?
TODD: It's piping hot!
LOVETT: Then blow on it first!

TODD:
The history of the world, my sweet --
LOVETT:
Oh, Mr. Todd,
Ooh, Mr. Todd,
What does it tell?
TODD:
Is who gets eaten, and who gets to eat!
LOVETT:
And, Mr. Todd,
Too, Mr. Todd,
Who gets to sell!
TODD:
But fortunately, it's also clear
BOTH:
That [L: But] ev'rybody goes down well with beer!

LOVETT: (spoken)
Since marine doesn't appeal to you, 'ow about... rear admiral?
TODD: Too salty. I prefer general.
LOVETT: With, or without his privates? "With" is extra.

TODD: What is that?
LOVETT:
It's fop.
Finest in the shop.
And we have some shepherd's pie peppered
With actual shepherd on top!
And I've just begun --
Here's the politician, so oily
It's served with a doily,
Have one!
TODD:
Put it on a bun.
Well, you never know if it's going to run!
LOVETT:
Try the friar,
Fried, it's drier!
TODD:
No, the clergy is really
Too coarse and too mealy!
LOVETT:
Then actor,
That's compacter!
TODD:
Yes, and always arrives overdone!
I'll come again when you have JUDGE on the menu!

LOVETT: (spoken) Wait! True, we don't have judge yet,
but we've got something you might fancy even better.
TODD: What's that?
LOVETT: Executioner!

TODD:
Have charity towards the world, my pet!
LOVETT:
Yes, yes, I know, my love!
TODD:
We'll take the customers that we can get!
LOVETT:
High-born and low, my love!
TODD:
We'll not discriminate great from small!
No, we'll serve anyone,
Meaning anyone,
BOTH:
And to anyone
At all!

This musical has been done with the Broadway cast for PBS and I believe the DVD is available. Burton is the perfect choice for a movie version.

DVD: http://www.amazon.com/Sweeney-Todd-Demon-Barber-Street/dp/B00005JL6V

The only version I've ever seen was by a high school cast! Can't wait to see Burton's realization.

My favorite lyric from the musical:

"His voice was soft, his manner mild
He seldom laughed but he often smiled."



Creepy!

I still can't tell from the trailer I saw... will this movie have singing in it?

Credit are given for Stephen Sondheim for the music and at IMDb it is also classified as a Musical along with other categories since it's so multi-faceted.

Who would think of a musical about a revenful barber who is cutting off his client's heads and having them made into pies by his woman accomplice?

Stephen Sondheim

Absolutely, looking forward to this one...especially around the holidays!!!

There's a pretty cool behind the scenes featurette... on Sweeny...

Can't wait til the 21st!!

Definitely...it's a musical!!

I've heard that Burton has tailored it (i.e. edited it...) in such a fashion that's it's not all overwhelming with huge-chorus numbers and stuff...which is fine with me!!

Official Site is all up-and-running, as well:

http://www.sweeneytoddmovie.com

I've been playing around on it all day...it's pretty cool...

Depp and Helena look fabulous, don't they???

I can't wait for this movie. But I'm avoiding all websites and trailers if I can. I want to be surprised!

Hilarious, a commercial for Sweeney Todd came on TV just now. I think seeing the ads may be unavoidable.

a cannibal barber. who would ever think of that?

what's next...bigamist lumberjacks?
candlemakers who use the fat of thier slaughtered victims to make candles?
jewelcrafters and leatherworkers who use the body parts of customers who couldn't pay to make products for their trade.
dammit i feel a song and dance number coming on......

Assassins must have been a hard sell, too.

Neither Sondheim nor the original playwright who wrote the London stage play ever had to think it up. It's a real story, just not one expected anyone would ever make into a musical. This is Sondheim's stage musical which is as close to opera as anyone could get, at least comic opera. However, it has a moving love story at its core as well as the humor and the potent horror elements. The song about who's in the pies is the great piece of dark humor every devised.

Link to the real story of Sweeney Todd

Already the critical response is almost overwhelming.

Sweeney Todd 100% positive reviews

Yeah, Sondheim has made a career out of making audiences confront things that one would not expect to appear on the musical stage--whether it's unhappy marriages (Company), American imperialism (Pacific Overtures), cannibalism, or high profile assassinations (some of which are still in living memory). About the only optimistic thing he's ever written is the fairy-tale-ish Into the Woods... and even then, Rapunzel and the Baker's Wife have to die.

"Sunday in the Park with George" is likely the most upbeat work and, typically, it won the Pulitzer Prize.

The PBS version of the staged play does retain the socio-political message within the musical, but I don't believe this is an audience-selling approach so actually, Burton has made the right decision in putting the focus on the horror aspect of the story. The love interest sub-plot also seems like on an interlude for a tender love song in the stage version so I don't see where it's any different than what Burton has done with the filmed version.

I look forward to this movie. Am I crass to admit I relish a good plot with even better music showcasing meat pie from a questionable source?

I finally saw it and thought it was great. Johnny Depp was his usual awesome self while Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall almost stole the show as Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford.

Helena Bonham Carter can't sing to save her life, though, and her usual dark deadpan just doesn't work for a character like Mrs. Lovett. Some of Sondheim's best lines were completely lost in translation.

Burton and Depp,the dynamic duo,pull it off yet again with,would you believe,a musical horror (and there are some very bloody scenes!).Depp's singing voice is surprisingly good.A bit like David Bowie on a bad day,which is still good.
Depp and Helena Bonham Carter look good together on screen and I thought her voice was OK! The teaming of Alan Rickman and Tim Spall (two of the UK's great actors) is the work of genius,as Harry Potter fans know.Rickman is great when playing "the baddie" and Spall seems to fit the slimy side-kick role so well.
Although based on fact,I never new the whole story,and I'm glad I didn't,as it would have ruined the climactic ending.
This is NOT a date movie and,for 4 scenes,you need a strong stomach,which is why it was given an 18 rating.