Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

TV Movie
1982
Not Rated
2h 20m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Angela Lansbury and George Hearn in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)

Barber Sweeney Todd returns to London to uncover the past, along the way meeting pie shop owner Mrs. Nellie Lovett, and begins to start his life of crime.Barber Sweeney Todd returns to London to uncover the past, along the way meeting pie shop owner Mrs. Nellie Lovett, and begins to start his life of crime.Barber Sweeney Todd returns to London to uncover the past, along the way meeting pie shop owner Mrs. Nellie Lovett, and begins to start his life of crime.

Director
- Terry Hughes
Writers
- Hugh Wheeler
- Christopher Bond
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

YOUR RATING

Director
- Terry Hughes
Writers
- Hugh Wheeler
- Christopher Bond
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 3 Primetime Emmys
- 7 wins & 2 nominations total

Photos5

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Though Dame Angela Lansbury won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Mrs. Nellie Lovett on Broadway, this production is the national tour, filmed while in Los Angeles, California.

Goofs
During the song "My Friends", Angela Lansbury accidentally says about Todd's razors, "them blades is chased silver" rather than "them handles" (as per the libretto). A razor blade out of silver would not only be less effective than the carbon steel commonly used, but would also be ludicrously expensive for such a mundane task.

Quotes
Sweeney Todd: [singing] What is that?
Nellie Lovett: [singing] It's priest. Have a little priest.
Sweeney Todd: [singing] Is it really good?
Nellie Lovett: [singing] Sir, it's too good, at least. Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh, so it's pretty fresh.
Sweeney Todd: [singing] Awful lot of fat.
Nellie Lovett: [singing] Only where it sat.
Sweeney Todd: [singing] Haven't you got... poet, or something like that?
Nellie Lovett: [singing] No, you see the trouble with poet is how do you know it's deceased... try the priest!

Connections
Featured in The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985)

Soundtracks
The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performed by George Hearn, Angela Lansbury, Cris Groenendaal, Sara Woods, Edmund Lyndeck, Calvin Remsberg, Betsy Joslyn, Sal Mistretta, Michael Kalinyen, Ken Jennings and chorus

User reviews42

Review

Featured review

10/10

God That's Good!!!!

This is the Sweeney Todd to watch. I first watched the Tim Burton version back when it came out and I liked it; it wasn't one of my favorite movies but it wasn't a stinker either. It wasn't until a few years later I knew what I was missing.

After watching this version, you can never go back to that Burton garbage. Would you eat at Taco Bell after tasting food at a REAL Mexican restaurant? No. The first time I fully-understood the story was with this 1982 taping. The Burton adaption was a jumbled mess with many things cut out and many miscasted actors (Helena Bonham Carter being the worst one). Sacha Baron Cohen actually did a remarkable job though.

Anyway, this review IS for the 1982 version, so I'll stop trashing the newer one. In my opinion, George Hearn performs Sweeney better than Len Cariou originally did, but that's just an opinion. Angela Lansbury adds lots of character to Miss Lovett, making her weirdly lovable. Ken Jennings (not to be confused with the high-neck Jeopardy geek)also reprises his role as Toby from the original show as does Edmund Lyndeck as Judge Turpin. Everyone does a remarkable job, however I know a lot of people hate Johanna's singing. But if you stop and think she's asking the birds how THEY sing wonderfully when trapped in a cage....so I suppose she's not supposed to sing well. Cris Groenendaal is wonderfully cheesy as Anthony and was much more likable than that young prissy guy they casted in the Burton movie.

This show is NEVER boring. If you found the Burton movie confusing, I suggest you watch this. It's truly a treat to watch; you'll see why this has an 8.5 score. Hopefully they'll release it on BluRay so we can attend the tale of Sweeney Todd in HD!