Sweeney Todd

This film was made for UK TV, but its a lot better than the majority of Hollywood pap out there. Admittedly it will not be to everyones taste, but that goes without saying. It a simple tale really, but the film gives it a depth i was not expecting.

For me, it was the acting that really makes it stand out - Ray Winstone and David Warner are outstanding.

Ray shows Sweeney to be a kind compassionate person who also just happens to kill people. His character is one of great contradictions then, but his actions highlight the fact that we are all as human beings capable of feats of kindness and also great evil if circumstances dictate.

The script is excellent too, keeping the pace moving nicely, but having time to delve into aspects of religion and philosophy that give the actions of todd a profound resonance.

Overall, an excellent film, highly recommended. But how did they make a musical out of such a macabre tale?

Sweeney Todd, a resident barber of London, has an urge inside of him to kill. As it grows and grows, he comes to fancy a young woman whom he cannot have -- both because she is married and because he is not physically capable. As they grow closer, he lets her in on his secret and a macabre friendship is born -- one a butcher and the other a maker of meat pies.

Ray Winstone is perfect as Sweeney Todd. I don't know him from much outside of "The Proposition" (which everyone loves, but I found disappointing). He has the look of a man worn down by time and heartache, cold enough to kill but sad enough to drive us to sympathy. Other people may picture Todd differently, but I think this look fully captures the darkness and emptiness of the man. All the characters have a very dirty look to them, which I also like -- no perfect conditioning in the hair and daily bathing rituals. I like it raw, and this film gives it to me.

This is not a musical version but simply a film with a dark tale to tell. It interests me to see how this one was presented. As I understand it, the original story came from the 1820s or 1840s. Yet, this film version touches on themes like abortion and the complete absence of God, which I would presume to be quite heavy for the time (though I may be mistaken).

The denial of God, morality and such is the driving force of this film compared to other versions. It's nihilism through and through, which is like the perfect medicine for someone like myself who was raised on heavy doses of Nietzsche, Kafka and Kierkegaard. Horror films often touch the evil in the world and what drives it, but few films -- horror or not -- really get to the deeper philosophic roots of the meaninglessness of the world in our modern time. Some have tried ("Dark City" comes to mind) but this one really hits the spot.

With the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp version having just been released, I presume the BBC version of "Sweeney Todd" will not get as much of a chance. But I would advise you to check it out and compare -- one is a musical, one is not. And Burton, while dark, has his own way of looking at the world. So you're not really seeing the same film twice so much as viewing an entire world fro ma different perspective, something I think is healthy for all of us to do time and again. Give this one a shot, it packs a wallop you cannot deny.

I watched this when it first aired on BBC television and, coming from London and having grown up with the Sweeney story, I was quite excited at the prospect of this version. It seemed a good idea because Sweeney began as a Victorian comic book story anyway,so dramatising it for a modern audience is the logical next step.

When I saw it, I thought it was very good. It did not, however, recapture that youthful, dark fairytale quality that I loved (and all children love) but it did create very real characters. The story is actually disturbing in the sense that Sweeney, who is himself the murderer, is character you feel sympathy toward. This television production is as a previous reviewer said 'not for all tastes', but if you get caught in the story and put it into the context that a Victorian London was actually reading this amazing tale, then this film will get you snared in it web like Sweeney got his victims in the barber's chair. For fans of this programme: You'll probably remember that this was billed as a 15 or so certificate for BBC 1 when it aired, but an 18 certificate directors cut is on release and is supposedly very good so watch out for it!

Although some have tried to argue that he was an actual person, it seems likely that the story of a throat-cutting barber named Sweeney Todd arose first as a bit of urban myth that was developed into an 1846 story titled THE STRING OF PEARLS by writer Thomas Prest. A year later the story was adapted to the stage as SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. It proved a popular ticket, and in age that knew little of copyright law, versions of the play were soon springing up all over the place, each one tweaking the story a little bit in the process. Consequently, it is almost impossible to say that any one particular version is "more authentic" than any other.

In this particular version, filmed for BBC in 2006, Todd (Ray Winstone)is a barber who spent twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Released, he finds himself shaving a prison guard and on sudden impulse slits the man's throat. One thing leads to another, as you might say, and he soon makes the acquaintance of bake-shop worker Mrs. Lovett (Essie Davis); his fondness for her not only leads him to set her up in her own business, but to supply the occasional cut of meat as well. The twist to this particular version of the story is in the relationship between Todd and Lovett, the latter of whom is more sinned against than sinning.

The script is quite clever, essentially winding most of Todd's motives (including his interest in Mrs. Lovett) around his own mistreatment while an inmate of the notorious Newgate prison, and both Winstone and Davis are extremely impressive in their performances. But for all the blood, and there is aplenty, and for all the sex, and there is some, the film looks exactly like what it is: a made-for-television movie. It is also rather slow and quite often a bit too "stiff upper lip" for its own good.

The DVD release offers a good transfer but, excepting cast credits, nothing in the way of bonus material. Those interested in the various directions the story has taken will find it intriguing, but most others will likely be only mildly interested.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Exactly how a wonderful story such as Sweeney Todd should be told. Everything about this production is head and shoulders above everything else. First up, we have the setting. This is truly a disgusting London, filled with waste and disease. Next we have Winstone, giving an astonishing performance. It shows how someone like Depp is a performer, but fails to attach himself to the emotional complexity of such a character. Winstone doesn't just decide that people are scum and start offing them. His first kill is a sudden and regrettable impulse. He even checks on the body later in the hopes that he isn't dead. Like so many real-life killers, Winstone's motivations come from a deep rooted psychological trauma. As he continues, the killing becomes the norm. It's his answer to vengeance, suspicion, and his way of attracting a woman. Davis is also brilliant as Lovett. For once this isn't some creepy madwoman, but a fragile and easily manipulated pawn. I can't speak highly enough of this film, or the way it demonstrates how stories from over a hundred years ago, can still be fresh and involving.