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

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9:57

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

Featured review

10/10

Incredible, INCREDIBLE show

Even if you're not a "theatre person," I highly recommend that you see this. Based off of a play of the same name by Christopher Bond (which, in turn, had been based off of an old London legend), Sondheim did a wonderful job bringing it to the musical theatre stage. The score is just amazing-- by far Sondheim's best, and probably one of the best scores written for a musical ever. The show was cast extremely well, my only complaint being of Betsy Joscelyn's portrayal of Johanna. It;s good, mind you, and she's a very versatile actress, but she just doesn't sing "Greenfinch and Linnet Bird" too well. But other than that, it's all phenomenal-- Angela Lansbury *made* the role of Mrs. Lovette, and she just does it so well. George Hearn was a good replacement for Len Cariou in the title role, and Ken Jennings gives a great performance as Tobias. The ending will give you chills. Top marks for a wonderful show.