Rating: 
Summary: Great Show, Great Performances by Hearn and Lansbury
Review: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is Stephen Sondheim's telling of a barber driven mad. His wife and child were taken from him by a corrupt judge. He was transported, but he managed years later to return to London. He takes his revenge on humanity by slitting the throats of those he shaves. He's fortunate in meeting Mrs. Lovett, who makes a poor living making and selling awful meat pies, the main ingredient of which is cat. Now with Sweeney providing a constant source of fresh meat, her pies become best sellers. Sweeney finds his daughter, but retribution is inevitable.
Sondheim brings together some major themes in telling this story. It's a big production for a big score and story. Angela Lansbury and George Hearn as Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd command the stage. It's not an opera, but is sung through with little dialogue.
The play was filmed while the show played Los Angeles. We're viewing a stage production, but the direction, camera work and editing give an excellent feel of immediacy.
For me, Sondheim has always seemed to be over-intellectual with too much of an air of the alienated high school loner about him, but he has created some excellent, original shows. And he knows how to put together magnificent set pieces, critical to a show, which are stunning by themselves. In Sweeney there's a long number called "Johanna." His daughter is singing from a nunnery where the judge has placed her. The sailor who met her and who fell in love with her is singing. And Sweeney is singing. All singing of longing, with a beautiful, melodic theme...and while Sweeney is singing he's slitting the throats of his customers. It's a powerful moment. Check out the "Someone in a Tree" number from Pacific Overtures or "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" from Follies. These are works of an extraordinarily gifted composer.
The DVD is full frame, as it was broadcast on television, and is in excellent condition.
Rating:
Summary: Porgy & Bess..Sweeney Todd..Then?-Bronze medal undecided
Review: That is to say,those two listed works represent the two greatest achievements in american musical theatre history(The jurys in).One,a "folk" opera-as Gershwin refered to it,and "Todd" a "black Operetta"(that has the unique honor of being the only B-way show in history being done in opera houses worldwide-sorry, the Met has not mounted "Cats" or "Phantom"yet) as Sondheim refers to it.There are no other shows that come any where near the combination of genius,artistry,craft,and entertainment, that these two do.West side story?,Show Boat?,a far third and fourth.Actually,i would put Sondheim's Pacific Overtures as my "up for grabs" third choice.I can't say that the music of ST is quite on the same level as Porgy(of which all of scene one and act 1 through "robbins burial fund raising",is unapproachable),however,ST is a better theater piece than Porgy.The plot,structure,characters,and climaxes,are much more developed and interesting( and less one dimensional)than in porgy.However, both were conceived in a "timeless" fashion and style,and therefore both are timeless-as all great art and music is.About this dvd? Most of the original cast is here.And as such,it's a truly authentic rendering of( what was at the time of it's taping in 1982) a relitvely new work.I was 21 when i saw this production in L.A.I also "attended the tale" in 1980,for the N.Y. production (at the uris- now the Gershwin theatre),also with Hearn i believe. Sondheim's weaving and re-working(re-using-reprises of motifs,songs)of his truly inspired musical material(to say nothing of his briliant lyrics)is sheer genius.The pace of the last 20 minutes of this piece is incredible.It's like the last 20 minutes of "Good-Fellas",it doesen't let up.during Todd and Lovetts final exchange, before and after he waltzes her to a fiery demise(the greatest climactic part of the entire show-musically or otherwise),we hear fragments of four previous songs."poor thing","a little priest","by the sea","and," a barber and his wife"(all over the beggar womans motifs in the strings-alms,alms-"lucy"-sheer inspiration).Sondheim's genius for puzzles was never more apparent then in the solving of this supreme musical puzzle.Sweeney Todd.A final word on the timeless appeal of this show-My brother, who generally speaking, abhors the "Broadway"sound(i.e.He grew up on rock),and who is not a "fan" of musical theater per se(i.e.He grew up on rock concerts),absolutely loves ST.so do others like him,whom i have turned on to ST.So,if that's"You sir..no one's in the chair c'mon C'MON!.... SWEENEY'S WAITING!..I WANT YOU BLEEDERS"!!
Rating:
Summary: Often imitated, never duplicated...
Review: In days of yore musical theater was a vast cornucopia of huge, exotic, and powerful characters. Mostly villains, these were loudmouthed, fiendishly overbearing people who had an ax to grind against God, and humanity at large. They were tragic, anti-heroes, exploding with rage, and deliciously evil. Doomed, but sympathetic.
Now things have changed. Nowadays the average Broadway show contains a bunch of whiny, down-to-earth wussies who spend more time yowling out tired love-ballads, and feeling sorry for themselves then they actually spend living their lives. This hasn't always been the case. If Sweeney Todd got pissed off at somebody he killed them. Today, if a character gets pissed off he decides not to pay his rent. Ooh, scary! In the old days when characters had a disagreement they ended up getting into knife-fights. Now if characters disagree they go into therapy and talk it out. Then they sing a song about it. BOOORING!
Thank God for Stephen Sondheim. He was, and still is a master at portraying the dark side of the human spirit. His songs shock the monkey even to this day. It's unfortunate that the so-called "Golden Era" of musical theater ended some time at the end of the 1960s, because I would definitely rank Sweeney Todd among one of the top ten shows of all time. Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett should be the quintessential "How To" guides for any aspiring musical theater practitioner, and as much as I like "Rocky Horror," and "Little Shop" they will never be able to compete with the Broadway masterpiece that is "Sweeney Todd."
Rating:
Summary: Where are the applause?
Review: It is fantastic to finally have this incredible performance on DVD. But where are the applause? I could be wrong, but I thought when this first was on TV, there were applause after each number. Am I wrong? Applause, or not, this is a must have for any Sondheim fan. If only the wonderful "A Little Night Music" that was televised from New York City Opera a few years back would make it to DVD. That along with "Sweeney Todd", "Into the Woods" and "Sunday in the Park with George" would make for a killer boxed set!!!!
Rating:
Summary: AT LONG LAST!!!! Sweeney's Back Where He Belongs!
Review: "Sweeney Todd" has been out of print for many, many years. Video copies went for enormous sums, and I had to settle for an aging video copy I recorded when the show was first aired on television 22 years ago. I understood that there were some copyright issues that stopped the show from being re-released, which have apparently been resolved.Although I usually curse Warner Brothers for having the worst track record of any major studio for not releasing their extensive library of films to DVD, today I applaud them for giving us back this wonderful show with its delightful performances on DVD. Not only can we relish Angela Lansbury in her Tony-winning role as Mrs. Lovett, but we get the extra bonus of seeing George Hearn as Sweeney, to my mind the best Sweeney I've ever seen (and I've seen two others as well -- Len Cariou, who originated the role on Broadway and was probably the sexiest Sweeney (making Lovett's attraction for him perfectly understandable), but without Hearn's depth and a bit too American (or rather, Canadian), and Denis Quilley, who performed the role in London. Although Quilley's acting and singing talents were a match for Hearn's, he was physically not exactly right. As for the Mrs. Lovetts I've seen, the West End production's Sheila Hancock will always be my favorite for her ability to capture all the comedic aspects of the role (as Angela Lansbury does too) while still managing to plumb the pure evil depths and total amorality of the character. Ms. Hancock had the ability to make the theatre-goer laugh his head off one moment, and then to send chills down his spine the next. But who could not love Angela as well? And aside from Ms. Lansbury, one gets a chance to see several others from the original Broadway cast reprise their roles for this production, including the wonderfully sinister, powerfully voiced Edmund Lyndeck as Judge Turpin and Ken Jennings as Tobias. (Toby is not an easy role to cast, since one has to practically be a castrato to sing it.) I was also fortunate enough to see the original Broadway production before the cuts were made -- the shortening of the barber competition (a wise decision), the elimination of the self-flagellation scene in which Judge Turpin, brandishing a whip, is seen in a black robe, his buttocks exposed (this should never have been cut but was probably considered too outragious for the out-of-town tourists to handle), and the removal of the Tower of Bray number (which, again, was a wonderful pastiche and very funny, as it added to rather than detracted from the suspense, and hopefully will one day be re-evaluated and restored to future productions). But at least, the missing numbers are all on the cast album for admirers of the show to enjoy. The role of Anthony was replaced in this production by Cris Groenendaal (who was in the chorus in the original), and who has a stronger voice than Victor Garber, who originated the role, but Garber is a stronger actor, as can be surmised from his long and successful career, both in musicals and non-musicals. I also enjoyed Betsy Joslyn as Johanna, which is a silly and comedic role which she milks for all its worth, and yet still remains a chip off the old block. It's Johanna, after all, who grabs the revolver from Anthony to shoot Mr. Fogg in cold blood. Finally, before receiving the DVD, I was fearful that I might be looking at something with faded color bleeds and poor video quality simply transferred to a different media. But I am happy to report that the show has held up well, both visually and audibly. In fact, in this L.A. production, the only thing I missed from the Broadway production (other than the cut numbers) was that in the original theatre, Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett make their final appearance rising through a hole in the floor from an elevator beneath the stage, as if coming back from hell for a brief encore. Now THAT was an entrance!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Show, Lousy Recording
Review: I first saw Sweeney Todd on Broadway over 20 years ago, and was thrilled to be given the chance to revisit it now on DVD. If you love the dark comedy/thriller genre and are prepared to find cannibalism amusing at times, this one is for you. (Decades after seeing it I still announce to my family on the rare occasion that I make shepherd's pie that we're having "Shepherd's pie peppered with actual shepherd on top!") The music is FANTASTIC and creepy and Angela Lansbury is absolutely in top form. The problem is this; The recording was made as a low quality, live recording for PBS TV over twenty years ago. As a result, you will see the colors are less vivd than they should be, the picture quality is a little shabby and the show sounds like a flat, worn out tape recording. Still, this is a great performance of a Broadway classic.
Rating:
Summary: Its that amazing!
Review: Sweeney Todd is an absolute masterpiece. It basically puts every other show in the last 30 years to shame with its glorious music, supurb book and amazing characters. After owning the old VHS of this pruduction, it was so nice having a DVD of it. Even though the production was getting sort of old at the point this was shot, and you can tell that Angela is sort of tired of playing Mrs. Lovett. Its still a thrill to have this preserved. The cast is AMAZING. Even though Angela seems bored, she is still wonderful and electrifies the stage with her presence and talent. Its no wonder she won a Tony for basically every major Broadway Show she ever did. Hearn is ofcourse, AMAZING. His acting isn't as good as Cariou's, and I find Cariou scarier, but his singing is just sooooo good, and even though his characterization isn't my favorite, he gives his Sweeney a lot of dimensions, making you see that Sweeney Todd was once a good man and isn't just an insane mad man, even though I prefer that. The supporting cast is wonderful. I know everyone hates the Johanna, Betsy Joslyn, and even though I must admit her performance is a bit odd and her voice seems to be struggling, I love it. SHe makes Johanna into a complete nut and is completely insane, adding something even creepier about her character and her relationship with the Judge. I mean, hello, she has been molested by the judge her entire life and is kept inside ALL the time. I find it a bt ridiculous when Johanna is played all pretty and nieve. Does ne1 REALLY think Johanna would be so sweet after years of confinement? The Anthony's voice is VERY good and sing all his songs very well, even though his hair is a bit ridiculous. The Judge is great, and SOOOO creepy, and so is the Beedle. THe Tobias is very good, even though he's not as cute and endearing as he was when the show first came out, but he does it very well. Its just such an amazing show and I love it and everyone should buy this and the CD! Its sooooooo good!
|
