Post by George Willson on Oct 26, 2005 17:47:53 GMT -5
-- 1982 -- NR
The 1982 video recording of the 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the height of his career. Sondheim has not turned out a show like this before or since. It was simply awesome. I have loved this story and cast recording every since I got it several years ago, and seeing it played out on stage was a real treat.
hile the basic story is familiar to everyone (Sweeney Todd kills people giving them "close shaves" and Mrs. Lovett, his downstairs neighbor, uses the flesh for her meat pies with great success), this takes the horror and makes it into a melodrama where Sweeney Todd becomes a sympathetic character wrongly accused and sent to prison so the evil Judge can get ahold of his wife. When Sweeney returns having escaped prison, his wife is dead and his daughter, who was one when he was sent away, is now a ward of the judge, and the judge is planning to marry her. Sweeney wants his revenge and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.
It a wonderful revision of the gritty horror story of Todd and Lovett, and Sondheim's score makes it truly a cut above the rest.
The 1982 video recording of the 1979 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the height of his career. Sondheim has not turned out a show like this before or since. It was simply awesome. I have loved this story and cast recording every since I got it several years ago, and seeing it played out on stage was a real treat.
hile the basic story is familiar to everyone (Sweeney Todd kills people giving them "close shaves" and Mrs. Lovett, his downstairs neighbor, uses the flesh for her meat pies with great success), this takes the horror and makes it into a melodrama where Sweeney Todd becomes a sympathetic character wrongly accused and sent to prison so the evil Judge can get ahold of his wife. When Sweeney returns having escaped prison, his wife is dead and his daughter, who was one when he was sent away, is now a ward of the judge, and the judge is planning to marry her. Sweeney wants his revenge and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.
It a wonderful revision of the gritty horror story of Todd and Lovett, and Sondheim's score makes it truly a cut above the rest.