Review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982) by Daniel C — 16 Feb 2009

Having seen the Burton version, I've wanted to see the complete play for some time, and on finally getting around to it, I was quite impressed. (Turns out it's not quite the entire play, as Turpin's "Mea Culpa" is cut - it's well worth finding on YouTube if you haven't seen it, as it adds a whole new dimension to his character.

) It's obvious how much inspiration Depp pulls from Hearn's performance, as he brings intensity and a lust for revenge to the character, but he's more than matched by Lansbury's a-little-too-endearing Mrs.

Lovett (which fits the character to a T). This didn't actually make me hate the Burton version the way I've been told it might; if anything, it made me like it a bit more. That being said, there's aspects of the entire show that the Burton film loses, and while I understand some of them, like cutting "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," I can't help but love them in the play, and wish he'd found a natural way to work them in.

If I have a gripe with this one, it's Johanna, who is remarkably awful, in my view; I'm sure I may be corrected on it, but neither her singing nor her acting comes anywhere close to the rest of the cast.

Otherwise, a fine rendition.