Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Snap Case) [DVD]

A very well done filmed Broadway version. The musical score is lyrical and touching with each character singing of the misfortunes of London life. But it is the sound of devilish Mrs. Lovett which sparks a flame for the viewers. No later production comes close in musicality or fun. A necessary addition to your library!!

I enjoyed this the very first time I saw it (right after it came out), and it's held up well. The production and performances are excellent. Angela Lansbury is absolutely remarkable.My complaint is only about how it was filmed. Like in many other films of stage productions, there are far too many close-ups and medium shots. I don't need to see an actor as if I were only a few feet away. I don't need or want oddball angles as if I also were on stage. I don't need or want "short attention span theatre" directors switching from camera to camera. It's not a film. It's a stage production meant to be viewed from certain angles and distances. Any shot that is not from among those angles and distances makes is a disservice to the viewer--I'm missing out on the show.

Remember seeing this on cable as a kid, loved it. Have been basing all other performances on this one. I also found the album and started listening to that, but was lucky to find the play with Angela Lansbury. Loved her in everything she did especially Bedknobs and Broomsticks, will miss her!

Nothing can top seeing a Broadway musical live, and I do mean nothing. Movies are my favorite outlet for entertainment, but for musicals such as this 1979 Stephen Sondheim gem Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street nothing comes close to the original stage production. From the opening whistle and the first lyric of the ballad "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd" I knew I was hooked on this production. It is a one of a kind musical experience that has to be seen to be believed.Many who are currently familiar with the tale of Sweeney Todd were introduced by Tim Burton's film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was visually stunning, and had some good acting, but I don't think the film adaptation properly captured the tone of the play. Burton's film was a brooding melodrama set in a gothic tribute to the Universal Horror movies, but missed a key point of the play: Humor. This is not a melodrama. In fact, the entire play has a joyous sense of black comedy, and tongue-in-cheek antics which was almost entirely lost in Burton's film (I think it officially left the picture once Sacha Boren Cohen makes his exit...).Fortunately for all of us wanting a taste of the true Sweeney Todd, Showtime has provided us with a fantastic televised version of the 1982 touring cast starring the always magnificent Angela Lansbury in her 1979 Tony Award winning role of Mrs. Lovett. Replacing Len Cariou as the titular Sweeney is George Hearn, whose performance which is nothing short of being a force of nature. Aside from Lansbury, we also have Edmund Lyndeck (Judge Turpin) and Ken Jennings (Tobias Ragg) returning from the original 1979 production.Angela Lansbury and George Hearn possess great chemistry as the crazed partners who turn murder victims into meat pies. These two are a perfect pair, and for me George Hearn could be even better than Cariou (of course, I don't have the benefit of being familiar with Cariou's stage presence when he played the role). Hearn is powerful, his voice captures the fury and insanity of a man out for revenge and with nothing left to lose (or, so he thinks...). From the fondness of My Friends, the steady rising, predatory rage of Pretty Women, to the full blown hurricane of fury and insanity that is Sweeney's Epiphany George Hearn's performance is an amazing mixture of subtlety and insanity . Angela Lansbury, of course, is the perfect Lovett, the maker of the "Worst pies in London" while taking the hots for Sweeney, Lansbury's performance mixing overwhelming glee with pure insanity, and LOVING it bringing the right level of manic energy and humor to the duet with Heart "A Little Priest."As far as the technical side of the production is concerned, the editing and camera work in this show is top notch, standing high above many of the other attempts I've seen to transfer to excitement of a play to the screen. Close-ups are provided when it enhances the mood and never are intrusive, and for the most part they allow us to see the entire stage so that it feels like the viewer is a part of the action. I don't think any other filmed stage production has ever made me feel as involved as this 1982 production of Sweeney Todd.Sadly this DVD has no bonus features, but with how high-quality the program itself is (if you've seen many recorded shows you'll know many fail to capture the energy of the play) I can accept the complete lack of bonus material (and interview with Lansbury, Hearn, and/or Sondheim would have been nice). If you want to be exposed to Sweeney Todd as it was original staged, or simply want to get a taste of Broadway from the comfort of your own home, I cannot recommend this DVD enough! This is a fantastic introduction to Sondheim's black comedy and Broadway. Short of jumping in a time machine this is the closest one can get seeing this legendary cast, so give it a look. Attend the tale.

This is an actual filmed production of the Broadway musical! Angela Lansbury, and cast are professional singers, and it shows. Sadly, when an updated film version of the show was made it picked “stars” instead of singers. J.Depp and H.B. Carter are just poor imitations. I rate THIS original version 5+ stars🎵🎶

This recording is quite old (1978i think) and I don’t believe they filmed this emit the quality you’d see for say a feature film. But it’s good enough to enjoy! Vastly superior to the film adaptation.

There is nothing ever conceived for the stage that is quite like Sweeney Todd. Yes, it has men getting a hair cut and their throats cut as well, then ceremoniously turned into the "best meat pies in London," but once you accept it as make-believe theatre, you are in for the single greatest musical ever created for the stage. It is a story of revenge, and is filled with the most extraordinary, glorious, clever, hilarious (yes, hilarious), thrilling music, lyrics, and orchestrations EVER. This is the video of the 3 Emmy-winning first national touring company of the 8 Tony Award-winning Sweeney Todd, which was originally shown on PBS, and boasts Angela Lansbury in her Tony Award-winning performance as Mrs. Lovett, and George Hearn, in the defining performance of Sweeney. The supporting players are made up of mostly the original cast. Suggestion: You will enjoy your first viewing of this if you treat yourself to the Original Broadway Cast recording (accept no other), and famiarlize yourself with the music - especially the lyrics - which will help you to enjoy your first viewing of this play. But WARNING: DO NOT PLAY THE RECORDING PAST "NOT WHILE I'M AROUND" on Disc 2. You do not want to spoil the ending!Put the disc in your player, and be prepared for a thrilling musical experience. But if this is not your first time, this is still the best recording of an actual fully staged performance of the best musical ever devised for the stage for you to enjoy again and again.

I had been wanting to watch this since I heard about the Johnny Depp version, but oh when I found out that there was a version with Dame Angela Lansbury, I knew I had to watch this one instead!! My husband is a picky movie watcher and even he was impressed!!

Great

To paraphrase "A Little Priest", the acting of a stage show on TV always arrives overdone. That said, this is a tremendous cast performing a brilliant show. Having only seen a regional company's production thirty years ago, the movie, and then several bits on YouTube, I was glad to have a chance to see more or less the real thing. Of course George Hearn is very good, but I would have liked to see Len Cariou in the role.

Had a used copy, but just as I remembered. Works great and fast delivery. (Thanks MusicMagpie) no fault to dvd or case, almost as new.The play is amazing. Angela Lansbury -the real Mrs Lovett & George Hear - the real Sweeney Todd(or close second after Cariou).It was great to hear Green Finch and linnet bird as aria again - they way it was ment.The audience only heard when it's not a distraction. And the interval for 30sec (passable option) makes it feel like your seeing it on stage just a bit more.At last my collection it complete again!

This is real Sondheim, not disneyfied Sondheim.The harmonies are 'bad', the characters insane, the acting crass and the music indiscrete. But this is what makes Sondheim, Sondheim!If you want to see Sweeney Todd, as Sweeney Todd, then go for it, and get this!My only reservation is of the choice of some actors, not Sweeney or Lovett, but of Toby, and to a lesser extent, Johanna. Perhaps, though, this is merely them, unable to stand up and be seen alongside greats such as Lansbury & Hearn.Staging is brilliant, music is fantastic. If you want to see what Sweeney is all about, then try this for size!

If you remember the original production of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd", then this filmed version of the production in Los Angeles is an excellent reminder. Of course it lacks the immediacy of seeing it live, but the music and the sets are spectacular. The acting is quite "big" - well it would have to be to fill a theatre. On TV, certain characters appear a bit, well, overblown. In short, this DVD divided our household. Those of us who'd seen a large scale theatre version really enjoyed it. Those who had seen a recent small scale London Fringe production of the show, which was truly superb, found this DVD overdone, hammy, and not in the same league as a live show