Genres

Visitors Review

stormrose 2012-05-23 19:10:26

Excellent piece of storytelling

You believe in every one of the characters in this movie, as well asthis being historical London. (Which it may or may not have been- thestory may well be nothing but urban legend, of course.)Ray Winston does a great job. He has done so often enough, but this oneis my favorite, so far.It's actually pulled off portraying the 'mad barber' as a kindheartedfellow who's really only slightly disturbed (aside from being plentyhomicidal) in such a way that you believe it, extreme as it sounds.Well, I certainly did, at least. All thanks to very good acting andcharacter development.In sum, I found this movie to be far better than the musical edition ofthe same tale, starring Johnny Depp. But then, I always preferpsychological credibility over costumes and singing.

2012-05-22 23:32:44

Totally Different

This review is from: Sweeney Todd - The Director's Cut (DVD) This British version is totally different and not for everybody. No musical score - all drama. It's an extremely well-acted depiction of a descent into madness. Be warned.....it is bloody.

2012-05-21 15:17:44

Product returned

As this product was advertised to me on the basis of my interest in the musicals of Stephen Sondheim (note tag suggestions below), I thought it was a version of the Sondheim musical. When this proved, upon receiving the product, not to be the case and I returned it.Tag Suggestions: broadway, musicals, musical, original cast recording, dvd, gabriel spahiu, sondheim, based on the play, musical theatre

gashamaloo 2012-05-21 09:45:17

Mostly a superb TV movie

Being a huge fan of the macabre (especially serial killers) I was veryexcited to hear this was coming on TV with one of my favourite actorsportraying Sweeney. I had shortly before finished reading a biographyof Sweeney Todd and enjoyed the film enormously right up until the lastfew scenes. I'm not going to ruin the film for others by saying exactlyhow it was ruined for me, except to say that the movie ending - as faras I am aware - contained certain factual differences.That said, the ending they chose - if you don't know the full story -is probably excellent, and I would heartily suggest that it gets aviewing. Performances by all cast members was great, and Ray Winstonewas fantastic.

JoeytheBrit 2012-05-20 11:58:04

Another Close Shave

Dave Moore's TV version of the infamous tale of the bloodthirsty barberSweeney Todd unsurprisingly bears little relation to Tim Burton'smusical version released the following year. This one is much morematter-of-fact in its portrayal of Todd's descent into madness, andgives his motive for killing as revenge for being jailed in Newgateprison as a child for a crime committed by his father. Initially, thereis a skewed sense of justice to Todd's reason for killing off hisclients but, as his blood lust (and feelings for the neighbouring MrsLovett) grows stronger his reasons become less calculated.Ray Winstone plays Todd. He is a fine actor, but loses some of hisscreen presence by choosing to underplay the role, his voice rarelybetraying any kind of emotion. Despite this it's a choice that suitsthe character, even if it doesn't the actor. Cutting up his victims inthe cellar of his barber shop, stripped to the waist, his bare headgleaming white and his mouth slack, Winstone makes a truly grotesquemonster, one made all the more frightening because he is otherwise anextremely quiet and ordinary man.There's a lot of violence in the film, a lot of slit throats andmutilation of corpses, but, again, it's not given any kind ofsensationalistic value. Essie Davis plays Mrs Lovett, another decentcharacter whose descent into monstrosity is sparked by the things thathave happened to her rather than any inherent evil. She turns into agrotesque parody of herself as the film progresses, her beautydestroyed by pox scars, sporting fine wigs made by Todd that sitincongruously atop her ruined features. It's all very grim and dark andthere is no place for humour, even of the gallows variety. Perhaps atouch of humour, especially on the part of Todd, is what is needed toboth round out his character and make his monstrous actions that muchmore horrific…

gavin6942 2012-05-20 01:22:35

A Solid English Interpretation of the Classic Tale

Sweeney Todd, a resident barber of London, has an urge inside of him tokill. As it grows and grows, he comes to fancy a young woman whom hecannot have -- both because she is married and because he is notphysically capable. As they grow closer, he lets her in on his secretand a macabre friendship is born -- one a butcher and the other a makerof meat pies.Ray Winstone is perfect as Sweeney Todd. I don't know him from muchoutside of "The Proposition" (which everyone loves, but I founddisappointing). He has the look of a man worn down by time andheartache, cold enough to kill but sad enough to drive us to sympathy.Other people may picture Todd differently, but I think this look fullycaptures the darkness and emptiness of the man. All the characters havea very dirty look to them, which I also like -- no perfect conditioningin the hair and daily bathing rituals. I like it raw, and this filmgives it to me.This is not a musical version but simply a film with a dark tale totell. It interests me to see how this one was presented. As Iunderstand it, the original story came from the 1820s or 1840s. Yet,this film version touches on themes like abortion and the completeabsence of God, which I would presume to be quite heavy for the time(though I may be mistaken).The denial of God, morality and such is the driving force of this filmcompared to other versions. It's nihilism through and through, which islike the perfect medicine for someone like myself who was raised onheavy doses of Nietzsche, Kafka and Kierkegaard. Horror films oftentouch the evil in the world and what drives it, but few films -- horroror not -- really get to the deeper philosophic roots of themeaninglessness of the world in our modern time. Some have tried ("DarkCity" comes to mind) but this one really hits the spot.With the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp version having just been released,I presume the BBC version of "Sweeney Todd" will not get as much of achance. But I would advise you to check it out and compare -- one is amusical, one is not. And Burton, while dark, has his own way of lookingat the world. So you're not really seeing the same film twice so muchas viewing an entire world fro ma different perspective, something Ithink is healthy for all of us to do time and again. Give this one ashot, it packs a wallop you cannot deny.

2012-05-16 20:13:56

Winstone shines, as usual.

Sweeney Todd (Dave Moore, 2006)Sometime in the past decade or so, Ray Winstone has quietly gone from being a stock heavy (for example, in 1997's brilliant heist flick Face) to being one of Britain's best, and most versatile, actors. Nowhere has he shown this more than in Dave Moore's striking adaptation of Sweeney Todd, with Winstone playing the title character. A number of film versions of this story that I've seen have been simplified, glossing over some of the darker elements of the story (which is an odd thing to say about a story whose central figure is a serial killer), but Moore (Wallis and Edward) revels in the stuff that's outside the realm of the accepted, and it shows. In case you've been living in a cave the past few hundred years, Sweeney Todd is a delicate, uplifting love story involving the title character (Winstone), a London barber (remember that back in the day, barbers also performed surgery) and the woman down the street, Mrs. Lovett (Girl with a Pearl Earring's Essie Davis), a former prostitute who now runs a pie shop. The two form a symbiotic relationship; Lovett refers folks to Todd. Todd kills them, then returns the bodies to Lovett, who makes them into pies. Free meat! Bigger profits, and it's probably better than you'd get from your local Megacorp. Needless to say, the police are concerned about the large number of disappearances, and Mrs. Lovett's husband, a nasty brute of a man, is starting to get suspicious. Needless to say, the bodies keep piling up. Didn't I say it was uplifting?The Sweeney Todd bio has been done about a thousand times on stage and screen, with varying degrees of effectiveness. This one is done very well indeed, especially for a TV movie. Moore refuses to pull any punches, keeping within the bounds of television appropriateness by implying, rather than showing, many if the nastier bits. Still, if you record this thinking you're getting the Tim Burton version, be aware that this one, while not explicit, is still not for the smaller kiddies. For everyone else, though, it's an effective, wonderfully-acted treatment of the subject, and it's well worth watching. *** ½

2012-05-16 10:51:57

Unredemptive message, but some honest material on childhood trauma

I watched this movie on a recommendation, and was disappointed. Found it mostly sickening and over-the-top, which, I suppose, is what the directors hoped for. Of course, the movie was shot well, the acting was superb (the guy who played Sweeney was brilliant), the tension excellent...but still. Largely an awful message: a traumatized, unfairly imprisoned guy takes out his anger and revenge on strangers who never did him any harm--by murdering them. Yet the basic one who did him the real harm, his father, gets let off the hook easy. Sounds so much like the overall message our whole society promulgates as far as blaming parents: blame anyone else!That said, if Sweeney Todd really wanted to do the world a service he would have figured out how to grieve. But it's a lot easier to be a raging violent child in an adult's body than it is to be a self-reflective, grieving adult.Thus: this movie was a pointless failure.Don't watch it.

Lily Ross 2012-05-11 00:11:40

Sweeney Todd in reality not the fairytale that we grew up with...

I watched this when it first aired on BBC television and, coming fromLondon and having grown up with the Sweeney story, I was quite excitedat the prospect of this version. It seemed a good idea because Sweeneybegan as a Victorian comic book story anyway,so dramatising it for amodern audience is the logical next step.When I saw it, I thought it was very good. It did not, however,recapture that youthful, dark fairytale quality that I loved (and allchildren love) but it did create very real characters. The story isactually disturbing in the sense that Sweeney, who is himself themurderer, is character you feel sympathy toward. This televisionproduction is as a previous reviewer said 'not for all tastes', but ifyou get caught in the story and put it into the context that aVictorian London was actually reading this amazing tale, then this filmwill get you snared in it web like Sweeney got his victims in thebarber's chair. For fans of this programme: You'll probably rememberthat this was billed as a 15 or so certificate for BBC 1 when it aired,but an 18 certificate directors cut is on release and is supposedlyvery good so watch out for it!

Chris Gaskin 2012-05-10 10:34:53

I wouldn't like this barber to cut my hair!

I saw most of Sweeny Todd when BBC1 screened it one evening just afterNew Year 2006. I missed the last half-hour or so though, but I got toknow how it ended.A load of grizzly murders are the responsibility of Sweeny Todd aka TheDemon Barber of Fleet Street. We get to see him slashing people'sthroats and cutting his victims up. He then gives the parts to thelocal bakery to have pies made, so a bit of cannibalism thrown in. Hisvictims include his lover. Police find out about this at the endthough.The cast includes Ray Winstone, who is excellent as Sweeny Todd and heis joined by David Warner (Titanic, Time Bandits), Tom Hardy and DavidBradley.At least my barber is not like this one! Watch this if you dare.Excellent and wonderfully gory in parts.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

2012-05-02 00:00:26

a great horror film

I just finished watching this movie and if you like horror films this is just a great,great movie.I'll even say this is the best I've seen in years.The acting and production couldn't be better.It is gory but not that silly slasher flick stuff.As I say if you are a horror fan DO NOT MISS IT!!!!

Downs2440 2012-05-01 10:50:47

The Tale of the Demon Barber

I am a large fan of the tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of FleetStreet. This tale has grown into what is indeed a cult favorite. Itwent from the penny-dreadful, "The String of Pearls: A Romance" intothe hit Stephen Sondheim musical and now into this BBC drama starringRay Winstone. Sweeney Todd is a great movie. A glorious cast and agreat new version of the story (I am repeating myself). Todd is moresympathetic in this film than he is in the Sondheim musical and the TimBurton film. He starts killing and cannot stop. He then befriends aMrs. Margery Lovett whom he takes her the chopped up bodies of hiscustomers (whose throats he slits and she does not know who or whatthey are) and she bakes the bodies into her pies. The police start togrow suspicious and launch an investigation. Will Sweeney Todd ever besuspected? This movie is a 10 out of 10. This isn't like any otherversion of the tale at all. This is a fresh, brand knew version of it.The Demon Barber is a tortured soul in this, he releases his rage inmurderous ways. This is probably the best television film. I highlyrecommend it!

fedor8 2012-04-25 06:27:32

Pretty good, especially for a TV movie.

I knew nothing about "Sweeney Todd", the former versions, the basicplot, not even what genre of movie it was - when I pressed "play" - andthat's the best way often to watch a movie, especially in an age whenyou see a million scenes in previews hence feeling as if though you'dalready seen the damned thing.Anyway. ST is a sort of murder/drama with touches of romance even. It'san unusual story, nothing off-the-wall, of course, but with touches oforiginality. Parts of it are predictable, others aren't. Winstone isvery convincing as the title character and this Essie Davis is verygood, too, and very attractive. It was about time we see anotherbeautiful British (well, Australian - same thing) woman on film, aftera series of nepotistic uglies filthied the screen with their presence:the likes of Emma Thompson, Helena B. Carter, and several others.(Ironically, this Bonham creature plays the same character as Davis inTim Burton's 2007 version, which must be crap.) Sweeney Todd is acomplex murderer; not a psychopath at all (he feels love, remorse, hasempathy), with motives only understandable to him. I found it a littleodd that Davis would so quickly (after a night's sleep when shesurvives her disease) get used to the fact that Todd is a butcher andthat she ate the meat of her own lovers through his deeds. But that'sthe only (slight) problem I can think of in an otherwise interestingmovie. It might be a TV movie, but looks more like a theatricalrelease.I can't imagine why anyone would want to watch Tim Burton's sing-a-longversion of this story. It must be garbage.

2012-04-24 14:23:33

A Chilling Tale Masterfully Told

I enjoyed this movie so much I watched it a second night in a row with friends. They were spellbound while watching and couldn't figure out what was coming next. The story is gripping with its well timed suspense and horrifying scenes. I especially liked how everything about this movie just fit together so well. It was as if you were watching a tragedy unfold before your eyes and all you could do was wait out the inevitable disaster you knew would come. Like watching a runaway train bulldozing its way down the track at a devastating speed. Its not a matter of if it will crash but when.This version of "Sweeney Todd" brought to life the London of that day, with all its poverty and filth. Sweeney Todd comes across as a man who was just a product of his environment with the respectable skill of a surgeon-barber. The acting was superb with lines that gave depth and meaning to the actions of the characters.Watch closely because its the little things in this movie that reveal so much of the story. An Intelligent Tale!

2012-04-24 13:57:10

Excellent Adaptation

If I could have given this non-musical version of the original SWEENEY TODD Broadway production 4 1/2 stars I would have--it is that close to perfection. The reworking of the Todd/Mrs. Lovette relationship is fascinating. In this version Mrs. Lovette is much more a sympathic victim than the monster so delightfully played by Angela Lansbury in the original musical. Nonetheless this drama retains--even expands upon--the essential gruesomeness of the plot. Here Todd's psychotic urges are really frightening. The end is a bit of surprise--and fits perfectly.

IridescentTranquility 2012-04-24 06:54:59

Gory but deep

Watching a drama about a character known as the legendary "Demon Barberof Fleet Street" did give me some idea of what I was in for when I satdown to watch Sweeney Todd just after Christmas. Having said that, itwould have been all too easy for the writers and producers to write atwo-hour script of wall-to-wall slaughter, and I'm glad that theydidn't. (Not only because I have no stomach for overtly gory scenes,but because I like to watch something with a little substance to it.)I watched Sweeney Todd with my mum and, as she pointed out, there was apart of Ray Winstone's Todd that was very benevolent. It might sound atodds with the legendary image of Todd, but to Mrs. Lovett he wascapable of well-meaning kindness. (It was very convenient, surely, thatTodd knew Mr. Lovett was abusive towards his wife just before Mrs.Lovett called him to assist her ill husband.)I haven't yet found out much about the real-life (or should that belegendary?) Sweeney Todd, but I think the scriptwriters did well toflesh out a back story for the character. He may have shed more bloodon screen than Hannibal Lecter did in The Silence of the Lambs (thethroat-cutting scenes - tastefully shot, though they were - I tried toavert my eyes from, gory scenes aren't my thing at all) but Toddclearly wasn't always a maniac, a murderous barber on the prowl, as onemight expect. I recognised the beginning of his descent from man tomonster when I felt a lot of sympathy for his father as Todd put a stopto him ever being able to give evidence against his own son.Once the accidental killings occurred and Todd found a rather novel wayof disposing of his victims, it took a little longer than you mightexpect for him to descend into the twisted way of thinking that madehim end the lives of so many. Mrs. Lovett was clearly very close toTodd's kinder side, close enough that she was mystified that hermultiple lovers never came back to her after a visit to Todd's shop. I had hoped that the ending might have been a little more positive, butinstead both Todd and Mrs. Lovett seemed condemned to a morepredictable fate. I'm still undecided whether Todd's final end was alittle too obvious, or whether it was a clever way of showing that hewas wily enough to gain his jailers' trust enough to be able to end hislife in the way that the law dictated.

Paul Andrews 2012-04-21 03:15:57

Not too bad.

Sweeney Todd is set in London during the early 19th Century where a mannamed Sweeney Todd (Ray Winstone) runs a barber shop in Fleet Street,one night a jailer (Roger Frost) from Newgate Prison pays for a shave.The jailer reminds Todd of his childhood he spent in Newgate where hewas abused by the jailers & in a moment of rage slits the jailersthroat. After giving a woman named Nellie Lovett (Essie Davis) anabortion Todd falls for her & buy's her a shop from which she sellsmeat pies, Todd suddenly hits on the idea of slitting his customersthroats, cutting them up & giving the meat to Lovett to turn into pieswhich quickly become very popular...This English production was directed by David Moore & was almostcertainly made to cash-in on the then forthcoming Tim Burton musicalSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) with Johnny Depp,some say the character of Sweeney Todd was based on a real person but Idon't think there is any hard evidence that he was. The script byJoshua St. Johnston plays it straight as a grim drama rather than anover-the-top musical or horror, as one might guess a lot of this filmsduration is spent trying to get inside the mind of Todd & develop areal character who had real motivations & feelings. Despite thisthere's not much reason behind his killing, sure the first victimreminded him of his unhappy childhood but thereafter it's not quite soclear cut. The main focus is on the relationship between Todd & Lovett,it's fairly deep & the character's are well fleshed out but Todd'sthroat slitting activities were of more interest to me so I sort oflost interest in the film as a whole as it decided to concentrate onpersonal angst & drama. This is not a bad adaptation at all, it movesalong at a decent pace, it's well written & tells a good story but itnever really grabbed me.Made for British telly I was surprised to learn that Sweeney Todd wasshot in Bucharest in Romania, I mean it was set in London & made by aLondon based company with British money so why film in Romania? Thenagain I suppose modern day London looks nothing like it did back in the19th Century, maybe Romania is a closer match. This is quite gory for aTV production, there's a few gory slit throats, a rotted corpse, slicedup body parts, a severed hand, a tongue severing, a stabbing plus anoperation to remove a gall stone & one to remove a bullet. I wasdisappointed with the way this looked, it just looked flat & cheapespecially if you have seen Tim Burton's wonderful visuals on hisrecent version.Technically this is alright, I must admit the production design didn'timpress me that much & it felt a bit cheap. The acting was fine,Winstone was an interesting choice to play Todd & puts in a restrainedperformance while it was nice to see David Warner in a small role.Sweeney Todd is a slightly above adaptation of the often told tale ofthe demon barber of Fleet Street, it's not bad for what it is but it'shardly life changing & I doubt I will remember anything about it in aweek.

2012-04-20 17:09:36

Boring

This review is from: Sweeney Todd - The Director's Cut (DVD) I found this version boring, but some of the acting was good. I bought it because I wanted to see it, and I couldn't find it anywhere to just watch it. However, I only watched it once without any intention to ever watch it again. So, if you do really want to see, I hope you can rent it somewhere. At the time I bought it, I don't think it was available on Amazon Instant Video to just rent. Maybe, that will change some time.

brb5 2012-04-17 15:26:18

Excellent performances from main players! The closest shave you'll ever have!

Sweeney Todd is a master of his craft, learnt whilst serving 20 yearsfor a murder his father committed. Once on the outside; he excels inhis trade as a barber and gains an enviable reputation with customersof all classes. Slowly cracks appear in his professional demeanour andthe murders begin..PROSA superb performance from Ray Winstone as the demon barber, solidscript and well supported by the main characters. Expertly played as atragic man, Todd comes across as a very complex character; abused andneglected as a child and constantly manipulated by his drunkardmurderer of a father. Yet striving for acceptance from his peers, hisfew acquaintances and surprisingly; his father.For what could have become a by the numbers period BBC production,Winstone's performance lifts his character, and the simple story toLecter 'esque levels of screen infamy. Expect some 'Best Actor' BAFTAnominations for this work. The photography is very good, using a superbpalette and masterful use of lighting, both artificial and natural.Convincing VFX and competent audio cap a classy production. CONS: Marred by somewhat dubious casting for the minor roles, andnotably the younger members of the cast. If only the younger actorswere of Winstone's calibre.

Will R 2012-04-17 00:42:08

Great film in all respects.

This is a great film! It has good period costumes, the charters andacting are convincing, the set is simple and the scenes flow from oneto the other. I found myself feeling vary involved in the film.I am usually disappointed by films set in the past and feel that thisis the perfect example of what I like in a period film with the hardaccents and the attention to detail of the clothing and furniture. The Acting was excellent by the actors of all the main characters andit is a great story of life of London's past.I will find it interesting to see the Johnny Dept version of this film.I am expecting Hollywood to make a mess of it.It was also fun because it was grim but not gruesome so my wife couldwatch the whole film.This is a classic style horror film with a lot to it.