[The_Return]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)

Ok, so not technically a movie: actually, it's a filmed version of the Broadway production.

It took my a little while to get used to it - my only other exposure to the show is the Burton/Depp version - but once I got my mind around around it, I was VERY impressed. The set was ingenious, the music is fantastic (obviously), and the cast is wonderful.

It was really interesting watching George Hearn and Angela Lansbury's take on these characters - they're drastically different than the Depp/Bonham-Carter versions that I fell in love with. I found it fascinating to watch: Hearn's Sweeney is infinitely more high-spirited - especially in the Pirelli scene - and Lansbury's Mrs. Lovett is a twitch-ridden lunatic, compare to the sullen an restrained film version.

As a great lover of musical theatre (and theatre in general), I throughly enjoyed this. It can't live up to honest-to-God live theatre, but without access to the real thing it sure makes a damn good substitute.