Thanks all for watching the video. Despite being as thorough as possible, I wanted to give reference to some other sources which may have in turn inspired Sweeney Todd. To avoid the video being 2 hours, I had to cut the material down to what I believed may have been most canonical towards what created the character of Sweeney Todd. Here is a list of some references which I omitted, but also some bits of information in regard to the video which may have been cut down for time. Influences: Barnabe Cabard from L’auberge des Trois Rois (The Inn of the Three Kings). The Dog of Montargis. Joddrel, the Barber, or, Mystery Unravelled. Pehr Lindeström’s 16th century diary. String of Pearls: Some images used out of context from Novel to tell the periodical story as no material exists to illustrate the original fully. Play: Ending changed - Jarvis Williams and Mark Ingestre are completely separate characters (this is due to the play being staged before the periodical finished). Novel: Sweeney discovers in a scene that the wigs are being made from the hair of the mental asylum’s patients (rather than just knowing this). All villainous characters are ramped up; for example, Lupin murders his wife and places her in an already marked grave (crushing the skeleton in the coffin to fit her in). Thornhill, Jeffries and Rathbone get an extended backstory about how they fought off native Americans together. Thornhill is further developed and gives some substance as to why they were at sea and the connection between the men. This same backstory is used in the 1936 film. 1936 movie: kzread.info/dash/bejne/mZiYkqiPkcbFY7A.html Bond: I did not go into great detail in terms of plot summary for Bond’s piece due to it being incredibly close to Sondheim’s version. There are many available copies of Bond’s play, but additionally Sondheim’s musical is widely available to watch. As a further difference from the musical, Sweeney manipulates Mrs.Lovett through her infatuation of him. Music by Asher Fulero

@Stroheim333

10 ай бұрын

Peter Haining was a liar, an accomplished pseudo-scholar who time and time again was caught red-handed with nonsense claims invented in his armchair.

@cannibalisticrequiem

8 ай бұрын

Gotta be honest, I would totally watch a 2 hour analysis/retrospective on Sweeney Todd! 😂

Mrs Lovett: "Where is the share that you promised to me?" Todd: "Don't worry. You'll get yours". *laughs evilly for like two and a half minutes while sinisterly gurning* Mrs Lovett:.... Mrs Lovett: Seems legit

Why don't you have more subscribers? This is great content! The part with the dog reminded me a bit of a fairy tale where a young man is rescued from cannibal butchers (not bakers) by his dogs. Namely it also featured a secret passage way and greed as the main motivation for the villains. The "faithful dog" motif is widespread enough that it's probably a coincidence though. It's called The Jourbeyman by Ludwig Bechstein if you want to compare it for yourself.

Gosh, I must be here early! This is a really well written analysis. I'm a huge Sweeny Todd fan and I appreciate the amount of care that went into this! You deserve so many more subs!

Great video! Definitely going to watch more of your stuff!! And just to add something to the adaptations you mentioned at the end, in Brazil there’s a production of Sweeney Todd currently running. It’s also quite stylized, the costumes are steampunk-ish, the stage is very close to the ground almost at eye level with the audience and it forms a diamond shape through the theater space, passing through the audience. Each corner is a different place in the story (the shop, the square/the boat, judge turpin’s house/asylum, and one that was kind of a miscellaneous space) The audience is seated on bar tables and park benches so it’s more immersive and so the cast can interact easily (the night I went to see it, during The Contest, Mrs. Lovett just pulled a vacant chair and sat with some people in the audience to watch) Although it sticks to the text and music, it’s a very fun and interesting way to put it together

I wish I still had the Sweeney Todd related pamphlet by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli. I heard it was re-released in some form.

didn’t know the history of Sweeney Todd at all - thanks. Angela Landesbury was an amazing and wonderful actress. i do miss her. 🎭🌹🌱

One stage adaptation you didn't mention is TODD, a Russian production helmed by the horror punk band Korol i Shut that first premiered in 2012. It is comprised of all-new musical and lyrical material written and performed by the band. It was also released as a two-parter concept album-cum-audio play.

Sweeney Todd is my all time favourite musical- thank you so much for going so in depth!! Great video!!

You've certainly earned my sub with this one. I'm very impressed with how diligent and thorough you are with the origins of this story, despite the murky twists and turns. The story behind the story is just about as mesmerizing as the barber himself, honestly! Well done!

R.I.P. Angela Lansbury

I've tried and consistently failed to like Burton's Sweeney Todd - the fact that he makes Todd look so much like a rockstar with perfect hair and smoother skin always feels so wrong to me. And Helena Bonham Carter totally misses the point of Mrs. Lovett - her personality is supposed to be a total contrast with Todd's, she's chatty and fussy where he's grim and brooding - that contrast is the core of their relationship, it's what makes them such a great pair to watch, and it makes the final reveal of her evil so much more shocking. But Carter plays her like a female version of Todd all the way through and makes her evil way too obvious from the start. I can't imagine any director and actress getting a character more wrong.

@robertlauncher

Жыл бұрын

I will definitely take rockstar Todd who can act and be crazy over baldy Cervis with a stick up his rear the whole performance. If it wasn’t for Lupone’s Missus Lovette, the low budget rendition of the musical would’ve bombed hard because Micheal Cervis is pretty bland and joyless.

@gingergamer3270

Жыл бұрын

I am neutral about it but I prefer the live performance, the thing that annoys me the most is the way they tuned Helena's voice. It just sounds off.

@andycic.544

Жыл бұрын

Top it off with the fact that NO ONE IN THE MOVIE CAN SING

@oliverbrownlow5615

Жыл бұрын

@@toffeestrange7706 Reportedly director Tim Burton *told them not to sing in a "legitimate" Broadway style.*

@oliverbrownlow5615

Жыл бұрын

Depp's look as Sweeney is literally stolen from 80's punk rocker Dave Varian of "The Damned."

Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite Broadway shows. I'm so happy its finally coming back as the only versions I saw was the recorded 1979 version and the movie. The songs and the story always fascinated me mainly because I was a criminology student in college and the mystery surrounding it of is a true story or not was one of plenty of debates in school. I thin k it's also a great example of the power of storytelling and legends. How a story can survive over 200 years and mean something to people. Sweeney invokes reactions of tragedy in the modern version while the old one I'm sure invoked fear and horror as the 1800s would also be a time of horror tales such as Spring-Heeled Jack (that whole century was a butt load of industrialization anxiety and stories in cities). Sweeney at the time I think also survived because he fit well into that generation of people who were living at the time.

"So Joanna comes back and discovers that 'omg where did he go?'" LMAO

This was a great video! I am a big fan of the Sweeney Todd musical, and have been since childhood, so it was neat getting to see the history of Sweeney Todd the character beyond what little I knew about the history - like the "String of Pearls" penny dreadful! George Hearn and Angela Landsbury are my favorite pairing for Todd and Lovett! You just can't go wrong with them!

This is a truly wonderful video, the kind of informative treasure trove few professional academics ever provide. As an ardent fan of the Sondheim version, I obviously knew about the Bond play and had a vague inkling there were versions before that, but this video put everything into sharp (and witty) focus. I was mildly surprised you didn't mention the Ben Kingsley/Joanna Lumley film, but possibly time constraints made that necessary. In all events, bravo! Great work.

55:31 I actually think this is something to be praised. Burton is known for taking incredible artistic liberties. His decision to work closely with Sondheim shows that he wanted to show the utmost respect in this adaptation. It would be more in the tradition for both the story and this particular storyteller to make changes and adapt further, but I appreciate that the place the film occupied.

You deserve more attention than this. Amazingly researched and well performed and edited. Bravo!

Hello from Sydney. Some years ago Opera Australia did an astonishing version of this with Australian singers, I've never forgotten it. Thanks for putting it all in context, loved it.

Well researched and an excellent watch

Ah so excited for this video!!

Your work is really interesting - thanks!

You’ve done such an excellent job with this! Great research! :)

I did not know there so many adaptations!! Ty so much for your work, i love this channel!

This was so interesting! Also I like that you left in the mess ups, they were funny

I appreciate how long this video must have taken to make and that you added your sources! really well done and underrated video!

This was such an educational and informative video essay. Kinda forget that a musical I love has been adapted many times and the origins are much older than I expected. It's a treat to watch your videos

I love in depth Analysis videos so much

This is a fantastic, and excellently researched, rundown. I wasn’t sure I’d stick around for the full hour’s running time, but I thoroughly enjoyed that 👏🏼

I can’t wait for more of these videos from yall. Idk if you take ideas from the audience at all, but I would love to see an in depth video on the history of non traditional casting in theatre. 😊

I 1st became aware of Sweeney Todd when a taping of the touring company with Angela Lansbury & George Hearn was aired on the Entertainment Channel. I taped it & watched over & over & it is my favorite version. When the DVD came out I got a copy. I swear that the version aired on TV had the full barber contest. But I have no VHS player to go back & check. I later got a copy of the script published by Applause Music Libray. Some years later i came across a DVD with the 1936 version. I have seen the movie version with Johnny Depp. (Very disappointed with it because of how much was cut out.) & over the years I have done some research on the history of Sweeney Todd. But not to the depth you have done. Very impressed with it & I learned a lot of new facts myself. Thanks for adding to my knowledge. I also should add, my favorite song is "A Little Priest". For me that captures the heart of the story.

I just wanted the chance to tell you that I adore your videos and that they are well-researched and flawlessly presented! Please keep making more you are doing such a beyond incredible service for your viewers. All the best to you and yours, Jimmy... Just one of your fans out here in the dark as Norma Desmond might say and PS I believe Betty Buckley was the absolute best and most awesome Norma Desmond that sunset boulevard ever had or shall have. Just wanted to throw my little piece of Truth in. Many thanks and blessings to you and yours and that does include the four-legged fur babies as well.

Anyone interested what an animated version would be like? 😄

@orlandolee4438

Жыл бұрын

I would love to see an animated version of Sweeney Todd, I reckon either Anime or Stop-motion would be a good artstyle to it and get either Alfred Molina or Guy Pearce to voice the Demon barber himself!

I have a big Sweeney Todd fixation so this fed my soul so very nicely thank you

i love this video so much!!!

Good video 👍 i rlly like the 2007 movie soundtrack and i didnt rlly know all this history!

Lmao I'm only a few minutes in but I'm glad the "yah not doing that" has become a recurring joke

I got to see two different productions of Sweeney Todd at theater camp, both times it was one of the best shows of the summer. One notable difference between the show and the Burton movie that I always liked was how they depicted the throat slitting. The show had a prop knife with a little bladder of fake blood inside and the actor playing Todd would squeeze it slightly while dragging it across his victim's throat, leaving a little streak of red that looks pretty convincing from the audience. The movie basically said "Fuck that, this is a movie, so let's go nuts" and made the cuts as visceral and disgusting as possible. And yet in spite of that, the most horrifying image in the movie is Mrs. Lovett burning to death inside the over. I STILL cover my eyes at that part every time.

@Pizzaguy975

3 ай бұрын

Yeah like the blood and gore just feels like and looks aid coming out of people in the movie I do agree actually showing Mrs Lovett burning was really dark and horrific I especially like the shot of his eyes before he shuts the oven completely like the only time in the whole movie I thought depp was sinister

Burton's Sweeney Todd is a nightmare. Literally no one in the movie can sing except Alan Rickman. Kind of important when you're producing what's basically a mid 20th century operetta.

@oliverbrownlow5615

Жыл бұрын

I agree with everything you've said, except I would replace Alan Rickman with Ed Sanders as Tobias.

@randaray24

Жыл бұрын

Strange - I thought Alan’s lower range was the worst singing on the soundtrack. Nobody is really a great vocalist though.

@andycic.544

Жыл бұрын

@@randaray24 maybe If I revisited my mind would be changed idk I only ever watched it once for obvious reasons. But yeah the singing is pretty much all lifeless and terrible.

@randaray24

10 ай бұрын

Funny - I am prepping to teach the vocals to my drama club next school year and the more I listen to the soundtracks the more I love Depp’s performance! Weird how things morph.

LSU student here. I keep forgetting how big this school is, so when it shows up in mine or someone else’s research it’s very jarring

I went to the Dutch touring opera version! I'd only ever seen the movie before that. It really was a fun production!!! I believe a full audio recording of that version was aired on radio once. I'd saved it somewhere but don't remember where... Still, a fun experience!

i thought this video wld have like 100k views what??? this is so cool

I love these guys!

This video was great!! I hope me commenting will help the algorithm so more people can find it!

A mystery: could Ms. Lansbury be remembering incorrectly? When he started to work on SWEENEY TODD, Stephen Sondheim intended to create the work by himself. After finding himself stymied by the effort, he turned to Hugh Wheeler to write the libretto. So why would Laurents and Sondheim have sent a telegram to Lansbury? My guess is she meant to say Harold Prince and Sondheim. I have not seen any information that Laurents was involved in the project at any point, in any way.

@oliverbrownlow5615

Жыл бұрын

I think you're right. She probably just misspoke. She did two shows, after all, with Sondheim and Laurents: *Anyone Van Whistle* (1964) and the London revival of *Gypsy* (1973), which also toured in the U.S. and played on Broadway.

I thought Sweeney was about lust not greed. Enjoyed your interpretation and history. Would you say Sweeney was Gran Guignol? Saw it live from the balcony in the Kennedy Center Opera house in the 1970s. When Sweeney flashed his razors I was truly scared. Not so with a movie, sad to say.

What's the name of the opera in 13:25 that ALW plagiarized?

I want to know more about the girl in the asilam with Tobias. She had an entire dtory and back story and she was just left behind in the book. Where did she come from or what inspired her presence

What is the opera/musical that you show before the phantom of the opera clip?

@TheDramaDorks

2 жыл бұрын

Puccini’s ‘La Fanciulla del West’ (The Girl of the Golden West). The song is ‘Quello che tacete’.

@kacie.k

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

After Watching Jon Solo's video about the origins of the character, I came to the conclusion that I would quite like the The String of Pearls version of the story. That was of some relief because it rather annoyed me that here was this great folk legend duo and I hated the musical about them. I guess the whole daughter thing just didn't sit right. The greed angle is much more like to form. it's not to say that the musical isn't fine for itself if that's what you want, have at it.

If your name is Tod Slaughter, you have to assume you were born to play Sweeney Todd.

YES WE ARE DOING THAT 🤣❤️😍

So I might have missed it if you said it, but how did Todd die in the original tale? Lovett poisoned herself, but how did he die? You said both where dead at the end and I felt like I had missed something.

@TheDramaDorks

Жыл бұрын

Hi, I hope you enjoyed the video. In the 1846 periodical 'The String of Pearls' - Sweeney is hanged for his crimes after Tobias gives evidence against him (24:35). Mrs Lovett is poisoned by Todd. In the 1847 play a mob tries to remove Sweeney from the barbershop to be hanged. He is instead shot at by the mob and dies but not before giving a closing monologue. Mrs Lovett is described to have had a mob descend upon the pie shop when the public discover the human meat pies via Lupin (the mob also tears the whole pie shop to the ground) - she is ultimately taken to prison. In the 1850 novel, Sweeney is gunned down by policemen. Mrs Lovett commits suicide with poison.

@ArnLPs

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDramaDorks Ah, thanks. This was very interesting to learn about, I didn't know anything about Sweeney Todd except for the basic premise before going in. Haven't seen the Tim Burton movie either. Tho I still got confused between all the different versions.

Mr al gore please stop climate change and give me more content this thorough

I have very mixed feelings about the musical. The character of Sweeney have gotten more complexity and depth perhaps... but there's violence done to the female characters. Johanna and Sweeney's wife are extremely objectified. Reduced to "beautiful" and "yellow hair". Stripped of any agency. Also the s a/r in the song Poor thing that makes light of sa/r imo by the sound of the melody and making it "titillating"/"lighthearted" in the buildup and wording. And I'd rather see Lovett being driven by greed, because it's such a cliche that she's inlove with Sweeney. Almost the only time women are allowed to be greedy in stories is the cliché of the young beautiful gold digger. If a woman does a crime it's always because of being desperately in love with a man.

Every time I learn something about ALW I like him a little less

If there was no real sweeny todd, then why is there a REAL transcript of his trial?

@queerqueen098

2 ай бұрын

Source?

This was a fascinating video