Sweeney Todd in Concert
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Movie Reviews of Sweeney Todd in Concert
Movie Review: Sweeney Todd is the best and this is my favorite version
Summary: 5 Stars
Sweeney Todd is one of the best musicals ever written, and there is plenty written elsewhere about its artistic merit and plot, so I'll just comment on this particular performance. It seems like a lot of people hate Patti Lupone, but I really enjoyed her performance. In particular, her "A Little Priest" duet with George Hearn was the funniest thing I've ever seen and you could really feel the chemistry between Lupone and Hearn. I also liked the flirtatious looks she threw at Sweeney during "The Worst Pies in London." All of these nuances made me believe that she was really in love with Sweeney, which I think is pivotal to making the final scene work. Compared to Angela Lansbury's Lovett, I had a lot more fun with Patti Lupone. George Hearn was amazing. His commanding presence and rich, colorful voice were a joy. Sweeney can be difficult to play because you can either be too cold and calculating (unsympathetic) or too wildly emotional (unrealistic). Everyone has their own opinion about where on the spectrum Sweeney should fall, but I felt like Hearn struck the perfect balance in this version (where as he was overacting a bit in the stage production with Angela Lansbury). As an extra treat, we get the full backing of the San Francisco Symphony and a cast of veteran singers from both Broadway and opera. Many of the supporting cast are usually lead singers in their own productions! The semi-staging by Lonny Price worked pretty well though some of the scariness of the stage production was lost. I really missed the barber chair and the oven especially since the Act II "Johanna" is one of my favorite numbers. Overall, I liked the acting and singing much better in the concert version than the 1982 stage version so this is my favorite Sweeney on DVD. But I recommend starting with the 1982 video first, if you are new to the show.Movie Review: Just as good as the original...
Summary: 5 Stars
Maybe even better. What the original show lacks, this has, and vise versa, but you have to watch the original one first in order to fully appreciate this revived and revised version. For example, the original has all the sets, costumes, and special effects, but the sound isn't really all that great. This DVD focuses mostly on sound and music quality, but you have to use your imagination in some of the action scenes. Certain things are strictly representational. First of all, there's no blood, and no barber chair with a trap door. Mostly when the actors get killed they just walk off the stage, but the camera work is fantastic. In the original show it was kind of sloppy at times. Here, the camera zooms in so close to the actors faces, in some scenes, that you can actually see the spit flying out of their mouths. That's cool! Additionally, there are certain elements that won't make sense unless you watch the original, such as the oven scenes (there isn't one at all in this version, just a curtain, but the actors pretend that it's the oven door, which is kind of lame).
George Hearn, as always, is astounding in the title role, and with age he seems to have grown more comfortable with it. Patty Lupone is sexy as hell as Mrs. Lovett, and Neil Patrick Harris pulls off a surprisingly convincing performance as Tobias Ragg. Timothy Nolen is of course fabulously perverted and disgusting in his role as Judge Turpen. To tell you the truth, I can't think of a single performer in this production that I didn't like, but I'm running out of room.
Another bonus, this performance contains Judge Turpan's solo, which was cut from the original show when it was performed for television. The original version with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury is available now on DVD, as well. Get them both, and then sit back and enjoy the ride.
Movie Review: Concierto 2001 VS Versión teatral 1982
Summary: 5 Stars
Poseo los dos DVDs que hay a la fecha de este musical. Según yo este es el mejor. Sondheim es para mi el "Mahler" de los musicales y Sweeny Todd encarna a mi entender su obra maestra. Si me inclino a recomendar la version del concierto es porque aun cuando no se trata de lo que conocemos como un "revival", la partitura aqui luce mas brillante; el ensamblaje mucho mas armonico y para el oido de pronto todo parece sorprendentemente nuevo. El juego escenico que el director Lonny Price llevo a cabo al incluir a los coros y orquesta como un elemento vivo de la narrativa, dotan al montaje de un gran poderio, de una sombria excelsitud donde el espectador transita de la intimidación al extasis, de la ensoniacion romantica al terror. Cuan poderosa -insisto- es ahora la partitura! George Hearn ya habia interpretado un "Mr. Todd" deslumbrante al lado de la entraniable Angela Lansburry, pero ahora, con mas edad y experiencia consigue superar el alto estandar de su actuacion pasada. Patti LuPone deshace al publico con su voz enviadiable y su talento abrumador, con singular gracejo se adunia de la escena y su interpretacion es memorable. Lisa Vroman cuya tesitura vocal hace de Johanna un verdero "Angel en desgracia" hara que usted desee levantarse y aplaudirla de pie desde su casa. Y si bien Davis Gaines no posee una prescencia escenica arrolladora, su voz compensa los inevitables "close ups" para una grabacion de este tipo. El actor que interpreta al Juez Turpin; Timothy Nolen es excleso y bueno y hasta el jovencito que salto a la fama como Doggie Howser MD (Neil Patrick Harris)encaja fabulosamente en la puesta! Un meticuloso casting, un gran director musical y escenico aunados a la genialidad de Sondheim dieron como resultado este material extraordinario, digno de encabezar la coleccion mas prestigiosa.Movie Review: A Must Have
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't generally like or buy musicals. But Stephen Sondheim is, as his fans well know, in a league of his own. He is, for me, the greatest composer of all time.
This performance is unique in that the props are minimal (a simple stool for the barber chair, etc), but the live orchestra surrounds the stage, so you get to see close ups of the various musicians while they were playing, and I found this *very* satisfying, so I didn't miss the props at all. Of course my primary concern was the sound quality and the performance quality, and in that regard, this DVD delivers the goods.
First the orchestra: this was a full orchestra, and they rendered Sondheim's music better than I've heard in any previous recording. There was even a real pipe organ in the theater, which opens the performance. Then the ample chorus steps in to begin to recount the tale of Sweeny, and they are amazingly well rehearsed and sound perfect.
Now the main performers: Hearns, the original Sweeny, has never sounded better, and Patti LuPone delivered what is probably the best performance of her career. Every other performer was equally great and either met or exceeded the quality of the original recording. The passion in these people's faces and the perfection of their voices is a testament to their love of Sondheim's music above all others.
Summary: As a long time lover of Stephen Sondheim, and with Sweeny Todd being arguably his richest composition, I found this performance stunningly beautiful, and deeply satisfying. I will keep this recording forever, and have already replayed it many many times.
Movie Review: After you see Tim Burton's "Sweeney", see this.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen every version of "Sweeney Todd." The original Broadway show, the John Doyle revival, the Tim Burton film, and this concert version filmed with the San Francisco Symphony. This is probably the finest music. Backed by a full symphony orchestra, the Sondheim score has never sounded better and the performances are uniformly superb. This makes an excellent counterpoint to the new film. While the movie emphasizes the action at the expense of the music, this reverses that. While Johnny Depp makes an acceptable Sweeney, he can't hold a vocal candle to George Hearn. And it's unfair to even put Helena Bonham-Carter into the same category as Patti Lupone. In this version, with its minimal staging, one's attention stays firmly on the magnificent score. To me, the movie also lacked the correct balance between the humor and the macabre. It was too dark for too long with only, "By the Sea" to brighten things up. But here, as in the original, Mrs. Lovett's songs provide comic relief throughout the show. Patti Lupone is so good, she almost eclipses Angela Lansbury's original Mrs. Lovett. She brings out every nuance and bit of humor in "Worst Pies in London" and "Priest," as well as a sexiness and sauciness that Lansbury never had. Bonham-Carter is quite humorless through most of the film, in my opinion. But, mainly, buy this to appreciate fully the brilliant musicality of the Sondheim score and to catch every word of the libretto. If the movie got you interested in the music of Stephen Sondheim, consider this your next lesson in music appreciation.