FAQ for
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. It is assumed that no one who is diligently avoiding spoilers will be visiting this page in the first place.

Yes. The entire cast does their own singing.

Laura Michelle Kelly (who plays the Beggar Woman) and Jayne Wisener (who plays Johanna) are "trained" singers. Helena Bonham Carter (who plays Mrs. Lovett) has been quoted as 'singing her butt off' in preparation. Though Johnny Depp was cast as Sweeney before any one ever heard him sing, he trained himself in the privacy of his own home.

There is only one note in the movie that is not sung by the actors: Sacha Baron Cohen (in his role of Signor Pirelli) gets overdubbed for his final high note in the song "The Contest." While Cohen sings the entire rest of the song, the note is higher than Cohen's range (and most other people's).

Lyrics Similar to the Film lyrics: http://www.stlyrics.com/s/sweeneytoddthedemonbarberoffleetstreet.htm

Stage Libretto: http://www.theatre-musical.com/sweeneytodd/libretto.html

Here is the FULL song list IN ORDER. If you don't see a song title, it is NOT in the movie (many thanks to kc24 for the full list): * Opening title (an instrumental arrangement of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd) * No Place Like London * The Worst Pies in London * Poor Thing * My Friends * Green Finch and Linnet Bird * Alms, Alms! * Johanna * Pirelli's Miracle Elixir * The Contest * Wait * Ladies in Their Sensitivities * Pretty Women * Epiphany * A Little Priest * Johanna Trio * God, That's Good! * By the Sea * Not While I'm Around * Final Sequence

Note that any choral parts have been removed and many songs have been significantly truncated.

The Ballad serves as a "Greek chorus" providing back story for the stage show; yet, Burton has the luxury of showing us what happens to Benjamen Barker and his wife, so the chorus became obsolete.

"Epiphany"

The lyrics he sings are combined from two different verses (as is the footage, if you look close enough)

the full lyrics are here: http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php;jsessionid=8E09456360944CB04EF80A41B2761AFB?hid=pwH8skWA1xs%3D

This was an adaptation of an existing (and very popular) Stephen Sondheim musical from 1979.

No, this is the first adaptation of the Sondheim musical.

There is a 1982 DVD recording of the musical starring George Hearn in the title role and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084747/. George Hearn won an Emmy for this.

There have been several non-musical versions, including a black and white with Tod Slaughter from the '30s (availability unknown): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028331/, as well as the 1970, low-budget, grade-B drama-horror directed by the late Andy Milligan which is titled: Bloodthirsty Butchers: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065480/

A movie with Ben Kingsley in the title role: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0147582/

A TV movie with Ray Winstone: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479760/

And the 2001 Concert version of the musical featuring George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Tim Nolen (Judge Turpin), Neil Patrick Harris (Toby), and Lisa Vroman (Johanna) with the San Francisco Symphony: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300536/

While this version is a "concert version" it is a STAGED version, it is not like the Les Miserables 10th anniversary concert. The Concert is staged with a very dark, kabuki theatre style with props and raised platforms to great effect. There are many behind the scenes documentation as well as seeing Sondheim himself correcting misconceptions about the show and you see him also correcting the musical and phrasing interpretation of the score. So musically this version is far more complete with Turpin's Joanna being included in the show. The show benefits from classical singers being in the secondary roles. As it allows the story to flow most consistently and brings out some of the musical humor that Sondheim included. Incidentally, Sondheim has singled out Neil Patrick Harris as being a definitive Toby so this is worth checking out for that!

There has been a lot of debate about this since there is no known evidence that Sweeney Todd was a real person.

In 1979 (the year Sondheim's musical premiered), Haining wrote the first of two books arguing that Sweeney Todd did exist. However, after nearly three decades, Haining's sources remain unverified, giving cause for skepticism.

This article gives the entire story, complete with bibliography (Of more sources than just Haining).

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/todd/index_1.html

A skeptical counterpoint can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweeney_todd

http://www.geocities.com/justingilb/SweenyPage.html

Apparently, yes. Several reports have stated that Sondheim likes the movie a lot, and one also mentions that he is is very pleased with the performances; Depp's and Bonham Carter's particularly.

http://www.lemonwade.com/2007/10/04/its-true-about-sweeney-todd-sondheim-really-really-likes-it/

Every actor had to personally audition in front of Sondheim for his or her part, except Johnny Depp, who came attached to the project. He also wrote additional music for the score (as he was involved in the 2005 radically different--exceptional--revival). So his involvement makes it encouraging that his vision is preserved.

Encyclopedia Britannica says: also spelled gilliflower any of several scented flowering plants, especially the carnation, or clove pink (Dianthus caryophyllus), stock (Matthiola incana), and wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri). The gillyflower of Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare was the carnation. Other plants that utilize the word gillyflower are dame's gillyflower, also known as dame's violet (Hesperis matronalis); mock gillyflower, also known as soapwort or bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis); feathered gillyflower, also known as the grass or garden pink (Dianthus plumarius); and sea gillyflower, also known as the thrift or sea pink (Armeria maritima).

A Beadle is a Parish bailiff. They don't exist anymore. A parish is the administrative area around a church. A bailiff is the officer of the parish who deals with the practicalities of the local laws - this film is set prior to the formation of the British police.

It's a play on words. "Bleeder" is an old British term, used with the cockney language. A bleeder is a semi-insult/synonym for a person. E.g. "Where is the little bleeder?" It is comparable in meaning to "bastard". It can also be taken literally, as in, 'one who bleeds' - it's an old term for a hemophiliac, and is also used colloquially to refer to those who tend to bleed easily when nicked (perhaps while shaving).

Mrs. Mooney is another pie maker whose pies are made out of "pussy cats." She is never shown but referenced by Mrs. Lovett.

The time frame is meant to be a purposefully unspecified part of the first half of the nineteenth century. (It can't take place earlier than 1803, as Mrs Lovett suggests that Barker/Todd was transported to Australia: even if he was part of the First Fleet of convicts, he would not have arrived until 1788.) The book "A String of Pearls" is set in 1785, but the version of Sweeney Todd seen there does not share the history of the musical's Sweeney.

While the movie never states clearly whether or not they wound up together. You are supposed to make the inference that yes, they do end up together. Anthony gets the coach and takes Johanna away. There is no other reason to not believe it- but I think the reason they didn't include it is because you are supposed to make the inference and they wanted to more focus on the tragedy of Sweeney's death and the rest that happens in the final scene.

The play does end differently. In the play, Toby becomes completely insane and his hair turned white from horror. He kills Sweeney Todd and then Anthony, Johanna and the police run into the bakehouse. Here, Toby drops the razor, walks over to the meat grinder, and continues to grind the meat, crooning nursery rhymes to himself.

So therefore, in the play you know that Anthony and Johanna will get away safely and in the movie, though never said, you are supposed to draw the assumption that they fled together to live their lives together- happily or unhappily.

Opening Title - Sets the dark and somber mood for the film, and displays all the cast and crew credits.

No Place Like London - Introduces Sweeny Todd and Anthony, and allows the audience to learn of Sweeney's former life and false imprisonment.

The Worst Pies in London - Introduces Mrs. Lovett, and explains just why no one cares to visit her pie shop.

Poor Thing - Sweeney Todd learns from Mrs. Lovett the tragedies that have befallen his wife and daughter. We also learn that Mrs. Lovett has feelings for Sweeney Todd.

My Friends - Sweeney is reunited with his razors, and begins to slowly embrace his lust for vengence.

Green Finch & Linnet Bird - Johanna, Sweeney's daughter, wonders how the birds in her room are able to sing despite the fact that they, like her, are caged and shut away from the world.

Alms, Alms - Introduces the Beggar Woman, who asks for money/alms and tells Anthony of Johanna.

Johanna - Anthony professes his love for the yellow-haired beauty, Johanna.

Pirelli's Miracle Elixir - Introduces Toby and Signor Perelli, who is the "creator" of a hair-growing elixir, which Sweeney immediately denounces as a fraud.

The Contest - Sweeney faces off against Pirelli, who happily sings of his personal approach to shaving.

Wait - Mrs. Lovett tries to convince Sweeney to savor his revenge and not rush it, so that it might be that much sweeter when it is finally carried out.

Ladies In Their Sensitivities - Judge Turpin tells the Beadle of his marriage proposal to Johanna, and the Beadle suggests that he travel to Sweeney's shop to improve his looks so that Johanna might be more receptive to him.

Pretty Women - Sweeney uses the magic of women--the Judge's weakness--to distract him while he attempts to carry out his execution by "shaving" him.

Epiphany - Sweeney, having lost both his chance at revenge and what was left of his sanity, denounces the world and the people who live in it, and further expresses his wish to murder not only the Judge, but all of mankind.

A Little Priest - After Pirelli is murdered, Mrs. Lovett forsees a surprising business opportunity for her shop by baking corpses after they have been "shaved" by Sweeney, and they both rattle through the options on their "menu" which includes priests, poets, fops, and vicars.

Johanna(Reprise) - As Anthony searches for Johanna throughout London, Sweeney accepts that he will never see her again, while nonchantly "shaving" customers.

God, That's Good! - Toby advertises the grand re-opening of Mrs. Lovett Pie Shop, and her delicious "new" meat pies, while Mrs. Lovett is plagued by the Beggar Woman, who seems to have a strange need to repeatedly enter and bother her customers.

By the Sea - With the booming success of her pie shop and meat pies, Mrs. Lovett begins to paint for Sweeney a lovely picture of their life as a married couple.

Not While I'm Around - Becoming more and more wary and suspicious of Sweeney, Toby promises Mrs. Lovett that he will never let any harm come to her.

Final Scene - Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett search for Toby, who seems to have disappeared somewhere in the bakery. Anthony arrives at the barber shop with Johanna, disguised as a sailor, where he tells her to wait for him. Johanna hides when she hears the crazed beggar woman, who is still searching for Beadle Bamford, approach the barber shop. Todd returns to the shop upstairs and is surprised by the mad beggar woman, who seems to recognize him. Hearing Judge Turpin approach the shop, a distracted Sweeney quickly slits the beggar woman's throat and drops her through the trapdoor. Just a few moments later the Judge enters looking for his ward. Todd reassures Turpin of Johanna's safety and offers him a shave before reuniting with her. Turpin reluctantly agrees, and once seated, Todd reveals his true identity and brutally murders the judge, violently stabbing him in the neck repeatedly before finally slashing his throat.

Sweeney then discovers Johanna hiding in his barbershop. Not recognizing her dressed in men's clothing, he approaches her to kill her, but is interrupted by Mrs. Lovett's screams from the basement. He leaves Johanna unharmed, but warns her to forget his face, and rushes down to the bakehouse. There, Mrs. Lovett explains that Turpin had briefly clutched onto her dress but then died after a few seconds. Mrs. Lovett desperately tries to dispose of the beggar woman's corpse before Sweeney can notice. He tells Lovett to open the door to the oven, pushing her away from the body. As she hesitantly does so, the oven fire illuminates the beggar woman's hair and face. Todd recognizes the corpse as his wife, Lucy, whom he had believed long dead. Realizing that Lovett knew Lucy was alive but had lied to him, Todd begins to waltz manically with Lovett around the basement bakehouse, reassuring her that he does not care about Lucy because the past is dead, and that he and Mrs. Lovett can still be married before hurling her into the blazing fire of the oven and locking its door. Todd then returns to Lucy and cradles her dead body as an enraged Toby emerges from the sewer, picks up Todd's discarded razor, and slits Todd's throat. Todd then dies, as his blood spills onto the face of his dead wife.

Lucy was raped by Judge Turpin. None of the other party goers came to her aid because: "She wasn't no match for such craft, y'see, And everyone thought it so droll. They figured she had to be daft, y'see, So all of them stood there and laughed, y'see!"

Mrs. Lovett speaks about her husband a few times throughout the moive. She tells Sweeney that her "poor Albert" used to sit in the chair all day until his leg gave out because of gout. Gout is a desease that causes immense swelling of the arms and legs. Because of this statement we can assume that Mr. Lovett died.

Also Mrs. Lovett mentions to Toby that he used to "gorge himself to blotation". Therefore obesity could also have been a cause of death.

Some speculate that Mrs. Lovett killed her husband but she never actually killed any of Sweeney's victums. She just wants to bake them into pies to try to get Sweeney to fall in love with her. It is doubtful that she would have killed or even used human bodies in her pies if Sweeney was not in the picture.

From the beginning, we are aware that Sweeney plans to take revenge on Judge Turpin and his right hand, the Beadle, for sending him to prison and for keeping him away from his family. However, the first man who gets killed is Signor Pirelli who pays Sweeney a visit to blackmail him. He recognized him "from the old days" and wanted half of his earnings.When Pirelli tells Sweeney this, he spontaneously smashes Pirelli's head with a teapot and later on slits his throat. The second attempt at killing is when Judge Turpin comes for a shave, but Sweeney fails, because of Anthony's "intrusion " in the shop. It's the moment when Sweeney's mind cracks, thinking that he will never have the opportunity to see the judge and his daughter Johanna again. His line between good and evil gets severely blurred. Sweeney realizes that everybody is bad and that everybody deserves to die: for the weak ones death will be a relief and for the strong ones a punishment, as stated in the song Epiphany. It's the moment when he becomes a sociopath killer, being against everyone. Though, he is aware of his human condition too, admitting that even he deserves to die.

Nellie

Why does Sweeney stop caring for Johanna?

He never stops caring for her, but during the song Johanna, he starts to lose more and more interest in their possible encounter. Sweeney is afraid Johanna might resemble Lucy too much or too less. He wants Johanna pale and with yellow hair like Lucy, but in the same time he thinks that if she would resemble his old wife, she would remind him too much of the past and that would hurt him. However, if she wouldn't look anything like Lucy, he couldn't associate her image with the face of a beloved one, making her a stranger to him. Practically, there is no good option for Sweeney, so he prefers keeping in his memory the old image of Johanna, the baby girl, unmodified, the way he knew her, not like a grown-up girl. That's why even though he loves her, he doesn't want to see her again and focuses on his priority (vengeance) so much, that in the end Sweeney will be blinded by it. Another moment which supports this is when Anthony rushes to his barbershop, telling Sweeney that Turpin has locked Johanna in a madhouse. Sweeney says: "I've got him (Turpin)", then quickly changes into: "We've got ... her"

Why didn't Sweeney recognize the beggar woman?

When the beggar woman enters his shop, as Sweeney arrives, she asks him "Don't I know you mister?". Sweeney hesitates, probably being puzzled and wanting to find more, but he slits her throat in a matter of seconds, having no time to think of something else, because the judge was arriving and screaming his name. The judge was his number one priority, Sweeney being blinded by revenge, so he could not have let this opportunity go.



Why didn't Sweeney kill Johanna when he found her hiding in the chest?

After killing Judge Turpin, he puts his razors to rest.You can see in his eyes exhaustion, tiredness. His revenge was taken,no rush was needed anymore. When he realizes that Johanna, in disguise as a sailor, might be aware of everything what happened, he throws her on the chair, ready to slit her throat, but lets her go, warning Johanna to "forget his face" (he was unaware that it was his daughter) when he hears Mrs. Lovett screaming in the bakehouse. Sweeney practically lets her go, because he didn't care anymore about the killings or his own persona after he accomplished his purpose: killing the judge. Another possibility is that Sweeney lets Johanna go also because he saw her very frightened and didn't think that she might have the courage to harm him in some way. Going quickly to see what happened with Mrs Lovett is a normal reaction of someone hearing another one screaming ... he rushed to her to see what happened, probably fearing that the judge wasn't dead.

Did Sweeney know that Toby was behind him?

It's pretty obvious that he knew. After Todd realizes he killed Lucy, "his reason and his life", he is practically dead inside, being eaten by his demons, so being literally dead was only a formality. He feels Toby's presence as he picks up the razor and raises up his head, exposing his neck and allowing Toby to do an act of justice.

There are some things I wonder about Mrs. Lovett:

In the scene in the loft she said "I tried to warn her", did Lovett know Lucy? And if so, how? Did she always have the pieshop under Benjamins barbershop?

In the song "Poor Thing" Mrs. Lovett tells Lucy's story. It is told in such detail and is proven accurate so we are meant to assume that Mrs. Lovett was the Barker's neighbor(though it is unclear whether she owned a pie shop at that time), which also explains her infatuation with Sweeney.

And why did she always throw Lucy out? Did she know "the old woman" was Lucy?

Of course she did, but she loved Sweeney and nothing else mattered. Mrs. Lovett threw Lucy out because she didn't want Sweeney to recognize Lucy because then he would have found his wife and would probably have forgotten Mrs. Lovett. She also rationalizes this to Sweeney when he finds out, arguing that he wouldn't have wanted to see Lucy now that she's gone mad.