Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Movie • 1982 • Music
ReportTimes are hard in 1846 London and one must make do. Nellie Lovett adds something extra to the meat pies she peddles on Fleet Street. The secret ingredient: freshly murdered victims of her partner in crime, barber Sweeney Todd. Composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim refashions a macabre tale into a musical masterwork in this dazzling performance of the 1979 Broadway hit originally staged by Harold Prince. In her Tony-winning role, Angela Lansbury plays Nellie. George Hearn turns his stage role of twisted Sweeney into an Emmy-winning triumph. The score coils around itself in every-tightening spirals. The lines ripple with black humor and madness. Enter Sweeney's tonsorial parlor. Attend the tale.
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Unanswered Triggers
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Is there deadnaming or birthnaming?
39 supporters
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Prinnamon
Not of a trans person, but if you squint, technically of someone who's hiding their identity for other reasons.
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Does the abused become the abuser?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
34 supporters
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Abuse
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Is there domestic violence?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
87 supporters
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animaniacs
Tobias is not played by a child in this production, however, he is written as being ambiguously "adolescent."
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Animal
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QuietWyatt
Man seizes a bird out of a cage and wrings its neck.
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Are animals abused?
232 supporters
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jackal
brief mention that song birds for sale are blinded so that they will sing at all hours
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Does a cat die?
198 supporters
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QuietWyatt
A lyric in "Worst Pies in London" alludes to dead cats in pies though.
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Are there bugs?
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jackal
there's a brief body language implication that Lovett chases and crushes a bug in her pie shop, but it's not mentioned in the dialogue and is easy to miss
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Assault
Is someone drugged?
32 supporters
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jackal
SPOILER
there's an onstage enactment of a memory where a woman goes to a party drinks too much and is sexually assaulted. It is implied in the retelling that the host of the party engineered the scenario in order to take advantage of her
there's an onstage enactment of a memory where a woman goes to a party drinks too much and is sexually assaulted. It is implied in the retelling that the host of the party engineered the scenario in order to take advantage of her
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Is there pedophilia?
137 supporters
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newsies4eva
Johanna is 16 (year old kid in poor thing, it’s been 15 years since then)
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Is rape mentioned?
96 supporters
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RickyM
in “poor thing” mrs lovett talks about how lucy was r by the judge and that leads to her poisoning herself.
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jackal
SPOILER
in this production Lucy's rape is stylized. All actors are fully clothed. Turpin and Beadle are shown holding an intoxicated Lucy on the ground while the other party goers dance around them mostly obscuring them from view. This is definitely a depiction of a rape but it's not as explicit or graphic as some tv shows and movies depict
in this production Lucy's rape is stylized. All actors are fully clothed. Turpin and Beadle are shown holding an intoxicated Lucy on the ground while the other party goers dance around them mostly obscuring them from view. This is definitely a depiction of a rape but it's not as explicit or graphic as some tv shows and movies depict
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Bodily Harm
Is there shaving/cutting?
37 supporters
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QuietWyatt
YES SO MUCH
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Is there throat mutilation?
45 supporters
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animaniacs
yeah that's what he does
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Is there cannibalism?
40 supporters
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K1R1t0
The majority of the plot revolves around meat pies that use human meat.
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Is someone burned alive?
52 supporters
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K1R1t0
SPOILER: Sweeney throughs Mrs. Lovett into the oven at the end of the show
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Are any teeth damaged?
57 supporters
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jackal
the 1982 filmed stage production doesn't feature a teeth pulling contest, just a shaving contest, though this varies between different productions
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Children
Is an infant abducted?
32 supporters
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Prinnamon
The antagonist adopts and raises a child after ruining both parents' lives. It's a very complicated kind of kidnapping, but I think it still counts.
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Does a kid die?
72 supporters
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EspressoAddict
A child is sentenced to hanging in the 2007 adaptation, but not in this one.
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Creepy Crawly
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Death
Does a major character die?
26 supporters
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newsies4eva
SPOILER:
The musical ends with Mrs. Lovett being shoved into an oven and Sweeney getting his throat slit
The musical ends with Mrs. Lovett being shoved into an oven and Sweeney getting his throat slit
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Disability
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Drugs/Alcohol
Does someone overdose?
18 supporters
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K1R1t0
Technically no, but Lucy's wife is said to have consumed arsenic after she was raped committing suicide. (MAJOR SPOILER): In the end it's revealed she survived and is the beggar woman that shows up periodically in the show.
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Family
Does a family member die?
22 supporters
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animaniacs
see "does a parent die"
1 comment | Add comment
Does a parent die?
26 supporters
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animaniacs
An abusive guardian is killed, as well as the biological parents of the same character. We don't see much of their reaction, but they were actively trying to get away from their guardian and didn't know their biological parents.
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Fear
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Are there jump scares?
68 supporters
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EspressoAddict
A loud steam whistle blows at the beginning and at times throughout the play.
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jackal
The main character's profession is a barber.
He uses foldable straight razors to shave clients
SPOILER
And also kill victims. There's no self harm but there is lots of murder and an early song "My friends" features the line "you [the razors] will drip rubies"
He uses foldable straight razors to shave clients
SPOILER
And also kill victims. There's no self harm but there is lots of murder and an early song "My friends" features the line "you [the razors] will drip rubies"
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Gross
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Is someone eaten?
35 supporters
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RickyM
the main point of the movie is people being killed and baked into pies.
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Does someone spit?
11 supporters
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newsies4eva
Mrs. Lovett spits in the cup of gin she gives Sweeney during Worst Pies in London
1 comment | Add comment
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Large-scale Violence
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Law Enforcement
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LGBTQ+
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Medical
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Is there a mental institution scene?
31 supporters
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K1R1t0
Yes. Also, given the time period, the people there aren't treated like they're really human.
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Mental Health
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Prinnamon
Not on-screen. A character is, however, stated to have poisoned themself.
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K1R1t0
Idk who said no, but Sweeney's wife did this by swallowing poison, specifically arsenic.
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone say "I'll kill myself"?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
32 supporters
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newsies4eva
At the beginning of Kiss Me yeah
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jackal
SPOILER
It is implied early on that Lucy dies by suicide. It is later revealed that she survived and has been the beggar woman. we learn this after she has been murdered
It is implied early on that Lucy dies by suicide. It is later revealed that she survived and has been the beggar woman. we learn this after she has been murdered
1 comment | Add comment
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Noxious
Are there sudden loud noises?
42 supporters
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newsies4eva
After most important scenes a loud steam whistle can be heard (The steam whistle is not in the 2023 revival)
1 comment | Add comment
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Is there obscene language/gestures?
1 supporters
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jackal
There's a beggar woman who uses obscene period slang to offer sex in exchange for money. The obscenity may or may not register to a modern viewer
1 comment | Add comment
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Paranoia
Is the fourth wall broken?
10 supporters
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Prinnamon
Yes. In the first line ("Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd") and intermittently throughout, the ensemble addresses the audience directly.
1 comment | Add comment
Pregnancy
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Prejudice
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Is there ableist language or behavior?
43 supporters
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jackal
There's a beggar woman described as 'mad' and looked down upon throughout the show. There's also a scene in a mental asylum where the patients are treated inhumanely. "His eye was odd" is a recurring description for Todd
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Relationships
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Sex
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K1R1t0
To be fair, a relationship never actually occurs, but a girls psuedo-adoptive abusive father intends to marry her, and some versions of the show have a number where he sings about his lust for her. Many consider this the most disturbing song/moment in the show.
1 comment | Add comment
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Sickness
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Social
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Spoiler
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Vehicular
Does a car honk or tires screech?
8 supporters
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QuietWyatt
There's a factory whistle, often between scenes, that screeches alarmingly.
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Violence
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Is there blood/gore?
59 supporters
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newsies4eva
Well if that’s not the whole musical
1 comment | Add comment
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