Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Movie • 1982 • Music
ReportSynopsis
Times 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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Your Triggers
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Needs More Answers
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Is there deadnaming or birthnaming?
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Not of a trans person, but if you squint, technically of someone who's hiding their identity for other reasons.
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Abandonment
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Abuse
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Tobias is not played by a child in this production, however, he is written as being ambiguously "adolescent."
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Is there domestic violence?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
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Animal
Are animals abused?
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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?
280 supporters
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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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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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Man seizes a bird out of a cage and wrings its neck.
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Assault
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Is there pedophilia?
166 supporters
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Johanna is 16 (year old kid in poor thing, it’s been 15 years since then)
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Is rape mentioned?
120 supporters
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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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Is someone drugged?
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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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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
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Are any teeth damaged?
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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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Is someone burned alive?
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SPOILER: Sweeney throughs Mrs. Lovett into the oven at the end of the show
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Is there throat mutilation?
59 supporters
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yeah that's what he does
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Is there cannibalism?
57 supporters
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The majority of the plot revolves around meat pies that use human meat.
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Is there shaving/cutting?
55 supporters
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YES SO MUCH
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Children
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Does a kid die?
112 supporters
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A child is sentenced to hanging in the 2007 adaptation, but not in this one.
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Is an infant abducted?
39 supporters
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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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Creepy Crawly
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Death
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Does a major character die?
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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?
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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 parent die?
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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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Does a family member die?
32 supporters
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see "does a parent die"
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Fear
Are there jump scares?
95 supporters
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A loud steam whistle blows at the beginning and at times throughout the play.
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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?
51 supporters
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the main point of the movie is people being killed and baked into pies.
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Does someone spit?
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Mrs. Lovett spits in the cup of gin she gives Sweeney during Worst Pies in London
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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?
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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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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
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Idk who said no, but Sweeney's wife did this by swallowing poison, specifically arsenic.
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Does someone say "I'll kill myself"?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
41 supporters
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At the beginning of Kiss Me yeah
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Not on-screen. A character is, however, stated to have poisoned themself.
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Noxious
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Are there sudden loud noises?
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After most important scenes a loud steam whistle can be heard (The steam whistle is not in the 2023 revival)
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Is there obscene language/gestures?
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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
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Paranoia
Is the fourth wall broken?
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Yes. In the first line ("Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd") and intermittently throughout, the ensemble addresses the audience directly.
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Pregnancy
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Prejudice
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Is there ableist language or behavior?
53 supporters
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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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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.
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Sickness
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Social
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Spoiler
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Vehicular
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Does a car honk or tires screech?
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There's a factory whistle, often between scenes, that screeches alarmingly.
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Violence
Is there blood/gore?
80 supporters
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Well if that’s not the whole musical
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