Benjamin Barker?

I realise that I've done a lot of the posts recently. Est has a post on the artist that i need to nag her to publish.
my post for this week (or it really should have been for last week) is on the original Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barbour of Fleet Street with Angela Lansbury.
Yes if you're wondering if i'm going to post on the re-make with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. That's scheduled for a little later in the year.

So.... where to start???
I was impressed with Angela. We all know she can sing because she sings in beauty and the beast and we all love her for it. When she starts singing as Mrs. Lovett, I wanted her to stop singing staight away. Singing as her character means singing crazily. For a moment I thought that she really couldn't sing at all, then when she stops singing the worst pies in London and sings a few other songs you realise that she can sing.
I don't think that Angela Lansbury claims to be the best singer in the world, but her voice was certainly good enough to play a character that is eccentric and definitely crazy.
Lets take a look at what we have.... obviously filmed while performed on the stage- which i quite like. It helps to know what you would see if you went to see it on stage. This film was made in something like 1982, so the costumes and make up are very outdated. You can even argue that the quality of the singers are perhaps not as good as they could be, but that's not really important.
It is a long film- 2hrs 20 mins is a long time when most people essentially know the story line and i guess you're wondering what keeps you interested for 2hrs and 20 mins. I guess that its quite mild and easy to watch. The blood obviously isn't gory- it is clearly poster paint and that makes it much easier to watch if you're by yourself.
I'll be honest and say that I didn't feel that there was anything in particular that kept me on the edge of my seat, but seeing this film is essential in the world of musicals or even in the art of stage play. The set was minimal and the cast was really very small in comparison to most modern day musicals.
Some people will argue that this should be on your list of films to see before you die- I don't know if i would enforce it, but so long as you're mentally at least fifteen, there is no harm in watching it.