As a fan of Essie Davis I was curious when I watched the movie. and I have to admit that it was a wonderful discovery. The story is really great and the actors really good. The story focuses on a psychological aspect and it was disturbing to see Todd so remorseful. It changes from all the killers who seems cold like an ice. even if I hate murders we are captivated through the whole story, help by the love story.The two characters are great. Even if their fate is sealed, they are so convicted and we somehow wished for something we know won't happened. even though, we are caught by their personality. They are just human with their goodness and their blemish.It has really violent passage but never unnecessary : they just add some reality to the plot. The murders and the gruesome is inevitable.The soundtrack was really great even if i can't find it anywhere but nonetheless, it was a perfect match to the period. It has really creaped me out sometimes but some music were very beautiful.And as I already said, the story is blessed by two wonderful actors. I already liked Davis but she really amazed me, as did Ray Winstone. I have never been bored and I even with the god review that I had read, I didn't expected to enjoy it so much. Though I'm not fond of horror and bloody movies.So give it a try and don't think of the musical by Burton. just enjoy the story by it own. I think you won't regret it.

Exactly how a wonderful story such as Sweeney Todd should be told. Everything about this production is head and shoulders above everything else. First up, we have the setting. This is truly a disgusting London, filled with waste and disease. Next we have Winstone, giving an astonishing performance. It shows how someone like Depp is a performer, but fails to attach himself to the emotional complexity of such a character. Winstone doesn't just decide that people are scum and start offing them. His first kill is a sudden and regrettable impulse. He even checks on the body later in the hopes that he isn't dead. Like so many real-life killers, Winstone's motivations come from a deep rooted psychological trauma. As he continues, the killing becomes the norm. It's his answer to vengeance, suspicion, and his way of attracting a woman. Davis is also brilliant as Lovett. For once this isn't some creepy madwoman, but a fragile and easily manipulated pawn. I can't speak highly enough of this film, or the way it demonstrates how stories from over a hundred years ago, can still be fresh and involving.

Dave Moore's TV version of the infamous tale of the bloodthirsty barber Sweeney Todd unsurprisingly bears little relation to Tim Burton's musical version released the following year. This one is much more matter-of-fact in its portrayal of Todd's descent into madness, and gives his motive for killing as revenge for being jailed in Newgate prison as a child for a crime committed by his father. Initially, there is a skewed sense of justice to Todd's reason for killing off his clients but, as his blood lust (and feelings for the neighbouring Mrs Lovett) grows stronger his reasons become less calculated.Ray Winstone plays Todd. He is a fine actor, but loses some of his screen presence by choosing to underplay the role, his voice rarely betraying any kind of emotion. Despite this it's a choice that suits the character, even if it doesn't the actor. Cutting up his victims in the cellar of his barber shop, stripped to the waist, his bare head gleaming white and his mouth slack, Winstone makes a truly grotesque monster, one made all the more frightening because he is otherwise an extremely quiet and ordinary man.There's a lot of violence in the film, a lot of slit throats and mutilation of corpses, but, again, it's not given any kind of sensationalistic value. Essie Davis plays Mrs Lovett, another decent character whose descent into monstrosity is sparked by the things that have happened to her rather than any inherent evil. She turns into a grotesque parody of herself as the film progresses, her beauty destroyed by pox scars, sporting fine wigs made by Todd that sit incongruously atop her ruined features. It's all very grim and dark and there is no place for humour, even of the gallows variety. Perhaps a touch of humour, especially on the part of Todd, is what is needed to both round out his character and make his monstrous actions that much more horrific

Sweeney Todd is set in London during the early 19th Century where a man named Sweeney Todd (Ray Winstone) runs a barber shop in Fleet Street, one night a jailer (Roger Frost) from Newgate Prison pays for a shave. The jailer reminds Todd of his childhood he spent in Newgate where he was abused by the jailers & in a moment of rage slits the jailers throat. After giving a woman named Nellie Lovett (Essie Davis) an abortion Todd falls for her & buy's her a shop from which she sells meat pies, Todd suddenly hits on the idea of slitting his customers throats, cutting them up & giving the meat to Lovett to turn into pies which quickly become very popular...This English production was directed by David Moore & was almost certainly made to cash-in on the then forthcoming Tim Burton musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) with Johnny Depp, some say the character of Sweeney Todd was based on a real person but I don't think there is any hard evidence that he was. The script by Joshua St. Johnston plays it straight as a grim drama rather than an over-the-top musical or horror, as one might guess a lot of this films duration is spent trying to get inside the mind of Todd & develop a real character who had real motivations & feelings. Despite this there's not much reason behind his killing, sure the first victim reminded him of his unhappy childhood but thereafter it's not quite so clear cut. The main focus is on the relationship between Todd & Lovett, it's fairly deep & the character's are well fleshed out but Todd's throat slitting activities were of more interest to me so I sort of lost interest in the film as a whole as it decided to concentrate on personal angst & drama. This is not a bad adaptation at all, it moves along at a decent pace, it's well written & tells a good story but it never really grabbed me.Made for British telly I was surprised to learn that Sweeney Todd was shot in Bucharest in Romania, I mean it was set in London & made by a London based company with British money so why film in Romania? Then again I suppose modern day London looks nothing like it did back in the 19th Century, maybe Romania is a closer match. This is quite gory for a TV production, there's a few gory slit throats, a rotted corpse, sliced up body parts, a severed hand, a tongue severing, a stabbing plus an operation to remove a gall stone & one to remove a bullet. I was disappointed with the way this looked, it just looked flat & cheap especially if you have seen Tim Burton's wonderful visuals on his recent version.Technically this is alright, I must admit the production design didn't impress me that much & it felt a bit cheap. The acting was fine, Winstone was an interesting choice to play Todd & puts in a restrained performance while it was nice to see David Warner in a small role.Sweeney Todd is a slightly above adaptation of the often told tale of the demon barber of Fleet Street, it's not bad for what it is but it's hardly life changing & I doubt I will remember anything about it in a week.