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The Tale of Sweeney Todd

Play trailer Poster for The Tale of Sweeney Todd TV-14 1998 1h 32m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 0 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
An insurance investigator (Campbell Scott) finds human corpses hanging in a woman's (Joanna Lumley) meat-pie shop next to that of a London barber (Ben Kingsley).
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The Tale of Sweeney Todd

Audience Reviews

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Julian S A made-for-TV adaptation starring Joanna Lumley, who plays a delightfully sinister and gruesome Mrs. Lovett, complete with rotten teeth, though, sadly, without the songs. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/09/24 Full Review Audience Member Not too shabbily produced and even well acted but surprisingly poorly led retelling of the penny-dreadful classic. Far too much effort is expended on reinforcing the modish but rather infantile notion that our ancestors were to a person all unhygienic foul mouthed barbarians. Kingsley and indeed most of the cast put in yeoman's work, but this ship just won't sail. When the dainty and refined Alice bodily tosses out of her tavern a 300 pound unruly drunkard for a second time, I critically sorta just packed it in. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I actually watched this back in January of 2009 but it wasn't available in the RT database at the time. I'm posting what I said in a blog that I would've given it. From what I remember it wasn't too bad. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Another great rendition of Sweeney Todd. It's great to see stories that can be retold and remain interesting. This throws out the idea of Sweeney as a victim, or his looking for revenge. This is much more in keeping with the original tail. A man that murders for greed. The best part about this film is that is doesn't try to justify the actions or make us sympathise with Todd. He's a terrifying and grotesque creature. Cold, calculating and very deceptive. The investigation narrative is just as interesting as Todd's deeds. I'd still put it behind Winstone's Sweeney Todd, due to the sheer power of that production, but it stands above and shits upon Burton's misfire. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Grim and creepy re-telling of the story which is STILL better than Tim Burton's mess, despite the lack of budget. Different take on the story. Must say I prefer the version with Ray Winstone, another British classic. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Not bad... It starred Sir Ben Kingsley, there was no singing, like in the Johnny Depp version. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Tale of Sweeney Todd

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis An insurance investigator (Campbell Scott) finds human corpses hanging in a woman's (Joanna Lumley) meat-pie shop next to that of a London barber (Ben Kingsley).
Director
John Schlesinger
Producer
Ted Swanson
Screenwriter
Peter Buckman
Production Co
FilmRise
Rating
TV-14 (V|D|S|L)
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 19, 2018
Runtime
1h 32m
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