Sweeney Todd

Stephen Sondheim's brooding musical about a murderous barber with vengeance on his mind and the landlady who puts his corpses to good use in her meat pie business is now a quarter-century old. In this 1982 taping, however, it seems almost freshly minted and still on the cutting edge. Sweeney Todd wasn't the first Sondheim effort to challenge the audience, nor the last; but with its razor-sharp lyrics and often-acerbic score it represented a watershed moment not only in Sondheim's career (this is arguably his masterpiece), but also in the musical genre. Beautifully sung here by Angela Lansbury (the original Mrs. Lovett) and George Hearn (an excellent substitute for Broadway's Sweeney, Len Cariou), the production's supporting cast is uniformly fine as well, and Hal Prince's inventive staging is captured with remarkable suppleness in the multiple cameras used by director Terry Hughes (setting new standards in its day for recording live performances). Presented on DVD in a handsome new digital transfer with a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)