Sweeney Todd - Blog Posts
Sweeney Todd: The Importance of Morals and the Wrongfulness of Socialism
Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd (2007) has been famous for its explicitly violent themes, which are doubtlessly quite spectacular and shocking. The basic story seems like a tragic journey of vengeance and death but, as a matter of fact, it isn't a more dramatic Count of Monte Cristo, but it's a unique and interesting piece of art of a different nature.
In the beginning of the story Benjamin Barker a.k.a. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) returns to London, from where he has been banished for crimes he did not commit and the corrupt judge, namely Turpin (Alan Rickman), who caused all of his troubles, abused his wife - who took arsenic to escape her pain - and became the tutor of Sweeney's daughter, Johanna (Jane Wisener). Sweeney seeks vengeance, pairs up with Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), a widow, together they kill and bake scores of people, finally murdering the judge. In the closing sequence though it turns out, that Sweeney has killed his wife, along with the so many strangers, out of mistake, so he kills Mrs Lovett but he dies, too, because a young boy, Toby (Ed Sanders), who's very fond of the widow, kills him, as vengeance, also.
There are better plot summaries, I know, but I couldn't leave it out, in case someone isn't yet introduced to the movie.
Sweeney's conduct is a classic vendetta, which he plans to materialize by any means necessary. His self-assigned quest is something, that is hard to categorize as immoral. Well, yes, it's wrong to kill a man and it is far, far more wrong to kill a great number of men, yet we can't disregard the information about Turpin's terrible acts. We can say, that we probably wouldn't kill like Sweeney did but it's still hard to say, that his actions are wrongful, since he has the best imaginable motivation. In summary, what he intends to bring down on Turpin and London is understandable and, no matter how much we argue, just.
As the story goes on we get to see a little more of Turpin, who is represented as a heartless, sick person, to say the least. He is seemingly worthy of his overhanging punishment and he just keeps giving us reasons to hate him, and the banner of righteousness to Sweeney.
While Sweeney's struggling to get a chance to finish his vendetta, he kills many people, whom are baked by Mrs Lovett. This is an extremely provocative notion. As Sweeney is placed on a - disturbing and arguable - moral high ground, there is a seeming moral justification of his killing spree. The purpose this monstrosity serves is nothing else, than - apart from mere practice - cleansing the society of the bourgeois--we'll return to this.
In the end, however, everything takes a chaotic turn and what has seemed to be logical and moral - though disturbing and hard to agree with - loses its core element: the purity of its motivation. Has it not been for Sweeney's blindness he could've returned to his wife and with probably a lot of difficulties he could've redeemed himself from whatever he's been accused with. He could've got back his only child, as well. Sweeney realizes all this and kills Mrs Lovett, who has had key importance in his destruction, but it brings him nothing, apart from a very sudden and ironic death. The reason why it is hard to argue Sweeney's right to murder all those people is, that he seems to have a natural right to balance out his loss. This is what disappears in the finale: he must face the fact, that he isn't omniscient, he's not above nature but inside. All of his killings, his vendetta, basically everything turns out to be unjustified and immoral, and this is what our instincts have been telling us all along the movie. This story tells, how no man can rise above the rest of humanity or any given society, and how important it is to always stride on the path of morality, otherwise we'll run into great catastrophes, which are all self-inflicted. Lovett's bakery is a quite unmistakable and disgusting representation of socialism. Although in our society it's not a question whether socialism is right or wrong, this story, for some reason, still asks it but also gives a fast and clear answer: this mechanism of destruction was the one, which led to the demise of the one, whom Sweeney held the dearest.
In my personal opinion Sweeney Todd's tragic tale encourages us to watch the future with infinite hope instead of bitterness, no matter how terrible the past is.
guys hear me out.. christian borle as sweeney todd
My favorite thing about Sweeney Todd is that Sweeney gets into the killing-and-baking people business because he’s a deeply broken man destroyed by an unjust and corrupt system that cost him his freedom and family and has been driven mad by revenge.
And Mrs Lovett does it because somthin wrong with her <3
We went to a show at the fringe and it was a miscasts show and it was so good but now I want to rewatch Chicago and Sweeney Todd
holding my breath till the soundtrack comes out
i'm just curious bc i'm watching How to Train Your Dragon and i always forget how happy and calm it makes me feel. i mean, i did name my cat after Toothless the dragon. but i also love Lion King, that's my Disney comfort movie. and my Ghibli comfort movie is Spirited Away. watching any of these when i'm in a foul mood or my anxiety is high always helps 🥰 but i watch them just for fun too, not only when i'm in a mood. what about you?
What do you think of a lotidge Sweeny Todd au pidge as Sweeney Todd and lotor as lucky barker and just because Keith as there child
I think you mean Lucy Baker??? I love the idea of a Sweeney Todd Au! Though I don’t think Pidge quite fits the role of a sadistic barber, that seem’s more Lotor’s style. What with his L’Oreal hair and all. And Keith? As a Lotidge kid???
Yes!
Though killing Pidge off like Lucy pains me, I can’t resist a murderous Lotor stopping at nothing for the sake of his vengeance. And having Axca as Mrs. Lovett would be really cool.
Overal 10/10 AU and bonus points for all the gore and angst <3
(EXCLUDING Les Miserables because I know dang well a lot of people would have picked it. It’s in between WSS and Sunday in my ranking, though)
- The poll is just for fun lol. No purpose <3
- Mostly in order
toby: mister pirelli we're out of product :c whatever shall we do :c pirelli:
Body (Mother Mother) "Body" describes parts of the human form as separate pieces, disconecting them from the idea of a "person" and making them into flesh. It also makes the idea of a body undesireable. You can almost imagine a body unwinding into its separate gory pieces, like the flowers of Jared's garden, and the satisfaction the singer would feel in being free of it all.
A Little Priest (Stephen Sondheim) It's about Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd hatching a plan to murder people and cook their flesh in Lovett's meat pies to revitalize her failing business. They joke about various kinds of people, reducing them to the quality of their meat.
that wouldn't be too painful, would it? 🎥 @theriddletrades
Your top 5 favorite musicals say a lot about you.
Reblog and put them in the tags.
Proof why "Elisabeth" and "Sweeney Todd" are the same musical.
They both have:
- Tod(d)
- Beauty treatments as an important element of the main character's life
- Prologue, where the ensemble sings about the main character repeating their name for a hundred times
- André Bauer at some point
- Unhealthy affection leading to death
- Lack of vital food product of animal origin
- Murder with a sharp weapon
- Scene in a mental institution
- Great promoter who doesn't care what to sell
- Child abandoned by their parents
- Prostitution
- Main character has traveled a lot
- Despotism of the authorities
- Convicted criminal
- Questionable hair care products
- One of the main characters hasn't seen his wive at least for 15 years
- Popular catering establishment
- Character, who found a job as a waiter
- Trial scene
- Fake Italian
- Somebody burned alive
- Murder of a cat
Sweeney Todd except that mrs. Lovett is buddies with one of the rats in the street and it’s like ratatouille