Sweeney Todd Movie
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The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
A BBC adaptation of the classic tale of the 18th century demon barber of Fleet Street, London, who cuts the throats of his unsuspecting clients in his shop.
| Radu Banzaru | Constable |
| David Bradley | Todds father |
| Anthony O'Donnell | Gaoler |
| Paul Currier | Thornhill |
| David Foxxe | Rector |
| Roger Frost | 1st Customer |
| Ingo Gottwald | Half Shaved Customer |
| Tom Hardy | Matthew Payne |
| Radu Andrei Micu | Yougth |
| Gabriel Spahiu | Thief |
| Ben Walker | Tobias |
| David Warner | Sir John Fielding |
| Ray Winstone | Sweeney Todd |
| Essie Davis | Mrs. Nellie Lovett |
| Dave Moore |
7.20 out of 10 (308 votes)
Visitor Reviews
I wouldn't like this barber to cut my hair!
posted on 21 May 2009I saw most of Sweeny Todd when BBC1 screened it one evening just after New Year 2006. I missed the last half-hour or so though, but I got to know how it ended.A load of grizzly murders are the responsibility of Sweeny Todd aka The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. We get to see him slashing people's throats and cutting his victims up. He then gives the parts to the local bakery to have pies made, so a bit of cannibalism thrown in. His victims include his lover. Police find out about this at the end though.The cast includes Ray Winstone, who is excellent as Sweeny Todd and he is joined by David Warner (Titanic, Time Bandits), Tom Hardy and David Bradley.At least my barber is not like this one! Watch this if you dare. Excellent and wonderfully gory in parts.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
great television film!
posted on 09 May 2009this film has just been shown on bbc1 and i wasn't in the mood for it but found myself fond of it.its about a barber (although seems to be a surgeon and doctor who gets wound up easily and takes it out on the patients he then chops them up in his basement and puts the human meat in pies that his lover and friend sells through out the town.will he get the girl he is most fond of and will he get away with murdering and...em...selling his victims?watch to find out.its a great murder film and has a nice selection of British actors. jack the ripper style thriller thats full of gore, suspense, and chills. i give it ***/*****.
Pretty good, especially for a TV movie.
posted on 05 Apr 2009I knew nothing about "Sweeney Todd", the former versions, the basic plot, not even what genre of movie it was - when I pressed "play" - and that's the best way often to watch a movie, especially in an age when you see a million scenes in previews hence feeling as if though you'd already seen the damned thing.Anyway. ST is a sort of murder/drama with touches of romance even. It's an unusual story, nothing off-the-wall, of course, but with touches of originality. Parts of it are predictable, others aren't. Winstone is very convincing as the title character and this Essie Davis is very good, too, and very attractive. It was about time we see another beautiful British (well, Australian - same thing) woman on film, after a series of nepotistic uglies filthied the screen with their presence: the likes of Emma Thompson, Helena B. Carter, and several others. (Ironically, this Bonham creature plays the same character as Davis in Tim Burton's 2007 version, which must be crap.) Sweeney Todd is a complex murderer; not a psychopath at all (he feels love, remorse, has empathy), with motives only understandable to him. I found it a little odd that Davis would so quickly (after a night's sleep when she survives her disease) get used to the fact that Todd is a butcher and that she ate the meat of her own lovers through his deeds. But that's the only (slight) problem I can think of in an otherwise interesting movie. It might be a TV movie, but looks more like a theatrical release.I can't imagine why anyone would want to watch Tim Burton's sing-a-long version of this story. It must be garbage.
Great film in all respects.
posted on 22 Feb 2009This is a great film! It has good period costumes, the charters and acting are convincing, the set is simple and the scenes flow from one to the other. I found myself feeling vary involved in the film.I am usually disappointed by films set in the past and feel that this is the perfect example of what I like in a period film with the hard accents and the attention to detail of the clothing and furniture. The Acting was excellent by the actors of all the main characters and it is a great story of life of London's past.I will find it interesting to see the Johnny Dept version of this film. I am expecting Hollywood to make a mess of it.It was also fun because it was grim but not gruesome so my wife could watch the whole film.This is a classic style horror film with a lot to it.
Sweeney Todd
posted on 02 Nov 2008This is nowhere close to the spectacle and splendour of the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp horror musical, but it is certainly a good regular, British adaptation. It is pretty much the same story in Burton's version, except he isn't grieving over a dead wife (there's a twist to that in Burton's version), no victims are made into meat pies, and the lead character kills himself in the end instead of someone killing him. Basically Sweeney Todd (Ray Winstone) is your normal everyday surgeon and barber, and having flashes of a horrible childhood past he suddenly starts murdering his male customers. In amongst the slaughter he has a love for pie maker Mrs. Nellie Lovett (Essie Davis), who is okay not too long after finding out Todd's dark secret, and this certainly shows when she is not bothered about the state of her deteriorating face. Eventually he gets to the point where he was bound to be caught, and he is arrested by Sir John Fielding (David Warner), and sentenced to hanging. In the final sequence however, he gives himself a final shave, and then slices. Also starring Harry Potter's David Bradley as Todd's father, Paul Currier as Thornhill, Tom Hardy as Matthew Payne, Jessica Hooker as Polly and Ben Walker as Tobias. Winstone is pretty good, but obviously not more than Depp, the violence obviously is not as graphic and over-the-top as Burton's, but quite fun to watch. Good!
Excellent performances from main players! The closest shave you'll ever have!
posted on 23 Mar 2008Sweeney Todd is a master of his craft, learnt whilst serving 20 years for a murder his father committed. Once on the outside; he excels in his trade as a barber and gains an enviable reputation with customers of all classes. Slowly cracks appear in his professional demeanour and the murders begin..PROSA superb performance from Ray Winstone as the demon barber, solid script and well supported by the main characters. Expertly played as a tragic man, Todd comes across as a very complex character; abused and neglected as a child and constantly manipulated by his drunkard murderer of a father. Yet striving for acceptance from his peers, his few acquaintances and surprisingly; his father.For what could have become a by the numbers period BBC production, Winstone's performance lifts his character, and the simple story to Lecter 'esque levels of screen infamy. Expect some 'Best Actor' BAFTA nominations for this work. The photography is very good, using a superb palette and masterful use of lighting, both artificial and natural. Convincing VFX and competent audio cap a classy production. CONS: Marred by somewhat dubious casting for the minor roles, and notably the younger members of the cast. If only the younger actors were of Winstone's calibre.
Excellent piece of storytelling
posted on 06 Dec 2007Highly recommended.You believe in every one of the characters here, as well as this being historical London. (Which it may or may not have been- the story may well be nothing but urban legend, of course.)Ray Winston does a great job. He has done so often enough, but this one is my favorite, so far.They actually pull off portraying the mad barber as a kindhearted fellow who's only slightly disturbed, aside from being plenty homicidal, in such a way that you believe it. Well, I certainly did, at least. (To my defense- or added blame, if you will- I'm studying psychology, so I'm not in the habit of buying just anything, when it comes to character development.)Far better than the musical starring Depp, that i recently saw.
The Tale of the Demon Barber
posted on 14 Nov 2007I am a large fan of the tale of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This tale has grown into what is indeed a cult favorite. It went from the penny-dreadful, "The String of Pearls: A Romance" into the hit Stephen Sondheim musical and now into this BBC drama starring Ray Winstone. Sweeney Todd is a great movie. A glorious cast and a great new version of the story (I am repeating myself). Todd is more sympathetic in this film than he is in the Sondheim musical and the Tim Burton film. He starts killing and cannot stop. He then befriends a Mrs. Margery Lovett whom he takes her the chopped up bodies of his customers (whose throats he slits and she does not know who or what they are) and she bakes the bodies into her pies. The police start to grow suspicious and launch an investigation. Will Sweeney Todd ever be suspected? This movie is a 10 out of 10. This isn't like any other version of the tale at all. This is a fresh, brand knew version of it. The Demon Barber is a tortured soul in this, he releases his rage in murderous ways. This is probably the best television film. I highly recommend it!
How did they make a musical out of this story?
posted on 08 Aug 2007This film was made for UK TV, but its a lot better than the majority of Hollywood pap out there. Admittedly it will not be to everyones taste, but that goes without saying. It a simple tale really, but the film gives it a depth i was not expecting.For me, it was the acting that really makes it stand out - Ray Winstone and David Warner are outstanding.Ray shows Sweeney to be a kind compassionate person who also just happens to kill people. His character is one of great contradictions then, but his actions highlight the fact that we are all as human beings capable of feats of kindness and also great evil if circumstances dictate.The script is excellent too, keeping the pace moving nicely, but having time to delve into aspects of religion and philosophy that give the actions of todd a profound resonance.Overall, an excellent film, highly recommended. But how did they make a musical out of such a macabre tale?
How well do you trust your barber with a blade?
posted on 27 Jun 200718th century London is a rottenly decayed and scummy city that has a horrific secret. The stoutly quiet Sweeny Todd is a well renown barber of London. Supposedly the best, as customers come and go with nothing but high praise for his fluent skills. One day, he basically loses it after some childhood memory triggers a reaction to slit a customer's throat. He cuts up the body and chucks into the river. Then he goes on as if nothing as happened, but these sudden outbursts soon become a pattern. Mrs Lovett has caught his eye and they form a relationship, where he helps her start up a bakery shop near his shop. So now, Todd is providing her with the meat, unknown to her that they are his leftovers.Fact or fiction is the question of this horror figure? This legendary serial killer figure is the central attraction in this boldly inventive and refreshing British TV feature of the grisly exploits and humane reactions of Sweeny Todd. What could have been just another formulaic story, treads the very well because the thoughtfully encouraged script is brought to life by sensationally characterised performances and a richly atmospheric Victorian setting that reeks with an grimly morbid discharge. The ugliness and the earthly dour colours of it only enhances the cold nature and violently graphic carnage that awaits. It could have gone over board with its unpleasantness, but in the long run the killings do actually play second fiddle to the bustling characters and their complex inner goings. Largely Todd's past. These moments of violence are no more than short and precise bursts that maintain brute force in their confronting depictions.Giving more weight to the black and white premise are the actors themselves. Their textured performances would go on to help those harrowing examinations become truly stimulating and the ingeniously plotted story strikes up a provocative script (by Joshua St. Johnson), which they shape off and morph expertly. Streaming throughout is an claustrophobic build up in the film's hardboiled direction by David Moore and the tension he does orchestrate is plain nerve wrecking. Ray Winstone's scarred performance is emotionally powering and increasingly deep, despite his understated take of the character. He plays it humbly calm, but when the cracks appear Winstone does it with great integrity and menace. Essie Davis' upfront and igniting performance is nothing but excellent as the whore Mrs Lovett who desires any sort of companionship she can get. There seems to be a strong (and at times surreal) sexual charge between the two that's interestingly displayed. The compelling supporting cast do their jobs. David Warner is professionally solid in a strictly mild turn and Tom Hardy is sincerely perfect in his role as an up-and-coming police officer. The film is stylishly photographed and can become intrusively lingering when it wants to capture that scummy tenor with visual punch. The trance-like musical score is beautifully harmonious and demonstrates some otherworldly cues that only adds more to the brooding nature."Sweeny Todd" the director's cut is an exceptionally high quality TV presentation, which is meaningfully acted, unpredictably written and daringly directed. Highly recommended.
A Solid English Interpretation of the Classic Tale
posted on 07 Jun 2007Sweeney Todd, a resident barber of London, has an urge inside of him to kill. As it grows and grows, he comes to fancy a young woman whom he cannot have -- both because she is married and because he is not physically capable. As they grow closer, he lets her in on his secret and a macabre friendship is born -- one a butcher and the other a maker of meat pies.Ray Winstone is perfect as Sweeney Todd. I don't know him from much outside of "The Proposition" (which everyone loves, but I found disappointing). He has the look of a man worn down by time and heartache, cold enough to kill but sad enough to drive us to sympathy. Other people may picture Todd differently, but I think this look fully captures the darkness and emptiness of the man. All the characters have a very dirty look to them, which I also like -- no perfect conditioning in the hair and daily bathing rituals. I like it raw, and this film gives it to me.This is not a musical version but simply a film with a dark tale to tell. It interests me to see how this one was presented. As I understand it, the original story came from the 1820s or 1840s. Yet, this film version touches on themes like abortion and the complete absence of God, which I would presume to be quite heavy for the time (though I may be mistaken).The denial of God, morality and such is the driving force of this film compared to other versions. It's nihilism through and through, which is like the perfect medicine for someone like myself who was raised on heavy doses of Nietzsche, Kafka and Kierkegaard. Horror films often touch the evil in the world and what drives it, but few films -- horror or not -- really get to the deeper philosophic roots of the meaninglessness of the world in our modern time. Some have tried ("Dark City" comes to mind) but this one really hits the spot.With the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp version having just been released, I presume the BBC version of "Sweeney Todd" will not get as much of a chance. But I would advise you to check it out and compare -- one is a musical, one is not. And Burton, while dark, has his own way of looking at the world. So you're not really seeing the same film twice so much as viewing an entire world fro ma different perspective, something I think is healthy for all of us to do time and again. Give this one a shot, it packs a wallop you cannot deny.
Another Close Shave
posted on 06 May 2007Dave 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…
Mostly a superb TV movie
posted on 06 May 2007Being a huge fan of the macabre (especially serial killers) I was very excited to hear this was coming on TV with one of my favourite actors portraying Sweeney. I had shortly before finished reading a biography of Sweeney Todd and enjoyed the film enormously right up until the last few scenes. I'm not going to ruin the film for others by saying exactly how it was ruined for me, except to say that the movie ending - as far as I am aware - contained certain factual differences.That said, the ending they chose - if you don't know the full story - is probably excellent, and I would heartily suggest that it gets a viewing. Performances by all cast members was great, and Ray Winstone was fantastic.
Sweeney Todd in reality not the fairytale that we grew up with...
posted on 28 Apr 2007I watched this when it first aired on BBC television and, coming from London and having grown up with the Sweeney story, I was quite excited at the prospect of this version. It seemed a good idea because Sweeney began as a Victorian comic book story anyway,so dramatising it for a modern audience is the logical next step.When I saw it, I thought it was very good. It did not, however, recapture that youthful, dark fairytale quality that I loved (and all children love) but it did create very real characters. The story is actually disturbing in the sense that Sweeney, who is himself the murderer, is character you feel sympathy toward. This television production is as a previous reviewer said 'not for all tastes', but if you get caught in the story and put it into the context that a Victorian London was actually reading this amazing tale, then this film will get you snared in it web like Sweeney got his victims in the barber's chair. For fans of this programme: You'll probably remember that this was billed as a 15 or so certificate for BBC 1 when it aired, but an 18 certificate directors cut is on release and is supposedly very good so watch out for it!
Gory but deep
posted on 04 Apr 2007Watching a drama about a character known as the legendary "Demon Barber of Fleet Street" did give me some idea of what I was in for when I sat down to watch Sweeney Todd just after Christmas. Having said that, it would have been all too easy for the writers and producers to write a two-hour script of wall-to-wall slaughter, and I'm glad that they didn't. (Not only because I have no stomach for overtly gory scenes, but because I like to watch something with a little substance to it.)I watched Sweeney Todd with my mum and, as she pointed out, there was a part of Ray Winstone's Todd that was very benevolent. It might sound at odds with the legendary image of Todd, but to Mrs. Lovett he was capable of well-meaning kindness. (It was very convenient, surely, that Todd knew Mr. Lovett was abusive towards his wife just before Mrs. Lovett called him to assist her ill husband.)I haven't yet found out much about the real-life (or should that be legendary?) Sweeney Todd, but I think the scriptwriters did well to flesh out a back story for the character. He may have shed more blood on screen than Hannibal Lecter did in The Silence of the Lambs (the throat-cutting scenes - tastefully shot, though they were - I tried to avert my eyes from, gory scenes aren't my thing at all) but Todd clearly wasn't always a maniac, a murderous barber on the prowl, as one might expect. I recognised the beginning of his descent from man to monster when I felt a lot of sympathy for his father as Todd put a stop to him ever being able to give evidence against his own son.Once the accidental killings occurred and Todd found a rather novel way of disposing of his victims, it took a little longer than you might expect for him to descend into the twisted way of thinking that made him end the lives of so many. Mrs. Lovett was clearly very close to Todd's kinder side, close enough that she was mystified that her multiple lovers never came back to her after a visit to Todd's shop. I had hoped that the ending might have been a little more positive, but instead both Todd and Mrs. Lovett seemed condemned to a more predictable fate. I'm still undecided whether Todd's final end was a little too obvious, or whether it was a clever way of showing that he was wily enough to gain his jailers' trust enough to be able to end his life in the way that the law dictated.
Historical Evidence?
posted on 01 Feb 2007This was a reasonable production of an excellent musical, but I recommend the George Hearn / Angela Lansbury version every time.In a previous comment, alan_cricketman4 from Belfast UK, states: "I can understand producers using artistic licence and having to cut details and chronologically alter events etc., but to change the facts of such a well known and well documented case is just downright silly. I suggest that very little research has been applied here (by producers and reviewers alike) and a good website to browse, and learn further details on the case, is "Court TV CRIME LIBRARY"."I fact, Sweeney Todd was universally accepted to be an 'urban myth' up to about 1993, due to the lack of other evidence. In 1993, a new book, was published. Of this book, Wikipedia says: "In his 1993 book Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet, the horror and crime story writer Peter Haining argues that Sweeney Todd was a historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800. However, other researchers who have researched his citations find nothing in these sources to back up what Haining claims they said".I realise that Wikipedia is not always entirely accurate, but I think it is fair to say that what Mr Haining has done is researched a theory about the origin of Sweeney Todd, which is worthy of consideration, but far from accepted historical truth.
You make your own hell.
posted on 18 Oct 2006I loved the story of Sweeney Todd after seeing Johnny Depp do the musical number. I loved it so much I am looking for other versions. This one is outstanding.Unlike Depp's version, this one with Ray Winstone (The Proposition, The Departed, Sexy Beast, Beowulf) is a truer picture of the dark and grimy London of the 18th Century. It is so bad, that you have to cover your nose with a handkerchief when you approach the beggars in the jail to give them a penny.Sweeney did not set out to kill anyone. He was visited in his barber shop by a jailer that brought back old memories. He killed him without thinking and each time got easier. He becomes attracted to a pie maker Mrs. Lovett (Essie Davis - Charlotte's Web, Maggie from The Matrix sequels). In the course of that relationship, we are introduced to abortion, spousal abuse, and atheism. She is married at the time, but as barbers were also surgeons (without anesthesia, I might add) he dispatches her husband in the process of removing a stone.They become friends as he is unable to perform, and he sets her up in her own pie shop. She has a steady stream of lovers which he dispatched and presents to her as meat from his brother. She is clueless as to what is going on. This is a far different version than I have seen before and you are really hooked to see what is going to happen. There are some side stories involving a policeman, and Sweeney's father that really added to the mystery.Winstone and Davis were superb, as was David Warner as the local Magistrate.The only complaint I had was not really every seeing Mrs Lovett's pies. As Sweeney peeked in on her trysts, we just got to see the guy on top. They could have given us a little peek.This was slightly better than the Ben Kingsly version, but there are more to see, including another musical.
Not too bad.
posted on 18 Sep 2006Sweeney 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.
Atmospheric and gripping period drama from the BBC
posted on 02 Jul 2006The BBC's production of "Sweeney Todd" is television magic. Beautifully produced and containing memorable performances from Ray Winstone, David Warner and Essie Davis, this is unmissable drama entertainment.Winstone's Todd is something of a sympathetic figure rather than an out-and-out screen monster. His initial acts of kindness at the start of the film contrast sharply with his psychopathic actions later on. It's a marvellous role for Winstone and he delivers a truly believable performance in the part.From beginning to end, this is splendid stuff and I'm curious to check out the additional footage of the "Director's Cut".9 out of 10. The production really captures the atmosphere of Victorian London and goes to show that the BBC still has the ability to delight and astound in equal measure.
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The old-school story of Sweeney Todd
posted on 01 Aug 2009While most people know 'Sweeney Todd' from the Stephen Sondheim musical, this UK production depicts the original story of Sweeney from the 18th century melodramas, adapted from 'The String of Pearls' newspaper serial and various other penny-dreadfuls at the time, with one major difference. While the early plays and penny dreadfuls painted Sweeney as a stereotypical, melodramatic villain, who the Victorian audience took delight in booing, Ray Winstone's version is closer to the musical. Winstone plays Sweeney as an honest barber who slits the throat of a Newgate Gaoler who boasts of mistreating kids (earlier Sweeney had given money to some kids hanging out the window), haunted by memories of his own twenty years spent in Newgate. Once he tastes that first kill, he can't stop ("I did it because I could...then, I couldn't not"). Along the way, he meets Mrs. Lovett, and saves her from an abusive relationship, and an infection which threatens to kill her, though he repels her advances. Eventually, he buys a shop for Mrs. Lovett's pie business - next to his barber shop - and comes up with the perfect way to get rid of the bodies stockpiling under his shop and help Mrs. Lovett; use the flesh of his victims for her meat pies. However, the plan comes unstuck when the nearby church is engulfed by the stench of the dead. By the end of the movie, Sweeney is a shell of a man, tortured by guilt over his crimes.While arguments exist over whether Sweeney actually existed, this film give an interesting account of Sweeney the man and why he became the demon barber.