Comments on: Why I love “Sweeney Todd” http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/ Roger Bourland writes about music and life Wed, 8 Oct 2008 02:18:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.10 by: Elaine http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-69246 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:01:50 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-69246 I share your goal to be able to write something as good as Sweeney Todd, some day, but I know that it will never happen. He has a really unusual knack for the theater (translates perfectly well to film), and that knack is a specific talent that I do not think can be "learned" or "achieved." Sondheim is, as far as I'm concerned, the best living composer for the theater there is. Maybe he is the best all-around composer around today. He manages, like Puccini, to get the most emotional mileage from as few notes as possible, and he really uses the English language in a way that is both meaningful and memorable. The "Pretty women" duet between Sweeney and the Judge, pardon the expression, kills me every time. It is really brilliant writing. The tension between the extraordinarily beautiful and the anticipation of something terribly ugly is one of the most effective pieces of writing, period. I saw the show on Broadway with Angela Landsbury in 1979. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was afraid that this movie would be disappointing, but it wasn't at all. I do prefer the <i>idea</i> of gore that was offered in the show to the graphic (or shall I say computer graphic) gore that was used in the movie, but I knew when to close my eyes. I also wish that there were as much music in the movie as there was in the show, but I understand that material had to be cut in order to fit the length of a movie. I also thought the underscoring was done extremely well, and I thought that all the singing, and all the acting was terrific. What a fantastic opportunity for excellent music to reach a mass audience. I'm hoping that "By the Sea" will become hot in the music video world and will inspire young people to become interested in some of Sondheim's other work. I share your goal to be able to write something as good as Sweeney Todd, some day, but I know that it will never happen. He has a really unusual knack for the theater (translates perfectly well to film), and that knack is a specific talent that I do not think can be “learned” or “achieved.” Sondheim is, as far as I’m concerned, the best living composer for the theater there is. Maybe he is the best all-around composer around today. He manages, like Puccini, to get the most emotional mileage from as few notes as possible, and he really uses the English language in a way that is both meaningful and memorable.

The “Pretty women” duet between Sweeney and the Judge, pardon the expression, kills me every time. It is really brilliant writing. The tension between the extraordinarily beautiful and the anticipation of something terribly ugly is one of the most effective pieces of writing, period.

I saw the show on Broadway with Angela Landsbury in 1979. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was afraid that this movie would be disappointing, but it wasn’t at all. I do prefer the idea of gore that was offered in the show to the graphic (or shall I say computer graphic) gore that was used in the movie, but I knew when to close my eyes. I also wish that there were as much music in the movie as there was in the show, but I understand that material had to be cut in order to fit the length of a movie. I also thought the underscoring was done extremely well, and I thought that all the singing, and all the acting was terrific.

What a fantastic opportunity for excellent music to reach a mass audience. I’m hoping that “By the Sea” will become hot in the music video world and will inspire young people to become interested in some of Sondheim’s other work.

]]> by: ComposerBastard http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-68720 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:35:09 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-68720 Babbitts there...you have to appreciate all of Babbitt to understand where Babbitts there…you have to appreciate all of Babbitt to understand where

]]> by: PK http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-68710 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:38:17 +0000 http://rogerbourland.com/blog/2007/12/26/why-i-love-sweeney-todd/#comment-68710 Oh good, now I REALLY want to see this. Like you, I am a long time fan of the original. Sondheim's musicals are the only "modern" ones I truly love, the music is rich and the subjects are more open to interpretation. Oh good, now I REALLY want to see this. Like you, I am a long time fan of the original. Sondheim’s musicals are the only “modern” ones I truly love, the music is rich and the subjects are more open to interpretation.

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