How the Music Spoils Sweeney Todd (and why that's a good thing!)
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2024
- This is re-upload for a video that was originally posted Oct 29, 2019
Turns out that the original version is only blocked in the USA (I think?) and that everyone else on the planet can now see two versions of this video...soo...uhh...
I guess this is the US version of this video now?
Attend the tale of the Dies Irae
Twitter: / sideways440
Twitch: / sideways440
Patreon: / sideways440
Sources/Links:
This blog post has most (if not all) of the instances of the Dies Irae:
dropera.blogspot.com/2014/09/s...
Another great article about the characterization in Sweeney Todd, also some Dies Irae:
www.fromscoretostage.com/sing...
Sondheim's breakdown of Epiphany:
• Epiphany Sweeney Todd ...
Sondheim discussing using just a single idea and developing it:
• Stephen Sondheim on “S...
Into The Hoods's Sweeney Todd breakdown (I HIGHLY recommend watching this):
• (Part 1/20) - Sondheim...
Musicals w/ Cheese's Epiphany breakdown:
• Analysis of "Epiphany"...
Kevin Lynch's Epiphany breakdown:
• Breaking Down the Scor...
TheDetectiveSteve's review of Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd:
• Detective Reviews #39 ...
Bobby Burns's review of Burton's adaptation of Sweeney Todd:
• Sweeney Todd: How To A...
Full discussion of Sweeney Todd that I completely forgot to credit in the video (sorry!) by Musicals w/Cheese:
• Sweeney Todd is a PERF...
Sondheim discussing the Dies Irae and Sweeney's musical identity:
• Sweeney Todd Rare 1980...
An amazing dissertation on Sweeney Todd (It's where I read about how there are 15 leitmotifs, and that 13 are directly related to the Dies Irae):
uh-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handl...
Another amazing thesis that collected several critical leitmotifs from Sweeney Todd, also, naturally, discusses the inclusion of the Dies Irae at length:
mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/76...
And the third thesis that I looked at in preparation for this video that corroborated everything else that I had read:
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/...
Dies Irae Excerpt:
• Serpent & Ophicleide -...
Live Epiphany Clip:
• Sweeney Todd | Epiphan...
Finally, "Sondheim on Music" by Mark Eden Horowitz
I can't recommend this book enough, it's such a fun read.
me, who's never seen Sweeny Todd nor has any musical education: *ah yes, of course they use the Dies Irae*
Same
Obviously, why wouldn't it be there?
*Me, also not having any musical education*
Go to choir class 😔🖐🏽 you’ll know after a year and will randomly hear the words and it’ll scare the shit out of ya
me, who's only knowledge about music comes from sideways: THE DIES IRAE OF COURSE THAT'S GENIUS
@@just-trying-my-best-everyday mu9
Wait, it's all dies irae?
Sweeney from behind with his razor: Always has been
this deserves more likes
Haha I ruined your 69 likes, that's how good your comment was XD
@@ArrowVampire the judge.... "always".
@@gracerutherford4666 I understood that reference!
@@Omenweaver Harry potterrrr :D
I love the way you say “So, this is Sweeney” in the beginning. It feels like a kid at show and tell bringing his pet and he’s like “This is my pet; he’s a crocodile.”
It just sounds like such a cute intro for a homicial maniac.
Yes.
PERFECT ANALOGY
4:37 timestamp for people who don't wanna take the time to find it
@@ravenkills thanks legend
I don’t know what you’re talking about, everybody’s pet is a homicidal maniac
Me: plays random notes
Sideways: that’s the dies irae upside down and backwards with the last note raised and a passing tone so yeah you are gonna die confirmed.
LMTO YES
That's honestly also a really good depiction of what having OCD is like
Me, listening to the music of various random ads throughout the video:
"Hmm. Yes, I think I can hear the Dies Irae." 🤔
me: *sondheim is a genius, idk how he does it*
sondheim: *yeh i just take one melody and alter it like twenty times*
me: *_l e g e n d a r y_*
Hhaha he did tha
I just finished watching Sweeney Todd. It was ANNOYING.
@@notyou8716, [Everybody Disliked That.]
That's musical theatre in a nutshell. Les Miserables is like 5 different melodies repurposed in different parts. The Bishops song is Empty Chairs, Valjean's Soliloquy and Javerts Suicide are the exact same musically, and so on.
Honestly it’s just making you feel dumb because he’s a doing a simple thing. Sort of a repetitive loophole he found. And then he applies it to the entire musical.
How to die of alcohol intoxication in 5 minutes: Take a shot every time Dies irae is mentioned
Sev that’s 40 shots
@@mikulover9452 enough to kill a man
@@Sputnik1 A weak man
How about taking a shot every time it's PLAYED. I don''t think there is enough alcohol in the world.
**dies**
**irae**
I mean, the original literally tells you
"He shaved the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again."
sweeney also sings "we all deserve to die, even you, mrs. lovett, even i" so yah it's not exactly subtle
Sweeney himself also pops out of the shallow grave and sings “What happened, then? Well that’s the play and he wouldn’t want us to give it away.”
Nobody listens for Songs, in case of Lyrics, if you are musician
@@AlinaAniretake Huh?
The dies irae is perhaps the greatest example of Harry Plinkett’s Law:
“You might not have noticed it, but your brain did.”
I love that quote so much lol
I feel bad I never noticed it having majored. Just didn’t realize how often I’ve heard it lol.
The Plinkett videos are garbage
you know how i determined how Joanna was Sweeney’s daughter? she’s blonde and Lucy is blonde
Boooooo
@@ninab.4540 i didn’t think to listen to the one second of violins playing in the background. silly me
Sweeney Todd is about as subtle as a hammer with its narrative, and that is not at all a bad thing
you know how i determined Joanna was Sweeney's daughter? mrs. lovett says the judge took her as a ward
@@bumblegadget_ excellent point
2:04 "Once upon a time, there was this guy called Jesus, and he died"
Woah, dude, spoiler alert. I haven't gotten to that book yet🤦🏼♀️
Bro you had like 2000 years to read that, not his fault.
😂
@@JasonWise i'm a slow reader. Sue me
@@coolbeans5911 ok what should I sue you for
Sam and Colby???
Fun fact: this movie was Johnny Depp's first time actually singing professionally, and he worked with sondheim and vocal coaches endlessly, so I think he did pretty good considering all that!
Uhm look up “Cry Baby” (1990) he was dubbed over with James Intveld voice but that was after he sang it himself. So I kind of think it counts; even if it doesn’t.
@@sarahsmith9117 Wow, so it doesn't count and isn't relevant.
@@sarahsmith9117 Uhhm.. you literally just said it was dubbed by someone else..?
@@LordVader1094 His first time singing in a movie was in the last 45 seconds of Pirates of the Caribbean. Anyway, Sweeney Todd was autotuned to death, so does it really matter?
@@user-gp7wy1ud2q His first time singing in a movie was in the last 45 seconds of Pirates of the Caribbean. Anyway, Sweeney Todd was autotuned to death, so does it really matter?
The music doesn’t spoil it, the music does EXACTLY what it was intended to do and it plants clues to the plot in your subconscious leaving you with a sense of shock and surprise when major events take place but also simultaneously prepares you for EVERYTHING and you feel immersed as though you could’ve easily predicted every move made
Sparknotes for anyone too lazy to watch the video
Yeah nah, I think the phrase "spoils" has become too common these days. The music doesn't *spoil* it, it *foreshadows* it. The same way that Romeo and Juliet opens by telling you that the star-crossed lovers are destined to die, Sweeney Todd musically tells you how this man desires to be an avenging angel, and is twisted to becoming another devil in the hell that is London.
@@JacklynBurn i doubt he means "spoils" as "ruins it", but more as "gives it away" or "foreshadows" it as you said
Take a shot everytime Sideways says "Dies Irae" and you'll begin to hear Dies Irae.
God this comment is underated
Lasvina 36 yes it is
Sounds like a fun game
Damn, that got me laughing.
LOL
How the hell can you hear a line of a song and realise it's part of another song upside down??
Retrograde(backwards), inversion(upside-down), and retrograde-inversion are basic devices in counterpoint, so it's something a musician would know to look out for.
you don't, but your brain does
U turn the music upsidedown
rhythmically there is a similarity, and overall the relation between the pitches is similar even if it's upside down, so you will not consciously analyze it but it will vaguely remind you-leitmotifs aren't primarily supposed to be consciously detected
Sorcery .... obviously.
I love how sideways is usually super negative about film adaptations for broadway shows but he keeps saying how much he likes this one. really shows how good it is.
Wow thanks Darth Smaul Sith Lord
'once upon a time there was a guy called jesus, and he died, but there was a bunch of people who really liked jesus, so they wrote songs to him' that's one way to describe that, yeah.
The only problem with the quote is, there’s no contemporary proof “Jesus” existed.
Looks like somebody hasn’t checked out the Roman tax records.
@@gracenurse3365 More and more historians are coming out saying Jesus did indeed existed. Just that he wasn't the Son of God like Christians claimed; an ordinary man no different than you and I. Depends on who you want to believe. I mean, there's no definitive proof that Leo Di Vici was a gay man in a romantic relationship with Salais (butchered spelling). But everyone seems to be inclined to believe it. Again, depends on who you want to believe.
@@gracenurse3365 When you reach that far back into history, the expected threshold for proof is small - by necessity. We know about as well as we can know that about two thousand years ago there was a man named Jesus, because there are at least two separate sources that mention a man named Jesus. Was he capable of miracles? Well there's only the one source so it's not very likely. This doesn't just go for Biblical figures, either; there are whole ass monarchs who's only proof of existence is other people talking shit about them
@@gracenurse3365no there's reason to believe he was an actual person but it's hard to track due to so much history being destroyed.
By many people he was just seen as a prophet. The Romans likely didn't realize he was even significant until people got super mad about his death
Dies irae: the musical
I love your prof. pic
I want that to be a musical
I would upvote, but it's at 666
Yeah Beetlejuice pretty much
@Lord Starfield wtf? 😂
I think you're missing a few things here because you're interpreting the dies irae as just being about death. It's sung as part of the requiem mass, yes, but it's specifically about begging God to avenge the suffering of the innocent. In the first half of the score, Todd is an avenging angel pursuing justice against a corrupt judge, but by the second half he's simply a demon tormenting those in hell - London. This isn't just about death, it's about justice in an unjust world. That's why the Dies Irae is so perfect for this.
That’s a very good point. After all “Dias Irae” translates to day of wrath not day of death. He’s not necessarily thirsting for death, he’s thirsting for vengeance. And salvation from that thirsting. Granted that involves killing but it’s incidental. It happens because of the need for the warped and twisted desire for justice.
Me, never has seen Sweeney Todd: oh yes the vengeance
I agree with that... buut 13:38?
@@mariahhenderson1470 "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. He served a dark and a vengeful god" that is how Sweeney introduces himself. It's great! You should watch it, it's very good.
@@redpandaluver8561 maybe I should
I was talking about this movie a few days ago with my family and I forgot Tim Burtom's name so I said "the guy who makes all of his characters anemic." And my mom said "Oh I know who you're talking about now the Beetlejuice guy!"
Today I learned that the closest I'll get to one of my favorite storytellers is my low iron levels 😆 but I love your comment!
that is the best description of Tim Burton's style ever
As a black-haired pasty anemic, I have never been so offended by something I 100% agree with.
(Jk I love Burton's style and he's one of my favorite directors 😄)
BROOO I want to join those family talks!! Sounds much better then mine
Yep. Beetlejuice would have been my first choice😂
I just realized the opening to The Shining has the Dies Irae in it. I need to sit down for a second.
Yes! I was looking for this comment. It's one of the most recognized intro theme to a movie. I was surprised he didn't include it in the compilation.
Me too like I heard that theme and all I could do was just lay there with my jaw in hell 😭
It's also the entire "The Twilight Zone" theme and the Jaws theme uses it, too.
As one who has unfortunately never seen Sweeney todd, I thought he was holding a sardine in the thumbnail.
So I was not the only one
Lmto...
I hope you have watched it since your latest comment. trust me, i'm not for thrillers and gore, but this movie is fabulous (in spite of all the gore). best role for Johnny by far (even surpasses Jack Sparrow) as for Helena she's way more scarier than Bellatrix.
Btw, if you like Harry Potter, this movie is a must see (i watched it to see Snape) but Wormtail is also there. And! Anthony, the sailor is the young Grindelwald.
it's literally much closer to the canon than the Cursed Child will ever be.
As for the music... it's painful to the ears, unpleasant, weird at first..... but after a second, third viewing I got obsessed with it. Gorgeously written by a mad genius!
Well, I have seen Sweeney Todd several times, stage and movie version, and I still thought I saw a sardine too!
I’ve watched the movie so many times but I still thought it was a sardine too 🤣
Alternative title; Man goes mad to Christian Death Song
cznsfjgsjgej plss
Not Christian Death!!! Lmao
Anthony's Distress
@@sylph8005 alternative title for the musical lol
sideways or sweeney? lol
Real quickly, I just want to point out Johana and Lucy's flute theme real quickly. There was one other scene I believe where you can really hear the flute, and that is in the song "God, That's Good." You hear the flute a total of two times throughout the number, and these moments are right before Mrs. Lovett tells Toby to "throw the old woman out!" The flute was clearly starting to play because Lucy had entered the shop, and Mrs. Lovett made the flute music stop by kicking Lucy out of the shop. Another reason why the score for Sweeney Todd is outstanding!
As someone named Joanna I deeply thank you for not playing THAT song that every theatre kid thought was the peak of comedy to sing to me
There are by my count THREE *different* songs in Sweeney titled 'Johanna'. The one Anthony sings. The one Judge Turpin sings which is cut from many (most?) productions of the show but really should be left in; and the one Sweeney sings when he is reminiscing lyrically while killing off his clientele.
...But I'm guessing you probably must mean Anthony's song.
@@StoryMing idk fam all i know is the first two lines ppl publicly serenade me with out of nowhere
@@StoryMing i would hope ppl dont come up to them and go YOU MOCK ME JOANNA YOU TEMPT ME WITH YOUR INNOCENCE
@@thaliapeters949
Those aren’t the first two lines... (though I would hope so too!)
I feeeeel yoooou Johaaaaanaaaaa..........
Fun fact: Johnny actually wanted to be a musician when he was a young lad, but then he had the role in nightmare on elms street and he was hooked on being an actor
I love Johnny
he actually got that dream too! back in 2015 Alice Cooper revived the name of his old band from the seventies, The Hollywood Vampires, and Johnny is a guitarist and vocalist in the new Hollywood Vampires!
@@micahmayer9487 ayyy I’m glad for him!
Johnny did great in this movie 😁😇🙃🙃
@@micahmayer9487 and also, in January he uploaded a video of him doing a cover to his Instagram so he still is making music
Guys i heard a note. You know what else has notes?
That's right. The Dies Irae.
Woah you're a genius
Every song is *DeAtH*
Oop
I’d like this funny comment but it’s at 666 and I’m not a monster
@@queenjohnbee3411 Dude thank you I have achieved official comedy
This makes the line "he heard music that no one heard" (only stage show) SO MUCH BETTER
Ok what bothers me in the movie is just the broken mirror, not for some deep reason, it’s just because it could be a serious scene but one look at their reflection and I burst out laughing
I'm thinking maybe that's intentional... It's like how sometimes parents try to make their upset children laugh by doing something goofy or doing a silly face to distract them from the chaos in their head. So maybe Mrs Lovett is trying to be the mother figure or the family member who wants to divert Sweeney from doing the things that are going on in his mind... Since the scene continues normally, you can see that the silly face thing doesn't get through to Sweeney.
*Dies Irae:* it’s in the walls, it’s in the toilet, it’s everywhere
ITS INFECTING THE TAP WATER AND TURNING THE FRICKIN FROGS DEAD
its in the freaking pies too!!
This could be merch honestly
thatgissel I just hAtE it when my ancient melodies get stuck in the plumbing smh
Unus Annus...Unus Annus...UNUS ANNUS.
Music: *exists*
Sideways: *heavy breathing* D I E S I R A E 😫 👀 👌 🔥
*visible sweating* must... leitmotif...
This is a really good breakdown of the musical themes, but “spoiling” is kind of an oversimplification. A better word is “foreshadowing”.
No one would have clicked hearing foreshadowing
@@editating_2614 Fair. But still...
It makes me so happy to see you referring to other UA-cam makers who have covered other parts of this topic. It is like the owner of one shop saying, "Well, we don't carry that product, but if you go to this other shop, they will have it." 🥰
Legend has it, if you listen to Dies Irae - Johnny Depp comes for you.
He needs a hug. I'd welcome him in with hot tea and cookies.
Don't threaten me with a good time 😏
@@Artleycoul I'd definitely do the same
@@WolfanTerror We stan the man
Good I could use an autograph XD
"so there's these 4 notes right?"
*hits bong*
"what if we only used that all the time"
It's like how we, as a culture, only know the opening phase to the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, despite being quite an extensive organ piece indeed. The majority of the piece is a lot more peppy sounding than the Gothic imagery we've culturally associated with that iconic opening phrase might suggest.
@@moviemaestro800 wow
@@moviemaestro800 I looked it up, and indeed, the piece sounded way less Gothic than pop culture makes the opening to be. Thanks, I learned something new today.
Stephen Sondheim: *hastily writes this tip down for Sweeney Todd and Into The Woods*
You should see The Batman (2022). They really took it to heart.
The line reading of "there was a guy called Jesus, and he died" made me laugh hysterically for like five minutes straight. Also, "he's going to come back and kill everyone so he can have the world's greatest slumber party." Dude, keep doing what you do, it's awesome.
RIP Steven Sondheim. Man was a legend
Interestingly, that opening "Attend The Tale of Sweeney Todd" number has a line that gives light to this musical theory;
"Sweeney heard music that nobody heard"
i.e. the Dies Irae, the call of death
Maybe it just means that Sweeney is a hipster who's REALLY into underground music
@@vollmond9342 SAVAGE
Woah-
See I always took it to mean that all the musical numbers are happening in Sweeney's head but I like your interpretation better lol
Dies irae means Day of Vengeance though
It's not spoiling...
It's foreshadowing.
*Puts on glasses
*Flips table
*Leaves room
you’re so cool
You’re way cooler than I’ll ever be.. Hence your UA-cam name😂
//dies of extreme coolness exposure//
is it the wind.. or foreshadowing??
Pfffft! You didn't even leave the room on a skateboard.
**puts on **_two_** sunglasses**
**flips the table you flipped**
**leaves the room on a skateboard**
**finger guns**
This is honestly such a great adaption. I think it's really hard to adapt a stage production into a movie and do it the RIGHT WAY, because most elements on stage are more magical or impressive live. For example, an example of a bad movie adaptation of a stage musical is the 2012 Les Miserables movie. The backing score was not adding any tension, and the lead actors were either lifeless and flat, or way over the the top when delivering their lines (except for Amanda Seyfried, Samantha Barks, and Eddie Redmayne). However, in the movie adaption of Sweeney Todd, all of the elements that were in the stage musical are in the film. One of the producers even noted that they were going to try their best to add in as much blood as necessary, because they wanted to take advantage of what they could present on film. Aside from that, all of the actors are perfect for their roles, and deliver their speaking and singing lines with such finesse. The score is absolutely brilliant and, as Sideway explained, a great way to foreshadow the upcoming events that will take place later on in the story. Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite movie adaptions based off of a stage musical.
It's my absolute least favorite haha. By far.
I took a survey of theater when I was in college, and my professor showed us this movie. My fondest memory of the experience:
Peer: "That was so depressing. Why did we just watch that?"
My Professor: "Why?! Because it's only one of the most significant musicals to come out of the 20th century, that's why."
I can't unsee Jack Sparrow, Bellatrix, and Professor Snape
Sweeney Todd, AKA jack sparrow brutally murdering the cast of Harry Potter
And Wormtail.
And Jace
Young Grindelwald, old Grindelwald, wormtail, Belatrix, and Snape
And Grindelwald x2
Nobody:
Sideways: *So let's talk about Dies Irae*
Who got the ending of Frozen 2 spoiled for them by the Dies Irae thanks to Sideways?
Gürschach X
David W Collins (from The Soundtrack Show): Did somebody say Dies Irae!?
Beetlejuice the musical? Lmao
DEAAAAAAAAAAATH.
@@alizeica519 What are you laughing about? That's a thing.
2:03 "you could make a religion out of this"
Something I noticed while listening to the soundtrack of this film, is that the first few notes of "Johanna" and Toby's song "not while I'm around" are really similar. I think it might be because they're both songs about love: Anthony is in love with Johanna, and Toby loves Mrs. Lovett like a mother. Just something I thought was interesting😁 Love this video!
Whoa it's like, it's like deja vu like I've been here before
NipNip Supreme I think it’s a re-upload
Joseph Bugarin i assume they were sarcastic
Totally, i saw it in my subscriptions and i was all that seems familiar
like, higher on the street, and, like I know it's my time to go
@@misadate8688 "yeahhhhhh!"
*eurobeat music*
My music theory teacher mentioned that she went to school with you and recommended your videos. I thought that was pretty cool.
Sure
This is a strange conversation I've stumbled upon...😂
@Ugh it's izzy i think it's just to match the theme of the video.
@@cruella4341 Imagine having so much of an ego that you don't believe someone else just because it's the internet and you want to be *that* person
@@cruella4341 answer the damn question
I really loved your take on Lovett and the Madness Motif. I’ve always read that motif as hinting at her manipulation of Sweeney - it seems harmless because it’s in Celeste, but it’s her quiet goading of his madness. She is trying to get her way in this scene and trying to emotionally control Sweeney. In fact, Lovett continues to push him to new heights of madness at each turn.
Your videos are so awesome! Thanks for the delicious content!
Man I miss Sideways. I just got home from seeing Sweeney Todd on Broadway with Aaron Tveit and Sutton Foster. Tveit was honestly electrifying. Made me think of this video of course.
In the opening number to Beetlejuice, while they're singing about how it's a show about death, the chorus sings the phrase "Dies Irae." I finally understand it now 😂
Same thing with Bells of Notre Dame in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, now that I think about it.
*Holding sardine
"At last! My arm is complete again. >:D"
In the musical, "the beggar woman" actually has a song called "alms, alms" that's repeated a few times (in the film you hear it when Anthony asks her about Johanna, and it's reprised in "God That's Good"). If you listen carefully, it's got the same music as "Poor Thing". Just a little 'madder'.
Sondheim really is a genius, and he completely spoils the entire plot from the get-go 🤣
I honestly hate Alms, Alms haha. I haven’t seen the theatrical version but I’ve watched the film many times and I hate the thing her voice does. When I listen to the soundtrack it always catches me off guard and it’s so loud when it comes on. I think it was a good move as far as how to do the song for the movie, but I don’t enjoy listening to it for fun haha. It’s even a little scary.
@@Rachel-xg7hs Yeah, it's a pretty jarring song...
It's supposed to be that way and it's too late at night to explain why it is but it's sondheim and Burton and it wouldn't be that jarring if there wasn't a reason for it.
@@michealpersicko9531 i mean probably just the fact that she lives on the streets as a result of sexual assault trauma is sufficient enough reason. the word ‘alms’ is about justice and compassion, something neither present in her life nor the film, so i suppose singing it in that jarring voice is quite disturbing to an audience who cant show her compassion or give her justice
Spoiling the movie for the few people who care about this stuff.
Also the entire movie title "the deadly barbier from fleet street" 'spoils' the plot aswell. The directors didnt care and the viewers knew from the trailer what this movie was about
"It's in the walls--"
Uh-huh.
"It's in the streets--"
Got it
"--it's in the toilet."
*SPITS OUT DRINK, WHEEZE*
I LOVE when music is DEEPLY tied to characters and stories and subconsciously lays the foreshadowing in your mind even if you don't notice it without diving into it. Brilliant.
My roomate:
“New drinking game. Take a shot every time he says Dies Irae.”
Me:
“And then get your stomach pumped”
then you start hearing the dies irae
That’s a death wish
(SPOILERS IG)
I think the obviously fake blood in the Sweeney Todd movie is good example of something considered tacky becoming charming. If you look for it, in every movie or tv show there is a life force that keeps the characters alive. In Survivor, fire means life. In Star Wars, hope means life. In Sweeney Todd, *blood* means life. The muted blue background underneath the blood FORCES you to stare at the blood. When you see thin, fan-like streams of blood spurting out of Turpin's neck, it more accurately depicts what it would look like if you reached into Turpin's chest and ripped out his soul. Thick, slow, oozing, dark brown blood doesn't have the same effect. If the blood looks realistic, it's just a body starting to decay. If the blood is bright red, so so bright that it hurts to look, it's a *character dying* .
Blood means life in Sweeney Todd. Turpin didn't finally die while Mrs. Lovett stamped his hand off her dress.
Turpin was DEAD the moment Sweeney raised his blade.
ohhh this is a great analysis
Biologically speaking arterial blood is pretty bright red due to the fact it is highly oxygenated and is at very high pressure so absolutely would spray out like that. Blood only starts to look brownish red when it dries.
I’ve also heard analysis that its a reference to Hammer horror films that also used over the top, bright red blood again a dark background. It’s supposed to melodramatic and over the top so it also works as a stylistic homage!
Also, whereas most people gush blood, Sweeney and Lucy merely have the blood run down their neck, for they're functionally dead already
“The Blood is the life!” - Count Dracula
I love the pause you do on, "At last my arms are complete again!" because the first time my dad showed me the musical (the Lansbury/Hearn version for my introduction, of course), he had to leave the room for the end of "My Friends" since he can't resist saying that line along with Hearn. I quickly picked up this habit!
This helps me understand probably one of the reasons why I thought this story was so obvious. I never realized how much I pay attention to music to figure out a story until now.
I cracked up when he said that ‘Epiphany’ is the ‘Let it go’ or ‘Defying Gravity’ of Sweeney Todd. I mean, I can’t argue, just thought it was kinda funny
steadfast snail Idina Menzel as Sweeney Todd CONFIRMED
steadfast snail 😂😂😂😂
Johnny Depp is Idina Menzel confirmed
Melody Fussell You should know, this reply made me absolutely LOSE IT last night when I was really tired. Funniest thing I'd ever read.
@@dontask9728 omg what if I drew that
My favourite fun fact about this version of Sweeney Todd is that there are so many actors from harry potter also in this and most of them are bad guys in harry potter
i'm so happy i'm not the only one that noticed that
I didn't see Borat in Harry Potter
if only we had sweeney todd in harry potter somehow also
@@dumbass9049 If this isn't sarcasm, Johnny plays Gellart Grindelwald so...
When both sweeney and anthony are Grindelwald O.o
i always thought that Depp's "not great" singing actually feels right for the story
Watching this the day after Sondheim died. RIP king you will be missed and your music will live to influence thousands
"it's in the walls, it's in the toilet, it's everywhere"
**looks at toilet suspiciously**
**slowly walks away**
**looks at toilet**
**dies irae starts playing**
**panic**
There's an Elvis joke here, but I can't think of anything
@@mr.misfit9514 me, who doesn't even listen to Elvis: omg I totally agree, what is it? 👀👀👀
@@actuallyverysoggy the king of rock, one of the biggest music sensations ever, inspired johnny bravo, and died on the toilet after overdosing on pills
@@mr.misfit9514 I know who he is lolol, I just don't listen to his music on the regular
Am I the only one who really liked Sweeney's opening line? I thought it really expressed the hatred and disgust he had for London. A gritty, un-trying voice.
I mean this channel gets a ton wrong so don't sweat it.
I like it, too. I thought he was disgusted/snarky about London, and it was in stark contrast with sunny Anthony 😂
I loved that line
@@lucymcnamara4558 I think the accent is a bit awkward...
He sounded like David Bowie to me lol
I dunno man, I thought Sweeney Todd was one of his only roles where he played a different person, and did a good job of it.
I think the hair certainly helps. But yeah he was so... Dark. Especially if you knew him as Jack Sparrow
Yeah, i think of him as really scary and melancholic in this role and in an realistic way. Way different from the "adorable crazy guy" he usually plays
ngl kept seeing this in my recommendeds but I kept putting it off because I didn't want anything spoiled- just my luck youtube made the movie free with ads so I got to watch it last night for the first time and oh man it did not disappoint. loved the video so much, all the effort you put in is incredible
Bettlejuice: the musical over there legit just chanting "Dies irae"
Holy shit your right, how did I not hear that before...
exactly what i was thinking lmao
Love that
exactly! i love how many references to death and musicals you can find in "The Whole "Being Dead" Thing" once you take a closer look at the lyrics (like the direct shout out to "Rodgers, Hart, and Hammerstein here" in the second verse).
honestly after listening to beetlejuice sing a whole song about death, hearing what's essentially the musical death chant in between the last few lines of the chorus is just a nice cherry on top XD
*pics up guitar* so anyways, here’s Dias Irae...
My favorite touch is how the tune from "And my Lucy lies in ashes" plays the second he kills the beggar woman, because that's the moment it became true.
Sondheim really went “I’mma make a whole musical out of the edgy Lick and hope nobody notices.”
You could say this is a Shining example of his talent.
When I was in my high school pep band, we used to play the deus irae theme at football games when the other team failed at something. Our bleachers faced the back wall of the school, so it bounced around like crazy and sounded huge. It was fun as hell and actually pretty intimidating hearing it from the ground since you couldn’t see where it was coming from once the sun set. Hearing it again always makes me smile a little, though I don’t think that was the artists intent lol
omygoodness that’s so evil but i love it
Causally threatening the other team as a psychological attack to win games. That is the true purpose of pep bands!
That’s actually insane 😂😂😂
"It has something to do with Sweeney Todd and Death..." fun fact: Tod means Death in German.
literally everything from that story is just death😭🤚
Unless this is confirmed, this seems a wee bit far fucking fetched don’t you think
@@blueshell292 it's a fun fact, not a theory
@@blueshell292 it's just a funny detail, no one said it was intentional
I actually never thought about that, even though I speak german
I just realized that both young and old Grindelwald are in this movie and are friends.
Steven Sondheim was a once in a generation genius and this video just goes to show how brilliant he is, may his memory be a blessing
I got an ad for a horror movie in the middle of this and it had the dies irae in it
Which one?
The interesting thing about Johanna’s theme being a derivative of the Dies Irae despite death not being tied to her in the movie adaptation is that it kind of tricks you into thinking Todd is going to kill her if you don’t know the story before you watch the film.
The first time I watched the movie I was convinced he was going to kill her!
She would have been dead if Mrs Lovett hadn't screamed
Of course, also, someday, she will die.
@@rileyabeles4972 yes me too, I thought he was going to kill her accidentally
Thanks for explaining why even the orchestrations are creepy and intended to generate anxiety within the audience.
As an aside, supposedly, Tim Burton had Christopher Lee sing "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," but chose to not use. Hopefully, it will surface someday.
Listening to sideways rant about my favourite musical is actually really good for painting.
I think the most obvious form of Dies Irae that I've ever noticed is in The Bells of Notre Dame, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. When Frollo is chasing Quasimodo's mom in the beginning of the movie, the Dies Irae starts playing and the ensemble starts chanting in Latin, with the beginning lyrics actually being "Dies irae, dies illa". And of course, Quasi's mom dies, and when you get to the shot where she's lying on the stone steps of Notre Dame in a puddle of her own blood with Frollo standing over her, the ensemble chants "Dies irae" all over again.
I was thinking of that too, the part is actually stuck in my mind now lol
And it plays again when he's chasing Quasimodo and Esmeralda right before he dies
The use of the dies irae and Latin in hunchback makes me foam at the mouth its so good
Plus everytime "Kyria eleison" is referenced either in the score or sung by the Greek choir. It's perfect everytime it's used
i found a fan edit of hunchback recently where someone had cut out all the gargoyles. there's a couple of times where it's a little jarring ("dear boy, whomever are you talking to?"), but overall it's such a relief to be able to watch it without constantly getting tonal whiplash. it's a great film!
About Dies Irae: I'm getting HUGE "Hellfire" vibes from the Hunchback of Notre Dame: "hellfire, dark fire, now gypy it's your turn, choose me or your pyre, be mine or you will burn!"
It would also make sense for the Dies Irae motif to be Frollo's theme since he is heavily involved in death, danger and religious elements.
You are correct. It's definitely there. It's also in Quasimodo's theme, just listen to the first notes of "the Bells of Notre Dame".
I’m glad I stumbled upon this comment. I wish he’d do a video about Disney’s Hunchback specifically.
Fun fact: Hellfire quotes the catholic mass. At the end of the song, the choir sings "kyrie eleison" which is the first verse of the mass. They also answer him in Latin, when he sings "it's not my fault, it's god's plan", they answer back "Mea culpa", which translated to "it's my fault"
The "Dies Irae" lyrics actually show up in "The Bells of Notre Dame" while Frollo is chasing Quasimodo's mother through the streets to the cathedral. And then another part of them show up during the hunt for Esmeralda.
And what's really genius about the leadup to "Hellfire" is that it not only quotes the Catholic Mass, it quotes a Confessional ("Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti"), which leads directly into Frollo telling us about his lust for Esmeralda. It's just a brilliant score, honestly.
Speaking of "Hellfire", there's actually another song from the original show that if not bearing resemblance to "Hellfire", sure as hell(badum tssss) inspired it.
It's Judge Turpin's song to Johanna(often called "Johanna(Judge)" or "Johanna(Mea Culpa)", and it's basically Turpin lusting after Johanna through a keyhole while whipping himself from his religiously intoned guilt, while masturbating to orgasm, ending with him ultimately deciding to marry Johanna so she would "deliver" him from evil(which equates to giving him a handjob if the last lyrics are concerned).
It was Sondheim wanting to write a song centered on a building orgasm, that was ultimately cut from the original Broadway production during previews, both for how disturbing it was and for it arguably taking too much time in the show's run. Sondheim was mad at this, and insisted that the song AT LEAST be on the original cast recording(performed AMAZINGLY with the original orchestrations by Sondheim's frequent orchestrator Jonathan Tunick(who also expanded his original orchestrations for this movie, as well as for Into The Woods(both the original show and the film)), and by the original Judge Turpin himself(as well as the original Cinderella's Father in the original cast of Into The Woods), Edmund Lyndeck!), be published in the officially licensed score for the show, and it ultimately wouldn't be until later productions and Concerts that the song would soon be regularly performed!
It's very twisted and gives a VERY revealing look at Judge Turpin's tormented character. An overly pious man who can't make himself affectively let go of the insatiable lust that led him to send an innocent barber away to rape his wife(the guilt ridden face Alan Rickman has during "Poor Thing" before he pounces on Lucy really struck me when I saw the movie for the first time), and is now focussing him on the wife's girl whom he's raised since she was a baby. On the surface, he may not seem all that bothered by his own monstrousness(unlike Beadle Bamford, who would otherwise derive sick sadistic pleasure from it, as far as the movie's concerned), but with this song you really get a fuller picture of a corrupt beast who makes himself both aware and unaware of the damage he's caused for his own sexual gain, until the bitter end when sees too late that the same man he wronged has come back to get him.
ua-cam.com/video/qE5UZfSohHw/v-deo.html
I get so frustrated when these online reviewers metaphorically fellatiate these artists and composers on how brilliant they are and all the so-called intention they have, and I just wonder, 'when is a rose just a rose,' and these guys are just good artists and we're likely just breathing meaning and purpose into a chaotic space. . . That is typically my thought process so thank you so much for sharing the part at 13:04 where he goes through his artistic process showing that he is actually that talented and does make considerations for all of these things. Thank you so much for making me realize how little I actually understand about the creative space and shaking me from this Dunning-Kruger effect. Thank you for just not telling me about his process but showing me.
sideways: listen closely, can you hear that?
me: is it the dies irae?
sideways: it's the dies irae.
me: well color me shocked!
if you listen REALLY hard, you can hear the wine bottle rolling under the seats.
ye rabbit nooooooo. I hate that episode
Lmaooooo😂
THIS COMMENT!!!! 🤩🤩🤣🤣🤣🤣
In my Top 5 fav episodes!!!!!
#michaelScottPaperCompany 🤪
😂😂😂😂
Andy deserved better smh
Imagine this being your first Sideways video
lol it was
It was mine I insta subscribed back when this was first posted. I Stan.
Both of y'all have begun a wonderful journey.
I highly recommend you watch his entire back catalog. It's so worth it
This is my second and I feel like my brain is melting
It was
it took me watching this video twice to realize why the dies irae sounded so familiar-it’s the opening to the shinning, so that’s neat
This movie is a freaking masterpiece!!! And with this youtube commentary I finally realize how much genious was behind the scenes ~
I need to rewatch it to finally appreciate it all !!
Guess I won't ever be able to not notice that Dies Irae thing now, just like the Wilhelm scream
Edit: Now, a year+ later, I was watching Clone Wars and I freaking heard it!
I KNOW RIGHT?!?! I can’t stand hearing the scream anymore it sounds so obvious and cheesy but that’s definitely just because I hear it EVERY TIME
I can’t explain the Wilhem Scream, but I know it when I hear it
@@silverowlcity4373 AAaahhhhuhhhhaaaa
Aaron Phillips I heard this. Don’t ask how but a certain scene from Star Wars just popped into my head at the sight of this comment and fight mode has been activated
Yeah, that wilhelm scream... After a while I started hearing it in the weirdest places, and you just get to... 'oh, there it is again. great''.
XD
(might as well comment it again now the old video died)
Sideways: A good score, is a-
Viewers: is a culmination of leitmotifs.
Sideways: is a culmination of- yes! Precisely!
It only works if all the little themes mesh together!
Hacim 42 - This is the funniest thing I’ve seen all week.
Now, leitmotifs need to be cleaned, lubricated, and wound tight. You know what I mean by a culmination of leitmotifs?
Fave comment thanks for reposting!
Who is the guy on your profile picture I see him everywhere on the internet
@@katestavridi5193 JonTron
I’ve seen this movie probably over a hundred times. I’m a theatre student as well as a choir student in college and this has always been one of my favorite musicals/films. The way you’ve opened it up and gutted every detail and analyzed the entire thing is absolutely amazing to me and incredibly eye opening in terms of music and meaning and everything that makes musicals so amazing. Well done, sir.
I absolutely love how you deconstruct everything. You play into the psychology of why the music is what it is. Very interesting. As a music education major in college i definitely see how everything works. It just awesome to have some explain it in an very entertaining way. (Haha if only all my professors were as captivating as you)
“So..........this is Sweeney.” This is a mood all in its self
The sentence is said like introducing your bastard pet that you love deeply
Funny how the Dies Irae spoiled a plot point in Frozen 2 as well.
And I caught while watching it thanks to the original upload of this video!
Daniel F oh... when was it? 🙈
@@Phoe8D The leitmotif Elsa keeps hearing is the first four notes of the Dies Irae - and it's her dead mother.
Daniel F omg 🙈 you’re a genius
holy crap i never realised that omgg
HOLY CRAP I JUST GOT OUT OF THE THEATER AND I’M LEARNING THIS NOW ??
I literally come back to watch this video every month because it is so amazingly done and gets me so inspired about music and music theory. Thank you Sideways!
I was honestly astounded that you made a Dies Irae montage and left out the opening music of The Shining.
Also the half-assedness is the point of that first line, it's meant to convey that he's almost out of fucks. If he sang it properly he'd ruin it.
So, let me get this straight: Sweeney Todd's score is inspired by the Dies Irae?
i didn't notice any mention of that.
Basically, yeah
22 minutes of it
Hmmmm could be
no i don't think so
Wait. It's all the Dies Irae?
Sondheim: Always has been.
*slits throat
To everybody here that hasn't watched it, do yourself a favor and give it a shot. I absolutely hate musicals but this one is different. I was super skeptical when it first came out but now I've seen it dozens of times and have all the words memorized. I even listen to the soundtrack while I'm driving. It's usually streaming on one of the services so keep an eye out.
If you can enjoy the film soundtrack, then you really owe it to yourself to get the Original Broadway Cast recording. Vocally, it's far superior. And you get to hear some of the great songs that were cut from the film.
Somebody here already mentioned it, I think, that 'Tod' is a word for death in German...
So I looked into his first name's possible meanings.
Sweeney is likely derived from the Gaelic 'Mac Suibhne' meaning 'son of Suibhne' and Suibhne means 'pleasant/well-disposed' and was related to the old Norse name 'Sveinn', meaning "boy/servant".
And in the US, Sweeney itself (the Surname) is possibly an Americanization of the french surname 'Choinère', which is derived from 'choin', meaning White, and originated as an occupational name for a.... wait for it........
/Baker./
So...
His name can, in fact, be translated as 'Servant of Death'.
You can't tell me that Sondheim didn't do this intentionally. He has far too much attention to minute details to not do it intentionally. And that makes me fall in love with this musical even more.
Er, Sondheim can't claim credit for that one. The first Sweeney Todd story was published in 1846-47.
Sondheim didn't create the name 'Sweeney Todd'. It's an old British legend.
That wasn’t Soundheim who invented Sweeney’s name. Sweeney Todd was around during the Victorian Era. The story was originally a Penny Dreadful story.
german, gaelic, and french? if i were inventing a metaphor name i'd stick with one language so people who interpreted it didn't sound like they were reaching super hard
"Once Upon A Time, there was a guy called Jesus. And he DIED."
Thank you. Subscribing.
Also, no shit, I'm pretty sure I was named after the Dies Irae.
Ever notice the Christmas carol "Carol of the Bells" has the Dies Irae repeated over and over?
@@RaymondHng Learned that for Choral... But holy crap 😳😅😂
@@gianinamorales8597 No wonder "Carol of the Bells" sounded so unsettling and disturbing.
"Why this creepy melody is in so many movies" ua-cam.com/video/-3-bVRYRnSM/v-deo.html
@@RaymondHng I always wondered why I found it so ominous and badass lmao
RaymondHng so thaaatss why it sounds so creepy
I'm still dead laughing at "This alpha stoner by the name of Hector Berlioz".
Tbh that applies to a lot of the 19th cent composer bros
Dead huh? Hmmm... like, Dies Irae dead?
Cool to see so much more artistry in this movie than I, somebody fairly musically illiterate, ever realized.
I realized how much I can actually like musical themed movies from Sweeny Todd.
Partly commentating to affirm your video is still accessible outside the USA. I am in Portugal. But also to commend you on the lively presentation and the clear thoughtful way you have introduced the use of the Dies Irae theme. I am not so keen on the film but I can't wait to see it on stage again and follow the motif in conjunction with the drama. You have added a whole new dimension for me to a show I already love!