Stage to Screen: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
A special Halloween-themed stage to screen as Chad revisits Tim Burton's darkly macabre film version of Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece "Sweeney Todd."
The Projection Booth
A discussion of Film, TV, and other random subjects
Stage to Screen
In high school, I took a break from my comic book geekdom and became a musical theater nerd. While I can’t sing, dance, or act in any capacity (I became a writer instead!) I always enjoyed the fun, magical world where people break into song and dance for no apparent reason. I immersed myself in the music of Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, and those French guys who wrote Les Misérables.
While I loved the stage versions of many musicals, I always wondered how they would fare cinematically. Sadly, in the 80s, the music genre was dead and long past buried. That is until “Moulin Rouge!” and “Chicago” ushered in a glorious revival in the early 2000s. And many of my cherished stage musicals got the big-screen treatment, to varying results.
The following reviews are of musicals that started on the stage, comparing the different versions and looking at the terrible precedent of “film actors who can’t sing” (I’m looking at you, Mamma Mia!)
Read MoreStage to Screen: Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Stage to Screen: Rent (2005)
Jonathan Larson's alt-rock opera "Rent" received a deeply flawed film version in 2005. Chad revisits both the stage and movie incarnation of this emotional piece of theatre.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004): The film version fails to capture the stagecraft magic of the Broadway phenomenon
The Broadway phenomenon "The Phantom of the Opera" finally made it to the silver screen in 2004. Yet the film fails to capture the immersive magic of the stage show.
Chicago: 20 years later the screen version of the Bob Fosse classic still razzle dazzles
Chicago is one of the gold standards on how you translate a stage musical into a cinematic film. Rob Marshall's inventive take on the Bob Fosse classic helped reignite the modern era of movie musicals.
Evita: Madonna shines in the 1996 film of the controversial rock opera
The controversial rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice had a 20 year journey to the silver screen. The end result was a less stylized version directed by Alan Parker and starring Madonna at the height of her powers.
A Chorus Line: The Move (1985): The film version of the beloved musical fails to be a “singular sensation”
In 1975 "A Chorus Line" was a critical and commercial smash on Broadway. The film version 10 years later, not so much. Chad revisits the flawed movie adaptation that still has its charms.
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973): The film version of the rock opera is a psychedelic experience
A look back at the 1973 film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice's classic rock opera.