El fosfato

INT. DARK CHAMBER -- NIGHT
Foreboding organ music is heard...
We are looking down at a rough brick floor ... is it an
alley? ... a cobblestone street? ... a warehouse? a factory?
... we're not sure...
The flickering glow of flame is the only illumination...
The ominous organ music continues as...
From the bottom of the frame...
A dark pool of blood slowly begins to spread ... moving upthe frame, defying gravity ... the flickering flame reflected in the blood...
Finally, the pool of blood fills the entire frame.
SUDDENLY--
A shrill factory whistle blows--
ENORMOUSLY LOUD -- blood-chilling and spine-shattering --
the whistle is a bizarre combination of sound: a factory
whistle; a hog being slaughtered; a dog snarling; a roaring
inferno; a human scream--
And a man's faceappears, upside down, reflected in the pool
of blood.
He is THE GENTLEMAN, a slender dandy in pearl grey gloves and
matching waistcoat. A cold and superior aristocrat.
The camera slowly revolves -- the Gentleman becoming right side up as--
GENTLEMAN
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard ofagain.
He trod a path that few have trod,
Did Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
We cut from the blood to see the Gentleman standing before
us. Strangely impassive.
We are in an eerie dark chamber, unclear, a low ceiling, a
world of silhouettes and shadows.

Another figure emerges from the miasma of shadows, into the
hellish flickering of flame: THE BANKER. He is large, rotundand sleek. Impressive muttonchops.
BANKER
He kept a shop in London town,
Of fancy clients and good renown,
And what if none of their souls were saved?
They went to their maker impeccably shaved...
More FIGURES begin to emerge from the shadows, joining the
Gentleman and the Banker as...
BANKER
By Sweeney,
By Sweeney Todd,
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Although prosaic in appearancethese figures are, in fact,
GHOSTS.
GHOSTS
Swing your razor wide, Sweeney!
Hold it to the skies!
Freely flows the blood of those
Who moralize!
As they continue, the new figures become more distinct...
THE GENERAL, a tough, leather-skinned military man in a crimson imperial uniform...
GENERAL
His needs were few, his room was bare:
THE PRIEST, a lean, severe man with pale skin inclerical attire...
PRIEST
A lavabo and a fancy chair...
THE TOURIST, a small, meek man with glasses in an ill-fitting suit...
TOURIST
A mug of suds and a leather strop,
An apron, a towel, a pail and a mop...
THE STUDENT, a dashing young man from Oxford with luxurious long hair...

STUDENT
For neatness he deserves a nod,
Does Sweeney Todd...
GENTLEMAN
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Theghosts are a bit more insinuating now as they move around this mysterious world...
GHOSTS
(variously)
Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean ‘e was.
Back of his smile, under his word,
Sweeney heard music that nobody heard.
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned,
Like a perfect machine 'e planned,
Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats wouldscuttle...
The specters are becoming more insistent, their strange
impassivity giving way to accusation as the flickering red flame becomes an inferno--
GHOSTS
(variously)
Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle.
Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
Quick and quiet and clean 'e was,
Like a perfect machine 'e was,
Was Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeney!
Sweeeeeneeeeey!On this explosive note we revolve -- away from the ghostly
Furies--
To discover--
SWEENEY TODD. Standing before us. An unclear figure,
silhouetted in blazing red flames.
We slowly push in on him as:
GHOSTS
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
He served a dark and a vengeful god.
What happened then--

GENTLEMAN
Well, who’s to say?
BANKER
And he wouldn't want us to give it away,...