Les Miserables - The Musical Movie

[Jacob]

B-

Javert was a bad singer. He is the second most important character and they should have cast a singer. I was a bit embarrassed for Crowe. Jackman fell apart on "Bring Him Home". The professional Singers were excellent and they acted well too. Cosette gets credit for her singing though, and so should Fontine if she had done more singing and less overacting.

[LA Ute]

Nobody said it's unusual. The question is whether it worked in adapting from stage to screen (or I suppose you could question how well it even works on stage). I say it could have been done differently because the experience from stage to screen is different, especially when you've chosen to employ actors not singers. Others disagree. But the discussion is fun.

Yeah, it is fun. Looks like the filmmakers decided to have the actors sing live on set, while they acted, rather than having them dub in their voices (or a surrogate's voice) later. That results in a much less polished (less highly produced) soundtrack. I think they wanted the songs to be more raw and emotional. It's interesting to see how the audience has reacted to that effort. I don't know that it's been attempted in other musicals.

[SteelBlue]

I give it a B. Crowe is my favorite actor, but he was not right for Javert, he just doesn't have the voice to carry the 2nd most important part in the show. I wasn't a big fan of Marius either, though I thought he nailed his most important moments. I think the film would have benefitted from less star power and more actors with broadway backgrounds.

This film was a great experiment, and I was definitely entertained. However, I thought that because it was so intimate, it lost something compared to the stage production. I missed the booming voices of the stage while hearing the sobs and whispers of the film. This rendered some of the biggest moments of my favorite songs a bit disappointing for me.

[MarkGrace]

Yeah, it is fun. Looks like the filmmakers decided to have the actors sing live on set, while they acted, rather than having them dub in their voices (or a surrogate's voice) later. That results in a much less polished (less highly produced) soundtrack. I think they wanted the songs to be more raw and emotional. It's interesting to see how the audience has reacted to that effort. I don't know that it's been attempted in other musicals.

lol

[LA Ute]

lol

I give it a B. Crowe is my favorite actor, but he was not right for Javert, he just doesn't have the voice to carry the 2nd most important part in the show. I wasn't a big fan of Marius either, though I thought he nailed his most important moments. I think the film would have benefitted from less star power and more actors with broadway backgrounds.

This film was a great experiment, and I was definitely entertained. However, I thought that because it was so intimate, it lost something compared to the stage production. I missed the booming voices of the stage while hearing the sobs and whispers of the film. This rendered some of the biggest moments of my favorite songs a bit disappointing for me.

That's the most interesting review I've read. I still haven't seen it (tomorrow!) but I'm really intrigued by the filmmakers' gamble, which I think you've nailed.

[Pheidippides]

I'm pretty sure MG is making fun of the fact that you apparently missed several people talking about the live recording earlier in the thread. Definitely worthy of mocking.

[LA Ute]

I'm pretty sure MG is making fun of the fact that you apparently missed several people talking about the live recording earlier in the thread. Definitely worthy of mocking.

Fools mock.... It is true, I have not scoured this entire thread. No matter; I will pay the required fine. In any case, my own thoughts on the matter are sufficiently astute and compelling that they deserve an independent reading by a discerning audience.

[Pheidippides]

Fools mock.... It is true, I have not scoured this entire thread. No matter; I will pay the required fine. In any case, my own thoughts on the matter are sufficiently astute and compelling that they deserve an independent reading by a discerning audience.

The discerning audience is too steeped in your prior work for you to have any hope of an independent reading. It will be some time until the fools are mourning.

[LA Ute]

The discerning audience is too steeped in your prior work for you to have any hope of an independent reading. It will be some time until the fools are mourning.

Worry not, Grasshopper. I will be patient with you.

[Moliere]

A+

Absolutely incredibly done. I had no problems with this movie, the casting, or the performances. If a movie was ever going to be made of Les Mis, this absolutely exceeded my expectations.

I'll agree mostly with this. I'd give it a A- and I'd give Fantine's "I Dreamed a Dream" and Marius' "Empty Chairs" A+++. Both of those numbers were absolutely nailed.

I enjoyed this movie more than the musical. The musical has always been a disappointment for me. I've seen it twice and it's long and impersonal. I've also never read the book so I'm not as familiar with the story and the musical is somewhat disjointed or difficult to follow. I think the movie did a much better job with the flow of the story.

The cinematography of the movie was spectacular. I'm obviously biased towards Paris, but I thought some of the scenes and backdrops were gorgeous. I already pointed out the scenes with Javert and Notre Dame, but there were several other that really struck a chord with me like the sewer scene, the empty room with Marius singing, and all the Hausmann-type buildings were really fun to see.

The singing was very good and I thought that was appropriate. After watching Alfie Boe sign with the MoTab I couldn't imagine something like that fitting into this movie at all. I actually think that getting actors first/singers second was a brilliant move. Sure it won't make for a decent soundtrack, but the brilliance was in the use of the music and song in a movie-like way. Someone already pointed out the failure of the Phantom movie and I'm glad Les Mis didn't follow that same pattern.

I'll also say that I was pleasantly surprised by Crowe. My expectations were low so that helped, but he was decent enough to pull it off. I also really liked the way Jackman played his role. I do think he messed up "Bring Him Home" but when I mentioned that to MJ she felt very differently. She really liked that number and given that she's a trained vocalist I'll defer to her expertise that he sang it well.

Overall, I'd pay to see it again just to see Fantine sing "I Dreamed a Dream" and Marius sing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables".

I'll definitely be buying this movie when it comes out.

[scottie]

A+

Absolutely incredibly done. I had no problems with this movie, the casting, or the performances. If a movie was ever going to be made of Les Mis, this absolutely exceeded my expectations.

I'm with you, JD.

[PaloAltoCougar]

[MarkGrace]

[OrangeUte]

I'm with you, JD.

The more I think about the movie, the more impressed I am with how well done it was. This is big time Hollywood movie making based on a beautiful musical. I can't think of any other movie star who could have performed Javert as intensely as Russell Crowe. Maybe a better voice but definitely not acted better. This version was huge and needed huge names to justify the expense but also needed to be balanced with talent that could perform songs and also acting and have us care.

I worry a version using singing stars would have looked more like the 80s version of Saturdays warrior - cheap - bc they wouldn't have been given a budget like this one had.

The talent of the cast and their performances justify the huge budget and the Oscar/Golden Globe hype.

[Jacob]

The more I think about the movie, the more impressed I am with how well done it was. This is big time Hollywood movie making based on a beautiful musical. I can't think of any other movie star who could have performed Javert as intensely as Russell Crowe. Maybe a better voice but definitely not acted better. This version was huge and needed huge names to justify the expense but also needed to be balanced with talent that could perform songs and also acting and have us care.

I worry a version using singing stars would have looked more like the 80s version of Saturdays warrior - cheap - bc they wouldn't have been given a budget like this one had.

The talent of the cast and their performances justify the huge budget and the Oscar/Golden Globe hype.

if Crowe gets anywhere near an Oscar for that performance I will be sick. He was bad. he did his best just doesn't sing well. it's no wonder his singing career went nowhere and he turned turned to acting.