Les Miserables - The Musical Movie

[OrangeUte]

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.

Nobody is pretending that he will win an Oscar for his performance or a Grammy for his singing. I don't think the role was as butchered as you do. He was stern, hit the notes on key, it just wasn't as powerful as we are used to by stage actors. But, Crowe did okay with the songs and had an imposing presence as Javert. The confrontation scene with the sword fighting was terrifically done.

[Mrs. Funk]

Saw it tonight. I loved it, though I was predisposed to like it since I love the music and story so much.

I thought the acting all 'round was fantastic. The amount of sheer emotion evoked with simple variations in expression was remarkable. Marius' sad half-smile during the phrase, "Here it was they lit the flame" broke my heart. I think it's difficult to be filmed that up close and manage to tell a story and keep the continuity of the songs flowing. I got a bit tired of the extended extreme closeups, although they did allow one to focus on the subtle acting performances.

Not getting the Russell Crowe hate. He doesn't have a super powerful voice but it was pleasant and in tune. Sure, I did wish for a bit more dynamic a vocal performance. It was delivered in more or less the same tone the whole movie except for a couple of key phrases. He was masterful as Javert in terms of acting, IMO. Implacable.

I thought Jackman's voice got nasally quite a bit of the time and "Bring Him Home" was kind of a mess but I think we all expected that. It was an emotional and effective performance in many other aspects, though.

The biggest surprise for me was how much I loved Marius. I usually find the character pompous, effeminate, and obnoxious. I thought Eddie Redmayne delivered the role with sensitivity and a touch of humor. Turns out he has a cracking good voice, too. Surprising to me, I found even the insipid "Heart Full of Love" tolerable.

Like someone else mentioned, my two favorite numbers were "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Empty Chairs and Empty Tables." Hathaway nailed the role of Fantine. Haters gonna hate. I thought she was outstanding.

I still find the Marius/Cosette love story to be kind of dumb but at least they kept things rolling in the film and didn't dwell too long on the bleating lovebirds.

[Jacob]

Boasting that a singer sang "in tune" is damning with faint praise.

[Moliere]

Gavroche's number while sitting on the back of hte carriage was also pretty cool. Many, many memorable moments from the film. If I could find a free babysitter, I'd see it again.

[Jacob]

Gavroche's number while sitting on the back of hte carriage was also pretty cool. Many, many memorable moments from the film. If I could find a free babysitter, I'd see it again.

He was great, as was little Cosette. The professional singers were great all around, including the leader of the little band of revolutionaries.

[SteelBlue]

He was great, as was little Cosette. The professional singers were great all around, including the leader of the little band of revolutionaries.

The stage pros really stood out. I would love to have seen the film done with all pros in the same live sung format. I think the product would have been incredible.

[Mrs. Funk]

Boasting that a singer sang "in tune" is damning with faint praise.

Boasting? You overstate, sir. I only said I don't understand the complaints about Russell Crowe's voice. From the reviews I had come to assume he spent the movie barking out of tune. Perfect, no. He did play it somewhat safe. A few times his performance felt effortless, in the sense of no effort. Like that's the best he could do with that phrase, really?

Jackman certainly took more risks vocally. The role of Jean Valjean has an impressively taxing range. He also sounded strained at least a quarter of the time he was on screen IMO.

[myboynoah]

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.

I agree with this. Generally, I liked the movie because I like the music and the story, but I don't plan on seeing it again (I'll save that for the theatre). Sadly, the director and producer missed a great opportunity to do this right: as you say, less star power and better vocals. No doubt the sound guys did everything possible to technically enhance the lead vocals, but you can only do so much. Very sad when the lesser members of the troupe out-sing the leads. After seeing some youtube performances by Samantha Barks, mrs. myboynoah wondered if they toned down her singing in the movie so as not to upstage the other leads.

One thing that bugged me was that they cut the dialogue in the lead up to Red and Black, and fairly obviously. Also, as with YO, Col Sanders had us chuckling. But it was great seeing Colm Wilkinson make an appearance.

I feel for Crowe. I too like him as an actor, but his voice could not carry the part. Sadly, these are out there as comparison.

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[creekster]

I liked the film a lot. I thought it worked very well. It was moving.

That said, Crowe was not great. He is a good actor and I thought he did well (but not great) at his part. But his singing was awful. Wrong range and wrong emotional tone almost every time. He was sort of "in tune" but barely. But the biggest problem is that he lacked confidence. You could feel his presence drain away as he sang. He became a struggling actor instead of javert when he sang. Go and watch the javert in the 25th anniversary performance sing the suicide scene. He blows Crowe away. Nonetheless, as a whole I thought it worked.

Jackman struggled with some of the parts as well, but I thought he was much more believeable as a singer. Hathaway surprised me. Very good.

But I think most of this is around the edges. The film was great and powerful and worked very well.

The thing that has blown me away about this thread, more than any other thing mentioned here, is the fact that a guy calling himself Moliere has never read Hugo's book. Shocking. Get thee to a bookstore immediately. And read the unabridged version. For a Francophile its a must.

Also, I liked seeing the bishop at the end, but I think it should have been eponine. As eponine represents people who endure much and overcome and achieve redemption through love and personal choice while fantine is the focus of valjeans own journey to redemption. The bishop is a Christ figure but the end is all about valjean being released form his burdens and achieving redemption. To me, eponine should've been there.

[Mrs. Funk]

Also, I liked seeing the bishop at the end, but I think it should have been eponine. As eponine represents people who endure much and overcome and achieve redemption through love and personal choice while fantine is the focus of valjeans own journey to redemption. The bishop is a Christ figure but the end is all about valjean being released form his burdens and achieving redemption. To me, eponine should've been there.

Hm. That's interesting. I understand Eponine's significance and what she represents but it seems strange to me that she would show up to Valjean's deathbed. There's an emotional disconnect having a stranger show up in his dying moments, whereas both the bishop and Fantine were crucial in Valjean's spiritual journey. At the end of the book, someone asks if Valjean wants a priest and he responds, "I have had one" (clearly an illusion to the Bishop of Digne). I liked how the movie interpreted this scene.

[Donuthole]

The thing that has blown me away about this thread, more than any other thing mentioned here, is the fact that a guy calling himself Moliere has never read Hugo's book. Shocking. Get thee to a bookstore immediately. And read the unabridged version. For a Francophile its a must.

Or he can download the e-reader version for free.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Les-Mis%C3%A9rables-English-language-ebook/dp/B004GHNIRK/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356972553&sr=1-3&keywords=les+miserables+kindle"]Les Misérables (English language): Victor Hugo: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SbXYXgaPL.@@AMEPARAM@@41SbXYXgaPL[/ame].

[Maximus]

WHY unabriged? do I really want hundreds of pages on the sewers?

[Mrs. Funk]

WHY unabriged? do I really want hundreds of pages on the sewers?

What about 150+ pages devoted to the Battle of Waterloo? The first time I read it I almost gave up on the book at that point.

[creekster]

What about 150+ pages devoted to the Battle of Waterloo? The first time I read it I almost gave up on the book at that point.

Because if you want to understand the French you need to understand Waterloo and Napoleon. Moreover, it is the real introduction to the thenardiers and their type. I will concede the Waterloo bit is somewhat self indulgent by Hugo, but IMO it is important to really understand the book. Same goes for his digressions on religion and the Catholic Church.

Besides, the Waterloo passages are great descriptions of war and its horrors.

[MarkGrace]

After seeing some youtube performances by Samantha Barks, mrs. myboynoah wondered if they toned down her singing in the movie so as not to upstage the other leads.

I doubt that. They just made the decision to not go big with the singing overall and having one person step out to do that would have been awkward.