Les miserables tells the fictional story of jean valjean, a man who has unjustly been condemned to nearly two decades of prison for stealing a loaf of bread to save a starving child. Featuring stunning art direction and cinematography and unforgettable performances by the exquisite harry baur who died. Victor hugos monumental novel les miserables has been filmed so often that sometimes its hard to tell one version from another. The screen version demanded some reconception, some vision to make sense of its existence. With hugh jackman, russell crowe, anne hathaway, amanda seyfried. He is met with difficulties from the people, as well as from his fellow officers, however he is able to hold it together. Livesinging experiment hurts les miserables houston. Charles laughton makes this movie, but literally every scene and every character add to this amazing film.
With harry baur, charles vanel, paul azais, max dearly. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and tv news. A variation on victor hugos classic novel by means of the story of a man whose life is affected by and somewhat duplicated by the hugo story of the beleaguered jean valjean. Damien bonnard plays a sympathetic police officer, assigned to a new team, policing an intercity town in france. Les miserables 2020 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. The movies first shot begins underwater, beneath a tattered french flag. What a great book, but some of the history lessons were a little too long. Les miserables 1982 french televisioncinema release it was with some trepidation that i approached this version it is not very well known, and television production values were not always what they might have been in the seventies and eighties. Jan 09, 2020 nobody sings master of the house in the new french film les miserables.
And not a single character is named jean valjean or inspector javert. The screen version demanded some reconception, some vision to. He is trying to run away after being convicted by the police since he stole bread to feed his sisters children. But you know, this is the 53rd movie version of les miserables. However, if you are distracted by lingering contextual questions, i suggest that you browse the wikipedia page on les miserables the novel before you see the film. One of the best and most faithful adaptations is this 240minute french production, starring jean gabin as the beleaguered jean valjean.
Click the link for more information on the show, to buy tickets and much much more. After reading les miserables, have students watch a movie version of the book and compare it to the book for accuracy. Les miserables is compelling and terrifyingly real. Dec 06, 2019 in 2005, he filmed riots that shook france, eventually making a movie about them that was too tough for french television. A parole violator in early 19th century france is relentlessly pursued and persecuted by an obsessive policeman. Les miserables is a 2019 french drama film directed by ladj ly in his fulllength feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by ly, giordano gederlini and alexis manenti, based on lys 2017 short film of the same name. In the englishspeaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original french title. Les miserables tells the fictional story of jean valjean, a man who has unjustly been condemned to nearly two decades of prison for stealing a. What is the best version of les mis by victor hugo to read.
In 2008, he filmed an act of police brutality that was picked up by the. See a complete list of the characters in les miserables and indepth analyses of jean valjean, cosette, javert, marius pontmercy, and fantine. May 28, 2019 les miserables, one of the most popular musicals of all time, is based on a novel of the same name by french author victor hugo. I saw this version on fox movie channel around 20002001 and was mesmerized by it. The london production has run continuously since october 1985 the longestrunning. Les miserables is a perfectly fine, if not good, cop thriller with a social urgency bubbling under the surface to provide added depth, but its no portrait of a lady on fire, which was sumptuous. The story is about a former convict named jean valjean. A movie torn from the pages of his life the new york times. Les miserables 2012 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. As far as the latter, for my input, nothing compares to this version. Dec 24, 2012 fans of les miserables wouldnt have minded if the movie were different, but better, or just as effective. Mar 04, 2020 issa played by issa perica, second from left inadvertently sets off a chain of violent events when he steals a lion cub in les miserables in the midst of the furor surrounding roman polanskis award as best director for jaccuse at last weeks cesars the french oscars, les miserables, the movie that won for best film, has undeservedly gone under the radar. Set against the backdrop of 19thcentury france, les miserables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemptiona timeless testament to the. Coinciding with its 35th triumphant year in londons west end, cameron mackintosh produced a spectacular soldout staged concert version at the gielgud theatre featuring an allstar cast including michael ball, alfie boe.
Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Seen by over 120 million people worldwide, les miserables is undisputedly one of the worlds most popular musicals. Published in 1862, the book referenced what were already historic events. Then it surfaces and ascends high above a ship being dragged into its dock by hundreds of ropepulling convicts. Its that nations submission for the 2020 international feature oscar. Les miserables is a novel by victor hugo that was first published in 1862.
Les miserables is a great book to pull some superb quotations that give readers lessons about life that still apply today. Henri fescourts french silent version, starring gabriel gabrio as jean valjean and jean toulot as inspector. How many movie versions are there of les miserable answers. Les miserables is an uplifting, heartbreaking, sentimental 1,500page assault on. It aligns closely with the plot of the novel, and the cinematography is outstanding. Les miserables, victor hugo les miserables is a french historical novel by victor hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Les miserables is a gripping experience, tense and upsetting, showing how seemingly small events, perhaps manageable in the particulars, can balloon into something out of control, like a fire exploding into a conflagration. Ladj ly french with english subtitles classification. A story of grace, highlighting the religious aspect of the novel. This 1957 french version directed by jeanpaul le chanois is the best one i have ever seen. Anne hathaway played this role in the 2012 version of les miserable, which has been made into a movie many times before and was originally written as.
Les miserables french original concept version youtube. Les miserables 2019 is a well acted, loose, updated version of victor hugos classic novel. Dominic west, david oyewolo, lily collins and olivia colman star in an epic adaption of les miserables, premiering sunday, april 14, 98c on masterpiece. I think the abridged version doesnt have the sidetracking. Gavroche tells the revolutionaries that javert is a spy and is really a police inspector. Finally it swoops into a closeup of one of the prisoners, the emaciated jean valjean hugh jackman, exerting himself in the chorus of the condemned. I have seen numerous film adaptations of les miserables. The official website for the stage production of les miserables. When valjean arrives at the town of digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an exconvict. Jan 16, 20 les miserables is a musical masterpiece and a thoroughly enjoyable moviegoing experience, even without the historical context. This movie guide will work with any movie version of les miserables, though the 1998 liam neeson version is the one for which this guide was originally created.
He tries to find a meaningful life, but is followed by a police officer. The memoirs of jean valjean a limited run play performed by the south devon players during septnov. The convict jean valjean is released from a french prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison. With michael rennie, robert newton, debra paget, edmund gwenn. Based mainly on the book, with some scenes included that werent well known.
My friend says the acting was amazing but the musical performance was lacking and averagemediocre. The film won the 1995 golden globe award for best foreign. Those hoping for another heartwarming musical version of victor hugos classic wont find it here. Les miserables is one of the most potent films you are likely to see this year. The grumpiness of a few critics, including this one, wont stop tom hoopers screen version of the 1985 west end musical from cleaning up at the box office and earning oscar. Spent 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, for almost two months listening to all 5 volumes of les miserables. When we started to write the show back in 1980, there was 32 versions as a movie so we hope that people enjoying the movie will. What is the best version of the book les miserables by. With jeanpaul belmondo, michel boujenah, alessandra martines, salome lelouch. Manenti stars alongside damien bonnard, djebril zonga, issa percia, alhassan ly, steve tientcheu, almany kanoute and nizar ben fatma. Nice to know about waterloo, french revolution, french slang words, the paris sewer system, etc, but way to much information. The films great achievement is to bring the world of victor hugos 1862 novel convincingly to life through meticulous direction.
The lives of numerous people over the course of 20 years in 19th century france, weaved together by the story of an exconvict named jean valjean on the run from an obsessive police inspector, who pursues him for only a minor offense. This is by far the best version of les miserables ever made in my opinion and the critics. Because the story takes place in paris, involves the misery of the parisian underclass, and comes to a climax during a battle, many people assume that the story is set during the french revolution. Nov 27, 2019 the reason for all this excitement is that, like the original hugo novel, les miserables is both culturally relevant and dramatically compelling, finding a way to balance artistic metaphor. Dec 14, 2016 les miserables 1982 french les miserables 1982 french les miserables 1982 french. I saw it in french, but there are english dubbed versions available. In 19thcentury france, jean valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory workers daughter. Nobody sings master of the house in the new french film les miserables. Les miserables composers on the musicals legacy, the movie. If you want the pure version, go with the unabridged.
31 876 757 121 482 1183 885 784 1220 1342 1535 249 506 1536 1488 425 535 1317 1498 1028 157 972 679 728 685 641 1070 370 686 172 453 1237 757 1333 582 853 1240 1263 140 879 612