Les Miserables, the movie

Wasn't overly hyped about the movie version of this musical, especially when I heard one of my least fav actors, Russell Crowe, would be in it.

But then I watched 60 minutes interview of Hugh Jackman on Sunday. For the first time ever, the actors are actually singing live as the scenes were shot. Every other musical has recorded a sound track first. Then the actors played the scene while lip-sinking.

So, when Ann Hathaway is getting her hair shorn off and crying and singing, it's all happening right then.

Now I'm psyched to see how well they've carried this off.

Just thought some of the rest of you might be interested to know this too.

I am planning on seeing it and it takes a lot to get me to make the effort. I have been reading about it and watching clips on YouTube for a while.

Kid Wonder and I can hardly wait for this to come out! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Les Mis. I like Russell Crowe and think he will make an excellent Javaier (sp?).

I saw it at the National Theatre in D.C. with an excellent cast and the original set. Took KW to see it at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. They had changed the set to some sort of light show and didn't sing all the songs - was disappointing. We have the CD with all the songs from the original production. Hopefully, the movie will too.

The Hobbit and Les Mis this Christmas. That is a blockbuster combo for the holidays.

So did the actors sing in other languages, for the international audiences? Not everyone speaks English.

They can only cut Ann Hathaway's hair off once and they did actually cut it in the movie.

And boy oh boy, they spared no expense at reality and truly hacked off her hair! Poor girl's wedding pictures are terrible!!! imho

The Hobbit isn't getting great reviews. And it's got some animal peeps pretty worked up too. But we loved the Trilogy so may go see it anyway.

I forget how many times I have seen Les Mis...several in NY and once in Philadelphia. I think Russell Crowe is great for Javert. I am really looking forward to this.

Our PBS station ran the 25th anniversary show again on Sunday. I love it - I watch it every time.

I just read that Colm Wilkinson, the original Jean Valjean on stage, has a cameo in the new movie.

And how about Russell Brand and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers? Great casting!

Yes, Colm Wilkinson plays the Bishop, I believe.

The casting is fantastic.

califgirl: I don't see how the movie can possibly live up to the standard set by the 25th anniversary performance.

I love the music. Have sung lots of the songs many times in some theatre performances we have done of Broadway Hits. Very intense.

I know what you mean. But the movie will have acting, along with the singing. And someone playing Marius that is not named Jonas.

And in another positive development, the woman who played Eponine in the 25th anniversary show plays her in the movie, too.

Samantha Banks is great!

The movie is our Christmas Day movie this year, can't wait.

I don't know his name, but he played the role of Jack in "Pillars of the Earth". He's great.

Saw the title and thought this was about a man's wedding video...

I was under the impression that the movie/play was about glorifying a common thief.

nope, he was sentenced to a really long prison term (15 years or so) for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's children. He became hardened and bitter. But an experience after his release/escape transformed him. It is more about the redemption of man whoever he may be and whatever he needs to be redeemed from.

France, 1862....

Hugo has all the major themes of the time...

redemption of the soul...

class warfare.....

social justice....

but the greatest of these is love......

We didn't like the 25th anniversary performance as much as the original, especially the new staging.

I'm just really glad that they cast actors according to their abilities not their box office draw. Rock of Ages was a huge flop because it followed in the footsteps of My Fair Lady and Camelot. Thank goodness Les Mis has a chance!

Really? That's what you got from it?

w.o.w.

Big Ed is looking for that sarcasm font I betch ya...

All you need is the right emoticon - or

or even [sarcasm] [/sarcasm]

ETA: Perhaps we need a Sheldon emoticon to denote sarcasm!

Victor Hugo started writing Les Miserables in 1840. It was published in 1860. From Wiki:

Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a burly French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his never ending quest for redemption after serving 19 years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for starving relatives. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly Bishop inspires him to, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters he becomes entangled with get swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.

Sidebar: We were telling MOML's parents about Les Mis after we saw it for the first time. My dear blue-collar fil looked at me and said 'yea, I was named after some character in that book. Don't know which one tho.' Dad's name was Gene.

That's funny, sort of, TR.

I worked with a girl years ago named Cosette. She said her mom had read the name in 'a book.'

Kid wonder & I saw les miserables today. Loved it! Amanda seifred' cossette was the weakest singing performance. Eddie. Redmayne - fantabulous!

Weather permitting I am hoping to see it tomorrow. I am watching the 25th anniversary concert on youtube right now getting in the mood!

just got the first credit card bill from MsGilmore's holiday shopping extravaganza...i'm Les Miserable

And the mods are your Javert NYBaby! They will hunt you down!

The whole story would have taken on an entirely different feel if they had just cast Peter Sellers in the lead and let Henry Mancini write the music.....
JS

Still waiting for it to come here. We just got Lincoln a couple of weeks ago. Haven't gotten to see it yet.

We are in a hot debate over what to see, Les Mis, The Hobbit or Django.

Personally, I'm voting for the blood and cursing. It's also the movie that I'm most likely to hate as well...

We may end up flipping a coin.

The hobbit it is then?

Django....Django...Django!!

Has anyone seen it yet?

QT can be so great but sometimes I can't stand his movies, like Kill Bill.

it's really quite simple...find out which one is playing first, pay to see it...when it ends, jump to the next theater playing the next, and so on down the line...see 3 for the price of 1

The order should be Lincoln, The Hobbit, and then Les Mis. Forget that QT trash.

and you yell at the kids to get off your lawn...don'tcha?

Yes, and I just did in saying stay out of the QT showings!

GASP!!!! Not like Kill Bill!?!? :confised:

Next you'll say you didnt like "From Dusk Until Dawn"!!

Wasn't there a hot tamale in that FDUD movie?

Si!! The middle of my Hot Tamale Sandwich!! And she can dance!!
But, she turns vampire and has to be skewered.

But what a way to go!

<--- Saw Django, and thought it was very good. everywhere we went was sold out too (Schaumburg, IL), it took us buying tickets 2.5 hours in advance to get a showing

wow.

OK, glad to know that someone liked it at least.

did someone complain that Resovoir Dogs was too violent?

I am trying to decide if I should go see Les Mis. I have never seen it and really no very little about the story line other than what I have read on this post. Should I go see it?

wait until it comes out as a play

Do you like musicals, like Phantom, in which every word is sung?
Do you like sad stories?
Do you like historical movies? This one is during the French Revolution.
Some people can tolerate a musical like Oklahoma, where people speak, but then break into song now and then. But they may find operettas like this one annoying, or more difficult to follow.
It's a bit of a tearjerker too. Not called "The Miserable Ones" for nothing.

Personally, I'm hoping to see it tomorrow. I saw it on stage and loved it.

Thanks my mind is made up (now when is my wife forcing me to go)

Really? Every word is sung? Maybe I wouldn't like that. I love Oklahoma and the Sound of Music - but I'm not sure I would like one where every word is sung - and quite frankly, I'm not sure I would force my husband to endure that either.

Thanks for the information - it has proved very helpful.

Some friends asked me to see this on Saturday night. I had a pretty strong suspicion that it wouldn't be my favorite (see "every word is sung" above) but wanted to be sociable, so I went anyway. Wish I had known it was going to be 2 and half hours of "every word is sung" and I might have chosen differently!

I was not at all familiar with the story, so that is what saved it for me. Had I known the entire plot, I'm not sure I could have made it through. I thought the cast did a good job and wouldn't have guessed some of them could sing that well. But, not my cup of tea. At all.

I had to laugh afterward, because the friends who chose the movie liked it much, much less than I did! They knew how long it was, but not that every word is sung. We should have compared notes beforehand!

I saw it Saturday and loved it. I'm sure it helped that I'd seen it on stage before. I thought it was very well performed.

I admit though, that sung-through musicals may be an acquired taste.

I heard from wuite a few people, even some of my daughter's teen friends who are boys ( not boy friends I guess) that it is a great movie.

I saw it over the weekend and enjoyed it very much. It was a little long however the play has the benefit of an intermission. Wasn't so keen on the directing. I thought Russel Crowe's singing was the week link. The rest of the cast was great and I thought Anne Hathaway was amazing.

I saw this over the weekend also and I loved it. I can't say that it compares to the stage performances though. I saw the original touring cast years ago and then saw the newest touring class last january. I did love that Colm Wilkinson played Bishop Digbe! I do agree that Russel Crowe's singing was weak. My 10 yr old has listened to the sound track enough that he wanted to see the movie and he enjoyed it for the most part!

I agree it didn't have the excitement of the live performances but I found the story line more understandable. I enjoyed all of the performances, even Russell. Marius never thrills me, but then he is the young romantic hero not a swashbuckling hero, but I thought Eddie Redmayne was very good.

The regular movie was playing on TV this weekend - the one with No singing. I actually have the DVD but never watched it as I had seen the stage play. My hubby (at the time) thought he was getting a really good gift for me since he knew I liked Les Miz. He had no idea it wasn't the musical. Amazon also has the book free.

Warning for those of you contemplating reading the book: I thought I would download it, and found that it's broken into parts. For example, Part I is "Fantine." I believe there are five parts. Part one is 444 pages. That's a commitment.

There are several non-musical movie versions.

When I first got my Kindle, I downloaded the original book with all good intentions to read it, but I haven't even read page one.

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

My hubby read it... ALL of it. There is a lot of historical writing to provide context to the story. He said he nearly didn't make it through the huge section concerning the development of the sewers of Paris.

I have this on my Kindle, too. It's very slow.

But I saw the movie this weekend and loved it!

I saw it too. Was surprised at how clear the vocals were knowing that they shot the muvie with them singing it live and not dubbing in the vocals. It was very, very good! Vocally I still enjoy listening to the original London cast CD which I have but still it was very good.

Les Miserables, the Movie.... "The Miserable movie"?
This is not inspiring as a title. Would you order "The Carpy Burger" or "The Lousy Pizza"? Buy "The Junkmobile"?