Les Misérables (2012)
Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) brings the epic stage musical to the big screen with stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Anne Hathaway in an Oscar-winning performance. Unique for screen musicals, the cast performed the songs live in front of the camera with the orchestra's score inserted after (traditionally, the cast would record all the songs and mime them on set).
Based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo, the story follows the redemption of ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (Jackman) against the backdrop of the Paris Uprising of 1832. Jailed for stealing a loaf of bread, Valjean is hunted by ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) since he broke his parole. Assuming a new identity, Valjean's life is changed forever after agreeing to care for factory worker Fantine's (Hathaway) young daughter Cosette (Seyfried). Cohen and Carter play innkeepers Monsieur and Madame Thénardier.
- Director:
- Tom Hooper ('The King's Speech', 'The Damned United')
- Writer:
- William Nicholson
- Cast:
- Hugh JackmanHelena Bonham CarterAnne HathawayAmanda SeyfriedSacha Baron CohenRussell CroweEddie RedmayneSamantha Barks
Reviews & comments
True to its title - I bawled my eyes out!
I felt miserable all thorugh out the film, but only because the cast were great, I felt them. Hugh Jackman should have won the OSCARS here (Daniel Day Lewis did for Lincoln). Ann Hathaway blew me away - truly amazing! :D I wasn't very much impress with Russel Crowe's. He wasn't bad with his acting but I was just not feeling what he was singing. Anyway, I...
Wonderful Adaptation
This is a wonderful adaptation of the musical and original story. Some parts missed in the musical or books have been brought back, not altering the story but making it more complete. The singing from some of the actors is marginal, but especially the younger cast have superb singing voices, for the movie it works great but I will not be buying the...
I loved this film.
would not of thought that such a thing could be humanly possible but it is. After all I do not count myself as a massive musical fan or a fan of the original source being either the book or the musical. Having nether seen the musical or read the book, I wasn't sure as what to think about the story as what I had heard was mainly synopsis from iMDB or other...
Great acting/singing and loved it.
I thought Hugh Jackman and Russell put on a wonderful performance, as did all the cast. I enjoyed it better than on the live stage as I understood the story line. My only gripe was that nearly all the main actors/singers had pristine white veneered teeth...not sure that dentists would have been high priority in that era, especially one who had just served...
If it's your kind of thing, you'll love it!
I'm not going to use flash words.... I like musicals, and I have no problem with them being made into films. And as far as musicals on film go...I rate this one. Great singing, awesome performances, plot easy to understand (because you could actually make out all the words that were sung - unlike when it is on stage) There were only 2 things I struggled...
Almost a new medium
The combination of musical and film is a particularly odd one - especially in the case of Les Miserables which only really exists on film either without music (1998) or on anniversary special recordings where the cast mostly just stand by a microphone and sing (their hearts out - I do not mean to belittle these!). With Tom Hopper's interpretation we get a...
Les Misjudgement
For those of us who are huge fans of film musicals, there is a tragic lack of quality in modern cinema. Sure, occasionally a gem will come along, shaking up the rigid classical structure and offering something exciting, but for every Once there seems to be a handful of Chicagos, Nines and Sweeney Todds. It's tough out there for the song-and-dance...
Enjoyable, but Jean Valjean's home is the stage.
Variety
pressThe squalor and upheaval of early 19th-century France are conveyed with a vividness that would have made Victor Hugo proud, heightened by the raw, hungry intensity of the actors' live oncamera vocals.
Total Film
pressWill send the devoted home happy and likely demonstrate to the few uninitiated what all the fuss is about.
The New York Times
pressBy the grand finale, when tout le monde is waving the French tricolor in victory, you may instead be raising the white flag in exhausted defeat.
The Guardian
pressBy the end, you feel like a piñata on the dancefloor: empty, in bits, the victim of prolonged assault by killer pipes.
Los Angeles Times
pressYou can walk into the theater as an agnostic, but you may just leave singing with the choir.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThere are large, emotionally susceptible segments of the population ready to swallow this sort of thing, but that doesn't mean it's good.
Empire Magazine
pressOccasionally, like its characters, ragged around the edges, this nevertheless rings with all the emotion and power of the source and provides a new model for the movie musical.
A.V. Club
pressJackman is performing in a drama, Crowe on his concert stage, and Hathaway alone in her room. It's a collection of performances rather than a story.
Variety
pressThe squalor and upheaval of early 19th-century France are conveyed with a vividness that would have made Victor Hugo proud, heightened by the raw, hungry intensity of the actors' live oncamera vocals.
Total Film
pressWill send the devoted home happy and likely demonstrate to the few uninitiated what all the fuss is about.
The New York Times
pressBy the grand finale, when tout le monde is waving the French tricolor in victory, you may instead be raising the white flag in exhausted defeat.
The Guardian
pressBy the end, you feel like a piñata on the dancefloor: empty, in bits, the victim of prolonged assault by killer pipes.
Los Angeles Times
pressYou can walk into the theater as an agnostic, but you may just leave singing with the choir.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThere are large, emotionally susceptible segments of the population ready to swallow this sort of thing, but that doesn't mean it's good.
Empire Magazine
pressOccasionally, like its characters, ragged around the edges, this nevertheless rings with all the emotion and power of the source and provides a new model for the movie musical.
A.V. Club
pressJackman is performing in a drama, Crowe on his concert stage, and Hathaway alone in her room. It's a collection of performances rather than a story.
True to its title - I bawled my eyes out!
I felt miserable all thorugh out the film, but only because the cast were great, I felt them. Hugh Jackman should have won the OSCARS here (Daniel Day Lewis did for Lincoln). Ann Hathaway blew me away - truly amazing! :D I wasn't very much impress with Russel Crowe's. He wasn't bad with his acting but I was just not feeling what he was singing. Anyway, I...
Wonderful Adaptation
This is a wonderful adaptation of the musical and original story. Some parts missed in the musical or books have been brought back, not altering the story but making it more complete. The singing from some of the actors is marginal, but especially the younger cast have superb singing voices, for the movie it works great but I will not be buying the...
I loved this film.
would not of thought that such a thing could be humanly possible but it is. After all I do not count myself as a massive musical fan or a fan of the original source being either the book or the musical. Having nether seen the musical or read the book, I wasn't sure as what to think about the story as what I had heard was mainly synopsis from iMDB or other...
Great acting/singing and loved it.
I thought Hugh Jackman and Russell put on a wonderful performance, as did all the cast. I enjoyed it better than on the live stage as I understood the story line. My only gripe was that nearly all the main actors/singers had pristine white veneered teeth...not sure that dentists would have been high priority in that era, especially one who had just served...
If it's your kind of thing, you'll love it!
I'm not going to use flash words.... I like musicals, and I have no problem with them being made into films. And as far as musicals on film go...I rate this one. Great singing, awesome performances, plot easy to understand (because you could actually make out all the words that were sung - unlike when it is on stage) There were only 2 things I struggled...
Almost a new medium
The combination of musical and film is a particularly odd one - especially in the case of Les Miserables which only really exists on film either without music (1998) or on anniversary special recordings where the cast mostly just stand by a microphone and sing (their hearts out - I do not mean to belittle these!). With Tom Hopper's interpretation we get a...
Les Misjudgement
For those of us who are huge fans of film musicals, there is a tragic lack of quality in modern cinema. Sure, occasionally a gem will come along, shaking up the rigid classical structure and offering something exciting, but for every Once there seems to be a handful of Chicagos, Nines and Sweeney Todds. It's tough out there for the song-and-dance...
Enjoyable, but Jean Valjean's home is the stage.
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