Les Misérables (2012)

[Droo]

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I remember seeing the stage production at the Liverpool Empire when I was about 14 or 15 and I walked away from that in something of a daze. The whole experience had been utterly overwhelming. Years later, I returned to the show and the music in earnest, and fell in love. I've always wanted to see this story committed beautifully to the screen because I can't afford to the tickets and travel to London whenever I fancy experiencing it again, plus it will give Peter no excuse not to see the damn thing now.

Anyway, I really like the look of this, and while I fully expect the singing to be not of a West End/Broadway standard, I'm confident it will be a marvellous spectacle nonetheless. This is an opening day film for me... and at Christmas, too! :D

Edit: Just adding the cast, since it really is an ensemble piece...
Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean
Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert
Anne Hathaway as Fantine
Amanda Seyfried as Cosette
Isabelle Allen plays the younger version of Cosette.
Eddie Redmayne as Marius Pontmercy
Samantha Barks as Éponine
Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier
Aaron Tveit as Enjolras
Daniel Huttlestone as GavrocheI think Hugh Jackman is a good choice for Valjean. Russell Crowe is very hit and miss for me, especially when he has to do serious, so I'm a bit anxious about that. I love the idea of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers, no doubt they'll be delightfully repulsive. And I think it is a lovely touch that Colm Wilkinson, the original Valjean, has been given the part of the Bishop of Digne, that will be a nice passing-of-the-torch moment. However, poor Frances Ruffelle, who played the original Éponine, will make an appearance as a prostitute. :lol

[Sheldon Esalis]

Never seen Les Mis, so this gives me a great opportunity

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Les Mis with Liam Neeson and... Claire Danes? (I'm going off memory here) was non-musical, correct?

I've never seen the musical. So terrible! But in studying vocal music in college I have heard/sung tons of musical theatre songs so I'm not totally in the dark. ^_^;

[Rossos Atrapes]

Liam Neeson as Valjean, Geoffrey Rush as Javert (iirc), and I think it is Claire Danes as Valjean's daughter is an AMAZING version of Les Misérables.

[Atreyu]

My favourite version has always been the (non-musical) French miniseries made in 1999(?) starring Gerard Depradieu as Valjean and John Malcovich as Javert - 5-6 episodes in length, each episode an hour long, and all in French of course. Really fantastic. :)

[Droo]

This is the new trailer that has been coupled with Skyfall. I can't wait to see this thing. :D

http://movies.uk.msn.com/exclusives/video.aspx?videoid=5ac2741b-9a95-b441-acf7-d3618f901d4f&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink

[Captain Untouchable]

Oh wow, I didn't even know about this!

Les Mis is probably my favourite musical. My parents went to see it when I was a kid - I was too young to go myself, but I was given the music on cassette, and we later got the VHS of that special anniversary performance (the one with Michael Ball in it). A few of the songs in Les Mis are among my favourite of all time - Stars especially. A buddy of mine was Javert in a university production and his rendition of Stars gave me chills... I ended up helping him rehearse over the summer because I knew pretty much all of Val Jean's parts (and even used to be able to hit the high notes :uhoh).

[Lilaena De'Ville]

We watched a behind the scenes/making of feature before the last movie we went to see, and Ty was like - I really want to see that.

If my husband says that about a musical about the French Revolution you know it's a special movie. :lol

Edit: we were both really impressed by how they filmed the singing in real time rather than lip syncing to music recorded in a studio. Really fascinating and awesome.

[Miranda Tarkin]

Heh - Melanie said she would go with me. I am like but but ... (puppy dog eyes) She isn't big on musicals but she is going to concede for me :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

Never seen Les Mis, so this gives me a great opportunity

Same for me!

[Sanis Prent]

I'll have to arrange for a friend to go with since Christin hates going to see movies for some reason

[Dragon]

I for one am looking forward to seeing Wolverine flee Gladiator Maximus in a bid to rescue Catwoman's daughter from Borat and Bellatrix Lestrange!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'll have to arrange for a friend to go with since Christin hates going to see movies for some reason

Just do like I do and go on your own.

It's not like the cinema is a social experience. You're sitting in the dark, in silence, for 2 hours.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'll have to arrange for a friend to go with since Christin hates going to see movies for some reason

Go alone!

Or go with a friend, that's cool too.

...one of the last movies I went to alone I saw a mouse in the theatre. It was a little freaky. I watched the movie with my feet up, lol. The movie was.... The one where John Travolta plays a military investigator and it turns out he was in on it the whole time and Samuel L. Jackson is still alive. what the heck was that called....

[Captain Untouchable]

The only movie I can think of with those two actors in is Pulp Fiction. Pretty sure that's not the one you mean, though. :uhoh

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ill have to look it up. It wasn't The General's Daughter, in which he also plays a military investigator or something. Sorry for derailing the thread, lol.

Edit: Basic

[Charley]

Both of those movies were poop, sorry you had to suffer a mouse on top of that.

[Droo]

Came across a few clips which have cemented my confidence in this film. Nothing is revealed that isn't shown in the trailers, really, but those unfamiliar with the story may want to remain spoiler-free anyway. Those who do check them out: what do you think?

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I'm afraid Russell Crowe may prove to be something of a weak link in the cast. Personally, I don't feel his voice has the power or authority for Javert, which is a shame. I'm sure his performance will be fine though.

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What I've noticed from these clips is that, for anyone familiar with Les Mis, we're treated to a much more intimate and nuanced interpretation of the characters. That's the strength of the medium of film over theatre of course, they're not delivering lines to the back of a packed auditorium. I'm already very impressed with Anne Hathaway.

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And while I'm not a massive fan of overly-frequent sing talking, I have to admit I'm won over by Hugh Jackman here, and I'm very excited to see his Valjean. In fairness, I'm not going to be too fussy over the singing in the film, it's a cinematic interpretation of the musical. And those on the bill with a background in musical theatre (Marius, in the video below, and Eponine, in the last video) certainly don't disappoint.

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Amanda Seyfried sounds quite mousy here as Cosette, which, considering the character, is quite fitting. I've never been a big fan of adult Cosette since all she seems to be there for is to swoon and pine over Marius. Eddie Redmayne has a cracking voice though, I can't wait to here his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.

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I love these versions of the songs, and I think Samatha Barks is singing this even better than she did at the 25th anniversary, she's beautiful and is perfect for Eponine. My only concern is that she didn't hit the low notes on Little Fall of Rain, and it spoiled the beauty of that song a little.

[Captain Untouchable]

There was some pretty awesome crazy-eye action going on from Russell Crowe in that first clip. It'll be interesting to see how he does with Stars vocally, and what he does with it in terms of performance.

That last clip... that's my favourite song in the entire movie. If it's sung badly, I cannot listen to it. If it's done well, I will weep uncontrollably. If that clip is any indication, I absolutely can not be permitted to go see this film alone... I will be an inconsolable wreck.

My only real reservation at this point is Hugh Jackman. I know for a fact that the man can sing, and act... but I'm worried that "screen acting" will get in the way of Valjean. When belted out, some of his songs can be utterly chilling; and I'm nervous that Hugh won't get the opportunity to do that. Hopefully, by the time that Javert and Valjean get more confrontational towards the end of Act I, the director will let Hugh sing-shout at him, rather than sing-talk.

Also, I really like the fact that the Bishop is being played by Colm Wilkinson (the original Valjean). Seems kind of apt, somehow.

[Droo]

What astonishes me about these performances is that the singing you hear is not pre-recorded, or post-recorded for that matter, they are live performances. The actors had earpieces from which they heard a pianist acompany their singing live, and their acting dictated the pace of the piece and the pianist played to suit them. Then later, in post production, the orchestration was added. It was very daring and if the early word on the film is anything to go by, it was an inspired decision.

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[Dasquian Belargic]

5 days to go!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

In case you haven't seen this yet:

http://youtu.be/DOr3JlRPs1w

[Droo]

One day more! :D

[Wyl Staedtler]

Can't wait to see this! Tickets tomorrow for 5:45 at some fancy theater in Newcastle. :ohno We've been blasting the broadway soundtrack all day. :dance

[Dasquian Belargic]

I was at that ^ cinema tonight and they were decorating the bar with French flags and what I guess was meant to be a big barricade, with rebellious silhouettes of men holding their fists in the air :ohno

[Droo]

Russell Crowe was, unsurprisingly, the weak link. He sung his lines in the same strained way from start to finish. His physical performance was fine but there was barely anything of the character represented in his voice.

Everything else was perfect. It was a beautiful adaptation of the theatre production which takes its time with all the important material and skims where neccessary. Jackman and Hathway earned their Oscar nominations and then some. And apart from Stars, again another Crowe shortcoming, every song was performed wonderfully. The Thenardiers brought the comic relief, which is admittedly much-needed between all the tearful close-ups. Speaking of which, for those of you familiar with the songs, you'll hear them like never before, practically throbbing and cracking and breaking with visceral emotion (Jackman and Hathaway). Other stand-outs were Samantha Barks, who owns every scene as Eponine, and Eddie Redmayne, who, I think, is a better Marius than even Michael Ball because his voice sounds much more youthful and vulnerable. Amanda Seyfried did the impossible and actually made me like Cosette as an adult, which coming from me is very high praise indeed.

This is a musical in the purest sense, in that practically every single word is sung, and as a result, this is probably not for everyone. Personally, I can't abide the crowd who whinge that it makes no sense for people to be suddenly bursting into song. You know, because superheroes, and goblins, and alien invasions are oh-so-much-more believeable. But if you like a good story and if you like music and if you welcome the idea of them coming together, then check out this film because it's a real treat and the high-water mark for the movie musical.

[Wyl Staedtler]

What a stunning film. Hathaway had me in tears with her performance of I Dreamed a Dream and Redmayne did the same with Empty Chairs at Empty Tables - gah, the tears dripping off his face as he sang :cry.

Thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Definitely one to purchase for the collection.

[Dasquian Belargic]

It was my first time ever seeing Les Mis, but I really enjoyed it. Hathaway was so powerfully emotional.

[Mu Satach]

Hathaway nailed it.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Anyone know if there's plans to release a full soundtrack for this? There is a 'highlights' selection on Spotify, but I want to hear the film version of "Do You Hear The People Sing" again :shakefist

[Droo]

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A nice version of Crowe's Stars has turned up, and by nice I mean karaoke. This is how that song shoud be sung/heard/experienced:

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[Ryan Rad'ke]

Just saw this today. I've loved the musical for as long as I can remember... but it was only after watching the movie that I properly understood everything was happening. Managed to make it through with only a single manly tear, but so many points had me choked up. I was surprised and impressed by Anne Hathaway and Sasha Baron Cohen. Wasn't expecting them to be so amazing in their roles.