Les Miserables Movie

[Kai]

I saw this movie today.

It was really terrific. I will be very surprised if it doesn't win best picture, and if Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman don't win Oscars for their performances.

Russel Crowe was ok, but Jackman and Hathaway really did well. Their blending of singing and acting was sensational.

This movie really raises the bar for what a movie/musical should/can be.

Highly recommended.

 

[colabear]

the only saving grace for me in this movie is the part when Fantine was singing about her miserable life in the beginning of the movie. I was miserable through out the movie because of several annoying movie-goers. So my brother and I watched it Christmas day and the theater was packed. I was sitted at the first seat next to the aisle. Before the start of the movie, this girl well not a little girl but more like in her twenties who was sitting behind me kept getting up her seat and every time she gets up, keeps tapping at the back of my seat. The very first time she got up, she was too lazy to pass by a few people to get down the aisle steps so she took a short cut by jumping over the seat next to me and hit me on my shoulder. Didn't even apologize. I didn't say anything at first but when she did it again for the second time, I lost my cool and yelled at her and hell broke loose. After that, the guy sitting near the girls behind me felt like he needs to put his stinking boots next to my face...and hell broke loose again. Ironically, this movie theater wasn't even located at the ghetto but it felt like it.

 

[Van Veen]

Saw it with my family on the 26th. I had mixed feelings. I enjoyed it, but I won't see it again. I don't think it deserves best picture, nor do I think it's the greatest movie musical ever. At points I feel like the director and cast forgot it was a musical. I recently heard a David Mamet quote, "Let the script do the work, you have the fun. Do not act upon the words." In this case the actors needed to let the music do the work instead of making such an obvious effort to make the songs "their own". The best parts of the movie were with Marius and the revolutionaries, who had the voices for their roles and didn't overact.

 

[FunLovinStyle]

Overall I was satisfied with the performances. The costumes and sets/scenery were excellent. The cinematography in most cases was outstanding, although some of the shots at the begging, especially in the factory, were too in-your-face for my tastes. Overall, my only real complaints have to do with the editing. There was zero character development on the Friends of the ABC and thus it was hard to care when they died. I feel like another five minutes would have improved the film considerably. Also, I didn't care for the new song, "Suddenly." The idea was good, but the lyrics were too obvious. It felt like it was added only to garner an award for "best new song."

To be fair, I'm a big fan of the musical which I saw on Broadway probably 13 years ago. I know most of the songs, and I read the book (unabridged) this summer. My expectations were much higher than for typical movies.

 

[TiberiasUSA]

The lapels were interesting

 

[ter1413]



I saw this movie today.
It was really terrific. [COLOR=FF00AA] I will be very surprised if it doesn't win best picture, and if Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman don't win Oscars for their performances. [/COLOR]
Russel Crowe was ok, but Jackman and Hathaway really did well. Their blending of singing and acting was sensational.
This movie really raises the bar for what a movie/musical should/can be.
Highly recommended.

You are going a little too far. That trifecta has happened less than 10 times.

 

[FunLovinStyle]

I think Jackman deserves it more than Hathaway... and for that matter, I think Jackman did more to deserve it than Daniel Day-Lewis.

 

[Van Veen]

My general observation based on Facebook posts is that the music people hated it or were lukewarm and the theater people absolutely loved it.

There's really no comparison musically...

Spoiler: Case in point...

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

vs. (skip to a little before 2:00 in these for maximum impact)

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

and

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

vs.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[FunLovinStyle]

Well, yeah, but few people on the planet can sing like Colm Wilkinson (who, in a bit of brilliant casting, was the Bishop of Digne in the movie) or Philip Quast for that matter, and that wasn't exactly the point of the movie. By the way, little known fact, "Bring Him Home" was WRITTEN for Colm Wilkinson as a show-off piece (you'll notice that it adds little or nothing to the story).

The 10th Anniversary Concert will always be the ultimate Les Miserables recording for me.

 

[El Argentino]

Wow - I knew Crowe didn't do a fantastic job vocally, but put right next to the 10th anniversary recording is rather

Didn't think Jackman was all he was cracked up to be either. Bring Him Home sounded as if it was pushing his range a bit too shrill.