Les Miserables
Les Miserables
I didn't know this movie was being made, but now that I do, I can't wait to see it!
For the TROUBLED may you find PEACE
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
wow. Simply... wow. I can sincerely say that I would recommend this movie to anyone. It is without a doubt my favorite film of the year, and given the films that came out this year, that is saying something. I will be seeing it again.
For the TROUBLED may you find PEACE
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
Part of my family saw it. My sister and her partner have promised to babysit when they come out to visit so S and I can see it (though I'm not sure S will like it). I've been reading reviews. Those have been mixed - some critics seem to find the movie loud and obnoxious and lacking subtlety. Which leads me to believe that these critics have either never seen the live musical or listened to the soundtrack. Or they saw/heard it and didn't like it for the same reasons they didn't like the movie. Either way, I found the reviews oddly reassuring.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
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WampusCat
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Just saw it with my daughter-in-law. Neither of us had seen the play or knew the story, so we approached it unspoilt (other than the "everyone dies" remark).
Our reactions were alike: Wow! Great story, great music, great acting ... great. Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman were terrific, and who knew Russell Crowe could sing?
I loved the themes of sacrifice and justice vs. mercy.
Was it sad? Let me put it this way. Chelsea, who NEVER cries at movies, was bawling. Based on the stereo sniffles, I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.
People familiar with the musical may see it differently, but this newbie gives it high praise!
Our reactions were alike: Wow! Great story, great music, great acting ... great. Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman were terrific, and who knew Russell Crowe could sing?
I loved the themes of sacrifice and justice vs. mercy.
Was it sad? Let me put it this way. Chelsea, who NEVER cries at movies, was bawling. Based on the stereo sniffles, I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.
People familiar with the musical may see it differently, but this newbie gives it high praise!
Take my hand, my friend. We are here to walk one another home.
Avatar from Fractal_OpenArtGroup
Avatar from Fractal_OpenArtGroup
Glad you liked it, Wampus! I was getting pretty choked up myself at the end. We had to drag my dad along, and I did warn him that almost everyone died... but he couldn't stop talking about it afterwards. He was talking about the Law vs. Grace story for about an hour. I think he was surprised that he could see a modern movie and come away agreeing with the theology presented 
.
.For the TROUBLED may you find PEACE
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
I have not seen the musical, but it's my understanding that they cut one song, and added another... and a few little changes here and there.
For the TROUBLED may you find PEACE
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
For the DESPAIRING may you find HOPE
For the LONELY may you find LOVE
For the SKEPTICAL may you find FAITH
-Frances C. Arrillaga 1941-1995
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sauronsfinger
- Posts: 3508
- Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2005 2:25 am
Saw this yesterday. I would give it a six out of ten. I first saw the play in the late 80's in NY CITY the night after I saw PHANTOM with Michael Crawford in the lead. I thought it was just so so at that time. Since then I have fallen in love with some of the songs and greatly enjoyed the 25th Anniversary spectacular on PBS that they show often.
I had high hopes for his.
Biggest plus for me was the performance of Anne Hathaway. I loved every moment she was on screen and her singing was terrific and brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could say the same for the two male leads in Jackman and Crowe who vocal talents seemed only workman like and mediocre.
I loved what they did visually with the final scene for Crowe. That took my breath away and I loved the sound as he hit.
I have come to realize I do NOT like operatic films where the spoken lines are sung. I greatly prefer spoken lines to be delivered as normal and then the singing done separately.
The sets were terrific as were the costumes and I would hope both are rewarded at Oscar time.
I loved the last ten minutes with final scene in the streets with that big elephant sculpture and all the people singing that great song DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING. Tremendous. I did cry openly for the last couple minutes and I love to do that at sappy films. So that is a good thing.
For me, it just took far to long and there were too many tedious moments to get there.
And just like when I saw it in NY on Broadway - I really did not like those two young lovers and did not care about them in the least. Now the little ragamuffin who attaches himself to the rebels on the barricades - now that was a terrific kid!!
I had high hopes for his.
Biggest plus for me was the performance of Anne Hathaway. I loved every moment she was on screen and her singing was terrific and brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could say the same for the two male leads in Jackman and Crowe who vocal talents seemed only workman like and mediocre.
I loved what they did visually with the final scene for Crowe. That took my breath away and I loved the sound as he hit.
I have come to realize I do NOT like operatic films where the spoken lines are sung. I greatly prefer spoken lines to be delivered as normal and then the singing done separately.
The sets were terrific as were the costumes and I would hope both are rewarded at Oscar time.
I loved the last ten minutes with final scene in the streets with that big elephant sculpture and all the people singing that great song DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING. Tremendous. I did cry openly for the last couple minutes and I love to do that at sappy films. So that is a good thing.
For me, it just took far to long and there were too many tedious moments to get there.
And just like when I saw it in NY on Broadway - I really did not like those two young lovers and did not care about them in the least. Now the little ragamuffin who attaches himself to the rebels on the barricades - now that was a terrific kid!!
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.... John Rogers
Went to see this one today. It is good, I'd say Anne does deserve the Oscar nod for this one for best supporting actress. I enjoyed Hugh as Jean even though his singing wasn't greatest I've heard in the part. Eddie Redmayne as Marius was really good.
Also watched Beasts of the Southern Wild...and Quvenzhane Wallis really does a fantastic job as Hushpuppy.
This all said, I like Life of Pi better, to me its between Lincoln and Life of Pi for the Oscars.
Also watched Beasts of the Southern Wild...and Quvenzhane Wallis really does a fantastic job as Hushpuppy.
This all said, I like Life of Pi better, to me its between Lincoln and Life of Pi for the Oscars.
From the ashes, a fire shall be woken. A light from the shadow shall spring. Renewed shall be blade that was broken. The crownless again shall be king.
Loving living in the Pacific Northwest.
Loving living in the Pacific Northwest.
I'm a huge fan of this show. I've seen it 5 times over the years and listened to multiple versions of the soundtrack and both anniversary concerts countless times. Its probably my favourite musical. So I'm coming to this pretty much the same as I came to Fellowship and with similar reactions. Overall I loved it. There mere moments of sublime beauty where the absolute essence of the work was captured perfectly. There were also a few clangers.
Ann Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne were the standout performers for me as Fantine and Marius. Hugh Jackman was good throughout, but never incredible. Russell Crowe was miscast and simply unable to deliver the role as it needs to be performed. Sam Barks was lovely as Eponine, but her rendition of "On my Own" didn't move me the way it should. Anna Seyfried was fine as Cosette, but its a thankless part. The guys who played Enjolras and Courfeyrac had great chemistry and sang well, and I was delighted to see Killian Donnely as one of the students on the barricade. Colm Wilkinson's cameo as the Bishop of Digne was lovely. Gavroche and the young Cosette were both great. Unfortunately Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were just not right for the Thenardiers. The faux French accent in particular was risible.
There were several dialogue changes, some of which I liked, but others not so much. Changing the Bishop's line from "I have bought your soul for God" to "I have saved your soul for God" changes the meaning entirely. Many of the others however served to tell the story better, so I have no problem with that.
I liked the decision to record the vocals live, but it worked better in some sections than others. All of the sung dialogue had an realism and urgency that can sometimes be lacking in recordings. However, in the songs it sometimes meant the vocal suffered. Notable exceptions were Ann Hathaway, whose "I Dreamed a Dream" was simply stunning and Eddie Redmayne's "Empty Chairs at Empty tables" was heartbreaking. Having heard these songs sung hundreds of times by superb singers, to strip them back to the raw emotion really worked, but crucially because they still delivered the vocal at a really high standard. Jackman's "Bring Him Home" was not so fortunate. The song is known as "the Prayer" and was originally written for Wilkinson's beautifully controlled falsetto. Its not a broadway belt. Whether the blame for that lies with Jackman or the director I have no idea, but it didn't work. Sam Bark's "On my Qwn" was beautifully sung, but never really connected with me. The less said about Russell Crowe's bastardisation of the superb "Stars" the better.
Cinematically, I wish the director had used less handheld "shakycam" and closeups. This is a Movie where we could have used some Jackson-esque slow motion and helicopter shots to give that epic feel.
But overall, the quality of the work shines through. There's a reason Les Miserables is one of the best loved Musicals of all time. Much like LotR, if you stick to the strengths of the original you can't go too far wrong.
Ann Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne were the standout performers for me as Fantine and Marius. Hugh Jackman was good throughout, but never incredible. Russell Crowe was miscast and simply unable to deliver the role as it needs to be performed. Sam Barks was lovely as Eponine, but her rendition of "On my Own" didn't move me the way it should. Anna Seyfried was fine as Cosette, but its a thankless part. The guys who played Enjolras and Courfeyrac had great chemistry and sang well, and I was delighted to see Killian Donnely as one of the students on the barricade. Colm Wilkinson's cameo as the Bishop of Digne was lovely. Gavroche and the young Cosette were both great. Unfortunately Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were just not right for the Thenardiers. The faux French accent in particular was risible.
There were several dialogue changes, some of which I liked, but others not so much. Changing the Bishop's line from "I have bought your soul for God" to "I have saved your soul for God" changes the meaning entirely. Many of the others however served to tell the story better, so I have no problem with that.
I liked the decision to record the vocals live, but it worked better in some sections than others. All of the sung dialogue had an realism and urgency that can sometimes be lacking in recordings. However, in the songs it sometimes meant the vocal suffered. Notable exceptions were Ann Hathaway, whose "I Dreamed a Dream" was simply stunning and Eddie Redmayne's "Empty Chairs at Empty tables" was heartbreaking. Having heard these songs sung hundreds of times by superb singers, to strip them back to the raw emotion really worked, but crucially because they still delivered the vocal at a really high standard. Jackman's "Bring Him Home" was not so fortunate. The song is known as "the Prayer" and was originally written for Wilkinson's beautifully controlled falsetto. Its not a broadway belt. Whether the blame for that lies with Jackman or the director I have no idea, but it didn't work. Sam Bark's "On my Qwn" was beautifully sung, but never really connected with me. The less said about Russell Crowe's bastardisation of the superb "Stars" the better.
Cinematically, I wish the director had used less handheld "shakycam" and closeups. This is a Movie where we could have used some Jackson-esque slow motion and helicopter shots to give that epic feel.
But overall, the quality of the work shines through. There's a reason Les Miserables is one of the best loved Musicals of all time. Much like LotR, if you stick to the strengths of the original you can't go too far wrong.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
I have to say I'm intrigued, and am seriously considering seeing this...
I kinda have mixed feelings about Les Mis: I have never seen the stage show, only caught some of the TV anniversary special, and obviously I've seen the trailer fronting AUJ! But I've never been particularly bothered about seeing the show...coming from a choral background, the distinct vocal style (particularly the 'Broadway belt' as Al puts it!) grates with me, and I do not really enjoy operatic recitative either.
Saying all that, I have the tunes ingrained in my soul since I have been playing a concert band arangement of Les Mis for as long as I can remember - probably 25 years! ("On My Own" is arranged for French horn solo, so has a special place in my heart.) And if Anne Hathaway has put in the stellar vocal performance she's being lauded for then I think I could be tempted to give it a try!
I kinda have mixed feelings about Les Mis: I have never seen the stage show, only caught some of the TV anniversary special, and obviously I've seen the trailer fronting AUJ! But I've never been particularly bothered about seeing the show...coming from a choral background, the distinct vocal style (particularly the 'Broadway belt' as Al puts it!) grates with me, and I do not really enjoy operatic recitative either.
Saying all that, I have the tunes ingrained in my soul since I have been playing a concert band arangement of Les Mis for as long as I can remember - probably 25 years! ("On My Own" is arranged for French horn solo, so has a special place in my heart.) And if Anne Hathaway has put in the stellar vocal performance she's being lauded for then I think I could be tempted to give it a try!
There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound.
~Diana Cortes
~Diana Cortes