Les Miserables
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.55 You Save: $7.44 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.89 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Les Miserables
Movie Review: Bad Book, Great Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Usually I find that book-screen adaptations are only mediocre, lacking the fire and the intrigue that made the novel so appealing. I saw this movie one lazy, Sunday afternoon, and was so enthralled that I stayed glued to the TV all day. The movie was stunning, complete with great script, incredibly well-acted and well-developed characters. Some say the thematic elements of love and revenge were downplayed, and not well done, but I beg to differ. I thought Geoffrey Rush's character, Javert, the villain, was marvelous - evil and yet very human. I loved every bit about this movie! Uma Thurman and Claire Danes were suprisingly good, as well, and gave a lot of spark to characters that didn't have much on the page.Ah, the page. Right. Well, of course I had to read the book after watching the film, and so I purchased a handsome hardcover edition at my local bookshop. Even though it's nice having hard-bound volumes of classic literature lying about (and I have quite a bit!), this particular one seems only to gather dust. It's horrible. It's like Victor Hugo is even more confused than the reader is, stumbling back and forth from character to character with no flow and very little interest. His characters are shallow and silly, even the men (it's funny to note how the characters that Thurman and Daines play in the movies are so lively and willfull in the film, since their characters in the book are silly girls that run around giggling and using flowerly language to express their devotion to any and all male characters that seem to be lying about). The author Hugo also doesn't seem to know what he wants his book to be about: a historical look at old Paris? or an adventure story, filled with exciting plot and strong heroes? I still don't know. One minute, the villains are running through the sewers, playing a deadly game of chase... and the next, Hugo has launched into (yet another!) hundred page lecture, this time on the history of the sewers. If you manage to make it through that long, long, loooong chapter, you are so burnt out and confused and disallusioned that the rest of the story holds very little enjoyment. You want to take Hugo by the hand and kindly inform him that nobody really cares about the sewers. And, sadly, nobody really cares about his characters now, either.
Bottom line: watch the movie, it's great. Check out the book from your local library if you want, but please don't pull out of the parking lot until your very sure this book is going to be something that appeals to you. I'd hate to see you throw perfectly good gas money away.
Movie Review: Justice vs. Mercy
Summary: 5 Stars
It should be obvious to anyone that the task of adapting a 1400 page book of the complexity of Les Miserables into a two hour movie is going to be tough. Of course things were left out!!
If you take the film on its own merit, without making comparisons it can be tremendously moving. I found the story to be deeply touching--it's not just about an ex-convict trying to make a better life for himself and for others. But the way he managed to forgive, over and over, as he had been forgiven by the Bishop, is amazing! I admit that I wanted him to shoot the inspector when he had the chance, in the alley and I groaned when he let him go. I groaned some more when he let Cossette stay one more evening to meet her beloved, instead of just grabbing her and carrying her to safety. The power of his forgiveness and intense self-sacrificial love was amazing. And I loved the ending!
I found Liam Neeson to be superlative as ValJean. His strength and tenderness touched me deeply. Jeffrey Rush as ValJean's nemesis, is very good at embodying rigid legalist righteousness. These two mirror one another in a perfect way! Uma Thurman is good as the beautiful, pathetic woman whom ValJean befriends. I found Claire Daines a little disappointing as Cossette. Her lapses into an American accent seemed jarring and her behavior seemed at times too "modern" and trivial for the story. She seemed more like some girl you'd see shopping at the Mall, than a girl raised in a strict French convent with an adoring "father." I found "Marius" less than impressive, too. This did weaken the last portion of the film that focused on their romance. It did seem improbable that such a deep love would have formed in such a short time, but I guess that's how it is in times of war...!
However the power of the story and the performance of Neeson make up for the flaws. See it---you'll want to be a better person!
Movie Review: I thought it an excellent movie
Summary: 5 Stars
The Victor Hugo aficianados decry the absence of some characters, and changes in the script of which they do not approve, but as for me, I was transfixed by the story as presented.
I thought the acting was excellent, and the casting great. Liam Neeson makes a great Jean Valjean, and Geoffrey Rush is a thoroughly threatening Inspector Javert. Claire Danes also depicted Cosette skillfully.I found the resulting story thoroughly believable, and the camerawork unobtrusive and well-handled.
The problems in filming a great classic are nearly insurmountable, because so many people are familiar with the book and are prepared to be disappointed. Also the culture being depicted in this case, as someone has pointed out, is foreign to today's viewer. Conditions that we find unspeakable today were the accepted pattern in France, 200 years ago. Even in the United States, in that period, people underwent conditions and practices that we cannot relate to today. Many trades in common practice then are nonexistent today, and their very names are unknown--for example, who knows what a "cordwainer" was? It was a skill in high demand--a worker in cordovan leather.
Hugo's main theme was, indeed, the possibility of redemption. In that time, and even today many people believe, "once a thief, always a thief." The fact that it is usually true only makes the story resonate the more strongly. In those days, the convict's chances of regaining a normal life after his release from prison were slim to non-existent. Today, they are not much better.
I think this story carries Hugo's theme out very well, and the changes in the storyline are insignificant. I found the movie riveting, and I highly recommend it. Compared to most movie fare available today, it was outstanding.
Joseph Pierre
Movie Review: Definitely thumbs up - read why!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was shocked by the number of people who did not like this movie. I am a huge fan of _Les Miserables_. I have been in love with the book for years. (The version translated by Charles E. Wilbour is best.) _Les Miserables_ has also always been my favorite musical.I would like to say, first of all, that it is almost impossible to make a movie that is exactly like this amazing book without making the film nine hours long. So for the sake of keeping the movie as short as possible, there were a lot of parts cut out. Just because there is no Eponine (my personal favorite character) and no Enjolras (my favorite male character), you can't say that this is not _Les Miserables_.
The movie was wonderfully adapted; I'd like to see anyone else try to make a movie based on this book. I also think that the actors did wonderful jobs portraying the characters. Yes, there were some things added in here that were not in the book. For instance, the love between Fantine and Valjean. And yes, that was a bit ridiculous, but it was to make the movie more dramatic.
The first time I saw this movie was on television. I absolutely loved it, and could not believe my eyes when I saw all these terrible reviews. Granted, there were some that gave it the praise it deserved, but the majority seemed to be reviews from people who don't realize just how well-done this movie is.
To all of you who are undecided as to whether or not you should buy this movie, I definitely recommend it. Ignore the fact that it is slightly different from the book and very different from the musical. Sit down, watch it, and enjoy just like you would with any other movie. And if you haven't read the unabridged version of the book, definitely give it a try. You won't regret it.
Movie Review: This movie is one of the best.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read over some of the other reviews, and I couldn't differ with them more. For one thing, 99% of all movies which are taken from books, do not ever live up to, or follow the book completely. That is the same for this movie. But, it does include all the main ingredients to make it a hit. The actors do an outstanding job with their characters, and the movie rolls very smoothly as the story is told.
I am a history teacher, and even though the events of the French Revolution portrayed in the moive are slightly off timeline, the content of the inner battle in all of the characters acurately portrays the French Revolution period. This is a movie about how a man can change, and does change, to be a giving and caring person. He is chased by the Inspector, who is brought up to live within the boundaries of the law, no exceptions. In the end we see the inspector dealing with his inner turmoil, about how to handle Jean Valjean, and he does it in the only way he can allow himself to handle it. All this follows exactly with the ideology of the period for which it took place.
I have shown this movie to my classes for the past four years. In most cases of showing movies in class, most of the kids fall asleep during movie time. I have never had any student not like this movie. Several have even gone to rent the movie to watch again, after we have watched it class.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone intersted in taking it at its face value as a great movie about life during that time period. But, it is not for those who want something taken exactly from the book.