[allthatyouwant]

Absolutely loved the film, amazing performances by everyone espc, Anne Hathaway (God she knows how to steal a scene), Samantha Barks and the underrated Amanda Seyfried

The only slight negative I have is with Eddie Redymane, yes his solo song was good but I thought overall he was wooden and showed no emotion especially in the scene where Jean Valjean is bearing his soul to him, he was smiling!!

However overall one of the best films I have seen in a long time, would see it again tonight!

[tracystapes]

It's funny you say that, when I came out of the screening of it, I could've easily gone back and watched it again! Weird seeing as I'm not really a huge huge film fan but the time of it passed so quick!

[Kolin Klingon]

Think I'll wait for the DVD/Blu Ray release as our cinema isn't very confortable to say the least and I have a better sound system!

[Verence]

Originally Posted by Yorkie47

So don't blame the actors for the sickly sweet romance between Marius and Cosette, blame Victor Hugo!

I've always thought Eponine is far too good for a drip like Marius

[flounder78]

Originally Posted by sunnymeg

Was anyone else distracted by Anne Hathaway's perfect teeth during IDAD? Considering her character had just had a couple of teeth pulled out, they could have blackened some side ones out.

I thought her teeth were far from yellow and one to her left was bloodstained. I thought the total opposite that her appearence was extremely realistic.

[Kolin Klingon]

Just announced on Jonathan Ross show that Eddie Redmayne will be on it next week.

I'll force myself to record it I suppose.

Dribble.....

[Kolin Klingon]

Originally Posted by Yorkie47

So don't blame the actors for the sickly sweet romance between Marius and Cosette, blame Victor Hugo!

On the contrary, I think Eddie's acting saved it from being sickly sweet.

[archie2000]

Just got back from watching it. For what it's worth, I thought it was excellent, however, it didn't draw me in as much as the live stage production does.
Russell Crowe's singing voice was a little lightweight for the role, and didn't quite hit the spot for me.
Some additional scenes that weren't done in the stage show fitted in well and one in particular was very poignant in relation to Javert's background.
My really big bug-bear though is Sacha Baron Cohen and Helen Bonham-Carter were totally miscast as the Therniers.
Why did he start talking and singing in a foreign sounding accent at the beginning and for the rest of the film, no hint of an accent?

Still, all in all, not bad. 9/10

[tally]

Originally Posted by BrokenArrow

Saw it last night.

The weak point was definitely Russel Crowe, not just a bad actor but rubbish singer too.

Hugh Jackman is also a bad singer but made up for it with great acting.

First time I've heard an audience applaud in a cinema.

Hugh Jackman has an amazingly rich tenor voice. He started off in musical theatre, was stupendous in Oklahoma and The Boy from Oz for which he won a Tony. Check out his opening number at the Oscars on You Tube if you want confirmation. Surreal that he duetted with Anne Hathaway.
This is where the decision to film the singing live had to be balanced against the inevitable strains on the vocals. Take after take for up to 12 hours is naturally going to affect the pitch, but it gives it such raw emotion that, for me, it paid off. Just watching Anne and Hugh's faces with their superb acting made the movie for me.
If I wanted perfect vocals I would have trotted off to see it on stage. Alfie Boe rescued the 25th O2 concert from the truly dire Nick Jonas, whom I still shudder at. His vocals, like John Owen Jones and Colm Wilkinson,the original JVJ were pitch perfect. But it didn't have the same emotional impact as the film.I keep saying it, but you cant compare the film with the stage version. Both are wonderful in their own way. There were heaps of tweaks/cuts etc but it worked in the film. Normally I'd be moaning and griping about changing things, but, on film it made it more cohesive and the story flowed.

Originally Posted by Verence

I've always thought Eponine is far too good for a drip like Marius

Agreed. Eponine is a wonderful character. My one quibble is that they cut her role too much. Samantha Barks was simply heartbreaking. And what a voice!
I dont understand someone upthread saying Eponine's character is pointless. (If I haven't started bawling, I always will during her death scene) even though I'm a bit of an old timer seeing the show.

[Colin_Laing]

Originally Posted by Jonwo

Miss Saigon needs strong casting but I think the role of Kim would be an unknown, the real main casting is The Engineer, get him right and it would be a potential Oscar winner.

Wicked I think you could get away with casting unknowns in the leads and big names for the other parts, I like Sam Barks as Elphaba, she sang Defying Gravity very well on IDA but I also think Lea Michele would be a good choice as well. The show is long at 2 and a half hours but I think some things in the shows could be shortened or cut like most if all the songs sung by the Wizard!

I've been thinking about this, and someone that I think could be amaaaazing at this would be Charice Pempengco - she isn't always shouty, and is about the right age and no doubt has the skill... Just comes down to the acting ability really..

Lots of other ideas on the rest of the cast, but Engineer is one that stumps me, I think

[boddism]

Originally Posted by allthatyouwant

Absolutely loved the film, amazing performances by everyone espc, Anne Hathaway (God she knows how to steal a scene), Samantha Barks and the underrated Amanda Seyfried

The only slight negative I have is with Eddie Redymane, yes his solo song was good but I thought overall he was wooden and showed no emotion especially in the scene where Jean Valjean is bearing his soul to him, he was smiling!!

However overall one of the best films I have seen in a long time, would see it again tonight!

I dont understand why Eddie Redmayne is so rated. I found him wooden in this, I'd have preferred Aaron Tviet in his role. At least he was believable

[Jonwo]

Originally Posted by ozark1

Not true. Carmen (Bizet) is an Opera. It has plenty of spoken dialogue. The term "Rock Opera" describing a unified narrative rock album or show is nothing to do with opera (in the same way, "Space Opera", "Soap Opera").

The old fashioned distinction between opera and musicals was that musicals used microphones and opera didn't.

Les Miserables and Miss Saigon are sung-through musicals.

I haven't seen the stage version in a long time but does Les Mis have that much dialogue, I alway assumed like Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, it was sung through entirely.

I imagine Miss Saigon will probably go the same route as Les Mis when it turned into a film but with slightly more spoken dialogue, so many scenes in the show like the fall of Saigon would work really well on film.

[Diorelli]

Saw the movie twice now in two days. That's how I hated it. Cried both times. Some niggles, I do think the first half of the movie dragged on a tad slightly.

Lowlights: Bring Him Home and Stars which is sad as they are from the two central characters. However, I still think that the movie is strong enough to overcome these. When I do get the DVD though, I would definitely skip these parts and pretend they never happened.

The actors:

Anne Hathaway - was brilliant and I think at this moment they are now engraving her name in the Oscar statue.

Hugh Jackman - I love Hugh as an actor and as a person. However, I am not really sold on his voice. I know he had a legitimate Broadway career as opposed to some actors who just dabble in it. Acting is solid and I do agree with the director, Tom Hooper when he said if Hugh wasn't available the film would probably never happen.

Russell Crowe - can not sing. However, I do give him props for at least giving it a go. I'll just leave it at that.

Eddie Redmayne - Blown away by this guy. Who would have thought he had that kind of voice? I like what he has done with Marius. For the first time I didn't come away thinking the character is a drippy wet pretty boy that should just run back to rich grandpa. Best Marius ever? *runs for cover from Michael Ball and his fans*

Samantha Barks - great voice but I didn't love her Eponine as much as I wanted to. But I thanked the lucky stars she was cast instead of Taylor Swift *shudders*

Amanda Seyfried - Liked her "In My Life" but her voice got thinner and thinner as the movie went on. Even Amanda admitted in an interview that she wished she was given more time to rehearse.

I hope the film wins Best Picture in the Oscars but from the scathing reviews from some critics, I doubt it.

[Kolin Klingon]

Originally Posted by Diorelli

Eddie Redmayne - Blown away by this guy. Who would have thought he had that kind of voice? I like what he has done with Marius. For the first time I didn't come away thinking the character is a drippy wet pretty boy that should just run back to rich grandpa. Best Marius ever? *runs for cover from Michael Ball and his fans*

Exactly how I see it as well!

I like Michael Ball, but as I posted earlier, I think he played Marius as the wet drippy slush that it may have been written to be.

So glad Eddie steered away from that and gave a stronger performance - Yes he did portray "Love" but real love as opposed to a drippy obsession.

All I can say is that it worked for me.

[Kolin Klingon]

Originally Posted by Diorelli

I hope the film wins Best Picture in the Oscars but from the scathing reviews from some critics, I doubt it.

Well that's fitting as they slammed it when it was first done as a stage show and look just how wrong they got it!

60 million people disagreed with them!

[Jonwo]

Originally Posted by Kolin Klingon

Well that's fitting as they slammed it when it was first done as a stage show and look just how wrong they got it!

60 million people disagreed with them!

I never got why it got terrible reviews because while it's not perfect, there are far worse shows! I think at the time, critics weren't happy with the idea of the RSC doing a musical and it wasn't the conventional norm for a stage musical which is ironic considering Cats only opened four years previous and wasn't exactly a traditional musical!

[Bob_Whinger]

[quote=Jonwo] "I haven't seen the stage version in a long time but does Les Mis have that much dialogue, I alway assumed like Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, it was sung through entirely. "

You are correct. The stage version does not have any dialogue. It is all sung.

As a northerner I am offended that they chose to give the poor northern English accents . They think that people living in squalor should have northern accents ?! That is a form of racism.

Having said that, they are forgiven for making something great. I think deserves a couple of Oscars.

[tally]

[quote=Bob_Whinger;63541877]

Originally Posted by Jonwo

As a northerner I am offended that they chose to give the poor northern English accents . They think that people living in squalor should have northern accents ?! That is a form of racism.

Having said that, they are forgiven for making something great. I think deserves a couple of Oscars.

My cringe moment was the chaingang inmate who had the broadest Irish accent.

[Lady Spice]

I loved it BUT I could have loved it a lot more.

The biggest letdown for me was Jackman's "Bring Him Home," which would have me in floods in the theatre, but his performance left me completely non-plussed as he completely overdid it. He belted it out, without barely taking a breath, and in my opinion it should be sung softly, quietly, reverently, like a prayer, which is what it's supposed to be. I am sure he could have given a more subtle rendition, so I don't know what the director was thinking when they allowed this to be in the final cut. You could barely even hear the music as his vocal was so loud. Other than that song, he was excellent as Valjean, and I thought every other piece he did was superb.

Russell Crowe was pretty much OK throughout BUT his rendition of Stars was also a huge letdown. It's not that he didn't hit the notes. He did, but he didn't give the song the power that it needed to completely sell it. This one SHOULD have been belted out, but instead it was just kind of sung along.....without any real passion or emotion.

Empty Chairs......Was sung perfectly. No issues with the vocals at all, but I really would have liked to see the "phantom faces at the windows," like they do on the stage, which is the part that really chokes me up and makes it so apparent just exactly what it means for him to be the only man left standing. I think it would have added to the poigniancy of the song.

Master of the House. Hmmm......Well, Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter were excellent in their roles BUT the song didn't pack anywhere near the punch that the stage show does. This really surprised me because I actually thought that it would be even more over the top on film, but it wasn't, so I guess I'll have to put it down to the musical acting of the pair. This is one that might have been better served had it not been done live. That way they could have been as theatrical as they wanted, without letting the vocals suffer.

One Day More, on stage, as the huge "end of first act," number that it is, is so powerful that it completely blows you out of your seat. The film version, whilst done exactly as I imagined it would be, and exactly as I imagined it should be, still didn't reach me emotionally in the same way. I guess the bottom line is that no matter how you cut and slice it, there's nothing like a live orchestra, and that's really what I guess was the missing ingredient.

On the other hand, Hathaway's Fantine was the best one I have ever seen, and she completely blew me away.

Ditto for Sam Barks. Her On My Own was truly hers, and as good as I've ever seen it sung anywhere.

Overall, for me, this movie will be watched over and over again because it's a great substitute for the stage version, which is difficult for me to get to, now that I live overseas. I can forgive the few issues that I have, as overall it is a superb adaptation, and because I love it so much, the film will be as close as I can get to being able to go and see the stage show whenever the urge takes me.

[Yorkie47]

Originally Posted by Kolin Klingon

Exactly how I see it as well!

I like Michael Ball, but as I posted earlier, I think he played Marius as the wet drippy slush that it may have been written to be.

So glad Eddie steered away from that and gave a stronger performance - Yes he did portray "Love" but real love as opposed to a drippy obsession.

All I can say is that it worked for me.

I guess Michael Ball played it as Trevor Nunn told him to and Eddie did the characterisation as he was directed to.

Marius is a drip and he and Cosette are "in love" in the novel without ever having exchanged a word. I am seeing the movie on Wednesday and look forward to seeing it and judging for myself Eddie's characterisation of Marius.

Of course I'm a Michael Ball fan but no-one needs to run! I'm all for everyone having their own opinion.

I am guessing I will like Eddie, just as I genuinely enjoyed Gareth Gates and others in the stage version, which I have seen umpteen times.

But, as to Michael Ball's voice, well, that is something that remains unsurpassed. So far!

[Lucy Lou]

Originally Posted by Lady Spice

I loved it BUT I could have loved it a lot more.

The biggest letdown for me was Jackman's "Bring Him Home," which would have me in floods in the theatre, but his performance left me completely non-plussed as he completely overdid it. He belted it out, without barely taking a breath, and in my opinion it should be sung softly, quietly, reverently, like a prayer, which is what it's supposed to be. I am sure he could have given a more subtle rendition, so I don't know what the director was thinking when they allowed this to be in the final cut. You could barely even hear the music as his vocal was so loud. Other than that song, he was excellent as Valjean, and I thought every other piece he did was superb.

Russell Crowe was pretty much OK throughout BUT his rendition of Stars was also a huge letdown. It's not that he didn't hit the notes. He did, but he didn't give the song the power that it needed to completely sell it. This one SHOULD have been belted out, but instead it was just kind of sung along.....without any real passion or emotion.

Empty Chairs......Was sung perfectly. No issues with the vocals at all, but I really would have liked to see the "phantom faces at the windows," like they do on the stage, which is the part that really chokes me up and makes it so apparent just exactly what it means for him to be the only man left standing. I think it would have added to the poigniancy of the song.

Master of the House. Hmmm......Well, Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter were excellent in their roles BUT the song didn't pack anywhere near the punch that the stage show does. This really surprised me because I actually thought that it would be even more over the top on film, but it wasn't, so I guess I'll have to put it down to the musical acting of the pair. This is one that might have been better served had it not been done live. That way they could have been as theatrical as they wanted, without letting the vocals suffer.

One Day More, on stage, as the huge "end of first act," number that it is, is so powerful that it completely blows you out of your seat. The film version, whilst done exactly as I imagined it would be, and exactly as I imagined it should be, still didn't reach me emotionally in the same way. I guess the bottom line is that no matter how you cut and slice it, there's nothing like a live orchestra, and that's really what I guess was the missing ingredient.

On the other hand, Hathaway's Fantine was the best one I have ever seen, and she completely blew me away.

Ditto for Sam Barks. Her On My Own was truly hers, and as good as I've ever seen it sung anywhere.

Overall, for me, this movie will be watched over and over again because it's a great substitute for the stage version, which is difficult for me to get to, now that I live overseas. I can forgive the few issues that I have, as overall it is a superb adaptation, and because I love it so much, the film will be as close as I can get to being able to go and see the stage show whenever the urge takes me.

Thanks for taking the time to write your review Lady Spice I found it fascinating to read, I think you have made a good point about witnessing and hearing a live orchestra and I agree it would be hard to replicate that in a film.

I am now beside myself with anticipation as I will see the film on Wedesday.

[BastardBeaver]

I have to wait till Thursday to see this

Typical, the one film I've been waiting months to see and I have to wait another half a week.

[ironjade]

This is cringemakingly awful. I managed about 15 minutes but I couldn't stand any more.

[BastardBeaver]

Originally Posted by ironjade

This is cringemakingly awful. I managed about 15 minutes but I couldn't stand any more.

How come?

[Mystical123]

Originally Posted by Lady Spice

I loved it BUT I could have loved it a lot more.

The biggest letdown for me was Jackman's "Bring Him Home," which would have me in floods in the theatre, but his performance left me completely non-plussed as he completely overdid it. He belted it out, without barely taking a breath, and in my opinion it should be sung softly, quietly, reverently, like a prayer, which is what it's supposed to be. I am sure he could have given a more subtle rendition, so I don't know what the director was thinking when they allowed this to be in the final cut. You could barely even hear the music as his vocal was so loud. Other than that song, he was excellent as Valjean, and I thought every other piece he did was superb.

Russell Crowe was pretty much OK throughout BUT his rendition of Stars was also a huge letdown. It's not that he didn't hit the notes. He did, but he didn't give the song the power that it needed to completely sell it. This one SHOULD have been belted out, but instead it was just kind of sung along.....without any real passion or emotion.

That pretty much sums up what I thought was wrong with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe's performances, though I'm not convinced Crowe did hit all the notes...

One Day More, on stage, as the huge "end of first act," number that it is, is so powerful that it completely blows you out of your seat. The film version, whilst done exactly as I imagined it would be, and exactly as I imagined it should be, still didn't reach me emotionally in the same way. I guess the bottom line is that no matter how you cut and slice it, there's nothing like a live orchestra, and that's really what I guess was the missing ingredient.

I really don't think that song was meant to have the same emotional reach in the movie as it does it the stage show - it could have done if they'd had an interval, but it wasn't building up to that so I think it was always going to fall flat. That was added to by moving Do You Hear the People Sing, though I think that worked well.

The problem for me with One Day More wasn't the orchestration but Russell Crowe's complete inability to make anything of the strong lyrics he had. And the fact that Valjean was just sitting in a carriage - I think it would have had more impact if he and Cosette had been rushing around packing as it would have given their bits a sense of urgency and added to the emotion that was being built up by Redmayne and Barks. The Thenardiers were a big let-down in that song as well.

Originally Posted by ironjade

This is cringemakingly awful. I managed about 15 minutes but I couldn't stand any more.

Oh well you missed all the best bits then! I don't understand why anyone wouldn't at leasy give something until halfway through - how you can judge a 2.5 hour movie on 15 minutes alone is beyond me!