Les Miserables
 

Anyone else excited about this movie opening on Christmas day or just me?:D

I can't wait! I will be seeing it December 26 :D

I'll be on vacation so I won't be able to see it until January! But I can't wait, I've been dying to see this ever since it was announced. Les Miserables is one of my favorite musicals ever!

I sent a text to Hypo earlier this week asking "Will you go see Les Miserables with me while you're home?" and got a response "Of course!" Can't wait!!

My mom, fiance, and I will probably be attending Christmas night!!! My office got mailed some passes to a pre-screening, but I wasn't able to attend. :(

Yeah, I've been obsessing over pretty much every trailer/clip that's out. The latest shows the Thenadiers, and that made me so happy.

Count me in!

Is this the movie version of a play (opera?) that was filmed very poorly? There IS one of those in movie theatres this holiday season but I can't recall which movie-from-a-play is the 'bad' one.

I'm not sure what you mean by "bad one".

This movie version is based off the musical. The musical is based off the book. The book, Les Miserables, has been turned into movies before, but this is the first time the musical has been turned into a movie.

I'm not too happy that Itunes just released the "highlights". I'm not going to buy it because I'm sure in a couple weeks time the entire soundtrack will be released. The highlight is missing the following "main" songs (and plus a lot of minor ones, as the musical is strictly singing, but I've heard the movie won't be, much like the Rent movie was)...

1. Lovely Ladies (seriously one of my favorite songs, I've always said if I could be in Les Miz, I'd want to be one of the "whores")
2. Who Am I
3. Fantine's Death/Come With Me
4. The Bargain/The Thenardier Waltz of Treachery
5. Do You Hear the People Sing (why this isn't on it, who knows)
6. The Attack on Rue Plumet
7. Little People (go Gavroche)
8. A Little Fall of Rain
9. Dog Eats Dog
10. Turning

There is a new song called "Suddenly". I'm sure this was written so that it could be nominated for an Academy Award, as the rest of the songs cannot be.

The movie also can't be nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but it couldn't be in the first place as it is a movie based off a musical that is based off a book, hence it would need to be an Adapted Screenplay.:rolleyes:

I'm sure it will garner some Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

Am I the only person on these boards who remembers this version from 1998? I don't think it was a "musical" version, but with actors like Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush and Claire Danes, it's not exactly a crap lineup.

http://swesub.tv/uploads/images/105080.jpg

No idea, but I'm sure if you google "December 2012 holiday movie releases", you'll know in about 3 seconds.

I found this one to be somewhat equal to the new version, obviously minus singing, which besides a few people (ANNE HATHAWAY - OMG!!!!) doesn't add much to the overall performance.


The new version:
Anne Hathaway wins this movie x50.

I will forever love Colm Wilkinson...great that he made an appearance.

Sacha Baron-Cohen and HBC actually made great Thénardiers.

Gavoroche was adorable and young Cosette was good.

To me, Eddie didn't have the right look for Marius, but I've mostly not been a fan of Marius' casting in any production I've seen.

I like that you could understand almost every word.

I liked that they added another level of humanity to Javert.

I didn't care for a lot of the straight-to-camera cinematography.

The rest of the people, I felt their performance was good, but their singing didn't add anything more than just speaking their lines would have (like I mentioned above). Russell Crowe had a few moments of musical brilliance, but he lacked the depth of someone like Phillip Quest.

I'm having trouble locating anything about this, but it seemed like many songs were in a higher key than the original (which is odd, because movies usually get transposed down). I suppose it could be that the tessitura of those cast aren't what we're used to hearing - rumor is that Amanda S. is a classically trained mezzo, but we're obviously used to hearing a soprano sing Cosette. It makes a difference to the ears.

I read an article that said that Amanda essentially struggled with those high soprano notes. I've never understood why they (producers, directors) do that. Why cast someone who can't sing the part. They did it in Phantom of the Opera with Minnie Driver who didn't do any of the singing for Carlotta (as Carlotta is an operatic soprano and Minnie Driver is an alto). Then now with Amanda. They are so many talented actresses out there that can sing the part, cast them.

On youtube, Les Mis posted "official" videos of behind the scenes. One is Hugh Jackman talking about how in one of the songs (totally blanking now) Colm Wilkinson (original Valjean in both London and Broadway), made the notes higher and then all the other Valjeans just kind of followed suit. Well when Colm was on set for his part as the bishop he and Jackman talked and Colm told Jackman that the role was his now and make it his own, just like he did when he originated the roles.

I wish I could see it but I'm truly cash poor until next payday, so I will be seeing it next weekend (not like its not going to be there).

^^ I actually read that Minnie was the one who refused to sing for Carlotta - apparently she us capable and the producers wanted her to, but she didn't feel she could do it justice.

And, by the way, "alto" is not a term used in labeling fach (operatic voice parts). It's Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, and VERY RARELY Contralto.

Minnie Driver isn't an opera singer, hence my saying she is an alto is correct.

Eddie may not have been the right choice for Marius, but dear god, is he gorgeous...

I wasn't sure about him at first, but he grew on me as Marius.

I had reservations going in, but felt it was a success.

Alto isn't a voice type, regardless of genre. It's very commonly used incorrectly in this manner.

"Alto is the term used for a designated vocal line in choral music based on vocal range. The alto part in choral music may range as much as two octaves, approximately from G3 (the G below middle C) to F5 (the F in the second octave above middle C), though not often in one work, and is usually sung by female voices."


Either way, if the producers said Minnie has the chops for Carlotta, she's very likely not a contralto. I can't find any reliable reference to her voice type at all.

Real people very often refer to female singers as altos, seconds, and firsts. Maybe it isn't technically correct, but everyone knows what they mean. What is the big deal?

Wow lets freak out because I'm not an vocal officienado. Really, is it that big of a frickin' deal that I called her an Alto?

I am a first soprano, but I'm sure to you that is incorrect as well.


/please return to the regularly scheduled thread because I am officially done responding to this argument over vocal types.

FWIW (and not touching the alto-contralto controversy :D), Les Mis would be classified as a sung-through (or through-sung, or through-composed) musical. The lines between a sung-through musical and an opera can be blurry --- really blurry -- but the best explanation I ever heard is that in an opera, everything, including the story, serves the music, while in a musical (including a sung-through musical) everything, including the music, ultimately serves the story. So, for example, in a musical, the director will have the final say, while in an opera, the conductor will have the final say.

Somewhat arbitrary, but the best way I have come across to describe the difference.


Ugh! I hated that about the movie of Rent.

Haven't seen the movie of Les Mis yet, but I hope I can before too long. It's not my favorite musical by a long shot -- I like it okay, but I never really got all the hype about it -- but I'm always happy when a movie musical comes out.

I went to see it this afternoon with my sister; we both loved it!

A lot of the reviews I read were critical of the way it was filmed, that is, with so many close ups. Those reviews felt like that made it lack the epic quality a story like Les Miserables should have. While there were a few scenes where I'd agree ("One Day More") I generally really liked that. I felt like the close ups were very intimate and helped to personalize a very large cast of characters for the audience. I also loved the way "At the End of the Day" was staged in that tunnel/corridor.

They made some changes in the order of the action, but I thought they were appropriate. Moving "I Dreamed a Dream" after "Lovely Ladies" was a great choice. I started to worry that they had cut the first "Do You Hear the People Sing?" when it didn't come after "Red and Black," but I loved what they did with it!

I thought Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway were just incredible. Every scene of Anne Hathaway's was a knockout. "What Have I Done?" and "Bring Him Home" were real standouts for Jackman. I felt Eddie Redmayne was both fantastically cast and nice to look at as Marius - "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" made me cry. I liked Amanda Seyfried too, even though Cosette is a character I don't particularly care for. I found her to be a very likable Cosette. Russell Crowe's Javert was disappointing for me. His singing was not on the same level as the rest of the cast, but I would have forgiven him Rex Harrisoning it if his performance had been less stoic.

I will definitely buy the DVD!

OMG I when I saw it yesterday, I too was like "OMG they took out Do You Hear the People Sing" but then they did it during the funeral, so I was relieved.

Hugh Jackman was amazing as Valjean.

Amanda was okay as Cosette, but Cosette is truly my least favorite character of the play. I'm a huge Eponine fan.

Poor Cosette. It's not her fault. She just really doesn't have much to do other than be beautiful.

You're right SWTXBelle, poor Cosette doesn't have a lot to work with. I haven't read the book, but I imagine there's a lot more room for her character to develop in a thousand or so pages.

I've read the novel - but it's been years - and Cosette is not a character who really stands out compared to the others. Curse of the ingenue and why I hated always having to play one.

OK am I the only one that thinks Hathaway was less than stellar in her singing?? I really felt they should have chosen someone else for that singing part--I was so disappointed. Her acting was great but I just didn't like her singing. Having said that, I've seen the Broadway version and I think the movie would be a let down to anyone who's seen it live.
I thought everyone else did pretty well. I saw it with my husband and he absolutely hated it, thought it was too long and stretched out and he hated how the speaking parts were sung. I thought the children in the film did amazing!

Off to see it in a couple of hours - I can't wait!

If hubby hated the speaking parts that were sung, and that he thought it was too long, don't take him to see the musical because the whole thing is sung and it is much longer than the movie.

Saw Les Mis last night. My take:
As much groaning and eyerolling I did at Anne Hathaway's version of I Dreamed a Dream from the movie trailer, I figured out that the reason why I didn't like it: the first part of the song is a little low for her vocal range - she did WAY better with the higher notes. Anything she sung after the first half of the song sounded fantastic. Solid performance.

Hugh Jackman made a good Valjean. Definitely not the best I have seen, but he held his own. Can't say the same for Russell Crowe. His voice was WAY too thin to handle Javert.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter actually weren't bad as the Thenardiers. They did a lot better than I expected, but I didn't have high expectations for them in the first place.

They did the right thing by casting stage actors for Enjolras, Marius, and Eponine for the movie. Marius sounded great but he looked like Howdy Doody and I couldn't get over all the spackle they put on his face in an attempt to cover his freckles. The guy who played Enjolras should have been cast as Marius. The girl who played Eponine did the role some justice. Eponine is always a crapshoot: she's either played well as the streetwise kid or she comes off as a whiner and you're glad she gets a cap busted in her at the barricade. Fortunately the movie casting was the former.

Speaking of Eponine, I was BEYOND PISSED that they cut her part from the finale. Note to Hollywood: the part of the ending before the company starts singing is sung by Eponine, Fantine, and Valjean and not just Fantine and Valjean only. That actually ruined the movie for me.

I think this is a conflict between theater expectations vs. film expectations. When you go to a Broadway show the expectation of the actors is to be able to sing perfectly and belt it to the cheap seats. In film it's a little bit different. In this clip (on YouTube) where they talk about the decision to sing live, Hathaway talks about how she felt it was selfish to sing pretty when Fantine has lost everything. The film expectation is for acting rather than perfect singing. She acted the song realistically, which is what we expect from film.

I actually liked that they cut Eponine (even though it would have sounded lovely with Sam Bark's voice in the mix). I always thought it was strange that Eponine was there with Fantine to welcome Valjean to heaven - what connection did they have in life?

While I love Eponine, that always seemed strange to me as well. The only thing I could assume was that Eponine died trying to help Marius get to Cosette.

I personally thought it was better suited for the Bishop to be there to welcome Valjean (plus to get to hear Colm Wilkinson again, yippee).

[QUOTE=Gusteau;2195699]I think this is a conflict between theater expectations vs. film expectations. When you go to a Broadway show the expectation of the actors is to be able to sing perfectly and belt it to the cheap seats. In film it's a little bit different. In this clip (on YouTube) where they talk about the decision to sing live, Hathaway talks about how she felt it was selfish to sing pretty when Fantine has lost everything. The film expectation is for acting rather than perfect singing. She acted the song realistically, which is what we expect from film.


I see your point...two very different media. I guess I kind of felt that the movie was trying too much to be an opera (if that makes sense?). I would have loved to see the actress that did Eponime (sp?) play Fantine and Hathaway do the Eponime part

It does, but if opera is what they're after, beautiful singing trumps all other considerations.

Tangent, but am I the only person who has a hard time keeping all the characters, and their names, straight? I'm good with Valjean, Javert and the Thernardiers, but after that they and their names all kind of run together for me. :o

It's been such a long time since I didn't have the entire score pretty much memorized, but I xan remember it being confusing. And I can't name any of the revoltionaries except Enjolais and Gavroche.

I think having Eponine at the end says to the viewer that she made it to heaven. I mean, i guess all the dead people did (except Javert), since they show up in the finale, but I guess they wanted to highlight Eponine.

Hypo and I saw it today. I loved every single second of it. It didn't feel long to me at all and I usually have a hard time sitting through long movies like that. I thought Anne Hathaway's acting was superb.

I liked the close up face shots. It brought even more emotion to the story because it was so well acted.

I will be buying that one for sure. So intense. So well done :) (I'm not a music officionado so some of the differences some of you noticed are things I can't even really hear!)