Les Miserables

[CutiePie2000]

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.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

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.

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.

[AlphaFrog]

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.

[tea&krumpets]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

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.

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

[SWTXBelle]

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.