Les Miserables

This Victor Hugo classic has been produced as a film numerous times over the past century. This latest Les Miserables is one of the best. It will be well worth your time.

Great movie and the music incredible. It’s an opera with great music. The story takes place just prior to the French revaluation. This timeless story has great actors and sets that bring 18 th centurie Paris into your living room.

*Length Note* My recollection is first seeing this 1978 movie as a two-night TV broadcast (perhaps 1.5 to 2 hours each night). The presentation was thickly peppered with commercial space and scenes-to-come, watch-tomorrow-for, and previously-seen vignettes as additional filler. I have worn out my 1993 ITC VHS copy and find it to be quite as I remember the original presentation, scenes intact and pacing all. The VHS version is timed at 123 minutes, just as this DVD is. In other words, it is essentially the same as you might remember without the extra filler.They might have titled this film, "The Bishop's Silver" as it is really a terrific screenplay distilled from the Victor Hugo novel that focuses on the Jean ValJean transformation and not the full epic. The film is better for this as it keeps Hugo's monstrously complex web of characters and circumstances from diluting the intensity of the ValJean character. It presents itself to the audience as a really engaging cat and mouse chase set amongst some very fine Merchant-Ivory style backdrops. I've only encountered Richard Jordan's work in Logan's Run and The Civil War miniseries (his last work). His work in this movie is spell-binding without chewing scenery or heavy dialogue. Anthony Perkins may have won an Oscar for Psycho, but he embodies Insp Javert as though born for the part. All of the other actors do justice to their roles, with special note to the great Claude Dauphin. His depiction as the kindly bishop carries the grace and gravity of one of the greatest scenes in Western literature. I think it was the actor's last film role. Allyn Ferguson's haunting string soundtrack accents the characters and will stay in your mind for days.This 1978 production shouldn't be judged in comparison to the Broadway musical or Hugo's complete novel. It's a peculiarly good and riveting action movie, really, with an unlikely action hero (ValJean) empowered by the grace and goodness of God. That may sound trite in this age of secularism, but it still works. Watch with your kids and they will remember ValJean long after they've forgotten Ironman and Batman. This movie has an annoying power to move you to tears. It makes you feel the power in "just" being human.

I first saw this version of Victor Hugo's classic in the late seventies and, to this day, I'm impressed by the quality of the production.Most of us know the story of Jean Valjean, a man who was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving family. The story moves on to the barbaric cruelty of penal systems of that time and place where Jean slowly, over a period of decades, loses his humanity and becomes like some caged and mistreated animal whose thoughts are only of escape and revenge. Finally, Valjean does escape and meets "a good Priest" who "withdraws all evil thoughts" from him and thereafter Valjean commits his life to good.His nemesis, Javert, always remembers the convict that escaped from the prison where he was chief of guards. By strange circumstance, Javert and Valjean cross paths several times with Valjean always managing to escape. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen this classic, so I'll end the synopsis there.Suffice it to say, this is an excellent adaptation of Hugo's powerful story. But, this is an adaptation and doesn't follow the book exactly. In a movie of this length, this is not surprising. What is surprising is how well it is done.Richard Jordan gives an excellent performance as Valjean while Anthony Perkins (known mainly for playing Norman Bates in Hitchcock's "Psycho") gives an equally fine performance as Javert. The cast includes excellent actors in supporting roles such as John Gielgud. This is a well-acted, directed and produced film that I recommend wholeheartedly. Five stars.

I saw this way back in my childhood on television, again in my twenties, and once again now in my 40s. This is one of those films which doesn't get old when watching again in different periods of life and still makes me emotional. Actors are superb, every single one of them. And the script, the scenery, the transformation after escape, the music, camera angels and closeups - they are all done in the wonderfully romantic style you only find in British movie productions from the 70s like in Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Superman the Movie.I highly recommend this version for family with children. It moves fast enough and has many good talking points.So glad to see this polished version available on amazon.

The main actor was much too young. His skin was too smooth. The old age makeup for everyone, especially Jean Valjean, was pretty distracting.Cosette was pretty enough and Fantine horrible looking enough (here the makeup crew got it right) but I didn't enjoy this version much. I didn't find much emotion in any of it. Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in Psycho) was all right, but had a British-like accent that came and went. Gavroche had his usual Cockney, and Jean Valjean just a stilted American accent.It's okay for fans of the book, as another adaptation. Likewise, it doesn't have language to object to, wife beating, or prostitution explicitly shown, so if you want to introduce kids to the story, this is good. I do like that they spent some time -- probably too much -- on his original crime, his prison life, and his attempted escapes. But they jumped right from him being freed at the Bishop's house to him being M. Madeline, with no self-reflection at all.

I believe this is one of the best versions of Les Miserables that is out there.Anthony Perkins was just the best.

What I love about this movie is that in and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ people can change for the better despite those who oppose them. Good always triumphs evil.

ITEM ARRIVED IN GOOD TIME AND CONDITION AS DESCRIBED. I MISSED THIS THE FIRST TIME ROUND AND HAVING SEEN THE MUSICAL SOME YEARS AGO I THOUGHT I WOULD CATCH UP WITH THIS VERSION AND SEE HOW IT COMPARED. I AM PLEASED TO SAY IT COMPARES WELL WITH SOME EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES FROM THE VARIOUS STARS. WELL WORTH THE MONEY.

Being an affectionado of the book, Les Miserables, I was delighted to watch a movie that stayed fairly close to the original theme and not a song and dance show.Acting was a bit stiff and dated and probably made on a small budget, nevertheless I enjoyed it immensely.

bought this to educate myself on the story before i bought the musical version. a must for those who dont want to watch the latest version with all the singing!

Excellent, service dvd in perfect order and playability.

Hubby loves this film, been watched several times.