THIS IS NOT THE MUSICAL
This is the version with John Malkovitch as Jeavert. There are several versions of this film and throughout the year if i can find time then I will try and watch the other versions as well so that I can compare.
I have to start with a few things that were bothering me. The most important thing is that Marius in this film is really unattractive and that you would think that without the singing the film would be shorter- it isn't in fact, i think that it was actually longer!
I am going to compare it to the musical just to point out the differences. In the musical Epponine already knew Marius and Marius knew Ternardier but in this version he doesn't know either of them until they come to stay in the same block of apartments as him. I haven't yet read the book as the size of it is putting me off at the moment so i'm not sure which one is correct but i think that i preferred it in the musical because it makes the part of Eponine more interesting.
Without the songs and such Ternardier and wife are not half as interesting. Gavroche was just as cool in both so he deserves credit (especially as they cut his song from the stage show and it was the best song).
Without the songs that helped to explain things the film sometimes felt rushed, sometimes I was a little uncertain as to what was taking place because that explanation that had been in the lyrics of the song wasn't there. The confrontation and Stars are both examples of where this background was missing.
The film had a lot more to do with Causette's growing up in a convent and a lot more time running away from Jeavert which i liked. In the stage show they manage to skip a lot of years and the whole passage of growing up for Causette is skipped until she meets Marius in Paris.
All the main plot was still there and done in almost the exact same was as in the stage show.
There is one difference between the two films (the musical with Hugh Jackman and this one) and that is that in the Hugh Jackman version, Hugh Jackman has to fetch the flag that is trapped under a tree and in this version he has to lift part of the fallen ceiling to save a fellow convicts life.
I actually think that the acting was better in this film that was made in something like 2000 which says a lot about the acting in the musical version. Without the singing you get to really see who can act whereas when you add songs in you sometimes only get people who can really sing and don't know how to act.
I prefer this version but i think that it needs to find a way of being cut down because it is far too long!
This is the version with John Malkovitch as Jeavert. There are several versions of this film and throughout the year if i can find time then I will try and watch the other versions as well so that I can compare.
I have to start with a few things that were bothering me. The most important thing is that Marius in this film is really unattractive and that you would think that without the singing the film would be shorter- it isn't in fact, i think that it was actually longer!
I am going to compare it to the musical just to point out the differences. In the musical Epponine already knew Marius and Marius knew Ternardier but in this version he doesn't know either of them until they come to stay in the same block of apartments as him. I haven't yet read the book as the size of it is putting me off at the moment so i'm not sure which one is correct but i think that i preferred it in the musical because it makes the part of Eponine more interesting.Without the songs and such Ternardier and wife are not half as interesting. Gavroche was just as cool in both so he deserves credit (especially as they cut his song from the stage show and it was the best song).
Without the songs that helped to explain things the film sometimes felt rushed, sometimes I was a little uncertain as to what was taking place because that explanation that had been in the lyrics of the song wasn't there. The confrontation and Stars are both examples of where this background was missing.
The film had a lot more to do with Causette's growing up in a convent and a lot more time running away from Jeavert which i liked. In the stage show they manage to skip a lot of years and the whole passage of growing up for Causette is skipped until she meets Marius in Paris.
All the main plot was still there and done in almost the exact same was as in the stage show.
There is one difference between the two films (the musical with Hugh Jackman and this one) and that is that in the Hugh Jackman version, Hugh Jackman has to fetch the flag that is trapped under a tree and in this version he has to lift part of the fallen ceiling to save a fellow convicts life.
I actually think that the acting was better in this film that was made in something like 2000 which says a lot about the acting in the musical version. Without the singing you get to really see who can act whereas when you add songs in you sometimes only get people who can really sing and don't know how to act.
I prefer this version but i think that it needs to find a way of being cut down because it is far too long!
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