"King's Speech" director to take on "Les Miserables"

[propita]

Saxman1 wrote:

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The wife and I have seen the musical several times, LOVED the movie, LOVED the entire cast, a triumph, can't wait to see it again!

Do you have the 10th and 25th Anniversary DVDs? Must haves for fans. Alfie Boe on the 25th is fantastic! Different from Wilkinson, so both can be appreciated, rather than one "better" than the other.

[Unicron]

I've seen bits and pieces of the 25th, but I have to admit between the two (and admittedly, not seeing all of the former) I tend to prefer the 10th myself. The 25th cast is very good of course, but the few bits I've seen just don't strike me on the same level. Perhaps if I get around to watching it in full I might change my mind.

[Vanyel]

Unicron wrote:

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I've seen bits and pieces of the 25th, but I have to admit between the two (and admittedly, not seeing all of the former) I tend to prefer the 10th myself. The 25th cast is very good of course, but the few bits I've seen just don't strike me on the same level. Perhaps if I get around to watching it in full I might change my mind.

The 10th Anniversary cast is best. Nick Jonas, IMO, was a drag on the 25th Anniversary cast. His songs seemed weak, and Éponine completely out sang him in a song where she's dieing in his arms. He does pull off a competent Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, but other than that, no, he was not good. Michael Ball's return at the end showed how the roll needs to be sung.

Anyway, the musical was great. There were problems, as noted before, Russel Crowe while not bad, was also not good. He sang the role competently, but not on par with his costars. Stars, I thought, was lacking. Not really because of him, but in this case the music. The strings were not there like in the stage musical, that threw the song off for me.

Anne Hathaway, she had a lump in my throat from the first line of I Dreamed A Dreamed to the last. She is a strong candidate for Best Supporting Actress.

Samantha Barks also had me ready to cry over my own remembered unrequited loves as she sang counter point in A Heart Full Of Love. And her On My Own, was her own. I thought I'd never hear it sung better than Lea Salonga, but Samantha gives Lea a run for her money.

Master Of The House was the comedic show stopper that is needed in such a dramatic and heart wrenching musical as this. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were magnificent. I asked before, but is it possible to make HBC look ugly? Her she was a thieving scoundrel, but still pretty. Hell in the Harry Potter movies, she was a pretty murdering sociopath.

And finally Hugh Jackman. Brilliant. I was amazed at his Bring Him Home. Usually sung in a falsetto, his was not a true falsetto and it worked. He had me listening to everything he sang.

I did not like how some songs were shortened, like Come To Me and A Little Fall of Rain.

Despite its flaws, and that it is not the stage musical, it is a must see. And a strong contender in all the Lead Actor and Supporting Actress categories come Oscar time. It is also a contender for Best Picture.

[Unicron]

I think the 10th cast is one of those groups that just has tremendous talent and really flows well together. That can make a show seem a lot more magical, and having the 17 Valjeans added on was a nice touch too. It's actually rather amusing to me that the Japanese Valjean was Kaga of Iron Chef fame.

I'd probably have to count Colm Wilkinson (Valjean) and Ruthie Henshaw (Fantine) as my personal favorites, but the whole cast is good.

[gblews]

Just saw it Sunday. The singing wasn't even close to the level of the singing in the stage productions but the acting...I was blown away by the acting performances.

The acting just seemed to lessen the impact of the less than perfect singing. Russell Crowe was great as was Jackman, Anne Hathaway (is she capable of a bad performance?) were incredible.

The drama created by the cast was a sight to behold. By the end of the movie there were people sobbing in the theater. I absolutely loved the movie and am very much looking forward to seeing it again.

[Gaith]

gblews wrote:

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Anne Hathaway (is she capable of a bad performance?) was incredible.

But can she really hold a candle to... Gollum?!

[stj]

I think Hathaway incorporated, rather diversely, a sob, a catch, a whisper, a croak and an exclamation into her performance. It was obviously strenuous acting. But was it relying on the music?

The musical interested me in seeing the 1934 version. In it Fantine lost her front teetch. It was underplayed but, whether despite or because of it I found that Fantine more affecting than Hathaway. Even with subtitles.

Hathaway's performance of course isn't bad. But it's of a piece of the musical Les Mis, which in my opinion just isn't a very good moviie. I suppose the last Oscar contender in this vein was Oliver! People grouse about it winning the Oscar, but it was a much stronger film than Les Mis.

[Sci]

stj wrote:

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Hathaway's performance of course isn't bad. But it's of a piece of the musical Les Mis, which in my opinion just isn't a very good moviie. I suppose the last Oscar contender in this vein was Oliver!.

Chicago, actually. Winner of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture.

As for Anne Hathaway, I'm rooting for her. But I have a longstanding celebrity crush on her and believe she can do no wrong, so I am biased. Were it up to me, Anne Hathaway would get all the Oscars.

[Vanyel]

Sci wrote:

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Chicago, actually. Winner of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Picture.

As for Anne Hathaway, I'm rooting for her. But I have a longstanding celebrity crush on her and believe she can do no wrong, so I am biased. Were it up to me, Anne Hathaway would get all the Oscars.

I'm biased towards her too. How can you not like her? She's a throw back to the old days of movies. A young, talented, beautiful young lady who, if not this Sunday, will win at least one Oscar in her career. She does have it all, beauty, grace, talent, a beautiful singing voice and if she's as good a dancer as a singer, she could almost be a female Gene Kelly. I say almost, because Gene Kelly is the epitome of the actor/singer/dancer/looker.