Absolutely. Universal Studios Home Entertainment presents the motion picture adaptation of Victor Hugo’s revolutionary classic and sweeps the globe with the dramatic masterpiece, grossing more than $340 million.
Director Tom Harper shows his award winning talent as his directs a beautiful musical of sorrow and redemption. This adaptation of the world renowned Les Misérables is incredibly power to say the least.
The tale begins when Jean Valjean, played by Huge Jackman, breaks his parole after spending 19 years working in jail to serve for the “crime” of stealing bread to save his sister’s young son. He is then pursued across the country for years by an incredibly persistent and ruthless officer (Javert), Russell Crowe. During this time Valjean agrees to take into his care the child of a scorned factory worker and committed mother, Fantine, played by Anne Hathaway. From that moment on his life and all those connected to him are forever changed.
Huge Jackman and Anne Hathaway gave jaw dropping performances. I was floored when I realized they actually cut her hair off for the film! She gave a hauntingly spectacular performance. Her character Fantine’s relentless self-sacrifice to provide for her child was very moving. Hathaway’s acting was beyond incredibly moving, and played a key role in the movement of the film.
Huge Jackman performed at an outstanding caliber throughout the entire film. He played the conflicted Jean Valjean, a man striving for constant redemption of a “crime” and life of unexpected turns. He takes into his care Cosette, the young daughter of Fantine, and gives her a life she would have only longed for before his care and fatherly love. Throughout his constant struggle to keep her safe, she in return gives him the hope and redemption he has been struggling for.
Now with all of the amazing acting, and singing, going on in this film, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter and many others, how exactly did Russell Crowe fit into this selection? I honestly don’t believe he was the best choice for such a character as Javert. Normally I do not have a problem with his acting. I did enjoy him in Gladiator, but as far as musical dramas go, I am not a fan. They could have found a more suited actor for the role.
I could rant about the incredible acting all day, for the simple fact that the majority of it was outstanding, but I’ll move on.
How depressing…
I honestly thought about jumping of the deep end while watching this miserable tale. I felt so horribly bad for most of the characters and their incredibly unfortunate circumstances. Half way through I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make it through the depressing tale, but just as I thought all hope was lost for the film and my hopes for humanity in general, there was a dim light at the end of the tunnel. The final chapters of the artistic tragedy were its redemption. The overwhelming power of final battles of will and relevance in the film were very enlightening. I have to say things were left in a despondent yet progressive state of right. There were so many injustices throughout the films that there had to be some light in the midst of despair.
Even though this film wasn’t my regular cup of tea I can absolutely recognize and respect the artistry and relevance of the film. I can’t say I will ever be watching it again but I am indeed glad I watched it at least once. It is a piece worthy of great acknowledgment.
The Look and Sound of it All
If you have no love for musicals then this is definitely not the film for you. There is zero spoken dialogue in it. Absolutely everything is sang, hence the term musical. At times this made understanding the “dialogue” portions of the film almost impossible. When the parts overlapped it actually was impossible to understand a thing they were saying. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the actual sound quality, it simply had to do with the way the lines were delivered. The music itself was fantastic. The actual songs of the musical were delivered with outstanding precision. Even though I was unfamiliar with the original musical, I found that I was familiar with the main melody and several of the lead songs. If being completely honest I must say this is mainly due to watching Glee. I believe I may have enjoyed the film a bit more if I had been more familiar with the original tale. Then again, maybe not.
Though a depressing tale, there was absolutely nothing depressing about the quality of production. The sets and staging was immaculate. The battle at the barricade scene was beautiful. The vivid flares of red here and there made an incredible play on drama. When mixed with the bold blues and stark whites the feeling of hope and sole deep inspiration were very uplifting in an overly dark, dank, and dismal film. Which I’m sure was the exact effect the production was going for. The colors and costumes chosen were pure and direct shots to our emotional response systems. They immediately set the scene for our reception of the characters themselves.
In very simple terms, the film looked and sounded amazing. The choice of high definition is an absolute must with a film like this. The need for extreme clarity and precision of color is crucial. I would absolutely recommend the Blu-ray combo pack this time around.
Special Features
This combo pack is jammed full of bonus features and exclusive blu-ray extras.
Blu-ray Exclusives:
-The West End Connection
-Les Misérables on Location
-Battle at the Barricade
-Les Misérables Singing Live
Bonus Features:
-The Stars of Les Misérables
-Creating the Perfect Paris
-The Original Masterwork: Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
-Featured Commentary with Director Tom Hooper
There was no skimping when it came to these bonus features. The features definitely do justice to the film and its fans. I didn’t really add it all up but I’m fairly positive the extras exceed the length of the film or at the very least come close. There was a vase amount of information on Victor Hugo himself, which really shined a bit of light on the original writing of Les Misérables and its characters. He truly was a universal man. This section I enjoyed along with the on location, and perfect Paris portions of the extras. All of it had a grand appeal, but the ‘making of’ sections tend to be my favorites of any special features sections. There is just something intriguing about all the detail work put into the film to create a lasting impression on the viewers without them ever realizing the reasoning behind it all.
There are also great interviews from the actors and commentary from Tom Hooper with explanations here and there on details of the films. I was incredibly pleased with the amount of extras. This is a huge plus for the Combo Pack.
Not to mention the extra options of the digital copy, DVD, and Ultraviolet.