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Post by Jamie on Dec 28, 2012 15:10:47 GMT -5
I remember when Taylor & Burton were a couple and he said that she taught him how to "act on film". It is very definitely a different style and what works on stage can't be done on film and vice versa. Many great stage actors can't make the necessary changes and many great film people fall flat on their faces on stage. Hugh is one of the amazing few who have the talent and adaptability to be great in both formats.
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alma
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Post by alma on Dec 28, 2012 21:24:34 GMT -5
On December 26, Jo wrote:
Okay - I have 20 days to go -- such an interminable wait
It is a good thing I enjoy the vicarious thrill of reading all your incisive and heartfelt reviews!
Merci!
Jo
The last I heard, I have to wait till February 14 to see it down here... sigh! So I share in Jo's thrill of reading your reviews.
Nice Valentine's Day present though...
Alma
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Post by wildfire on Dec 28, 2012 22:27:08 GMT -5
I saw Les Miz today and loved it. Hugh is terrific in this and so is Anne, Eddie and even Russell. In fact, I thought everyone did a great job. Such a wonderful movie!
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Post by meredith on Dec 29, 2012 10:01:46 GMT -5
Both are huge fans of the theater version and they loved Crowe (thought he was one of the best) but hated Anne for a terrible overacting. I guess different strokes for different folks but some people just hate too much and gladly that they can forget how to love something... Wow, that is interesting. I do love Russell Crowe but I have to say, other than his eyes bulging a bit during "Look Down" I don't think his expression changed even once during the entire movie, lol. Still love him though  |
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Post by Jamie on Dec 29, 2012 11:21:16 GMT -5
There are two places in the film that really worked for Crowe. The interchange at the docks where he was almost daring Hugh to give him a reason to keep him in prison, and then when they were fighting during "Confrontation". When they played off each other, Crowe was great. On his own, with the songs, just working too hard to sing well rather than act well.
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Post by meredith on Dec 29, 2012 11:30:04 GMT -5
Totally agree. The confrontation was great! Loved, loved it ;D In fact, the entire first hour was pretty much perfect. Someone posted their parents reaction to the film on the imdb board. Did you see it? Hilarious. That's exactly was how I was after the film, lol. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOr3JlRPs1w |
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Post by njr on Dec 29, 2012 13:06:08 GMT -5
Totally agree. The confrontation was great! Loved, loved it ;D In fact, the entire first hour was pretty much perfect. Someone posted their parents reaction to the film on the imdb board. Did you see it? Hilarious. That's exactly was how I was after the film, lol. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOr3JlRPs1wThat was so funny!! Even the dad is crying! "How can you laugh?" "I'm not laughing!" 8-) Nancy |
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Post by Kelly on Dec 29, 2012 15:22:55 GMT -5
Totally agree. The confrontation was great! Loved, loved it ;D In fact, the entire first hour was pretty much perfect. Someone posted their parents reaction to the film on the imdb board. Did you see it? Hilarious. That's exactly was how I was after the film, lol. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOr3JlRPs1wThat was so funny!! Even the dad is crying! "How can you laugh?" "I'm not laughing!" 8-) Nancy Hilarious!!! |
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Post by cccartzee on Dec 29, 2012 17:49:06 GMT -5
Saw it today...loved it..truly outstanding! Hugh was amazing and should easily get an Oscar nomination. His acting and singing were perfect for the role. I was impressed with the entire cast and thought Tom Hooper did an excellent job. I made the slight mistake of reading some message boards before I saw the movie so I knew about some of the minor changes they made from the original play.. but those changes were an improvement over the play and made sense. The audience seemed to love the movie as they clapped at the end.
Carol
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jo
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Post by jo on Jan 1, 2013 19:15:32 GMT -5
In two weeks' time as of today ( or 14 sleeps to go ;D). I'm already wearing out my Les Miserables soundtrack CD! But here is something I would like to share -- Last night, New Year's Day, we had a big party celebration for family reasons and it was a pretty big group ( with extended family). After most of the guests have left, our core family were unwinding and chatting. A Thai-American nephew married to my niece ( with whom I usually stay in New York...and both had seen The Boy from Oz and Back on Broadway with me) -- started teasing me. " Have you seen Hugh Jackman yet in Les Miserables?" He always teases me about Hugh I said it wasn't showing here till Jan 16! I also told him and the other American nephew married to my other niece that I first saw Les Mis in 1988 and that it touched me so much, because I had seen it two years after our memorable People Power revolution...and how I and their in-laws and my other sister and her husband were in that famous street massing with millions, because we were the people who were singing for change in our leadership! After that -- everyone around started talking about the movie musical. It seems that people here are very much aware of it. My Thai-American nephew ( he is very much American in cultural orientation and upbringing) started rattling off the box office stats for Les Mis versus The Hobbit and Django Unchained ( he majored in Operations Research and has a flair for Math)...My sister started talking about what she has read re the reviews...Earlier, she told me that her only son who lives in New Jersey was talking to her on Skype and has just told her that he has a date with his wife ( and will have someone babysit for their 3 year old) - to see Les Miserables! My sister-in-law who saw the musical when it was staged here chimed in. But what surprised me was that her son started rattling off the Les Mis characters that he also hoped to see in the movie -- and everyone was chiming in on who plays what role! Another surprise -- a nephew-in-law who is a busy doctor and does not particularly like theatre (although he was pleased with the recent international staging of Phantom here recently) was also very enthusiastic! On the way home ( I hitched a ride with my sister and her husband) -my sister and I were talking about our Les Mis date when I happened to ask my brother-in-law if he might be interested and he said "Of course!". LOL - my family are all Les Mis fans, it seems ;D Two things I did not realize early on -- many have seen the stage musical either on Broadway or in London when they were young (we used to travel together ) or on some family trip to New York. The others also saw the staging her in Manila! One of the grandchildren around - she is 11 1/2 yo - is the only one in the family to have sung a Les Miserables song in public - Castle on a Cloud in a school musical presentation (not Les Mis but more of a Broadway type of singing). To prepare her for the movie - I have given her a school edition of Les Miserables - she is a voracious reader and sings/plays the piano well. I have decided that a nice New Year's present is to invite them to the first screening day, in a special cinema here -- for those who can make it. Obviously the New Yorkers/New Jersey folks will see it there. I bet I am going to get more teasing about Hugh  Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Jan 2, 2013 11:31:49 GMT -5
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Post by JH4HJ on Jan 2, 2013 14:51:57 GMT -5
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Post by ocjackie on Jan 2, 2013 15:29:46 GMT -5
Each time you guys post these wonderful reviews, I can't get through them without a little tear in my eyes. We've all waited so long and theese are indeed great holidays gifts. someone tell me that I'm not alone..
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Post by annetter on Jan 2, 2013 17:01:53 GMT -5
U r not alone
Finally the world is learning what we have known for years
Hugh is an awesome actor.
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Post by birchie on Jan 2, 2013 17:41:00 GMT -5
Lea Salonga has written a review: entertainment.inquirer.net/74609/miss-saigon-dont-miss-les-mizAH YES, I got to fulfill one holiday promise to myself—to see the brand-new film version of the hit musical “Les Misérables.” My husband and I caught it in Los Angeles day after Christmas, something we knew we wanted (to some extent, needed) to do.
My reasons for seeing the movie were threefold. First, having participated in its multiple live versions (stage musical and concert), I wanted to see how the show would translate to the big screen. Second, I had some friends and colleagues participating in the movie (including Samantha Barks as Eponine, whom I had the pleasure of working with on the 25th Anniversary Concert, as well as Frances Ruffelle, “Les Miz’s” original Eponine who plays one of the main “whores” … she was quite easy to spot). Third, I had my casting curiosities and wanted to see how Hugh Jackman (as Valjean), Russell Crowe (Javert), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette), Sacha Baron Cohen (M. Thenardier), Helena Bonham Carter (Mdm. Thenardier), Aaron Tveit (Enjolras) and Eddie Redmayne (Marius) would fare in these very iconic and beloved roles.
We all have our favorites as far as who’s played whom is concerned, and perhaps we are “married” to these portrayals, considering them our ideals.
Over the years I’ve seen Les Miz quite a few times, and fallen in love with a lot of the actors who have trod the boards. (I’ll never forget my first Valjean, Peter Karrie, whom I got to see in London in late 1988.)
Its own creation
So many incredible actors have come and gone in the show, both in the original production and in its current incarnation on tour in the United States—which begs the question, how do the film actors (and ultimately, this new film version) stack up to the memories etched in our heads?
I’m happy to say that to utter the words “stack up” would be wholly unfair, as this Les Misérables is its own unique creation. Yes, it utilizes the score from the musical that took over the world, but in a way that works for this particular medium.
Reordered moments
Orchestrations are rethought; a brand-new song written that adds to the story of Valjean’s relationship with Cosette; a few elements from the original Victor Hugo novel brought in to thread scenes together and explain certain characters more clearly; and a couple of moments reordered to make sense for the film. (“I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own” are not where they would normally be, for example, but make absolute sense and are heartbreaking where they are now placed.)
Some recitative that was necessary for the stage are eliminated for the film, and other things that were deleted over the years have made their way back (it was great to hear lyrics that I thought were long set by the wayside). But for the most part, how I know the show to be is pretty much intact. That’s comforting.
Of course, there are going to be standouts, moments so stunning, performances so riveting, they require mentioning.
Jackman as Jean Valjean lives up to his musical-theater pedigree, fully embodying the role of the convict-turned-town mayor. From his first spine-chilling moments as a prisoner pulling a ship to land, to his final moments leading to his death, he was committed, and stunning.
However, I’ll have to say that the song “Bring Him Home” is still owned by the original Valjean, Colm Wilkinson, who makes a lovely appearance in the film as the Bishop, who saves Valjean’s soul.
Hathaway as Fantine was so beautiful. I love the stage incarnation of this character, how her track was plotted in the film, each rung on her descent into hell, leading into a most heartbreaking rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” which sent tears flowing. Hathaway’s performance was equal parts rawness and grit, and vulnerability. If she wins a slew of awards for this, they will all be well-deserved.
Finest moment
I fell in love with Redmayne as Marius (himself a Tony winner for “Red”). First of all, I never knew he could sing like that! Second, he played this part (immortalized by Michael Ball in the original West End production and the 10th Anniversary Concert) with much passion and romance. His finest moment was his rendition of “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.”
Barks as Eponine, Tveit as Enjolras, Seyfried as Cosette all gave great performances, as did Isabella Allen as Young Cosette and Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche.
Most enjoyable
Most enjoyable were Baron Cohen and Bonham Carter as the Thenadiers, and they were both clearly enjoying themselves. Bonham Carter fared better here than as Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd,” and Baron Cohen’s unexpected ad libs were both hilarious and appropriate, refreshing and necessary.
The students at the Café Musain, the prostitutes at the docks, every ensemble member performed wonderfully as well (many of them have performed in a production of Les Miz in London, and a few in either the 10th or 25th Anniversary). There were quite a few familiar faces, which was thrilling to see. To all of them, I offer a hearty “Bravo!”
As wonderful as Les Miz is on screen, I will always be sentimentally attached to the original stage production, mounted with genius by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Perhaps because I’ll never forget my first Les Miz (at the Palace Theater in London), and the first time I was transported by the story of finding hope in moments of despair; wearing Eponine’s dirt and rags on Broadway at the Imperial Theater, and Fantine’s locket and generous locks of hair at the Broadhurst Theater many years later; the first tentative steps on that turntable; and being surrounded by lush orchestrations in concert (credit to John Cameron and Chris Jahnke).
But perhaps, primarily, seeing this musical with the actors in the same room as you is an experience so incomparable, it stays forever.
All that said, I highly recommend this film. The score remains gorgeous and the acting sublime. Don’t forget to bring tissue, you’re going to need it. Sue |
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Post by jo on Jan 2, 2013 20:30:46 GMT -5
This blog was written for a local Philippine newspaper -- hey, Lea Thanks to the internet, it has been made available to read online. Gracious and from the heart -- she gives her love to both the stage production ( of which she has been such a part of --- Broadway production and West End production as Eponine and Fantine... and the 10th and 25th Anniversary concerts as Eponine and then as Fantine ) -- and the movie musical! Of course, she discovered Hugh Jackman before we ever did -- she saw the rehearsals of " Hey, Mr. Producer" when she sat in the audience with Maria Friedman when they sighed and oh-ed and ah-ed about this handsome musical theatre find, singing "Oh What A Beautiful Mornin'", a few weeks before Oklahoma! opened in London Jo |
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Post by jo on Jan 5, 2013 8:14:39 GMT -5
Someone drew this cartoon series and sent them to Hugh via Twitter --  |
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Post by jo on Jan 5, 2013 9:13:23 GMT -5
Not really one fan, but one whole nation !!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Korean viewers touched by story of Les Miserables Posted on : Jan.5,2013 14:02 KST Story of disappointment in post-revolutionary France could become most successful musical film ever in Korea By Park Bo-mi, staff reporter "It’s a heart-wrenching, tragic story, but in a way it also offers the consolation that we're not the only ones who are hurting, and the hope to rise above the pain and keep going." Jeong Sang-hui, a 26-year-old jobseeker, watched the film Les Miserables on Dec. 19. She said that the movie touches simultaneously on the themes of pain and hope. On Dec. 26, only eight days after its release, Les Miserables (directed by Tom Hooper) had surpassed two million viewers in Korea, making it one of the most talked about films at the end of the year. To see just how popular it is, compare the ticket sales with another Hollywood blockbuster, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which was released on Dec. 13. It took The Hobbit 12 days to reach the two million mark. As of Jan. 3, 3.98 million viewers had seen the film in South Korea and it continues to be the most attended film in the country. Les Miserables is a novel by famous French writer Victor Hugo. It was adapted as a musical by English musical writer Cameron Mackintosh in 1985 and has maintained its popularity for the twenty-seven years that have passed since then. Adapted for Hollywood this year, the musical has finally arrived on the big screen. The main characters of the film include Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who spends 19 years in prison for stealing a single loaf of bread, and Fantine (Anne Hathaway), whose poverty forces her into a life of tragedy. The story is set in Paris, France, in the first half of the 19th century, where the lives of the commoners are wretched even after the French Revolution. Another part of the plot is the story of student revolutionaries including young Marius (Eddie Redmayne). Staying faithful to the original, this version of Les Miserables deals not only with the lives of characters such as Jean Valjean and Fantine but also captures the spirit of the revolution, complete with the barricades and rebellion. The movie is being enjoyed by a wide range of viewers. "The revolution may fail," admits graduate student Lee Jae-uk, 26, "but the film tells us that there are always people who fight and that, one day, they will win." "I was touched by the human affection shown through Jean Valjean's forgiveness and love," observed homemaker Kim Hae-yeon, 52. There are many people who suggest that the main factor in Les Miserable's success at the box office is the consolation and healing it provides for those who were disappointed by the results of this year's presidential election. "It seems that the people who found themselves in shock after the election are finding intellectual and cultural therapy through this musical film, which tells of hope in the midst of despair and offers spectacle on the screen with solemn music," said film critic Jeong Ji-ok. The power of healing was also mentioned by the film distributor as a factor.
"The movie happened to correspond directly with the election issue, and it seems to be serving as group therapy for some viewers," said a representative of Universal Pictures International (UPI) Korea. Other viewers of Les Miserables include quite a few families who hope to enjoy a film adaptation of a classic French work of literature with their children. There are also some employees who have opted for a viewing of the film as their "cultural end-of-the-year gathering.” As talk of the movie spreads on Facebook and Twitter, more and more people are seeing it for a second or third time.
"People in their twenties and thirties, who compose the majority of filmgoers, started heading to the theater en masse from the time the movie opened," said a representative for the film distributor. "The early success was helped by public holidays including election day and Christmas, and this coincided with talk that the film could help comfort those who are upset about the results of the election." Park Ju-seok, a manager at marketing and PR company Lemon Tree, said that Les Miserables has the potential to surpass the 4,530,000 tickets sold by Mamma Mia! in 2008 and become Korea's most successful musical film. The original novel is also flying off the shelves. Just in time for the release of the movie, Minumsa Publishing House added a five-volume edition of Les Miserables to its World Literature Classics Collection. "Reviews for the movie were positive, so there was already interest in the book even before it was released," said a representative with Minumsa Publishing House. "Before the release, 35,000 copies of the book were sold, and in the week after the movie opened readers bought 30,000 more." Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have a feeling that my Asia is going to love Les Miserables Jo
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Post by mamaleh on Jan 5, 2013 10:50:03 GMT -5
Wow, that's very impressive. If it opens in China, too, who knows what heights the global box office will reach.
Ellen
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Post by birchie on Jan 5, 2013 11:08:53 GMT -5
This was a beautiful review & interpretation of the movie experience: Friday, January 4, 2013 Commentaries
www.abpnews.com/opinion/commentaries/item/8103-les-mis%C3%A9rables-and-reaching-for-grace
'Les Misérables' and reaching for grace
The release of Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables film couldn’t have been more timely than at the end of a difficult year.
By Darrell Gwaltney
In late November 1996, my wife and I attended Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London, England.
Attending the play was such a transcendent experience for us we said we would never see it again. We did not want to ruin or change the memory we shared together. We kept that promise for 16 years.
Recently, we went to a local cinema and watched the Tom Hooper film, Les Misérables.
When we walked out, our hearts were full.
Every author makes choices when telling a story. Victor Hugo’s original Les Misérables was a 1,500-page masterpiece complete with high drama and arcane social and political history. It remains one of the greatest novels of all time.
When Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg reimagined Hugo’s sweeping drama for the musical stage they captured the essence of the story and memorialized it with heartbreaking lyrics and tunes.
Tom Hooper’s film makes choices, too. One specific choice he made was to film the actors singing live. Their acting and their singing come together in a captivating cinematic chemistry. Anguish, sorrow, love and hope tremble with each actor’s voice.
The majority of critics praise the film. Audiences are flocking to it. My wife and I left with full hearts.
Why?
We mark this previous year by the tragic death of innocents in public places, a divisive presidential election, conflict here and abroad and a haunting economic specter nudging us to the edge of a fiscal cliff.
We long for something to remind us that the broken can, indeed, find healing and redemption.
How could a film have been more perfectly timed for a nation desperately hungry for grace?
The story of Les Misérables sets before us classic human drama. Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s child and spends 19 years in prison. He seethes with anger.
Fantine must provide for her illegitimate daughter, so she leaves Cosette with innkeepers who abuse the young girl. Struggling through one hardship after another to provide for her daughter, Fantine sinks down and down until she sells her hair, her teeth and her body.
The poor, the poor are everywhere. “There’s a hunger in the land,” they sing, “There’s a reckoning still to be reckoned and there’s gonna be hell to pay at the end of the day.”
Our national pain confronts us on the big screen. We must come to terms with the choices we have made. We must be honest about what parts of our soul we have sold. Our children suffer. We cannot turn our eyes away from the poor.
What shall we do?
Grace wonderfully offers second chances when it seems there are none. A gracious priest gives Valjean a second chance on life.
Grace says to Fantine that even though “life has killed the dream [she] dreamed” her daughter Cossette will have a future.
Grace holds out hope that somewhere beyond the barricade there is a world we long to see.
At the end of a difficult year and with tragedy too recent in our memories, Les Misérables creates a space for emotional release. In the darkened cinema the moviegoers collectively reach out for grace to help them find redemption in their own lives.
Valjean sang of my anger and selfishness. Javert held a mirror of legalism before my face. Fantine helped me grieve over lost opportunity. The students on the barricade reminded me of the time I thought I could change the world. Cosette and Marius gave me hope for a new generation.
Here we are in the edge between two years. Behind us we have poor choices, responsibility and suffering children. Can we remake our own lives in this coming year?
The classic finale soars with a graceful call for a better tomorrow.
It is the music of the people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
I will reach for that this year. I will reach for this grace that redeems all things. Will you reach with me?
Darrell Gwaltney is dean of School of Religion at Belmont University. Speaking of reviews...There was another review I read this morning that was the most scathing, hideous thing I ever read! It was supposedly written by a professor of English literature but there were so many inaccuracies in the review re: the story itself that I can't take her seriously. I was annoyed that the site had no place to leave a comment because I would have loved to blast her one!  It was hugely long and every minute detail of the movie was criticized. The only thing she liked about the movie was Daniel Huddleston! Not worth reprinting it or even linking to it, but if anyone seriously wants to see it I could hunt down the link.  |
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jo
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Post by jo on Jan 5, 2013 11:25:09 GMT -5
The reason why I am so disappointed with the negativity towards the movie musical version of LES MISERABLES is because some people simply trivialized the story and the music by nitpicking on the smaller issues of dutch angles, rock opera sounds, and off-key singing choices  ...Were there any serious comments on whether the movie touched on current social issues that affect a nation? Were there models that could have been picked from the many characters of Victor Hugo? Nah, you have one cultural oddity ( how he looks) named Adam Lambert shrieking how he hated actors pretending to be singers? Never about how the grace portrayed by Valjean is rarely seen in current men of state! Never about the sacrifices of boys-hardly-men who have been embued with a strong love of country! The greater lessons of Les Miserables lie not in the acting -perfect scenes or note-perfect singing -- but in the very human themes which elevate mankind's surroundings to more humane conditions! The review from Dean Gwaltney and the reactions of the Korean audiences show well-placed appreciation of the lessons from the movie's storyline and characters. How a movie that is based on a story and characters of 2 centuries ago has helped heal a nation's wounds! I am probably being repetitive, but when I first saw the musical in 1988, it was also a cathartic experience, as the musical allowed me to revisit what our own country had gone through with political oppression. Seeing the story fictionalized was so very good for the soul! Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Jan 5, 2013 12:20:07 GMT -5
Very eloquently put, Jo. In the future I wish only reviewers without an innate hatred of musicals will be assigned to report on them. Wouldn't that be refreshing.
Ellen
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Post by birchie on Jan 5, 2013 13:31:14 GMT -5
The reason why I am so disappointed with the negativity towards the movie musical version of LES MISERABLES is because some people simply trivialized the story and the music by nitpicking on the smaller issues of dutch angles, rock opera sounds, and off-key singing choices ...Were there any serious comments on whether the movie touched on current social issues that affect a nation? Were there models that could have been picked from the many characters of Victor Hugo? Nah, you have one cultural oddity ( how he looks) named Adam Lambert shrieking how he hated actors pretending to be singers? Never about how the grace portrayed by Valjean is rarely seen in current men of state! Never about the sacrifices of boys-hardly-men who have been embued with a strong love of country! The greater lessons of Les Miserables lie not in the acting -perfect scenes or note-perfect singing -- but in the very human themes which elevate mankind's surroundings to more humane conditions! The review from Dean Gwaltney and the reactions of the Korean audiences show well-placed appreciation of the lessons from the movie's storyline and characters. How a movie that is based on a story and characters of 2 centuries ago has helped heal a nation's wounds! I am probably being repetitive, but when I first saw the musical in 1988, it was also a cathartic experience, as the musical allowed me to revisit what our own country had gone through with political oppression. Seeing the story fictionalized was so very good for the soul! Jo I agree 100% Jo! All the negative so-called reviews I've read clearly miss the point of why this story, book, plays, movies & the musical itself has been so popular with people for 150 years. It's for all the things you mentioned. It's the deeply personal, social and religious themes and views of ourselves and the thoughts from our own lives that we see, read and hear, that Tom Hooper seems to have captured so eloquently on screen, that moves those of us with eyes to see and hearts to feel with. Fortunately, I've read far more positive heart felt reviews than the misguided bad ones. Your comments about the the impact of the barricade boys reminded me of an image I saw earlier this week. We are all so familiar with that one blurry picture we saw of the unknown young rebel who faced down the tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The picture we are all so familiar with was quite cropped from a much larger image. Someone found that original image this week and it is so startling what that young man actually was up against! I was very moved by that image and saved it to my computer. I didn't think at the time to share it here but now it seems à propos: The image is too big to post here but this is a link to the image: is.gd/MhQVSO Sue |
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Post by jo on Jan 5, 2013 22:03:05 GMT -5
Thanks for that image, Sue. May I share this with you all -- On the first day of our own People Power revolution ( that is what TIME magazine called our popular uprising on its cover story in 1986) - I was coming home from our bank's board meeting and on the highway I could see a column of many army tanks ( just like in the photo you showed) headed in the direction of where people were massed. For a big part of the encounter, it looked like the tanks were coming to my direction (* nervous laughter*) but they did take a right turn to our famous historical avenue. Many photos of how those tanks were bravely faced by nuns, women, even children, young and old men, priests, all types of ordinary folks, while the threat of helicopter gunships hovered. It seemed the army soldiers did not have the heart to run over those folks...On its fourth day, I decided not to go to work and join the folks there with my close relatives. We had to walk maybe two kilometers to get near the center of activities ( supposedly some 2 million had amassed on that avenue in 4 days' time) and we stayed there sitting on the street hoping that the numbers would persuade our overstaying dictator-president to let go! Later on, we learned that he actually countermanded orders from his Chief of Staff to bomb where we all were! But the threat was real, according to insiders. LOL - I don't know how courageous I would have been had the strafing started -- but at that moment in time -- we felt very brave ...and free!! More than 2 decades have passed -- it will be 27 years next month when that happened ( amazing coincidence with Les Miserables run!) -- as a postscript, one of the military rebels who became the top hero of our revolution and has now become a good friend has written about that episode ( I guess he wanted the distance of time to be able to write a good historical account). I guess Les Miserables means many things to some of us. Was there a Valjean out there? Certainly -- you can see it on the faces of grandfathers and fathers who were there because they wanted to assure the future of their families. Or the older priests who joined there to look after their flock. Were there barricade boys - oh yes, we had our brave military rebels...and our brave young seminarians whose only protection against army tanks were their large crosses and the nuns with their rosaries and religious icons...and the ladies with their flower offerings to the soldier to seek peace! But it was a happy ending for us -- no, the nation's struggles did not end there -- but it was a good beginning! Sorry, for probably boring all of you  Jo |
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Post by jo on Jan 5, 2013 22:13:52 GMT -5
He says he is not a critic but his blog sums up the best in Les Miserables, the movie musical! blogcritics.org/video/article/les-miserables-the-best-movie-ive/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Les Miserables - The Best Movie I've Ever SeenAuthor: Glenn Contrarian — Published: Jan 05, 2013 at 1:30 pm3 comments Until this week, Casablanca was my all-time favorite film. Les Miserables has now taken its place. I'm not a film critic - I go to a movie not to criticize, but to enjoy it for what it is: entertainment. I go to see scenes and hear dialogue and songs I haven't seen or heard before; I go for the depth of raw emotion - whether testosterone-fueled righteous bravado from movies like Saving Private Ryan and Full Metal Jacket or for the heartbreaking, all-conquering love seen in that bane of all that have testicles, The Notebook. Les Miserables has its faults, the foremost of which were Russell Crowe's voice and his character's suicide. But let's not forget the high points such as Hugh Jackman's mastery as Jean Valjean and Anne Hathaway's emotionally devastating (and Oscar-demanding) role as Fantine. I admit I've never seen the play nor read the book by Victor Hugo, but to me, Les Miz is to film what Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is to books: the very best, the standard against which all others must be measured. Why? It's the story. Les Miz is at its base a meditation on love in most of its forms: •The love between mother and child •The love between step-parent and child •Young love •Unrequited love •Love between those who survived combat together •Love of country •Love that one feels in an intense religious experience But there's yet more, for Les Miz also explores the forever-joined concepts of duty and honor, which define the actions of Jean Valjean and Javert from a hopeless beginning borne of a perversity of justice to an end defined by a grand reversal of fates, justice and rewards for all as honor strictly demanded. And incredibly, against all odds, it all works! I fancy myself a writer, but just the concept, the mere prospect of working all those emotional facets together into a story is daunting to say the least (and far beyond what skill I may claim to possess). And then, to work all of that into less than three hours of film? Why, the very thought of it is ludicrous!, but there it is. When you sit there and watch the film (or, I assume, the play or read the book), remember that you are witnessing storytelling greatness, brilliance that stands at the very summit of the art. Not everyone will love the film, but to anyone who has ever tried to work wrenching depths of emotion and monumental heights of honor and duty into a story and then labored in utter frustration over what to cut away for the sake of hated-and-be-damned brevity, Les Miserables is the very best film there is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When you go to see a movie not simply looking for faults but seeing it evolve as riveting entertainment, you get many rich rewards! Jo |
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...Were there any serious comments on whether the movie touched on current social issues that affect a nation? Were there models that could have been picked from the many characters of Victor Hugo? Nah, you have one cultural oddity ( how he looks) named Adam Lambert shrieking how he hated actors pretending to be singers? Never about how the grace portrayed by Valjean is rarely seen in current men of state! Never about the sacrifices of boys-hardly-men who have been embued with a strong love of country!