Postscripts to Les Miserables

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

Container ship at Suez successfully refloated! Fact.

Valjean & co services helped! Maybe

More like the high tide did

[jo]

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[jo]

Difinito
@difinito
Supongo que también visteis los Oscars hasta las 3 de la mañana por los anuncios ¿verdad?

¿No será que, al igual que con los Game Awards, os gustan estas galas eternas de premios para aplaudir cuando coinciden con vuestros gustos y echar espuma por la boca cuando no? (1/2)

I guess you also saw the Oscars until 3 in the morning because of the announcements, right?

Could it be that, as with the Game Awards, you like these eternal awards galas to applaud when they match your tastes and froth at the mouth when not? (1/2)



Difinito
@difinito
Replying to
@difinito
Para mí, los Oscars dejaron de tener ningún valor cuando vi que en 2012 se lo llevó Daniel Day-Lewis (mi actor favorito) por Lincoln en vez de Hugh Jackman por Los Miserables.

Para qué perder el tiempo viendo algo que vamos a ningunear por no coincidir con nuestros gustos (2/2)
Translated from Spanish by

For me, the Oscars stopped having any value when I saw that in 2012 Daniel Day-Lewis (my favorite actor) took it for Lincoln instead of Hugh Jackman for Les Miserables.

Why waste time seeing something that we are going to ignore because it does not coincide with our tastes (2/2)

[jo]

Not les Miseerables per se --

but at the concert before Les Mis release where Hugh joins Russell Crowe and other members of the Garden Party at Joe's Pub.

After singing THE CONFRONTATION from Les Mis --

[jo]

Colm Wilkinson is interviewed, including about his working with Hugh --

www.tribute.ca/news/colm-wilkinson-talks-les-miserables/2013/03/21/

The whole interview is interesting... but here are some excerpts --

Like many fans, I was thrilled to see you in the movie. How were you cast in the film?

There have been various attempts to make the movie over the years and I saw that this one was serious and they were going ahead with it so I was thinking, would I like to be involved in this. I knew I was too old to play Valjean, so the obvious person was the Bishop. I phoned Cameron Mackintosh’s office and made the suggestion and eventually, after doing a screen test, etc. for Tom Hooper, I became the Bishop. They were quite surprised and glad that I offered to do it because of the fact that I originated the role of Valjean and I had played it for such a long period of time. I’m glad I did it. It’s sort of my way of saying goodbye to the whole project.


I think everyone who’s ever seen you was glad also. Did you give Hugh Jackman any tips on playing the role?

No, I didn’t give him any tips. We had a conversation early on in the rehearsal process about “Bring Him Home” and other songs, and he was talking about the death scene and we exchanged ideas on that. I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone how to sing or what to do because everybody’s different, everybody’s unique. Nobody sounds the same, nobody sings the same. I had a certain way of doing it and I just said to Hugh, you’ve got to find your way. Don’t copy me, don’t copy other people, just do it your way. Sing it the way you feel you should sing it. And he was delighted.

Doing the movie has opened up a whole new interest in me again. There are people who follow me avidly but at the same time, I was really surprised when I went to L.A. to the SAG awards. I thought this is film, these are film people and they will not know about Les Misérables the musical or me. Every person I met had seen the musical, every person I met knew Valjean and I was astonished at the amount of knowledge people had of it and it gave me a new respect for music theatre.

[jo]

[jo]

Sorry I can’ t post the clip —

In one reminiscence interview, Hugh was asked what are the most memorable filming moments that he might want to use the reminiscence tech machine to relive —

He talked of Valjean’s Soliloquy as one…


And the other was the hammer scene in Prisoners


Jo

[jo]

Here it is --

[jo]

[jo]

[njr]

Was watching one of the many 9/11 specials/shows and spotted a man in the crowd wearing a sweatshirt with “Les Miserables” written on the back!

[jo]

I was looking for something else ... and came upon this.

I was curious enough to watch it --


www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m7tSHsAIM4&list=RDOY5MdirESbk&index=25

Arghh... no subtlety or nuance at all!

Just shouting...and more shouting.


You can feel the heart break in Hugh's version of Valjean's Soliloquy!




And Karimloo's performance was in 2014? After the Jackman interpretation had already been seen ( LesMis film adaptation was released in Dec 2012)!

The Jackman Soliloquy must have been a major factor for Hugh getting an Oscar nod. He interpreted the song of redemption with his heart breaking and with a full understanding of what that new "burden" is now imposed on him - to live an exemplary life because he has been given a second chance! Victor Hugo wrote about 2 key epiphanies in Valjean's life - the first one was about the grace of redemption -- and the process of Valjean fully realizing what has been given him is truly powerful dramatic acting from Hugh Jackman. The tears came so naturally as the man realized what he had become and how now he can redeem himself and what the future can bring for him!

I think it was Trevor Nunn who failed to dramatize that passage well in the original English adaptation -- and thus this key song was always interpreted with much anger and sang very fast as if they simply wanted to move on to the next scene!

Of course stage performances cannot take advantage of camera-driven subtle acting portrayals as well as the range that can be portrayed on screen. A main difference between film and stage!

Jo

[jo]

This must be the disc sent out to AMPAS voters for Oscar voting purposes.

Objectively speaking, I can't imagine why SKYFALL, a languid theme song for a James Bond movie, was considered better than this sweet lullaby. It was meant to convey the second epiphany of Jean Valjean, when he discovered love through little Cosette.

I have also heard this as song that suits the first sight of one's true love.

Jo

[jo]

And this is how one of the best performances in the history of the Oscars is rehearsed: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and the rest of the cast of 'Les Miserables' singing live 'One Day More'Raising hands❤

[jo]

[jo]

This is the power of this particular scene (Valjean's Soliloquy) --



Comments on YouTube --

RPIXELN
1 year ago
"He told me that I have a soul... How does he know"?
This line always get me. Only someone who felt miserable in life can feel the power that someone recognizing your existence can make for you. It's really a game changer.

264 Likes


Vera Swinton
Vera Swinton
1 year ago
RPIXELN excellent!



Saint Bastel
Saint Bastel
9 months ago
That is the very line that brought tears to my eyes. How crushed do you have to be to not realise that you are SOMEBODY? And how great do you have to be to see the 'somebody' in the NOBODY and call it out? Amazing.

3

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RPIXELN
RPIXELN
1 year ago
"He told me that I have a soul... How does he know"?
This line always get me. Only someone who felt miserable in life can feel the power that someone recognizing your existence can make for you. It's really a game changer.

264


Joe Furness
Joe Furness
6 years ago
How on earth did he not win an Oscar for this performance? It is literally outstanding.

1.2K


Irena Maria
Irena Maria
2 years ago (edited)
"I had come to hate the world
This world that always hated me"

To me this is one of the core themes of Les Miserables- that when you treat people with cruelty, you only foster more cruelty in them, and when you treat them with kindness, you foster kindness. Jean Valjean has known nothing but hardship and suffering for all his life, so he in turn becomes cold and uncaring towards others. The world views him as a criminal, so that's what he becomes. But the bishop sees him as his equal, as his brother even, and he shows him kindness and mercy even when he has no reason to. It practically turns Valjean's world upside down to see that even a lowlife thief like himself could be shown such compassion. It so profoundly impacts him that it changes his entire outlook on life, and later inspires him to help others in any way he can. The bishop's one act of mercy changes the lives of countless people through Valjean. Although the story itself is very sad in many ways, it has an absolutely beautiful message.

378


MrWWIIBuff
MrWWIIBuff
1 year ago
And the way it conflicts in Javert, which breaks down his entire worldview. Les Miserables is a true masterpiece of literature

15


Nick
Nick
1 year ago
Jesus has been described in literature as having a "smile of infinite compassion." It wasn't until I was older that I truly began to understand what that meant. Regardless of someone's personal beliefs, it is a truly beautiful sentiment. One act of kindness can truly change the world for the better.

9


AColonDashSix
AColonDashSix
1 year ago
Yeah that pretty much is the point of the play
A man who was no better or worse than any other who was treated like trash just basically randomly who came to hate the world because of it.
Then a simple kind deed from a kind man turns his life around and he pays it forward to others.

3


MrGoldStandard
MrGoldStandard
1 year ago
Well said!

1


kalorakalora
kalorakalora
1 year ago
"To love another person is to see the face of God"

Not much subtlety in this play/movie, but the messages are perfectly imparted on the audience and that's what makes it so emotionally evocative. There are many points throughout the movie that are all fairly accurate assessments of the human condition, in general and especially when when viewed through the lens of 1800s France. The backdrop of France during that time period certainly contributed to the general sense of bleakness and sadness that literally defines the lives of every man, woman, and child without discrimination or restriction (equally afflicting rich, poor, healthy, sickly alike) in the story. Poor, struggling, discontent masses suffering through their lives.

Incidentally, this is also why Les Mis is my favorite play/dramatic work. The human condition of suffering is so deeply explored and articulated upon, and yet, the over-arching message throughout the story is simply that we should love each other and be kind to each other. So optimistic a take derived from so dark a time.

6


ff ii
ff ii
6 months ago
"Man is neither Rousseau’s noble savage nor the Church’s or La Rochefoucauld’s depraved sinner.
He is violent when oppressed, gentle when free." - anonymous grafitto, Paris, May 1968

1

[jo]

JaguarStar
7 years ago
2:25 - 3:14 is one of the best acting pieces I have ever seen in my entire life. The musical is beautiful, but all of those people are mainly singers and dancers who just act a bit, so much of the intensity of the story written Victor Hugo and adapted by Boubil and Schönberg is lost in the process. In this movie, we had amazing actors who could also sing in most important roles and that allows the original emotions to be expressed as they must be.

75 Likes

Syed Muhammad Faraz Abbas
6 years ago
that is undoubtedly the best acting I have ever witnessed.. this guy has increased the bar.. all emotions in one scene, long dialogues without cuts.. amazing..

437 Likes

ho Am I?
3 years ago
Javert chose death, but ValJean chose to be reborn.

1K Likes

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

I have just had a chance to rewatch Les Miserables on cable.

Sometimes time and distance have the effect of watching something once again take a different meaning or appreciation.


Most recently, I saw parts of the new Staged Concert version -- and I did not even want to finish watching it, even if it starred my other musical theatre favorite Michael Ball as Javert this time ( Boe was Valjean). I think the concert format made the story even more distant to me because they were more concerned with the singing than with the storytelling.

Having seen the film adaptation once again -

It made me appreciate the movie as Victor Hugo probably intended it to be appreciated...

as it was a beautiful artistic story of the humanity of man...told in a tightly-woven tapestry of characters in an important social fabric in French history. The people at the edge of society, the activism of youth, the conflict between a sense of humanity and a sense of the law, the romanticism of the period... made the story of Les Miserables fully resonant!  Tom HoopeR will eventually gain respect for what he tried to do with this retelling of the story of Jean Valjean and French society of that time. I think in years to come, there will be more appreciation of this film adaptation as a beautiful story of man and how it all unfolded in a historical context!

Against that perspective, watching the human and humane sides of each of the character expressed musically made me feel that this is not just the story of one man...but all the characters that had influence on his life. His life itself was a beautiful story of redemption up to the very end. His impact on the lives of others made the story cohesive. As Javert ruminated on what has happened to change his tenet in life and found it disconcerting, his suicide even made sense. The finale which saw Valjean reconnecting with the key people in his life ( Cosette, Marius, Fantine and The Bishop) made it a beautiful conclusion to a life changed totally by a kind man.

Again, when I watch the Jackman reprise of Bring Him Home at the tearful finale ( the words changed to Bring ME Home - " forgive my trespasses and bring me to your GLORY!" - it puts it on a personal level.

What I like most about the film adaptation is how the dialog expressed through singing is very natural, especially the recitatives ( sung dialogs). It makes the movie musical much easier to appreciate for non-fans of musicals. This is what sounds stilted in the staged concert.


Btw, while Aaron Tveit was well-cast as the fiery revolutionary Enjolras, something was missing in his image with reference to the Hugo book - Hugo's Enjolras was Apollo personified, hence why he attracted people to his cause.

In his younger days, Hugh Jackman would have been the ideal Enjolras

Finally, Hooper's most major contribution ( which the stage musical sadly missed) -- was the beautiful scene of redemption embodied in Hugh Jackman's dramatic interpretation of Valjean's road to redemption - in the Valjean SOLILOQUY!

Jo

[jo]

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[jo]