les miserables (the movie film; not the concert film or book. Dutch angles! Americans! Australians!)

Who is this man?
What sort of devil is he?
To have me caught in a trap
And choose to let me go free?
It was his hour at last
To put a seal on my fate
Wipe out the past
And wash me clean off the slate!
All it would take
Was a flick of his knife
Vengeance was his
And he gave me back my life!
Damned if I'll live in the debt of a thief!
Damned if I'll yield at the end of the chase.
I am the Law and the Law is not mocked
I'll spit his pity right back in his face
There is nothing on earth that we share
It is either Valjean or Javert!

The school edition cuts a considerable amount of material from the original show. It is divided into thirty scenes and, although no "critical" scenes or songs have been removed, it runs 25–30 minutes shorter than the "official" version making the total running time about 2 ½ hours.[44] A few subtle changes of vocal pitch have been made: "What Have I Done?", Valjean's Soliloquy, "Stars" by Javert, "A Little Fall of Rain" by Éponine and Marius, "Turning", and "Castle on a Cloud" lose a verse each. During "Fantine's Arrest" Bamatabois loses two verses. The song "Fantine's Death/Confrontation" is edited, and the counterpoint duel between Javert and Valjean is lost, as well as a verse by Fantine. "Dog Eats Dog" by Thénardier is heavily truncated. "Beggars at the Feast", is shortened, with Thénardier losing a verse, and the song before it, "Wedding Chorale", is excluded entirely although the rest of the wedding remains in place. Also, the drinker's introduction to "Master of the House" is cut completely.[citation needed]

After The King's Theatre, The King's School and Tara Anglican School for Girls, in Sydney, Australia, gained rights for the full production in late 2000 from Cameron Mackintosh to perform the show. Music Theatre International developed a school version, available only to productions with an entirely amateur cast aged under 19. Hundreds of schools worldwide have purchased the rights and staged performances, and it was the best-selling production for high schools in the year 2006.[citation needed]

In November 2001, Harry S Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania piloted the school version under director Lou Volpe. Cameron Mackintosh attended closing night of the performance and shared how impressed he was with the adaptation. The show was met with rave reviews.

The Woodlands School, located in Mississauga, Ontario, marked the first presentation of the Les Misérables school edition in Canada.[45]

I mean, I'm 6'1", 250lbs, and sing baritone, so not belting out "Do I stay and do i DARRRRREEEEEE!" is gunna be REAL HARD if the filmmakers pull off a proper emotional connection

also, listening to the 1985 London original cast and dear GOD is there a shitload of rubbish synthwork for the score. Worse than any of the 80s Phantom recordings, surely.

i'm listening to that RIGHT NOW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSxq-JCrLag

I had forgotten that Paul Rudd actually shows up in tunic and bicorne for this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXsJjVdj1E

in my hands via FedEx.

hell no, not even on mute.

I WILL WATCH IT FOR U

saw an endless preview for this about how much more ~meaningful~ it was when shot live

morbs otm

SEND IT TO ME MORBS

I Have seen some of the first clips online. They are not good...at all.

Witness the normally Reliable Hugh Jackman doing a William Shatner impression with the songs rhythms, and singing the usually bombastic "Who Am I?" As if it were a Jim Croce song!

Hear the quiver in Amanda Seyfriend's voice that makes her sound like a 14 year old taking her first voice lesson!

Listen to Russell Crowe channeling Officer Barbrady as he sings Confrontation!

It frustrates me to hear so much of this speech-sung as if this was a Rex Harrison show. The actors keep trying to justify these as acting choices made in the moment because they're "feeling the song". I read it as "MASKING VOCAL INADEQUACIES!"

At the End of the Day is Good, though.

http://broadwayworld.com/videoplay.php?colid=433130

in my hands via FedEx.

Jesus, first This is 40 and now this. Nothing is showing up for me this year. (Good.)

The prologuey bit of Valjean's release actually works pretty well for Jackman, but Crowe's voice is a bit too bellowy

i might see this. normally dont care for broadway-style musicals at all, but it looks kewl

hungry4bread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8WSysB5vKM

lol i didnt know they sung all the dialogue in this puppy

How the fuck did Helena Bonham Carter get cast in another musical?

she was fine in S Todd

also, fuck singing

Of course fuck singing, Morbs. Of course.

"Fuck singing" in a through-composed, sung-through musical? I'm afraid I don't understand, Please Explain

I will try. Hmm, where do I start? Well, you see, in a nutshell, Morbs disdains joy and expressions thereof. Does that make things a little clearer?

Morbs disdains joy and expressions thereof

Broadway car-alarm shit

What does the new Patti LuPone album have to do with anything?

Les Mis doesn't have fuck-singing, Morbs. It's not THAT kind of French movie

AP review

But again, it's hard not to appreciate the effort, the risk it required to take on the role.

Yeah, no.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/12/david-edelstein-on-les-miserables.html

The tasteless bombardment that is Les Misérables would, under most circumstances, send audiences screaming from the theater

I will make any friend who isn't a film critic pay dearly for watching this.

http://www.noise11.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Hugh-Jackman-Les-Mis%C3%A9rables.jpg

"But I have suffered enough!"

you'll have to catch me first, alfred :D

haha

http://curiosity-media.discovery.com/mediaItems/4/e/7/4e7291d0c36f1/kids-taste-buds-1.jpg.jpg?v=1316131286

http://www.sounzgood.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Les-Miserables-Russell-Crowe.jpg

"I look for the friends of Alfred. They have violated the law."

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/822929/5123-9434.gif

"They chose...poorly."

http://www.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/2012430/reg_1024.lesmis.anne.mh.053012.jpg

"Why, Alfred, WHY!"

beat me to it, Ned

lol

This movie feels so weirdly abrupt and microbial in scope. It just has absolutely no sense of spatial or rhythmic comparison.

The belting vets -- Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks -- do the best by the material, tho Eddie Redmayne was surprisingly strong.

I still don't understand why Russell Crowe. I don't think the world will ever know.

Hey, that rhymes! Maybe this is the genesis of a new musical complaining about movies.

Yeah, the show's fans will cringe at his each and every note. I also wasn't much impressed with Wolverine's high notes, either, but that could be just a result of the horrible audio recording techniques.

Almost everyone sounds like they're whisper belting.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1217561.1355241302!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/anne12n-2-web.jpg

I like it? I would wear cracked out things like that every day if I could get away with it.

This entire week I have been singing this more than anything from the actual musical itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbDOTRqPCY

what is she wearing around her legs? they look like fashionable calipers

i mean I love the overall look I just, idgi re the legwear

Barks seems hemmed in by the approach. Redmayne sounded Kermit-y to me. Crowe def the worst offender.

Can we agree that no one at all (yes, even Crowe) sounds as good as they could've had Hooper not f'd up their game with this gimmick?

Can we agree that no one at all (yes, even Crowe) sounds as good as they could've had Hooper not f'd up their game with this gimmick?