Les Miserables, or 'Les Mis' as it is known in the theatre-loving world, is a musical production based on the 19th century novel by Victor Hugo which chronicles the life of Jean Valjean, a convicted bread-thief who, after serving 19 years for his "crime", is freed and sets out to create a new life under the guidance of God. This does not go down well with Russell Crowe's character, Jalvert, who makes it his life mission to track Valjean and send him back to prison. This is where our story begins, though certainly not where it ends, for it sets in motion a whole host of events which involve saving tragic-Fantine's orphan child Cossette and raising her in the midst of a French Revolution. Like I said, there's a lot to get your head around
Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) does so though, and with incredible flair and an imagination and determination which ensured that this multiple Oscar-winning production will go down in film history. Here Hooper has assembled an incredibly talented set of actors and brought to life one of the most celebrated novels and theatre- productions in history, for the screen. The typical course of action on a musical production, especially one of this magnitude, is to pre-record the soundtrack and have the stars lip-sync on set. Here, however, Hooper took a different approach and recorded every song live on set, in order to capture the spontaneity and emotional responses of the actors – a move which has been praised by both his cast and critics alike. A feat like this has never been attempted before, making Hooper, ironically enough, somewhat of a revolutionary
If you would like to read the rest of my thoughts on this film then visit this site (filmrambler.blogspot.co.uk)
Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) does so though, and with incredible flair and an imagination and determination which ensured that this multiple Oscar-winning production will go down in film history. Here Hooper has assembled an incredibly talented set of actors and brought to life one of the most celebrated novels and theatre- productions in history, for the screen. The typical course of action on a musical production, especially one of this magnitude, is to pre-record the soundtrack and have the stars lip-sync on set. Here, however, Hooper took a different approach and recorded every song live on set, in order to capture the spontaneity and emotional responses of the actors – a move which has been praised by both his cast and critics alike. A feat like this has never been attempted before, making Hooper, ironically enough, somewhat of a revolutionary
If you would like to read the rest of my thoughts on this film then visit this site (filmrambler.blogspot.co.uk)