Les Misérables (1934)

The lives of numerous people over the course of 20 years in 19th century France, weaved together by the story of an ex-convict named Jean Valjean on the run from an obsessive police inspector, who pursues him for only a minor offense.

Director:

Raymond Bernard

Writers:

Victor Hugo (novel), Raymond Bernard

Stars:

Harry Baur, Charles Vanel, Paul Azaïs

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harry Baur	...	Jean Valjean / Champmathieu
Charles Vanel	...	Inspecteur Javert
Paul Azaïs	...	Grantaire
Max Dearly	...	M. Gillenormand
Charles Dullin	...	Thénardier
Émile Genevois	...	Gavroche
Henry Krauss	...	Monseigneur Myriel
Georges Mauloy	...	Le président des Assises
Lucien Nat	...	Montparnasse
Jean Servais	...	Marius Pontmercy
Robert Vidalin	...	Enjolras
Orane Demazis	...	Eponine
Florelle	...	Fantine
Josseline Gaël	...	Cosette
Marguerite Moreno	...	La Thénardier

Storyline

The lives of numerous people over the course of 20 years in 19th century France, weaved together by the story of an ex-convict named Jean Valjean on the run from an obsessive police inspector, who pursues him for only a minor offense.

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Plot Keywords:

19th century | ex convict | starvation | paris france | robbery | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was presented in three parts respectively called: "Une tempête sous un crâne" (Tempest in a skull), "Les Thénardier" (The Thenardiers - the names of the couple of villains) and "Liberté, liberté chérie" (Freedom, dear Freedom).

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Goofs

In the First Part, after Fantine meets Felix at the dance, a shot of the cards advertising the dance blow one by one off of a table, until they are all gone. Driven through the top of the table can be seen the heads of flathead metal wood screws, which were not invented until the middle 19th Century, or decades after the story takes place.

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Quotes

Cosette: [as she and Valjean witness a convoy of convicts being taken to the penal colonies] But father... are they... still human?
Jean Valjean: Sometimes.

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Connections

Version of Les Misérables, Part 1: Jean Valjean (1913)

User Reviews

From Book to Screen

Hugo's novel is my bible. I remember, while I was reading the books in the course of over one year (in small portions mostly, but not rarely I had to sacrifice an entire night), one of the three volumes has been always in a striking distance to me: near my pillow, riding pillion, on my school desk or in my backpack on trips and sleep-overs. Simply put, the story was my home for that one year, Jean Valjean one of my closest friends and Cosette my own child. That's now about 10 years ago and I still return to it every once in a while, pick randomly chapters to read and still am drawn to Hugo's uniquely beautiful and powerful language (i.e. the chapter where he describes the battle of Waterloo is probably the single best piece of literature I've ever read). So, although, I love the book so much, I never dared to touch any screen adaptation, and there are plenty out there, because I did not want to ruin my imaginations of Les misérables I had in my mind for more than 10 years now. I finally did last week and what can I say? Actually, I don't want to spout too much, to run into danger to talk things to death, but it's an amazing, amazing experience when you see those pictures that were engraved in your head for a long time, now alive, in front of your eyes instead of behind. Of course, a book is, I guess, always more stimulating than its adaptation (are there actually any examples to disprove?), and Bernard's is no exception. In fact, this one is as close to the essence of literature as the medium can get. Everything that can be great about movies comes together here, and in the end, Les misérables is the first film I immediately felt home (which is mostly due to the previous history I have with the story), and when a filmmaker achieves exactly this with his very own methods, like a writer does with his/hers, the outcome is nothing less than, yes, cinematic perfection.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

27 October 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les Misérables

Filming Locations:

Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé-Natan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

279 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1