Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Film Comparison
In light of the Academy Awards show last night, this week we take a different look at Les Misérables, comparing several different film versions. Les Misérables has been filmed dozens of times, and rather than give a full review or summary of the difference versions, I am going to simply give you the same scene from six different films and ask you what you think. I’ve chosen arguably the most famous scene in the book, the Bishop’s Candlesticks, and I’ve tried to find as many versions as are available online. These six versions are from some of the most well-known adaptations of the novel, including the most recent musical adaptation from 2012.
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Four of the six clips are in English, and two of them are in French (one of which has English subtitles). Take a look and leave your thoughts in the comment section. Which ones seem to capture the essence of the scene as written by Hugo? Which ones most closely match the way you visualized the scene when you were reading it? What other thoughts occur to you as you watch?
(And did you know that the BBC is in the midst of producing yet another Les Mis adaptation? The six-part miniseries was announced in July of 2016 and the cast was revealed just a few months ago.)
1934 – Harry Baur and Henry Krauss
1935 – Fredric March and Cedric Hardwicke
1978 – Richard Jordan and Claude Dauphin
1998 – Liam Neeson and Peter Vaughan
2000 – Gérard Depardieu and Otto Sander (in French)
2012 – Hugh Jackman and Colm Wilkinson
Ooh, this is such a fun exercise! I have only watched two of the clips so far, but they were both so different from one another that I’m curious to see how the rest compare. I notice, too, that the Gérard Depardieu version is the longest of these scenes, which is also interesting, since most of the others are just 3 to 5 minutes long. I wonder if that means he is trying to give a pivotal scene more space for its significance in the story, or whether he is overemphasizing something that these other actors have managed to convey in a shorter amount of time?
The Gérard Depardieu clip goes a little past the candlesticks scene and includes the Petit Gervais scene, but it was the only one I could find online.
This was great, with something to like in each of them. I was particularly taken with the simplicity of the first (Baur/Krauss) and found myself comparing the others to it. In that respect, the Jackman/Wilkinson version is terrific and, with the music added, hard to beat. The Neeson/Vaughan version was my third favorite, despite Valjean’s striking the bishop, an unfortunate change from the novel in my opinion.
THIS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(1995_film)) remains my absolute favorite adaptation. Because it doesn’t try to directly tell the story – but instead tells the heart of the story.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a digital version of it yet — I still haul around my VHS copy…
I loved watching these! Although, I confess, I didn’t watch all of the Gerard Depardieu version because there were no subtitles. I may go back and watch it though. That said, I liked the Hugh Jackman version best! The musical version captures the emotions in a way the others don’t. As far as the non-musical versions go, they were all so different, but the the Harry Baur version seemed to capture best what Hugo was expressing. I only wish this version did not omit the “…I give to God” (your soul) scene. Those words were powerful!
I am not surprised it is being adapted again. This is the kind of story that can be told over and over like that I think.
As to the films – that was interesting. They are all fairly similar, but the first is the most faithful to the book and the transformation of Valjean is remarkable, the second too mannered in acting for my taste, the third I liked M. Bienvenue (perfect!) but the rest was not so great, the forth took liberties with the story, in the fifth, I think Diepardieu would make a better Javert and it was poorly dubbed and for the last…well done considering it is a musical and I think Jackman makes the best Jean Vajean.
You’ve got me excited now about all the Les Mis drama ahead of me when I finish the book. The recent musical certainly captures the emotion the best. Without any French to help me along, the Depardieu version seems the most complete. I’ll be very curious to see what happens with a modern adaptation.