Customer Ratings & Reviews

I cannot believe that this got so many awards. Not as all as good as the stage play, which was not my favorite musical.. Big name actors with no singing ability. Even the character actors were marginal singers.

after watching the broadway version, the movie did not meet my standards. hugh jackman and russel crowe miscasted. they should have lip-synced the professional singers

Let's just say, the title says it all. Because it was very. (It should NOT have been a musical.)

This is your typical date movie something you would watch to make your special someone happy.

Long and boring, too long and boring. Like russel crowe

Nota fan of the musical all the time movie. Give me regular dialogue sparsed with music. Thank you

Enjoyed the story but not as a musical. There are better versions to chose from.

Ive really tried to enjoy but eehhhhhh, i love musical and historical fiction but eeehhhhhhh

This film was not the best or me i lost interest ave nt finished watching.

Was not for me, to much singing and violence, sad,

The DVD stopped working at 1 hr. 37 min. and should have run another hour so I do not know how the story ends. I took it back and the store replaced it for me with a new copy. I haven't had the opportunity to view the new copy yet so I'm not sure whether or not it works properly.

I'm not a fan of musicals, but this movie doesn't even give any justice to the original Broadway play. However, some people had to like it right?

I don't like musicals and I did not like this movie - brought movie for someone else who loved it - each to there own.

I would not recommend this movie. It was way too long, and not enjoyable whatsoever.

How terrible is this movie... my wife picked it and i want to toss it.

Could you build a new life with mistakes of your past haunting you? What if you had to do it more than once? Everyone has a breaking point. What if you reached yours and had further to go? Jean Valjean (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) stole bread to feed his starving family and, while serving his sentence, tried to escape. So, nineteen years after his initial incarceration, a guard known simply as Javert informs him that he is free to go. Javert (played by Russell Crowe) believes that Valjean (Jackman) is a born criminal and that he will return to jail eventually. After spending almost twenty years in prison, Valjean is unable to find work and resorts to sleeping on the street. He is taken in by a bishop and spends a night in a church. He steals the church’s silver in the night and is arrested but the bishop lies to the authorities, claiming the silver was a gift, thereby facilitating Valjean’s release. Valjean breaks parole and is reborn as an honest man but Javert vows to find and arrest him. Eight years after the bishop’s kind act, Jean has become a factory owner and the mayor of a small town. One of his workers, Fantine (portrayed by Anne Hathaway), is exposed as an unwed mother and fired by her lecherous foreman. Fantine (Hathaway), with no other options, resorts to prostitution to support herself and send whatever she has left to her daughter Cosette. Seen arguing with a customer by the rigidly moral Javert, who is now police inspector, Fantine seems destined for imprisonment. Luckily, Valjean intervenes and brings Fantine to a hospital. Despite initial suspicions that the mayor is Valjean, Javert arrests another man he believes to be Valjean and offers the mayor his resignation. Valjean declines, exonerates the man believed to be him and goes on the run. Rather than concerning himself solely with his own freedom, Valjean seeks out the daughter of the now-deceased Fantine who is being “cared for” by a pair of unscrupulous innkeepers. Those innkeepers (portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) extort a large sum of money before allowing Valjean to leave with Cosette and then inform the police who are hot on his trail. Nine years later, Cosette (who has, of course, grown and is now portrayed by Amanda Seyfried) is still being cared for by Valjean and, after a chance encounter with a revolutionary, falls in love instantly. That revolutionary (Marius, portrayed by Eddie Redmayne) is the object of a one-sided crush by the daughter of Cosette’s former caretakers. Her name is Eponine (played by Samantha Barks) and while she has little or no interest in politics, she joins Marius’s revolution almost immediately. I can go either way where musicals are concerned. I couldn’t stand Chicago, but I loved Dreamgirls and eventually bought it on DVD. Also, while I’d heard of it before and knew it was a musical, my first introduction to the story of Les Miserables was a film starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush which altered the original story and abandoned the musical aspect. I really liked this film. All the actors in this film, to varying degrees, are competent singers. In fact, Anne Hathaway was shockingly good. What I liked better about the Liam Neeson film is that it supplied explanations. Even so, if you can appreciate musicals, you should see Les Miserables.

Could you build a new life with mistakes of your past haunting you? What if you had to do it more than once? Everyone has a breaking point. What if you reached yours and had further to go? Jean Valjean (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) stole bread to feed his starving family and, while serving his sentence, tried to escape. So, nineteen years after his initial incarceration, a guard known simply as Javert informs him that he is free to go. Javert (played by Russell Crowe) believes that Valjean (Jackman) is a born criminal and that he will return to jail eventually. After spending almost twenty years in prison, Valjean is unable to find work and resorts to sleeping on the street. He is taken in by a bishop and spends a night in a church. He steals the church's silver in the night and is arrested but the bishop lies to the authorities, claiming the silver was a gift, thereby facilitating Valjean's release. Valjean breaks parole and is reborn as an honest man but Javert vows to find and arrest him. Eight years after the bishop's kind act, Jean has become a factory owner and the mayor of a small town. One of his workers, Fantine (portrayed by Anne Hathaway), is exposed as an unwed mother and fired by her lecherous foreman. Fantine (Hathaway), with no other options, resorts to prostitution to support herself and send whatever she has left to her daughter Cosette. Seen arguing with a customer by the rigidly moral Javert, who is now police inspector, Fantine seems destined for imprisonment. Luckily, Valjean intervenes and brings Fantine to a hospital. Despite initial suspicions that the mayor is Valjean, Javert arrests another man he believes to be Valjean and offers the mayor his resignation. Valjean declines, exonerates the man believed to be him and goes on the run. Rather than concerning himself solely with his own freedom, Valjean seeks out the daughter of the now-deceased Fantine who is being "cared for" by a pair of unscrupulous innkeepers. Those innkeepers (portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) extort a large sum of money before allowing Valjean to leave with Cosette and then inform the police who are hot on his trail. Nine years later, Cosette (who has, of course, grown and is now portrayed by Amanda Seyfried) is still being cared for by Valjean and, after a chance encounter with a revolutionary, falls in love instantly. That revolutionary (Marius, portrayed by Eddie Redmayne) is the object of a one-sided crush by the daughter of Cosette's former caretakers. Her name is Eponine (played by Samantha Barks) and while she has little or no interest in politics, she joins Marius's revolution almost immediately. I can go either way where musicals are concerned. I couldn't stand Chicago, but I loved Dreamgirls and eventually bought it on DVD. Also, while I'd heard of it before and knew it was a musical, my first introduction to the story of Les Miserables was a film starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush which altered the original story and abandoned the musical aspect. I really liked this film. All the actors in this film, to varying degrees, are competent singers. In fact, Anne Hathaway was shockingly good. What I liked better about the Liam Neeson film is that it supplied explanations. Even so, if you can appreciate musicals, you should see Les Miserables.

Of all of the movie adaptations done of this book since the 30's, this version dedicates itself to the underlying theme of the book. It is more than a story of a prisoner being chased by law enforcement, and much more than a love story. It is the story of a man who because of his spiritual conversion, struggles to determine what is right and wrong. And another man because of his conviction to uphold the law can't allow mercy. It is a story of Grace vs Law. This movie caught the heart of that struggle. Make sure you listen to the words of the songs they really will tell the story.

I wish I could give this 4.5 stars because except for one big flaw this was an amazing achievement. This is by far the best Movie version of Les Miserables which either as a book or Broadway makes itself nearly impossible to translate to the screen. That said and with all the arguments about stunt casting several of the main characters and the directors decision to have the actors sing live for the most part work very well. The only true misfires in the casting was Russell Crowe who just doesn't have the voice needed for Javert and Sacha Baron Cohen even doing the comic take just didn't do much for this viewer. Jackman and Hathaway take their parts to amazing places. Amanda Seyfried shocked me with her part as did Samantha Barks. A truly enjoyable 2 1/2 hours in the theater as well as this excellent Bluray. The video and audio are superb and will make repeated viewing at home a thrill. The BBY steelbook exclusive is beautiful as well and though I'm not normally a Steelbook collector, this one was a must have after seeing it in person. I really wish someone would just make a Live Recording of the Broadway Stage play itself with the actual true voices of this play which is one of the best experiences in live theater. I know these do not always translate well to home viewing, but with Bluray possibilities I would love to see something on par with what was done with the Phantom of the Opera in Royal Albert Hall.

I went into this film without having seen the musical. Ultimately, what I found was a strong, very moving motion picture with some terrific songs. Performances are strong, especially from Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, and Russell Crowe (I thought his singing was fine). The biggest quibbles I have of the film are over its direction and constant singing. Nearly the entire movie is sung through, which can make for a trying experience, especially during the film's slow spots. As mentioned constantly in the film's press and marketing, the film had the actors singing live on set as the cameras rolled. This works to underlie the emotions of the characters during the big musical numbers, but it works less well for when the actors have to sing their dialogue. It's often tuneless and flat, even from a great singer like Jackman! The film's director Tom Hooper likes to shoot his movies with fish-eye lenses and unconventional framing. Personally, I felt these were often distracting and distasteful, again, especially during the slow moments of the story. As things get going though, they're less of an issue. The movie presents a deeply moving story of one man's journey of redemption, which unfortunately gets sidelined during the second half for a thin love story. Still, it comes together quite nicely. The last hour or so is terrifically stirring and many of the big musical numbers are well done. Picture quality is solid and the the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio is very dynamic. Both accurately reproduce the theatrical experience. Extras aren't plentiful but solid. There's a good hour-long documentary, an additional featurette on Hugo's original novel, and a commentary from the director which I chose not to listen to. The Blu-ray set includes a DVD and digital copies (iTunes and Ultraviolet). Best Buy is also selling the discs in exclusive Steelbook packaging that is quite nice.