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| Les Miserables [1998] | ![Les Miserables [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EQ6930MBL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Bille August
Actors: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Thurman, Claire Danes
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £5.08
You Save: £10.91 (68%)
New (12) from £3.65
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 5095
Format: Pal, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Running Time: 128 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5017239190520
ASIN: B00004D2WS
Theatrical Release Date: 1998
Release Date: October 4, 1999
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In this adaptation of Victor Hugo's evergreen classic, Liam Neeson is Jean Valjean, imprisoned for stealing bread then paroled after nearly two decades of hard labour. A gift of silver candlesticks from a kindly priest helps him begin anew. Forging a decent and profitable existence, he finds success as a businessman and as the mayor of a small town. He even takes in a pregnant young woman (Uma Thurman) and raises her daughter as his own. But when a former prison guard (Geoffrey Rush) recognises Valjean, his past catches up to him. Director Bille August culls mesmerising performances from his cast, but loses us with an ending that panders to teen audiences. The focus shifts dramatically, and uncomfortably, from the haunted Neeson and his hawk-like pursuer, to his daughter (Claire Danes) and her romance with a handsome revolutionary. After this narrative shift, the script leaves behind Hugo themes of revenge and redemption to focus improbably on teen angst--hardly what the author had on his mind. --Rochelle O'Gorman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Not Bad But Could Do Better. December 1, 2008
Heard of it as a book and a very successful musical so I got it and saw this afternoon. It's a very simple plot: man trying to get over his crime and relive his life again only to find a nasty police officer wants him back in prison and stay there perhaps forever. While on the run, he meets a dying woman wanting him to find her daughter and bring her up when she couldn't. She grows up and falls in love with a hansome rebel, then all hell breaks loose. Though the brilliant pefomances from Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Claire Danes and Hans Matheson and lovely settlings, it can't save the damning overlong running time and weak script. It could do so much better but that's how the way it's been made.
 It's miserable !! June 15, 2008
Notning like like the musical if that is what you are looking for. Dull and ugly!
 Different, but as good as the musical. March 1, 2008
I confess, I have not read Victor Hugo's work. I did order it online 5 minutes ago though.
I have seen Les Miserables on Broadway and twice in the UK and I often listen to the Cameron Mackintosh CD version.
This film IS different to the musical version, but that does not make it worse. It is captivating from start to finish with excellent performances from Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the stage adaptation.
 Enjoyable on Its Own Terms December 27, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is another of those films-I-think-I'm-not-going-to-like-that-my-son-forces-me-to-watch at Christmastime. And, as usual (but not always), he is right. The elegant production and cinematography capture the look of 1840-ish Paris. Some of the scenes are quite moving, actually. Liam Neeson (if one doesn't do the story's math) is convincing in the role of Jean Valjean (reminding me of Gerard Depardieu); Geoffrey Rush is outstanding as the relentless Javert; and Uma Thurman is properly consumptive as the dying Fontine (I also thought she was remarkably good in the role). As for Cosette and Marius, they are lovely to look at. The pomp of the funeral procession is splendid, and the violence at the barricades is compelling.
If the movie does not capture every moment of the book (which I did read in school), well, neither does Verdi's "Rigoletto" capture every line of "Le Roi S'Amuse!" This production of "Les Miserables" is nevertheless good on its own terms: It captures the essence of Hugo's tale of wretchedness, revolution; recognition and redemption admirably. Moreover, it captured my interest for a couple of hours. Not every movie nowadays does so.
A disappointing film February 5, 2006
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
As a fan of the book and the musical, I had high expectations for this film. This is based on one of the greatest stories of all time, so I was at least expecting there to be a gripping plot. The first hour stays impressively loyal to the book, but then many parts of the story and many characters are not in the second hour, and the film drifts away from the original story.
The second part felt too rushed, and it skipped out many of the main elements. For one thing, the film seemed to villainise Javert too much, probably due to the fact that the storyline of a vital character, Thenardier, was absent.
Then there is the other important factor in this story: the love story. The originality of this story is completely cut out by the absence of the character Eponine, who would have added depth to the romance, which clearly lacked depth in this film adaptation.
As long a film as it is, it still seemed as if we barely got to know many of the important characters. It takes all of an hour to really get the story going, and it made me wonder what they were doing in the first hour. There was so much at the beginning which is not vital to the plot, so it is a shame that so many parts of this amazing story were lost during the second half. The film seemed to lead to an anti-climax, with not enough emphasis on what I felt were the important parts of the story. It was obvious that a film based on a book over which was over 1000 pages long would have to cut out some parts, but the creators did not choose well which parts to cut.
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