A performance of Les Miserables by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, for a 10th Anniversary Concert celebration.The 10th anniversary concert video of the international musical sensation Les Misérables might be the best thing to appease fans until a full-fledged movie comes along. Or it might be even better, as feature films are often subject to extramusical casting considerations and this 1995 dream cast is superb. Reprising their roles from the original London company are Colm Wilkinson (Valjean), Michael Ball (Marius), and Alun Armstrong (Thenardier). From Broadway come Judy Kuhn (Cosette), Lea Salonga (Eponine), and Michael Maguire (Enjolras); from a later London production comes Ruthie Henshall (Fantine); and from Australia comes Philip Quast (Javert).
Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s score vividly captures the passion of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of post-Revolutionary France, combining tear-jerking ballads (“I Dreamed a Dream,” “Bring Him Home”) and rousing anthems (“Do You Hear the People Sing”). The format of this concert is closer to that of a dramatic cantata rather than a fully staged production; the singers stand at their microphone stands with an orchestra and chorus behind them, but they do wear costumes and participate in some movement. At certain points such as the climax of the barricade scene, the video switches to action from a stage production. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra sounds great, and it can be thrilling when 200 choristers (dressed in logo T-shirts) rise to their feet for a full-company number such as “One Day More.” Also, subtitles provide date and scene information and help move the story along.
The 147-minute video contains footage not seen when Les Mis was a PBS pledge-drive staple, most notably the encore in which a progression of 17 actors who have played Valjean around the world share “Do You Hear the People Sing?” Each sings a line in his native language, a testament to the enduring power of this show to audiences everywhere. –David Horiuchi
DVD features
The 2008 two-disc edition presents the concert on a single-sided disc (the original DVD split the concert over two sides) with optional English subtitles. It’s also in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1 aspect ratio) comparied to the original’s 1.33 full-screen. The second disc has Stage by Stage: Les Miserables, the hourlong documentary from 1988. Unfortunately the sound is only Dolby Digital 2.0. Early editions of the DVD had an odd omission (compared to the earlier Sony DVD)–the first 10 seconds of Gavroche’s “Little People” were missing (“Good evening, dear inspector, lovely evening, my dear…”)–that has now been corrected. –David Horiuchi
January 17, 2006
#1
I am extremely disappointed that the dvd I ordered for my birthday on 6 August has still not arrived.
January 17, 2006
#2
For about the past 15 years i have been a fan of Les Miserables. I have been in the Military for ten years and this musical keeps my sanity straight when i listen to it every so often. I have seen the play and received the dvd concert with digital surround (dts) released by WELL GO USA that my fiance got me, that has two separate disc a part 1 and 2 with no english subtitles. Then my fiance and i were ecstatic to find that there was a new dvd with the concert in one disc, which includes interviews of how it was made. I was sold and my fiance wanted a copy and so we got one online. After receiving it and finally had time to enjoy the concert in one dvd without interruption, i found that there was a screw up between 25 and 26 on act two when Gavroche sings Little People. The screw up was already mentioned on the other reviews so let me tell you how it ruined my night. First i was going to break the dvd i felt like why would somebody do such a thing. For something that well known of a musical ,how can someone get so careless and miss a whole part of it. The little boy Gavroche is one of my favorites too. Second this disappointment caused me irritation through the nite that i couldn’t sleep. I had a feeling of discomfort, i guess after years of being in the military you get used to a life expectancy that when something goes wrong it interrupts my way of thinking and how i feel. Third i hope i get what is right in return to get the revised dvd and if not compensate me for this emotional mess i had to go through.
January 17, 2006
#3
Frankly, I found this product can do little but disappoint. The singing is, of course, superb; however, this is a CONCERT, not a real production. Seeing the actors standing on a stage in front of microphone can’t possibly do the work justice (especially after having seen the musical on Broadway). Personally, I think purchasing a recording would be far more effective since it won’t provide the negative imagery of the characters standing on stage not engaging each other in any meaningful way (not to mention the recordings of this performance can be found at far more reasonable prices).
January 17, 2006
#4
I’ve seen Les Mis twice live. Once in London and once in NYC. It was the first play I ever went to and love every second of it.
This DVD captures none of that. What it does capture is the music. However, since they are no longer have Les Mis on Broadway, I wanted to show my girlfriend the show and how wonderful it is. It is impossible using this DVD. It’s all singing. While beautiful, it does nothing for storytelling. Unless you’ve seen the play, you will have NO idea what’s going on here.
That being the case, if you’re just looking for the music, why not buy the Audio CD? Having the songs only as a DVD is pretty pointless. Big disappointment when I finally watched this.
January 17, 2006
#5
The product on itself is fantastic. Just make shure if your ordering from Europe, that you buy a playable version of the product. I din’t and i’m stuck with a dvd ‘wrong region’, only playable whit american DVD-players.