Post by baj2 on Apr 9, 2017 16:28:23 GMT
It's Les Miserables for me! Loved both the stage production ( which I first saw a year after it opened on Broadway...and then over the years had seen the theatrical musical 10 times - Broadway, London, Paris, and where I live ) and the film version. I had earlier seen at least 3 versions of the film as a non-musical, including the last one with Liam Neeson ... When I first saw the stage production I read the full-length literary work by Victor Hugo, got as many cast or cover recordings as I could including the original French concept album, had copies of the anniversary concerts and had gotten a copy of the book by Edward Behr called Les Miserables: History in the Making.
But when the film adaptation came in 2012, it replaced the stage production as my favorite musicalized version. I re-read the long novel again, as a group of us at IMDB were following all the filming developments. It started with the auditions and casting news for the film, the long rehearsal period preceding principal photography, and then the actual filming ( surprisingly a relatively short shoot). It was the first time that singing for a movie musical was done live ( and since it was a sung-through musical there was hardly any spoken word), with acting as the dominant artistic force...and the singing complementing the acting choices. I did recognize some of the filming locations ( mostly from the UK - the only French location was at the beginning of the movie where Valjean was traveling on the hilly part of Provence). That was a fun time when we were following the filming as a group on IMDB! We were even joined briefly by the head of the Sound Unit on the IMDB board -- he eventually won an Oscar for his work on the film.
I saw the film many times, bought the soundtrack recordings, downloaded the screener script ( it was Oscar time, so the script was downloaded for the awards community), got the companion book on the making of the movie, watched all the publicity promotional material on the making of the movie as well as the screening Q&A's for the awards community.
When I had a chance to be in Paris, I visited some of the landmarks mentioned in the novel - such as the Quartier Latin ( Student Quarter), the Left Bank area where the small barricades may have been put up, recognized streets like Rue du Bac and areas like Port St. Cloud... I even tried to locate the bridge where Javert was supposed to have committed suicide, as described in the novel and where there was an unusual water current underneath. I drew the line at visiting the Parisian sewers ( even if there is actually such a tour...and decided that Pere Lachaise cemetery was too far -- besides, there is supposed to be only a fictional unmarked grave).
It is easy to recall the film because many of the key passages are easily identified with a particular song.
But what an experience!
But when the film adaptation came in 2012, it replaced the stage production as my favorite musicalized version. I re-read the long novel again, as a group of us at IMDB were following all the filming developments. It started with the auditions and casting news for the film, the long rehearsal period preceding principal photography, and then the actual filming ( surprisingly a relatively short shoot). It was the first time that singing for a movie musical was done live ( and since it was a sung-through musical there was hardly any spoken word), with acting as the dominant artistic force...and the singing complementing the acting choices. I did recognize some of the filming locations ( mostly from the UK - the only French location was at the beginning of the movie where Valjean was traveling on the hilly part of Provence). That was a fun time when we were following the filming as a group on IMDB! We were even joined briefly by the head of the Sound Unit on the IMDB board -- he eventually won an Oscar for his work on the film.
I saw the film many times, bought the soundtrack recordings, downloaded the screener script ( it was Oscar time, so the script was downloaded for the awards community), got the companion book on the making of the movie, watched all the publicity promotional material on the making of the movie as well as the screening Q&A's for the awards community.
When I had a chance to be in Paris, I visited some of the landmarks mentioned in the novel - such as the Quartier Latin ( Student Quarter), the Left Bank area where the small barricades may have been put up, recognized streets like Rue du Bac and areas like Port St. Cloud... I even tried to locate the bridge where Javert was supposed to have committed suicide, as described in the novel and where there was an unusual water current underneath. I drew the line at visiting the Parisian sewers ( even if there is actually such a tour...and decided that Pere Lachaise cemetery was too far -- besides, there is supposed to be only a fictional unmarked grave).
It is easy to recall the film because many of the key passages are easily identified with a particular song.
But what an experience!