So my World History teacher a few weeks ago was talking about Les Misérables in class, and it sounded kind of interesting, except for the fact that it's a musical. I've never really been that into musicals that much, but I still think it would be very interesting to watch. So has anyone here watched it? If so, would you recommend it, because if so I'm going to give it a try.
There is practically no dialogue at least in the most recent version. All of the words are in the form of song lyrics. Since you don't like musicals this may not be great for you. I love musicals and have seen several version. I cried so so hard in the theater when I watched the 2013 one. The acting, vocals, and cinematography were all incredible. The vocals were recorded during the scenes instead of studio recordings being dubbed in later which I think helped captivate the emotions better much like it would during a live performance. I would recommend it, but I like musicals so you may not enjoy it as much as me.
I'm not a big fan of musicals either, but I loved this one. Beautiful, tragic, stellar cast, amazing acting, perfect! It's one of the best films I've seen.
I honestly found the new movie far worse than it gets credit for, and even though it was a cinematic masterpiece, the musical part wasn't as good as most stage adaptions. I found the book way better; I've read it twice (an English translation). It's really good, but you have to be an avid reader to enjoy it (1,231 pages in my edition, which uses a really small print). If it's for history, the book contains a really good analysis of 19th century France (I'm a total history geek, and you have to really know the history of all Europe to get what it's about), but the musical is a good summary of the whole thing.
There's always the novel written by Victor Hugo that the musical is an adaptation of. It's a huge read, but it has a lot of depth that is developed as opposed to being sung in moments. (I do love the musical, btw.)
Forget all the movie and musical versions—read the book! The full version is extremely long and might be difficult to get through, but you can always read the abridged version (which still contains the core of the plot just minus all the French history). I'm a literature major, and Les Mis is definitely one of my favorite novels of all time. It's a beautiful story that's moving and that sticks with you...at least it did for me. It's got this unforgettable plot with unforgettable characters. Classic literature at its finest!
