You never read about this film in top lists. It deserves to be there. I'm totally blown away by the supreme quality of this epic. Wow! There are monumentally great films out there that many of us "film buffs" don't know about.
Thank you Criterion.
Darren Skuja
"Film Is The Ultimate Artform"
agreed. due to world war 2, director raymond bernard had to go into hiding, as he was jewish, so the film pretty much became up for grabs without his protection and thus butchered until he was again given the right much later to reconstruct it as close to the original as possible... though still not the same. he died a few months later. That could be why it is so overlooked, as well as other films you speak about, getting lost in history. this version is BY FAR the best of all the others out there.
shareI completely agree with you. This film is one of the greatest masterpieces I have ever seen and I, too, am eternally grateful to Criterion for their restored version.
shareyes, it is good.
However, it could have been better, had it not been so excruciatingly long.
I enjoyed the entire 5 hour movie, and never found it boring. To me, the lenght is not a problem when the quality of the film is this high.
shareIn my high school, I read a little bit about Les Miserables. So, that's why I was interested to watch it in the first place. And as 'dirringblob' said, it wasn't a boring movie. Totally worth my time. Such an awesome movie. And Harry Baur's performance was magnificent too.
shareThis and Life Is Beautiful should be seen by kids.
shareIs it true that Baur died from the hands of the gestapo? This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Thank you AMC!
shareFor sure, one of the best examples of a fair adaptation to such a classic. Wouldn't it be nice to see the same thing done to Crime and Punishment or A Tale of Two Cities?
shareYeah, it's one of the greats. Nice and long. Great story. Extremely well told.
This is the best version, but only for medium old people with an attention span.
NOT for kids or people who like to see those new flix like Xformers, etc.
I just watched it and I was blown away. The editing, acting, scale, raw emotion, romance, action, thrilling parts, etc. was just mindblowing. I have no idea why I have not heard of this masterpiece until a few weeks ago. But to anyone reading: WATCH IT IF YOU CAN. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!
shareI just watched this, also, and agree wholeheartedly with everything said here. I sadly missed the first hour and a half, but I am still thinking about it now that it's over. What a great film - from every aspect. Terrific. I hope I can see the beginning some time and watch the rest again!
shareI was impressed by the handheld camera for the riot scene. Very ahead of its time.
shareThis is a great film. I watched it a few days after seeing the new 2012 version and it filled in a lot of gaps, plot-wise. I had never read the book, and had previously only seen the 1935 and 1998 English-language versions - both of which severely truncate the story.
shareI completely concur! The same could easily be said of his earlier Wooden Crosses. What a wonderful Eclipse Series! =)