MovieChat Forums > Les Misérables (1998) Discussion > 1998 vs 2012

1998 vs 2012

posted 11 years ago by Jerry-137
31 replies | jump to latest

I just had an enjoyable evening that started out watching Les Miserables the 2012 musical version but about 1/3 through it I couldn't take any more of the "singing" dialog.

So I decided to go back and watch this version and there is no comparison. I like musicals, don't get me wrong, but for some reason the new film just didn't do it for me. The so-called singing was more like the dialog was just ad-libbed in a cant and not real singing. They might have been better off mixing in spoken dialog with some of the better songs from the original musical.

But this version, wow, it gives all the emotion and the sense of that time in French history that I've seen few movies about. Since I don't speak or read French I know little about France's history but it did seem to reflect the life at that time of Europe's history and in particular English history.

In any case I really enjoyed Liam Neeson's portrayal of Jean Valjean and of course Geoffrey Rush's acting was great as always. Maybe one day I will try to sit through the 2012 version but it may be a while. :)

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My DVD Collection: http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/jerryel

[–] EmilyTheDramaQueen 11 years ago

I liked the musical because I'm a big musical person and I even played the Eponine role back in our high school's production and I loved the musical as well. I get some people don't like it but I thought it was great. I really didn't care for this version and I honestly wish there was a mini series so it can capture the book in it's entirety. This movie left so much out and I understood why it had to because of the length of the book but I didn't like how they reduced the Thénardiers, Eponine and Enjolras roles, especially Eponine. Plus I just wanted to laugh at how they made Marius the leader of the revolutionaries in this when in the book he was against them for the most part and I also thought he was kind of a bitch who IMO obsessed over Cosette before the longest before he even knew her name.

[–] Jerry-137 11 years ago

Maybe it was because I never watched/heard the musical play nor have I ever read the story. The only thing I knew about it until I watched this version a few years ago was comments about it. So I didn't know about the parts you mentioned.

Since you have a background in it I can see why you were might be disappointed in any changed versions but that's movie making for you. I respect your opinion though and maybe if I try to rewatch the 2012 version I might have a different opinion but that night it just didn't keep my interest and I kept concentrating on the boring monotone style of 'singing' instead of getting 'into' the drama. The video dreariness didn't help much but I understand that was the times and it certainly wasn't "Oklahoma". Thaks for replying.

[–] jheraldjacob-546-625036 11 years ago

I like the 1998version,,,,,,,,,,it makes me cry......yes am so sensitive.......some great stuff of acting and its all in dialogues...too bad it didnt get oscar nominationssssssss

I cant stop crying.......

[–] flickfix 9 years ago

I haven't seen the film version but I didn't like the original musical when I caught it in San Francisco. The music was great but I really disliked they made Cosette's abusive caretakers into comic relief. That, somehow felt they were off the hook of any responsibilities of abusive behaviors. But all the songs were great, though.

When I saw the 1998 version, I was floored. I thought it'll be impossible to get Hugo's epic novel into a movie but this film did it, and did it with spades. I'll eventually get to the musical film, but I highly doubt I'll like it better.

[–] raythorne2005 8 years ago

Since it's based off the musical you probably won't like it, as it has everything the musical had, such as Sacha Cohen as the abusers providing a bit of comedy. I didn't have a problem with it as much as you though because you can still see they were bad people even with the comedy. It reminded me of the abusive caretaker in Annie played by Carol Burnett.

It could be God, the Devil, Buddha, an Alien...or it could be a kid playing a video game. - onn1320

[–] Navaros 8 years ago

Maybe it was because I never watched/heard the musical play nor have I ever read the story...maybe if I try to rewatch the 2012 version

To watch the 2012 musical abomination is always a horrible idea, but especially if you've never seen or heard the real musical version which the 2012 version totally butchers. You need to hear or hear & see how competent singers perform the musical properly on stage to gain the frame of reference that is necessary for understanding the level of quality that is possible from that material, and how the 2012 film fails to meet those standards in every way imaginable.

If anyone must watch the 2012 abomination, and you have no prior experience with the musical, then do yourself a favor first: listen to and/or watch real singers perform it on stage (i.e. get one of the many stage soundtracks, or listen to one of them on youtube, or watch the concert versions of the musical on youtube, etc.).

[–] lanis_cupus 11 years ago

Thanks for this post. I too loved the 98 version and found it stirring and poignant. I've been fighting with myself over whether to rent the 2012 version but now I think I will put it on hold as you have done. Maybe I'm not cultured enough but I like my stories delivered without unneeded flair.

The 98 rendition may be flawed but I still believe Hugo's essence shines through. An unsung masterpiece.

That's the most you'll ever get out of me Wordman. Ever. -Eddie Wilson

[–] ladyoftheisland 11 years ago

love them both

[–] Trackmaster 11 years ago

The dramatic version game me some background that I didn't get from the musical, but the music is really what makes this story IMO.

[–] ladyoftheisland 11 years ago

Took the 1998 film out of the library over the weekend.

Only read parts of the book but I knew the cart lifting was a pivotal scene and Valjean carrying the flag in 2012 made that work so much better that the 1998 when he he was beaten down in the quarry, the Thenardiers in the musical provided a great illustration of the underbelly of society; Hugh Jackman's physical transformation made it so much more believable that Javert wouldn't immediately nail the mayor.

Still love them both but the 2012 film has a spark that comes from more than the music. I did think Hugh Jackman owned the role in the same way Liam Neeson owned Michael Collins.

[–] Trackmaster 11 years ago

Although I think that most people could admit that Geoffry Rush was a much better Javert than Russel Crowe. Not sure if he could sing though.

[–] GinaRenee 11 years ago

The 1998 Javert was better -- I liked how they incorporated so much that was in his character in the book. But most of the characters and relationships were much better done in the 2012 version. Especially Valjean and Cosette's relationship. The 1998 Cosette was a brat.

[–] JCrewgirl 11 years ago

Cosette was kind of out of character in this version but I wouldn't call her a brat. At least she has more to do in this one then in the musical one. In the musical she's mostly just a plot device and doesn't do much at all other then fall in love with Marius then show up again when everything is all over. You have to read the book to fully understand the Cosette character to be honest.

"Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?!"

Love Les Miserables!!!

[–] sanders_mike25 11 years ago

2012. Aside from the great relationship between Valjean and Fantine and the true menace of Javert, this movie was awful. Shortened, characters changed and/or removed, a "happy ending", no thanks. At least the musical stuck closer to the book.

[–] etvoila 10 years ago

Les Miserables is my favorite musical. I recently assistant stage managed a production of the show and it was an unforgettable experience. However, it's probably because I hold the musical so close to my heart that I didn't care for the movie much. From an objective standpoint I can see that it's a well-made film, and I believed that the supporting characters were well cast (most of the Barricade boys were either from Broadway or the West End, which reflects in the strength of their voices), but I felt that some of the leads were less-than-stellar or at the very least miscast.

The 1998 film had its fair share of flaws. The idea of combining the characters of Marius and Enjolras seemed misguided to me, though Hans Matheson performed the role well. The man with only one love, his country, does not seem to combine well with a man madly in love with a beautiful young woman he meets by happenstance. However, there's something about this film, the way it's shot, the depth given to the complex relationship between Valjean and Javert as well as their respective characters, was very interesting, and both Neeson and Rush were fantastic.

Ultimately, I prefer the stage musical to the 1998 film, by the 1998 film to the movie musical.

[–] Morbius_Fitzgerald 10 years ago

I saw the 1998 version last night and this film was...shocking. How the hell can the one that was nominated for the best motion picture of the year in 2012 be inferior in just about every single aspect? I mean it the 1998 version has better acting, story, writing, cinematography, hell I even felt an emotional connection to these characters which is more than I can say for the 2012 one. Its not an awful film but it tries to squeeze in every single aspect of the stage play in the hopes of pleasing even the purest of fans. I TRIED to feel something for the characters in that version, trust me, I tried. But nothing, and I mean nothing, worked.

"I have always valued my lifelessness."

[–] marnie-copeland 10 years ago

Having read the book in its entirety, no movie can ever do the story justice. I prefer the musical version but like them both. People who don't appreciate the musical version 1) probably have never seen it live on stage and 2) fail to understand how many words/ideas/story you can cram quickly into a matter of minutes via music, not to mention the evocation of emotion that way. Music is not as surface and artsy as it may seem - it serves a purpose.

[–] Musikalelsker 10 years ago

2012 for me.
They really were loyal to the book in that version, and no mayor characters were erased or horribly minimized. I am also a huge fan of musicals, so the fact that the movie didn't have any dialog did not bother me at all. I do enjoy every version of Les Miserables though, the stage musical, movie musical, this version, and of course the book.

I do agree that the singing in the movie musical wasn't the best, but the acting was so great that it really made up for it, and if I want amazing singing I just listen to one of the cast recording of the musical I have:)

[–] Jerry-137 10 years ago

Maybe you could sync the songs of the stage musical to the movie musical and maybe even I could enjoy it. As I stated, I just thought the musical numbers were just talking-singing. If they used the same words in the song as in the stage musical then maybe the singers were better at putting speech dialog to music. Or maybe it sounded better in French if that were the original songs.

I just couldn't get into it but many liked it so I'm in the minority I guess.

[–] Musikalelsker 10 years ago

Nah, you should listen to the movie actors sing the songs, because they really did some emotive singing, which I am usually not fond of, but it really worked for the movie. I cried so many times watching it, and so did everyone I watched it with.

It's true some of the songs are just sung lines, but thats really just a filler between the "real" songs.

Some of my favourite songs, if you want to listen to some of them before deciding to watch the movie again or not:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMYNfQlf1H8 Do You Hear The People Sing (Movie Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf71gy3uME4 Do You Hear The People Sing (Concert Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q29OOI6Y6ig One Day More (Movie Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peOzWQcf8Xs One Day More (London Cast at Olivier Awards 2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ7ODztohVg I Dreamed a Dream (Movie Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYjQduehTpM I Dreamed a Dream (Stage Version)

I hope you give the musical version a second shot:)

[–] Kawada_Kira 10 years ago

1998, most certainly. I really didn't like the 2012 version. It's not that I hate musicals, I just didn't think they did it very well. They went for big names rather than professional singers, and the movie suffered as a result. The 1998 film was amazing, probably one of my all-time favorite movies. Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush were both perfect.

The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of history.
-Mao Zedong

[–] reaseltbim 10 years ago

1998 version all the way for me. I watched this version over the years at least a dozen times

I saw the 2012 musical once and i wiill never see it again, it was pretty bad.

[–] mercyah 9 years ago

1998 by far.