Les Misérables (1925) - film review

Having served a prison sentence for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean’s attempt to start a new life is frustrated by his parole officer, Javert.  Adopting an assumed name, Valjean becomes a successful business man and mayor of a town before allowing himself to be arrested.  He escapes from prison and adopts Cosette, the young daughter of a brutal factory worker, Thénardier.  Years later, Cosette falls in love with a revolutinary, Marius...

Of the numerous film adaptations of Victor Hugo’s celebrated work, Henri Fescourt’s four and a half hour epic is reputed to be the finest, remaining doggedly faithful to the original novel in terms of both content and atmosphere.  The film is divided into four parts: (1) L’Évasion de Jean Valjean, (2) Fantine et Cosette, (3) Marius , and (4) L’Épopée de la rue Saint-Denis.  Visually and dramatically, this is a work of genius, featuring a magnificent performance from Gabriel Gabrio, arguably the best Jean Valjean in the history of cinema.

© James Travers 2002

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