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Les Misérables
1995 Drama / War
Review
This is a clever re-working of Victor Hugo’s novel, set at the time of the German occupation
in France. Although quite a long film (nearly 3 hours), it is well-paced with a
great deal of action and drama. Jean-Paul Belmondo puts in a very creditable performance
in what is probably one of his better films.
If the film has one fault it is the unnecessary insertion of scenes taken directly from Victor Hugo’s story to re-enforce the parallels between the actual events and the fictional story. Otherwise, this is a very watchable and enjoyable film, with a gripping introduction and a very satisfying conclusion. © James Travers 1999 Claude Lelouch directed Jean-Paul Belmondo in a very interesting version of Hugo’s novel. The characters are treated as archetypes and spread across the first half of the 20th century. Five composers were called on to supply music for the soundtrack, including Michel Legrand and Francis Lai. I remember seeing this in Sydney with my neighbour, a cinematographer, and both of us being absolutely swept off our feet by it. It’s mystifying that this like so many other French films released around the world (with local subtitles) have never been made available on DVD. French DVDs tend to stick resolutely to French subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and Region 2 only protection. A set of English subtitles on a region-free DVD would open up this film to up a much larger audience for posterity. © Mike Williams (Sydney, Australia) 
Write a review for this film... User Comments
Superb movie. I don’t
understand why it hasn’t been released on BluRay with English
subtitles. The cinematography adds so much to a beautiful story,
and in HD it would be even better. I’ve watched every year, at
Christmas, since 1999.
LeRoy Lees (Kanata, ON Canada)
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Director:
Claude Lelouch
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Boujenah, Alessandra Martines, Salomé Lelouch, Annie Girardot Synopsis
In autumn 1939, a young Jewish family are fleeing from the Nazis when they meet an ex-boxer
(played by Jean-Paul Belmondo) who helps them to escape. This event inspires the
ex-boxer to play an active part in the struggle against the Nazi occupation in the years
that follow.
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