Several of us spent most of one weekend centered around watching five different versions of Les Miserables, and the general consensus was that the earliest, this by Raymond Bernard, was the masterpiece, the most accurate reflection of the massive Hugo novel, the only one in which the relationship between Valjean and the infant Cosette is captured with understanding and charm, and the only one that doesn't count on a fiendish Javert to advance the plot. Inspector Javert, after all, is only a tool for an antiquated justice system, only one coil in a larger serpent that threatens human justice.
Each of the other versions naturally has separate strengths and weaknesses, the best conventional overview version still being the 1935 Hollywood version with Fredric March and Charles Laughton, and one of the weaker entries featuring Tony Perkins as Javert (channeling Norman Bates).
Bernard's version is a lasting experience! Count on an entire day to watch this, as it is separated as three different films, each with it's own visual rhythm, but all connected to the redemption of it's hero. This epic had never been released as a complete film in the United States, and thanks to Criterion, we now have the opportunity to engage with a dazzling, if sombre masterpiece.
Each of the other versions naturally has separate strengths and weaknesses, the best conventional overview version still being the 1935 Hollywood version with Fredric March and Charles Laughton, and one of the weaker entries featuring Tony Perkins as Javert (channeling Norman Bates).
Bernard's version is a lasting experience! Count on an entire day to watch this, as it is separated as three different films, each with it's own visual rhythm, but all connected to the redemption of it's hero. This epic had never been released as a complete film in the United States, and thanks to Criterion, we now have the opportunity to engage with a dazzling, if sombre masterpiece.