14 Years have passed since the first installment ;Marius and Gavroche simutaneously appear in the first scene ;the mammoth novel has undergone some changes like the first part: for instance the battle of Waterloo is passed over in silence;Marius being at odds with his father (instead of his grandfather in the book) is a fait accompli .And the death of Valjean is given a more spectacular treatment , Marius embraces his father-in-law without a moment's hesitation ,etc...
But it does not matter, for Riccardo Freda was a first-rate craftsman whose metier was the popular cinema in the noblest sense of the term ; the getaway in Thenardier's den is given a true film noir treatment ; like in the first part,one sees Javert's shadow before the untouchable cop appears ; Valjean carrying Marius on his shoulders through the sewers of Paris , is ,par excellence , a tailor-made scene for Freda's fancy for doom and gloom .
All the characters 'lines converge on the 5-6 June 1932 riot ; it was general Lamarque's funeral ;as he had been a hero of the Revolution wars, for the Republicans ,it was cause for demonstrating and eventually overthrowing Louis-Philippe (the last king in France till 1848) ; those bloody fights claimed 6,000 deaths and casualties .
Freda's directing movements in the crowd and of the barricades rises to the occasion and does not flag in parts :One does not hear Gavroche sing his famous ditty ,but the urchin does not lack chops ;spot young Marcello Mastroianni as one of Marius's companions on the barricades ; Valentina Cortese ,who played Fantine in the first part was also cast as her grown up daughter ,Cosette ,Marius ' love interest .
Outstanding cast ,with Gino Cervi ,who takes redemption to new limits ,as the hero ,and Giovanni Hinrich as policeman Javert who would not ,could not, fall in his duty , the stand-outs.
But it does not matter, for Riccardo Freda was a first-rate craftsman whose metier was the popular cinema in the noblest sense of the term ; the getaway in Thenardier's den is given a true film noir treatment ; like in the first part,one sees Javert's shadow before the untouchable cop appears ; Valjean carrying Marius on his shoulders through the sewers of Paris , is ,par excellence , a tailor-made scene for Freda's fancy for doom and gloom .
All the characters 'lines converge on the 5-6 June 1932 riot ; it was general Lamarque's funeral ;as he had been a hero of the Revolution wars, for the Republicans ,it was cause for demonstrating and eventually overthrowing Louis-Philippe (the last king in France till 1848) ; those bloody fights claimed 6,000 deaths and casualties .
Freda's directing movements in the crowd and of the barricades rises to the occasion and does not flag in parts :One does not hear Gavroche sing his famous ditty ,but the urchin does not lack chops ;spot young Marcello Mastroianni as one of Marius's companions on the barricades ; Valentina Cortese ,who played Fantine in the first part was also cast as her grown up daughter ,Cosette ,Marius ' love interest .
Outstanding cast ,with Gino Cervi ,who takes redemption to new limits ,as the hero ,and Giovanni Hinrich as policeman Javert who would not ,could not, fall in his duty , the stand-outs.