Les Miz 2012 ... :D (no spoilers)

[EricKei]

fireheart: What is a "Coluratura", then?

"Choral" Baritone, here. If there is such a thing ... Which is a nice way of saying, I have a reasonably strong solo voice (from what others who know more about music than I do, have told me), but I really let loose when singing in a group; doing so gives me more confidence, and I enjoy it more. In High School, people knew me as "that big tall Bass in the back row of Chorus" -- apparently, I didn't need a mic to project all the way across the building clearly.

Dad was essentially a Baritone and wannabe opera singer who could hit (and hold) the high Bb from the end of "Nessun Dorma" when he wanted to...With a head cold . Used that to trick me into singing from a school concert I was a part of, once. ~_~ I can't even get up that high without lapsing into a falsetto.

Yep. We're base, you're trouble.

...Are you implying that all your bass are belong to us? ^_^

[42_42_42]

I've been lucky enough to see the Broadway show twice (in 1992 and 1996) and I loved the movie every bit as much as the live show. By the end I had chills. I will have to admit that Javert could have been better cast and not just because of the singing, Crowe's acting just wasn't what it could have been. This is not to say it was terrible, just that it wasn't quite on par with everyone else. Still, this didn't ruin it for me. Anne's performance is by far the best.

[fireheart]

fireheart: What is a "Coluratura", then?

Colouratura is not a vocal range per se, it's rather a technique.

Think of a flute or piccolo with a lot of trilling melodies in it (like this), then translate it over to voice. It consists of high range trills.

[XCashier]

I will have to admit that Javert could have been better cast and not just because of the singing, Crowe's acting just wasn't what it could have been. This is not to say it was terrible, just that it wasn't quite on par with everyone else.

Out of curiosity, who would you have cast? I think Avery Brooks would've been fantastic in the role, or the aforementioned Philip Quast or Terrence Mann.

[georgie]

I should start my review by saying im a huge Phantom of the Opera fan. never really got into Les Miz at all.

a few months back i discovered a download of the 25th anniversary of Phantom on stage and loved it then discovered a 25th anniversary of Les Miz. being a fan of Cameron Mackintosh i thought i'd have a quick watch of it. i think the only song i knew before watching it was I dreamed a dream

so i watched the 25th anniversary of it and fell in love. It helped to have Ramin Karimloo in it (from Phantom) but some bits didnt make sense to me.

went to the cinema last wednesday and finally got to see it. all those bits that didnt make sense to me came together and were explained well in the movie.

it was a treat to see Colm Wilkinson as the bishop and Hadley Fraser (Raoul from Phantom) as a soldier.

I had 3 favourites in the movie. Samantha Barks as eponine. beautiful voice and perfect in the role
Aaron Tveit as Enjolras. His final scenes were heart wrenching.

And im going to go against everyone in my final favourite. Russell Crowe. I could feel his pain at the end when the criminal had saved his life earlier and after all those years chasing him he felt robbed and unable to carry on. adored Russell in this

there was a fair bit of sobbing towards the end of the movie from the audience. I'd definitely recommend this movie if your a fan or need a bloody good cry

[SongsOfDragons]

Saw the movie today.

Bloody Hathaway made me bawl in the cinema, right when she saw the hallucination of Cosette. I hadn't cried from a movie for ages.

The entire cinema let out an 'ooohhhh ow wince!' when a certain character landed spine first on that river sluice wall thing with a craaaack. ^^

And I don't think I've laughed so hard at the antics of the Thernardier pair.

Housemate's mother is bitching though because it's not exactly like the show... *eyeroll*

[42_42_42]

Out of curiosity, who would you have cast? I think Avery Brooks would've been fantastic in the role, or the aforementioned Philip Quast or Terrence Mann.

I honestly don't know as I'm not familiar enough with good actors of the right age who can sing (Neil Patrick Harris too young, for example). Probably someone, who, like Barks, is an experienced stage performer, rather than a known film star. I do understand them casting a star opposite Jackman, however. I adore Avery Brooks and agree he would have been superb, but not sure if people would have accepted him in the role. Not familiar with Philip Quast, but Terrence Mann would have been excellent.

[XCashier]

The entire cinema let out an 'ooohhhh ow wince!' when a certain character landed spine first on that river sluice wall thing with a craaaack. ^^

I did the same thing when Thenardier chopped off that poor cat's tail. (Yes, I know it wasn't real, but the very idea...!)

Housemate's mother is bitching though because it's not exactly like the show... *eyeroll*

It's actually much closer to the book now. There are some things that it's just not feasible to do live on stage.

I honestly don't know as I'm not familiar enough with good actors of the right age who can sing ...but Terrence Mann would have been excellent.

Yes, that's the problem. Good actors who can sing are a rarity, let alone in the right key or the right style. The age is another problem. I'm not sure how old Javert is supposed to be, but Terrence Mann might be a little too old by now.

[Fudgethatkay]

I did the same thing when Thenardier chopped off that poor cat's tail. (Yes, I know it wasn't real, but the very idea...!)

.

Oh Good. I'm not the only one. O.o
I freaked out at that >>

[fireheart]

It's actually much closer to the book now. There are some things that it's just not feasible to do live on stage.

Isn't it the case that in some versions, Fantine only sells her hair, not her teeth as well? I thought the teeth thing came from the novel, not the musical.

(From what I've seen, when schools and the like perform it, the girl who plays Fantine usually wears a wig )

[XCashier]

Isn't it the case that in some versions, Fantine only sells her hair, not her teeth as well? I thought the teeth thing came from the novel, not the musical.

(From what I've seen, when schools and the like perform it, the girl who plays Fantine usually wears a wig )

In the book, she sells her hair and her front teeth. Don't know where the bit about the locket came from; I'm guessing it takes too long to properly apply toothblack on stage so they had to have her sell something else. Not sure why they changed it to her back teeth in the movie, unless it's too difficult to SFX out teeth. (Or, it'd be too obvious that her teeth aren't really gone if she's singing clearly.)

Generally, if the actress playing Fantine has short hair, they'll put her in a wig, have her go offstage during the appropriate verse in "Lovely Ladies" and remove the wig. If the actress has long hair, they'll tuck the hair under a bonnet.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

Generally, if the actress playing Fantine has short hair, they'll put her in a wig, have her go offstage during the appropriate verse in "Lovely Ladies" and remove the wig. If the actress has long hair, they'll tuck the hair under a bonnet.

What we did when our group did Les Miz was the girl that played Fantine actually wore a long wig, went off stage and changed to a short wig. The reasoning behind this was we were working with a small cast and all of the main characters doubled as sailers, workers, prostitutes ect with the exception of Jean Valjean and Javert. Little Bits, in addition to playing Eponine was also a poor women in the scene with End of the Day with a bonnet over her hair and was a prostitute in Lovely Ladies and Master of the House wearing a red wig.

[jedimaster91]

Just got back from seeing it. I've seen the stage show before, and the movie I think did a good job comparatively. I actually liked Russell Crowe as Javert, though I do wish he'd had a bit more umph in places. And I adore Hugh Jackman, but I thought Valjean was slightly outside his vocal range. Especially "Bring Him Home" sounded like he was straining a bit to hit some of those high notes. Neither bothered me enough to not watch the movie again.

I did manage to get through it without crying, but Li'l Sis was bawling enough for both of us.

[Moirae]

This movie made me bawl like a baby by the end. Wonderfully done.