Based on the Victor Hugo novel by
the same name, Les Misérables primarily follows the story of prisoner Jean
Valjean and his journey to vindication.
Valjean is hunted for years by the merciless policeman Javert, who is
committed to making Valjean pay for the bread he stole as a young man. After being saved by a priest, Valjean has a
change in heart and commits himself to a new identity that will give him the
self-redemption he is looking for. He
adopts a young girl, Cosette, whose mother, Fantine, has to resort to
prostitution in order to take care of Cosette’s needs. Fantine passes away and years later Valjean
and Cosette are a family living together in the midst of revolutionary France,
where Cosette falls in love and Javert still searches for Valjean.
Les Misérables reinvented the way
movie musicals are made. The biggest
aspects of a musical should be the film’s audio technique and quality, which
were both heavily thought-out in Les Mis.
Director Tom Hooper decided that the actors would sing their vocals live
instead of recording them before shooting the movie and inserting in
postproduction.
I love this decision that Hooper
made. I think it really adds a realistic
quality to the movie and sound recordings because of how well this technique
was utilized. This was such a challenge because of microphone positioning and
Hooper really pulls it off. It revolutionized the way a musical is made on
screen by taking it back to the basics of live performing.
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