Les Miserables (1935) and Candlesticks

There’s a biblical verse that warns against storing up treasures in heaven where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in a steal. Jean Valjean keeps two silver candlesticks with him always — they’re probably the nicest things he owns — but their true value signifies ... Read full article

Les Miserables (1952)

Les Miserables Directed by Lewis Milestone Written by Richard Murphy from the novel by Victor Hugo 1952/USA Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation First viewing/Amazon Instant I wasn’t crazy about this truncated version of the oft-filmed Victor Hugo novel. Jean Valjean (Michael Rennie) is... Read full article

Les Miserables (1935 and 1998)

Les Miserables is a hard novel to adapt into a film. The book itself is gargantuan to hold; even in tiny print, English translations run at least 1,000 pages. Try compressing that into a two-hour film. Then add singing. The stage musical, opening in 1987 on Broadway, has no spoken dialogue; it is al... Read full article

LES MISERABLES (2012): Less Miserable Than Expected

Director Tom Hooper adopted a huge legacy when he agreed to make yet another version of Victor Hugo’s classic French tale. There are two French film versions of the story: the epic Raymond Bernard production of 1934 and the lesser-known 1958 film directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois. Hollywood p... Read full article