Les Mis Fans ~ Keep An Eye Out During PBS Pledge Break Times

[Latte]

The critics like it. There was even talk on tv yesterday that it may be nominated for best picture.
Go Figure.

[cruisin]

Maybe we have to not compare the movie to the theater or concert versions. On stage the actors have to power sing and on film they don't. The film is more focused on the storyline and presentation within a natural setting. If we want to hear the goose pimple vocals, we have the concerts for that. So, we (possibly) can't expect the quality of vocals in the movie. But, I do think they should have started with better voices where Crowe and Seyfried are concerned.

[Wyliefan]

The critics like it. There was even talk on tv yesterday that it may be nominated for best picture.
Go Figure.

Yesterday? There's been talk that it'll be nominated for weeks! Quite a few people are predicting a win, in fact.

[Kruss]

I'm anxious for this to be good as well, and Crowe's and Seyfried's voices are worrisome.

I'm hoping there's more to it. This week, Michael Ball tweeted about seeing the preview. I hope he's right.

[Alixana]

Maybe we have to not compare the movie to the theater or concert versions. On stage the actors have to power sing and on film they don't. The film is more focused on the storyline and presentation within a natural setting. If we want to hear the goose pimple vocals, we have the concerts for that.

Agreed. After seeing the trailers, I decided not to watch anything else they release but try really hard to appreciate the movie for what it is (ie not compare to theatre or concert). It might be difficult but I'll try.

[cruisin]

Agreed. After seeing the trailers, I decided not to watch anything else they release but try really hard to appreciate the movie for what it is (ie not compare to theatre or concert). It might be difficult but I'll try.

This sounds like a good plan

[Spareoom]

Since I plan on seeing Les Mis no matter what, I've decided not to watch any of the clips. I figure, I'd rather see the whole movie together and judge how it works as a whole, instead of seeing bits and pieces out of cinematic context. We all know how the play goes, we all know how the song goes. Now I want to see their interpretation of it, and I'd rather not make judgements on it until I see it all together.

[Meredith]

The critics like it.

Funny since critics panned Les Mis so mercilessly when it was first performed onstage.

[orbitz]

Funny since critics panned Les Mis so mercilessly when it was first performed onstage.

What were the criticisms of the original stage production ? A talented movie director isn't going to simply point his camera at the stage production, film it, and then plop it onto the screen as is without alterations to fit the film medium and the director's vision.

[Meredith]

What were the criticisms of the original stage production ?

I don't remember the specific criticisms of the original stage production of Les Mis. I first saw it on television as the tenth anniversary concert. I do believe the producer made reference to the bad reviews by the critics at the end when it aired on PBS, although I could be wrong.

Every time I hear or see the production I notice something I had not previously appreciated. I take what critics say with a grain of salt, but have a lot of respect for previous cast members' opinions - which so far appear positive with regard to the movie.

ETA Les Mis is airing right now where I live, and I am falling in love with Alfie Boe all over again.

[AragornElessar]

You're not remembering wrong Meredith. I got my hands on the 25th Anniversary Concert DVD back in the Spring, thanks to missing the entire Prologue and my copy I burned off PBS starting w/At The End of The Day, and there's a featurette looking back at the History of the show. It was w/out a doubt panned. There's even a shot of a review called Les Glums.

I also remember hearing Cameron MacIntosh in an interview say it was the Public that saved Les Mis after those horrible first reviews and thanks to word of mouth is how it caught on. Don't ask me where or when I saw that interview, but I remember him clearly saying that somewhere in time.

[cruisin]

Whatever the critics said, Les Mis was one of the hottest tickets of the early '80s. We're talking months for scalped tickets.

[jenny12]

I think Les Mis was originally bad reviewed like many of the big '80s spectacle musicals were not reviewed well in their time. I think I read somewhere that many musical theatre critics didn't like what Andrew Lloyd Webber was doing to musical theater and thought of Les Mis in the same vein: over-the-top, a crescendo after almost every song, lyrics without any subtlety (criticisms I can kind of see, but do not take away from my enjoyment of the show). However, like others said it got great word-of-mouth and the public ate it up.