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

[Gazpacho]

Some clips have been uploaded. The cinematography looks great. But yikes, Russell Crowe's singing is painful to listen to. Javerts such as Philip Quast and Norm Lewis have spoiled me. Same song, unspeakably different quality.

[cruisin]

Some clips have been uploaded. The cinematography looks great. But yikes, Russell Crowe's singing is painful to listen to. Javerts such as Philip Quast and Norm Lewis have spoiled me. Same song, unspeakably different quality.

Russell Crowe is awful! Amanda Seyfried is tinny and sounds like a cartoon character. Samantha Barks is wonderful, but "On My Own" is so toned down. I understand they wanted to go for more acting in the film, but that song is so powerful and she can do it justice. Why did they wimp it out?

[my little pony]

ita about on my own, it's like they are hell bent on ruining my xmas. she was the one person i was looking forward to vocally.

[cruisin]

ita about on my own, it's like they are hell bent on ruining my xmas. she was the one person i was looking forward to vocally.

Yes. Hugh Jackman has a really good voice, and certainly can do Valjean justice. But, do they let him sing? Or, do they make him do that half sing/half talk thing, throughout the film? Are they holding back the really good singers to make the bad ones less obvious?

[floskate]

Or are they holding back all the huge key changes and belt notes in the teasers so as not to spoil us? (This is what I'm hoping because if it's all at this level, it will be one insipid movie. Seyfried's vibrato is out. of. control!! It's just tremolo really and the higher she goes, the faster it gets.

[Gazpacho]

Yes. Hugh Jackman has a really good voice, and certainly can do Valjean justice. But, do they let him sing? Or, do they make him do that half sing/half talk thing, throughout the film? Are they holding back the really good singers to make the bad ones less obvious?

I was wondering that too. As someone said earlier in this thread, the tension between Valjean and Javert isn't as effective if the quality is so disparate.

[cruisin]

I was wondering that too. As someone said earlier in this thread, the tension between Valjean and Javert isn't as effective if the quality is so disparate.

Which begs the question: why cast talent so disparate? Les Mis has an almost cult following. The people who are holding their breath for the release have most likely seen the musical/10th Anniversary/25th Anniversary broadcasts. We know what the vocals can and should be. There was no need for a whole slew of big name stars. Jackman and Hathaway were enough. Hathaway has a decent voice and if she had actually sung full out she could have been very good. The breathy, dramatic half singing is lame. They could have gotten any female Glee cast member to play Cosette. Or they could have given theater people the movie opportunity and made a better film. Possibly, they figure that the greater audience will not care about the quality of the voices, but for Les Mis I think they are wrong.

[Gazpacho]

Which begs the question: why cast talent so disparate? Les Mis has an almost cult following. The people who are holding their breath for the release have most likely seen the musical/10th Anniversary/25th Anniversary broadcasts. We know what the vocals can and should be. There was no need for a whole slew of big name stars. Jackman and Hathaway were enough. Hathaway has a decent voice and if she had actually sung full out she could have been very good. The breathy, dramatic half singing is lame. They could have gotten any female Glee cast member to play Cosette. Or they could have given theater people the movie opportunity and made a better film. Possibly, they figure that the greater audience will not care about the quality of the voices, but for Les Mis I think they are wrong.

Maybe they figure that the die-hard fans will see it anyway and the newbies won't know what they're missing.

If those clips are any indication, I might boycott this one at least in the theatre. I'm not paying $10 or more to hear bad singers and good singers who are made to sing below their potential.

[skatesindreams]

Yes. Hugh Jackman has a really good voice, and certainly can do Valjean justice. But, do they let him sing? Or, do they make him do that half sing/half talk thing, throughout the film? Are they holding back the really good singers to make the bad ones less obvious?

.

My thought, also.
If that is the case, they have made what might have been a great filmed "drama with music", much less so because of their casting choices.

Whoever made these decisions will have only themselves to blame if the film is less successful than they expect it to be.
I hope that Hugh Jackman, and the other really gifted performers here, will not regret participating in the project.

[cruisin]

Maybe they figure that the die-hard fans will see it anyway and the newbies won't know what they're missing.

If those clips are any indication, I might boycott this one at least in the theatre. I'm not paying $10 or more to hear bad singers and good singers who are made to sing below their potential.

I hear you! Though, I may go anyway My best friend has never seen Les Mis. She is all excited for the film. I almost don't want her to see it unless she sees an Anniversary broadcast first.

[Erin]

I was hoping I wouldn't be as disappointed with the clips because I'm usually not too picky about singing, but I generally agree with the comments here, although Seyfried didn't bother me as much. But Crowe was beyond dreadful, almost as bad as Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia...and will have a much bigger impact on the movie than Pierce did. And even if there are some money notes coming later, I'm still disappointed that the "I'm Jean Valjean" line at the end of the "Who am I?" clib was whispered rather than belted out. The only clip I was really happy with was "At the End of the Day".

[Gazpacho]

Turns out that Philip Quast actually has extensive television acting experience. I don't know how good he is acting on screen, but his voice alone would make up for any shortcomings. He's not that much older than Crowe, so age wouldn't have been a problem.

It dawned on me that the clip of Javert and Valjean features the very first words of the whole musical.

I hope what we've seen isn't representative of Hugh Jackman's singing performance. If it is, I wish Hugh would have put down his foot and been like, I'm going to sing my best, your fault if Javert isn't as good. The movie wouldn't have happened without Hugh Jackman, so I imagine he would have had the power to do that. The released clips so far are miles below his ability.

[floskate]

I'll go and see this on the strength of the almost unanimous rave tweets after the NY preview earlier this week. Maybe in context the musical choices will make more sense. Having seen a few more clips on the internet it does seem as though Barks was given full rein vocally towards the end of 'On My Own' so hopefully this bodes well.

[jenny12]

I'll go and see this on the strength of the almost unanimous rave tweets after the NY preview earlier this week. Maybe in context the musical choices will make more sense. Having seen a few more clips on the internet it does seem as though Barks was given full rein vocally towards the end of 'On My Own' so hopefully this bodes well.

Yeah, in the Les Mis First Look that was posted, it does seem that Samantha Barks does go full voice starting in the bridge of On My Own. I'm looking forward to the movie still, but really wish they were using someone other than Russell Crowe. Alan Rickman would have been a good choice or even Johnny Depp who doesn't have the greatest voice but could act wonderfully through his voice. Crowe's a fine actor, but I'm not sure if he can covey it convincingly through his singing, although perhaps it's unfair to judge him through just a few clips.

[skatesindreams]

I'll go and see this on the strength of the almost unanimous rave tweets after the NY preview earlier this week. Maybe in context the musical choices will make more sense. Having seen a few more clips on the internet it does seem as though Barks was given full rein vocally towards the end of 'On My Own' so hopefully this bodes well.

Fingers crossed that your hopes will be realized, floskate.

[cruisin]

Anyone see The boy From Oz? Hugh Jackman became Peter Allen. He won the tony for that performance. This is one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLdtEmufAQ For anyone who doesn't know Peter Allen was married to Liza Minelli for a time. He was very close to her mother Judy Garland. Garland was treated horribly at the end of her life. Allen wrote this song for her. It has made me weepy since I first saw Allen sing it back in the '70s. Also loved I Go To Rio and Don't Cry Out Loud. Hopefully Jackman et al get to show what they can do in this film and we're worrying needlessly about the clips. Though I think what we saw from Crowe is as good as it will get.

[Alixana]

The snippet with Russell Crowe is so disappointing. Went back and listened to Philip Quast to get Russell's voice out of my head.

[Anita18]

Yeah, in the Les Mis First Look that was posted, it does seem that Samantha Barks does go full voice starting in the bridge of On My Own. I'm looking forward to the movie still, but really wish they were using someone other than Russell Crowe. Alan Rickman would have been a good choice or even Johnny Depp who doesn't have the greatest voice but could act wonderfully through his voice. Crowe's a fine actor, but I'm not sure if he can covey it convincingly through his singing, although perhaps it's unfair to judge him through just a few clips.

That's the biggest thing - Javert is obviously too high for Crowe's natural range. He's doing his best to support his tone (which is more than what I can say for Amanda Seyfried ), but he can't enunciate or emote worth a damn singing like that. It's going to be awkwardly unnatural to listen/watch him for the entire movie. Ugh, I shudder to think how he's gonna butcher "Stars."

Eddie Redmayne has a surprisingly lovely voice! His "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" is going to be brutal. :

[pollyanna]

Amanda Seyfried I giggled when she sang "then make no sound." Ironic.

I'm excited to hear how well Redmayne sings. Loved him in Pillars of the Earth, but didn't know he was a talented singer.

[cruisin]

Obviously Hathaway can sing, when she's allowed to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh0ER-HM3HA