Notre-Dame de Paris

I knew music was beautiful and it makes me feel better but I do not really enjoy listening the music and especially classical music such as opera, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart's music and philharmonic orchestra. I knew it was all wonderful music but whenever I listening to them, I will definitely go sleep. So I wouldn't enjoy it. I can only enjoy part of the music. For example, the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption' when Andy go to the prison's announcement room and then playing the opera(I believe this is one of the best scene in all time.), it was beautiful music.

But, I do like watching musical bit childish way because I would like to watching classic Disney cartoon movie such as Beauty and the beast, The lion king, Aladdin and so on.

I watched 'Notre-Dame de Paris' about 1 or 2 years ago and that time my English wasn't that good enough to understand the subtitles and interestingly I don't even remember what story is about so I don't have any idea what to say about it.

And then a few days ago I have been listening the some musical album such as Les Misérables and Cats. Surprisingly, I realised that how much I enjoyed their singing and playing. This is the what happen when you watched best movie or performance. It's out of nowhere it came to my mind. I don't even know what they talking about or what this story is about but I was so badly wanted to watch it again and listen to music again.

I must give rate for 10/10 because I don't even understand what they were saying or talking about but I still want to watch it again.

This is extremely powerful and beautiful performance and energetic and splendour musical. It doesn't matter whether anyone likes musical or not so I highly recommended to anyone.

The voices alone prove just why this musical was such a success in Europe and Asia. All of the cast have been decorated with various musical honours in and out of live theatre in Quebec (with the exception of Helene Segara, a native French pop singer, and Garou, a newcomer to the live entertainment circle). Their strong musical backgrounds made this show absolutely irresistible.

Garou's performance as Quasimodo could not have been more perfect as his rough voice accurately portrays the heartbreaking sadness of the character. Helene Segara is sweet without being distasteful (one of the only Esmeraldas who does not plaster herself all over Phoebus right from the get-go), and is powerful with her voice when she needs to be while retaining a lighter sound when required. Daniel Lavoie's voice fits Frollo perfectly, but his songs seem lacking when compared to others. Patric Fiori and Julie Zenatti are wonderful when they sing together as Phoebus and Fleur-de-Lys, but both are equally strong in their individual roles. Luck Mervil's Clopin is strong as the leader of the Gypsies, though his notes are mercurial and quite unpredictable at times. And lastly, Bruno Pelletier narrates and threads the entire story as Gringoire, his voice ever so brilliantly bringing out the mood of each scene. The acting, on the most part, is very well done. Considering that most of these actors have done some kind of theatre in the past, there are very few exceptions, mostly to do with dancers and the lack of interaction between the characters.

The style of presentation is really very refreshing, and it doesn't seem to matter that these actors no longer sing to each other but to the audience through very obvious head-mics. There are some small concerns with the pre-recorded tracks and chorus, but this little cheat is forgiven in view of the awesome live performances by the cast. This kind of presentation along with the dancers who often become an extension of the set makes this musical seem more like a pop/rock concert, perhaps more appealing to a younger audience. The choreography is very expressive, and the dancers set the perfect rhythm and feeling for each piece of music performed. The acrobatics, however impressive, never upstage the performers, striking an even balance. The dark, cold and rather barren feeling of the empty stage evokes a sense of modernism, and enhances the tragedy within the story.

Plamondon's libretto strengthens Cocciante's music, though both are obviously very able in each of their own discipline. The plot stays true to the book and omitted only things unnecessary in this particular depiction of the story. The English subtitles are accurate enough for one to appreciate the lyrics, and several of the songs do translate well into English. But when available, the original French language audio track is the best to listen to in order to appreciate how the music carries the lyrics, even if the audience isn't fluent in French.

If there is anything left to be desired, it is actual editing of the made for TV/DVD version. For the most part it does its job well. Besides giving a clear view of what the actors are doing individually and what the dancers are doing, the editors added some cropped closeups within a distance shot to give the feeling of the entire stage. However there are some very, very clichéd stills inserted in attempts to emphasize certain things (such as the insert of Phoebus' face at the end of Beau Comme le Soleil, depicting Fiori straining for a note). That being said, one can at least be appreciative of being able to see what the actors look like.

Overall, a wonderful musical/performance that delivers an enjoyable experience, and a very successful attempt at an innovative presentation. It is absolutely a worthwhile musical to spend some time appreciating.

This is definitely a great musical, definitely one of th best adaptation of the original work. As the previous person said, but there was a mistake made by him or her, Bruno Pelletier was Gringoire, not Frollo. The whole musical was amazing, every singer had an amazing performance, communicating emotion even to non-french speakers. It has beautiful music and lyrics, as well as singers that can sing them well. Out of every one of them my favourite is definitely the Quebecois Bruno Pelletier. He had a very beautiful voice and played the character of Gringoire really well (one thing to note is that Gringoire's character is changed a lot, but Bruno Pelletier was superb in his role.) Even thought there are changes from the original work the musical stayed rather true to the original story. A work very worth seeing, even if you don't understand one word of French it can still touch you. (there are subtittles in many language)

Conventional wisdom has it that the French don't like musicals. Not true at all, as the success of this show demonstrates. Plamondon and Cocciante have concocted a masterpiece that perfectly captures all the important parts of Hugo's novel, and magnificently transports the whole thing to the stage. The handful of young unknowns who star in this production on the video tape (most of them from Quebec) are almost overwhelming in their talent as singers, dancers, and dramatic performers. Bruno Pelletier shines as the anguished, tortured priest. Hélène Ségara (the only French star in the cast) totally captures our hearts as the doomed Esméralda, and Garou (the name means "Werewolf" in French!) demands and receives all our sympathy as the hapless Quasimodo. Incredibly powerful supporting performances by Patrick Fiori as Phoebus, Julie Zenatti as Fleur-de-lys and Luc Merville as Clopin round out a cast that can do no wrong.

Imagine Riverdance on steroids, "West Side Story" meets "Cirque de Soleil", or a Paris riot set to music, and you have an idea of the scope of this incredible show. The choreography is the most energetic, not to say frenetic, I have ever seen, and the most imaginative. It's hard to decide, at times, if we are watching a dance or a gymnastics exhibition.

If you can't get to Las Vegas, Montreal or Paris to see the show live on stage, this is the next best thing. For me it totally eclipsed every rock opera and musical which preceded it, to become the definitive musical of the 20th century. And I believe it will be at least another generation before anyone can come up with a way to surpass it.

There are no words to describe when watching this movie, it's like a breath of fresh air. Whether you are fluent in french or not you will come to appreciate this movie instantly. It is a classic story of boy loves girl who loves someone else. If anyone has captured a classic it is Victor Hugo.

A great deal of people contributed to the beautiful theatrics in this production and although everyone sang beautifully three people stood out in my mind. Bruno Pelletier who played Gringoire, Garou who played Quasimodo, and last but not least Hélène Ségara who played Esmeralda. Bruno Pelletier's voice was so pure, so pure in fact that I never would have guessed he was singing live. I liked Garou's voice in particular because it was like a modernized rock voice meshed with classical ballads. Hélène's voice was just amazing, her range was endless. The sound of their voices were so good that it literally brought tears to my eyes.

I strongly recommend this movie to everyone and I give it a ten out of ten simply for the fact that though in french it portrays the universal language of love, which is translated very clearly.