Les misérables

Jean-Paul Le Chanois,as anyone past infancy knows ,at least in France ,was the "Bête Noire" of the Nouvelle Vague .More than any other director,Godard and his clique were ruthless when they used to speak of him.Unlike Carné ,Duvivier,Clouzot and Grémillon- other victims of the Young Turks who were better than their persecutors anyway- ,he was never restored to favor even by the contemporary critics.Jean Tulard writes in the "Dictionnaire des Réalisateurs" ::" He represents the mediocrity of the fifties cinema (...)He made the worst of all "les Miserables" versions(..) " Objections to Le Chanois's version remained: the pictures are too clean,the characters (particularly Danielle Delorme's Fantine) seem well-fed .Bourvil is miscast as Thenardier:he is too gentle ,too nice to portray him successfully.Cosette is forgettable as a girlie,she is totally bland as Marius's love.How can a director be wrong with the famous scene of the doll,which every French schoolboy and every schoolgirl in my country know by heart? Such is the case here.Waterloo battle and the scenes on the barricades are not really exciting .(But Hossein's slow motions in the 1982 version starring Lino Ventura were not really an improvement on it.

On the plus side,Gabin is a good Valjean -he does not equal Harry Baur in the Raymond Bernard version though- and Bernard Blier is the best Javert I've ever seen.The Valjean/Javert relationship would inspire lots and lots of screenplays,"the fugitive" for instance.Also worthwhile is Silvia Montfort's portrayal of Thenardier's daughter:she easily outclasses Beatrice Altariba's Cosette.

People complain because there are scenes in the novel that were not filmed.Let's not forget that it's a mammoth novel:only a miniseries could do Hugo justice.And anyway it's better than the Liam Neeson version and its happy end.

NB:When the movie was released in France it was divided into two parts (called "epoques" (=eras)) which was the word they used at the time and the audience was invited to come back and thus pay twice to see the whole.

the best version of a book like Les Miserable is an impossible mission. because this is the fate of a great novel. this adaptation has the gift to be correct. and memorable. and impressive. and each of this are more than precious virtues. because it is Les Miserable of Jean Gabin, Bourvil and Bernarb Blivier. because the atmosphere, the music and the respect for novel are admirable. because the spirit of one of the French literature masterpiece is preserved and presented in inspired manner. and this does the film more useful for the readers of the book of Victor Hugo because Jean Gabin gives a magnificent Jean Valjean. not only at the level of image but as wise exploration of the gestures, fundamental change and generosity. and Bourvil is Thenardier more than you imagine. a film who use the lines of text as impeccable clothes. so, not ignore it !

I have seen numerous film adaptations of Les Miserables. This 1957 French version (directed by Jean-Paul Le Chanois) is the best one I have ever seen. I watched the version that was produced by The Bridgestone Group in 1992 with English audio (ISBN# 1-56371-044-7). It aligns closely with the plot of the novel, and the cinematography is outstanding.

I have seen a number of film and TV adaptations of Les Miserables: this is by far the best. It has the required grandeur and outstanding performances by Jean Gabin (unbeatable as Jean Valjean), Bourvil (a very sly Thenardier) and Bernard Blier (a great Javert). Silvia Montfort is a striking Eponine. Quite long but doesn't feel it, it has enough scope to do justice to the story.

The worst of the four versions I have seen. Gabin is dull, uninspired--and look at the director, Le Chanois, no more than a journeyman when an artist is required for one of the great classic novels. Bourvil is excellent as the supreme hypocrite Thenardier, while Delorme has some touching moments as the unlucky Fantine. You can pass this one up, watch Fredric March and Charles Laughton instead; Laughton gives another of his superb performances as Javert.