Les Misérables (1934 film)
| Les Misérables | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Raymond Bernard |
| Produced by |
Raymond Borderie Bernard Natan |
| Written by |
Raymond Bernard André Lang |
| Starring |
Harry Baur Charles Vanel |
| Music by | Arthur Honegger |
| Cinematography | Jules Kruger |
| Distributed by | Pathé-Natan |
|
Release date
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February 9, 1934 |
|
Running time
|
280 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Les Misérables is a 1934 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name. It was written and directed by Raymond Bernard and stars Harry Baur as Jean Valjean and Charles Vanel as Javert. The film lasts four and a half hours and is considered by critics to be the greatest adaptation of the novel, due to its in-depth development of the themes and characters in comparison with most shorter adaptations.
It was released as three films that premiered over a period of three weeks.
Jean Valjean is an ex-convict struggling to redeem himself, but his attempts are continually ruined by the intrusion of Javert into his life. Javert is a cruel, ruthless police inspector who has dedicated his life to pursuing Valjean, whose only crime was stealing a loaf of bread, for which he gets 5 years in jail. And then he serves an additional 14 years for a handful of escape attempts.
The film, like the novel, features numerous other characters and plots, such as Fantine, a woman forced into prostitution to help pay two cruel innkeepers, the Thénardiers, who are looking after her daughter Cosette, and the story of the revolutionaries, including Marius, a young man who falls in love later on in the film with the now-adult Cosette.
The film is, for the most part, faithful to the original novel, however, there are some differences:
The film has been referred to as "the most complete and well rounded adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel".
Raymond Bernard's version of Les Misérables was chosen by curator Robert Herbert as one of a number of films to support an exhibition of French drawings held in 2010 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The Exhibition was entitled David to Cézanne: master drawings from the Prat Collection, Paris. It ran from 22 September until 5 December 2010. The film was screened 30 October, 3 November and 7 November in the Gallery's Domain Theatre.
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