| Les Misérables | |
| Director: | Raymond Bernard |
| Producer: | Raymond Borderie Bernard Natan |
| Starring: | Harry Baur Charles Vanel Josseline Gaël |
| Music: | Arthur Honegger |
| Cinematography: | Jules Kruger |
| Distributor: | Pathé-Natan |
| Runtime: | 281 minutes |
| Country: | France |
| Language: | French |
Les Misérables is a 1934 French film adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name. Scripted and directed by Raymond Bernard, it stars Harry Baur as Jean Valjean, Charles Vanel as Javert, and Josseline Gaël as Fantine. Initially released as three films that premiered over three consecutive weeks, Une tempête sous un crâne (Tempest in a Skull), Les Thénardier (The Thenardiers), and Liberté, liberté chérie (Freedom, dear Freedom), the full, unedited film clocks in at 281 minutes.
It 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.[1] [2] [3] Although produced by Pathé, filming took place on a specially constructed set in Biot, Alpes-Maritimes as well as the nearby Victorine Studios in Nice, as opposed to the company's Joinville Studios in Paris. Sets were designed by Lucien Carré and Jean Perrier, with music by eminent Swiss composer Arthur Honegger.
Jean Valjean is an ex-convict struggling to redeem himself, but his attempts are continually ruined by the intrusion of Javert. 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 received 5 years in jail. He serves an additional 14 years for escape attempts.
The film, like the novel, features numerous other characters and subplots, such as Fantine, a woman forced into prostitution to pay two cruel innkeepers, the Thénardiers, for looking after her daughter Cosette, and the story of the revolutionaries, including Marius Pontmercy, 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".
A contemporary review in The Spectator was exceptionally positive, calling the film "the best French picture seen here for many months." In particular, it praised Harry Baur's "remarkable performance" and lauded the film for managing to distill such a lengthy novel into its key components without coming across as disjointed.[4]
Raymond Bernard's version of Les Misérables, along with various other films about 18th and 19th century France, supported 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 and ran from 22 September until 5 December 2010.[5] [6] The film was screened 30 October,[6] 3 November and 7 November in the Gallery's Domain Theatre.
The Criterion Collection released a restored version of Les Misérables in their Eclipse DVD line. Its three parts appeared alongside Bernard's Wooden Crosses (1932) in the Eclipse Series 4: Raymond Bernard collection (2007). This version, totalling 281 minutes (109:52, 85:21 and 86:36), is shorter than the reported 305 minute total runtime of the original release, though it is possible that time may be inaccurate, or includes brief intermissions no longer present.[7] Criterion's DVD liner notes describe how the film was reissued at varying lengths over the following decades and was only restored to its approximate original length shortly before Bernard's death, minus some scenes that could not be recovered.
In 2013, Pathé carried out a brand new restoration of the film, totalling 289 minutes (115:39, 85:45 and 87:23), and released it on Blu-ray and DVD. Eureka Entertainment also released this version on Blu-ray and DVD in 2014, as part of their Masters of Cinema line.[8]