In fact, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Thénardier actually says the line – “Here’s a pretty ring”. Although, when Thénardier is searching dead bodies for valuables in the sewers, the tune of ‘Dog Eats Dog’ is still used. But the song ‘Dog Eats Dog’ sung by Thénardier does not appear in the film at all. The other songs sung in the film remain mostly the same. It also serves to inform the audience of Cosette’s importance to him.
The song gives the audience another chance to get to know Jean Valjean, especially since he’s supposedly a changed man. While I am not really a fan of this new song, I do understand why it was introduced to the film. And the song is about Jean Valjean discovering a new meaning to his life now that he has Cosette by his side. The song is sung when Jean Valjean successfully rescues Cosette from the Thénardiers played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. In the musical adaptation, Hugh Jackman’s Jean Valjean sings a new song titled ‘Suddenly’. Now in order to explain the other differences between the film and the musical, I cannot avoid going into specifics and details, so if you have not seen the film and don’t like spoilers, well, you have been warned. And this suited me just fine because I’ve watched the musical before, twice in fact, so I know the plot and don’t need any wide shots or sweeping views to understand the setting of the story. That is the first thing that struck me when I was comparing Tom Hooper’s film with the musical I watched years ago. Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables gives us a view that the actual musical cannot, regardless of whether you are sitting in the front row of the musical or not. In the musical film, because of the use of close ups, we are given the chance to be fully immersed in the story and be swept away by the performances of the actors.
Now why is all this relevant? Well, it’s because of the shooting style Tom Hooper applies to his Les Misérables. Because when you sit further away from the stage, not only will you get to appreciate the detail and grandeur of the set, you won’t have to strain your neck to enjoy the performance during an ensemble piece as well. But that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the musical.
And if you get the cheaper tickets, you’ll be sitting further back.
That means you might be close enough to see the expressions of the performers. When you go to a musical, if you pay top dollar, you will likely be sitting close to the stage. So basically, you’re reading an article written by someone who would gladly watch the same musical twice, and even thrice, if she can afford the time and money to. And although tickets to watch a musical aren’t exorbitant (to me that is), they don’t come cheap either (especially if you want front row seats). There are many other musical films, but that subject alone deserves more discussion than I can afford here.īefore I go further, I must mention that I love watching musicals. One of my favourite musical films is the 1956 The King And I, with the late Yul Brynner and late Deborah Kerr in the lead roles. Les Misérables is the latest musical adaptation to hit the theaters, but it is hardly the first. Les Misérables: The Musical Versus The Film
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