We won the copyright battle to get it unblocked though I wasn't able to monetize. Sorry about that guys. Hope you enjoy!

Another neat little fact - the guy who played the Bishop was Colm Wilkinson, who was the original Jean Valjean. So the imagery of him being the one to hand Hugh Jackman the candlesticks, and the one to welcome him to Heaven was hugely powerful to fans of Les Mis. That was the moment I first burst into tears watching it for the first time!

"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" just captures the essence of what it is to feel survivor's guilt so beautifully

“I’m such a sucker for when all the characters sing their own things at once and they interweave” Well my friend, One Day More is pretty much the platonic Ideal for that

I'm not religious but the line "to love another person is to see the face of God" gets me every time

Little "fun" fact! Gavroche (the kid that dies at the barricade) is Eponine's brother! Is never explained in the musical (in all versions this fact is not mentioned), but it's explained in the book (if I remember correctly). Also, the scene where Enjolras (the leader of the revolution) dies alongside Grantaire (the drunk one) is really strong because in the musical and specially in the book they make a big point of the fact that Grantaire doesn't really follow the ideals of the revolution or anything, as he is a cynic, but he still makes the decision to come back to prevent Enjolras from dying alone, because he is the only "thing" that Grantaire actually believes in

they actually built the barricade in one take, and it was all improvised by the actors. i think that is so cool

Actually, it started out as a book by Victor Hugo and then converted into a musical. He also wrote the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Also, the Gavroche scene always breaks my heart. he has always been my favorite character.

a bit of neat trivia, if you pay attention you will notice Valjean keeps the candlesticks the bishop gave him when he was caught, they follow him throughout the movie

“To love another person is to see the face of God.” One of my favorite lines.

I know lots of musical theatre fans don’t like it but I adore it so much!! About half the songs guarantee a cry from me. And the acting is so so brilliant! I love that we have the theatre soundtrack for musicality and the movie for close up acting stuff

Since you posed the question…. Two characters arguing in song is generally referred to as counterpoint. It’s the best!!

Javert has over time become my favorite character in the story. The extra context for how he was raised adds a lot to his character; he was born in a prison to a mother and a father he hated, and was raised by prison guards. Because of this, he develops a strong admiration for law and justice, as well as of the Stars, as they are a bright spot in the dark and are consistently there, unlike every other part of his life. Eventually, Javert becomes a prison guard, then Inspector, and the rest plays out like we see. I love the way his character is changed over the course of the story; the first major time we see him doubt his beliefs at his core is when Valjean spares his life. This makes Javert think that a criminal and a “bad” person can still be gracious and just. Then, seeing the body of Gavroche shows him how the system he has worked so hard for his entire life is just as unjust as everything else. The final step towards his downfall is seeing Valjean save Marius, someone he barely knows, out of the sheer kindness of his heart, showing him once and for all that bad people can do good, and more importantly that a good person can do a bad thing and still remain good. This shakes Javert to his core; he wanted to be like the stars, a just and fair passer of judgment, but instead everything he has worked for has been completely undermined by one man. It’s his failure to see outside of his black-and-white world view that leads to his death. In those final moments, he realizes how alone he truly has become; his mother and father are people he has deemed terrible and are most likely dead. The people and institutions that raised and taught him have been proven wrong. And on top of everything else, he himself is misguided and has become what he sought to stop. It is in these moments that he decides that there is no way out (plus in the original play they have a few extra lines explaining how Javert thinks he will live in Hell for being spared by a man he deems bad). He is a good person at heart, but is misguided and betrayed by himself, leading to his end

The film was a huge hit, $441 million dollars against a $60 million dollar budget, making it the highest grossing musical of 2012.

As a musician I totally understand why many people don’t like it. But I actually love this movie on it’s own, it always makes leaves me with a big smile at the end.

I've heard Russell Crow criticized for a stiff performance but I think it is very appropriate for his character, who is so rigid.

Gosh when you guys started talking about the church versus the law and mercy verses justice I was so hype. It’s not brought up in any version of the musical but the bridge that Javert throws himself from in the book is named... it is specifically the bridge perfectly in the middle of the Paris Hall of justice and Notre Dame cathedral. So victor hugo, the author, has Javert literally unable to process his own emotions and decide between justice and mercy or find middle ground on the literal middle ground! It’s just those little details that can really effect the story but I’m so glad that you can still FEEL that even without the killer context!

Woooohooo. Now I await the mighty Phantom, (25th anniversary version)"cough cough", and my vision will be complete

"Sing along if you feel like it" Oh honey you couldn't STOP me from singing along to this

in the books you get more attached to the revolutionary boys (les amis de l'abc) and you get to see more of their individual personalities. that's why they have a fanbase of their own. it's also more heartbreaking bc the author unalived like five of them in a single paragraph

Eponine is easily one of the most tragic characters in Theatre IMO. Her parents pampered her as a child but as an adult they shunned her because of their selfishness. The man she loved loved someone else and she gave her life to protect him hoping to earn his love in death but even then all Marius could think about was Cosette. Which makes her death that much more tragic. It is truly heartbreaking.

"Could they leave her on her own? Would that be possible?" She wouldn't really have a way of supporting herself. Valjean doesn't know about Marius yet, and she doesn't look like she's been raised to learn work skills.

“One Day More” has a special place in my heart, that was our final song in our show for 2021 since I was about to graduate. I remember tearing up on our last day because all I wanted was one day more, even now I wish I could’ve stayed longer 😅

James: "Sing along if you feel like it." Ah, I've been invited to do what I've been doing for years. Fantastic.

Javert lacks context. Not the character, but Javert himself. He lacks the context behind these peoples actions. In his mind, right is right, but he doesn't understand that two wrongs don't make a right.

In my head Javaire is the best example of how to write an antagonist as opposed to a villain. He's the foil to our protagonist but he's not evil. Like you guys said he judges himself as harshly as he does anyone else. We can see things through his eyes and relate to him while he is still the main conflict point.

I'm always sobbing when I Dreamed a Dream scene comes. Also guys, once again, thank you so much for being kind to upload this even if this is demonetized, this makes my sleepless night feels better 🌻 (Also thank you for the paying patrons who requested this, you're an angel)

James is so me when I’m showing a movie to a friend who hasn’t seen it - giggling at my favorite moments and glancing over to make sure they’re appreciating every moment 😂😂

It’s refreshing to watch a reaction channel that is not afraid to watch musical films. Keep up the great work guys! I would also like to recommend a movie. Lars Von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark” is one of the most fascinating movie-musicals I’ve watched. It’s depressing and sometimes overwhelming, but the lead performance by Bjork is worth a viewing.

25:45 the man from Grease and my favorite Broadway performer 😍 44:36 Grantaire is strongly implied in the musical and the novel to have feelings for Enjolras (blonde revolution leader). He doesn’t believe in the cause as he’s a cynic but he’s so in love with Enjolras that he wants to die by his side. He even calls him in his thoughts in the book “his Apollo” The blonde kid is actually Epopine’s little brother so he just witnessed his sister die earlier and then he died a few hours later

Every single time i hear "Do you hear the people sing" something just moved in my heart and i can't stop crying. It makes me feel so emotional and it also so painful at the same time. I can't really explain the feeling

Les Misérables is a masterpiece. I would recommend watching 'Moulin Rouge!' too, it is an incredible movie musical. Probably the best I have seen, in my very personal opinion.

Saw live show twice years ago. Eponine’s song “On my own” always breaks my heart.

Love this film so much. I’ve seen and understood the arguments regarding the musicality of the film being lost in some songs, but I agree with ninetailedbrush - I want phenomenal musicality from the stage musicals I see, but in movie musicals I’m very okay with getting something grittier and more actorly. Things like Val Jean’s song at the beginning where he rips up his criminal record move me to tears every time, and the stage version of that song has never done the same. I’m so glad you guys reacted to this one!

The French word "Miserable" actually has another definition on English which is more apt to the story...it means "outcast", which is what the sympathetic characters are...the outcasts from society that are constantly rejected.

AHHH I love Samatha Barks/Eponine this was her first screen performance and she killed it

As a theater person, I do love this version of Les Mis. I totally understand the criticisms of this version, especially when it comes to the vocal health of some of the actors, but this version just feels more visceral. A saying about musical theater is the character starts singing because they can no longer contain their emotions and get them across by speaking alone. To me, this is the realest expression of that. If someone is afraid of dying they aren't going to sing with perfect diction while supporting from the diaphragm, they are going to get choked up and have snot running down their face. Now, that's not possible for the stage because of the show schedule having to keep voices healthy or for getting plot points across to an audience of several hundred. It works amazingly well for the camera for this kind of musical, it wouldn't work for say, Hairspray.

"I wonder if there's a musical name for that." Someone talked about counterpoint in a previous comment. That's the term. It's when multiple different melodies play at the same time. It's the same term if it's two melodies or 50 (though a 50 part counterpoint would be REALLY impressive)

My dad once told me he thought this play was a little depressing. I've never seen it that way. I find it hopeful. I'm a huge believer in redemption and this story is all about that. Not just mercy but redemption. The thing with Javert that I find interesting is I think he believed in "Justice" and judgment but he didn't believe in redemption until he was spared.

In the book, Valjean doesn't even show up until several hundred pages into the story. Part of the early part of the book is the bishop's back story. In this movie, the bishop is played by Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Valjean on the London stage. He also played Che in the Evita concept album. He represented Ireland in the 1978 Eurovision competition (where he finished 5th) He also originated the role of the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. He originated the role of Doctor Jekyll in Jekyll and Hyde in the concept album. Javert and Cosette live with the nuns for several years. He's the abbey's gardener, and she became a student with them. Anne Hathaway won an Oscar for that brief appearance. "Stars" is my favorite song in the play. Gavroche, in the book, is the son of the Thenardiers and the brother to Eponine. He lives in the elephant. Marius is very rich. He's an orphan, but he lives with his extremely wealthy grandfather. Aaron Tveit, who plays Enjolras, is a huge Broadway star. He played Marius on the stage. Cosette is played by Amanda Seyfried, who starred in Mama Mia! The people of France are always building barricades. It happens all the time.

Everyone hates Russell Crowe singing but I absolutely love his part 😂😂😂😂😂😂

The moment that Gavroche is killed and the next shot is the soldier, the look on his face of "Oh shit, this is going to be a massacre now because there is no way these people are going to let this go now" It's the face of knowing that this is bad and the outcome is inevitable

I just love that in the book there´re 100 pages just about the bishop and the musical adapts his personality perfectly

fun fact: In the original book before Javert killed himself he actually wrote a proposal for how the law could be improved and handled better

I think the choice to record the audio live was risky, but brilliant. Not every musical is as emotional as this one, so might not be as impactful to lose out on some of the quality, but the emotion we're able to feel from Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway in this wouldn't have been half as effective on pre-recorded tracks in my opinion.

Jean Valjean was not supernatural or anything, he was just very strong, it was his age that made it so astonishing. Jean actually really was a criminal because he stole, he got such a long sentence because every time his parole came up for some crazy reason he tried to run away and got caught, sure the punishment was sever but it's how their system worked in those days. I always felt somewhat sorry for Javert because he did not see the world in grey it was black and white to him, good or bad, there was no in-between for him and when Jean Valjean showed him differently he couldn't cope, as least that's the way I interpreted his suicide. I saw this play on stage many times and it's one of my favorites. I would love to see a reaction to Phantom of the Opera, or even something a little more comedy like Little Shop of Horrors.

all the singing is live, except the “look down” musical number as there was a lot of water :]

Winner of 3 Golden Globes Including Best Picture, Musical/Comedy. Nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture, but won 3: Best Supporting Actress, Anne Hathaway. Best Sound Mixing. Best Makeup Hairstyling.

Eponine is one thousand percent my fav character in this entire show. I can relate far too easily to her - always falling for the guy who likes someone else and never being noticed. When they all sing their own parts at the same time, it gives me chills. Imagine hearing that live in a theater! It's my life dream to see this show in a London theater one day.

Excuse me boys. While it is true that Samantha Barks, grown up Eponine, was in the 25th anniversary concert for Les Mis. You both missed out on the original stage actor for Jean Valjean, Colm Wilkinson, who played the Priest who helped Valjean early in the movie.

You all are officially my favorite reactors! You react to such a wide range of good movies. This is my comfort movie, love it so much!

I love this version of Les Miserables so much, and I really hate when people say it's bad for not being a typical hollywood musical. You really want Les Mis to be glitzy with perfect pitch opera singers? Naw man, I much prefer this gritty, grimey, hoarse-voiced take on the story. It feels very authentic and real, as though real people on the streets just burst into song, and weren't all magically expert singers.

"It adds to it that it's not this beautiful perfect song." Couldn't agree more.

A lot of the extras in this show have all played huge parts in the westend so all the extras are trained west end performers which I think make this show x

As someone who grew up on les mis, it brings a tear to my eye when I hear the songs I like. Good reaction as always!

not me crying for the 100th time while watching this movie

Samantha Banks was in The West End Production. London's Broadway. Aaron Tevitt (Enjoras) is a huge broadway star.

I adore this music and greatly appreciate what they tried to do in this movie with it. It definitely took away some of the sound by having them sing live but it also added something special. It was just different and quite an artistic choice. I was in this musical in high school, played Eponine. I loved it so much.

I don’t know if you noticed but the inn keepers wife is also Bellatrix in the Harry Potter series. And the guy that plays Marius is Newt in Fantastic Beast. And fun fact: The set for Diagon Alley in Sorcerer Stone was remade to do the set for the barricade.

This movie introduced me to the stage play, which is now my all time favorite. Comparatively, the play is far superior to the movie, but for if it wasn't for this, I would never had seen the show, so the movie deserves some credit. Also the cinematography is pretty epic.

I much prefer the fact that the singing wasnt recorded it made it more authentic

This movie was my intro to musicales in general, and it is still pretty unbeatable.

To assess the characters you'll have to read the entire novel by Victor Hugo of the same title. Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dames are two of his more popular works. He is also renowned for his poetry collections. Congratulations on getting this up on YT.

"That girl is the only one from the Broadway show". Nope. The priest at the beginning is the best Jean Valjean. He was Valjean for more than a decade in the Broadway show.

40:02 "She wants him to live" bahaha in the book Eponine says the reason why she's so happy about dying is because everyone will die with her. So maybe, she's just hoping to see Marius and the others in the afterlife? Heaven?

When Les Miz first opened in the 80s in the middle of the AIDS crisis, the song Marius sings after everyone is killed, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, became a song that was sung at many memorial services for the dead.

I love some of the songs in Les Mis, but The Phantom will always have my heart, since I saw it in 8th grade. The raising of the chandelier from the stage, which begins it, was memory-making for me.

This movie hits me in the feels so hard. The live singing in my opinion adds so much more weight to the performances. Loved the casting.

I love Les Miserables so much I named my daughter Cosette.

"If he didn't have to deal with this, he would have helped her." In the play, he didn't have to deal with that. He was just busy with the business end of things and thought he could trust the foreman to handle it.

Some of yall being nasty...something can be good without being a ""masterpiece". It's not a bad movie lmao

I’ve read Les Misérables in both English and French, seen the stage musical in both languages (either live in a theater or via a DVD recording), and seen both a film based on the book and this film. I understand that different media of entertainment require minor changes in order to tell the same overall story and I personally think Les Misérables is a story that had been well adapted to the different mediums and even its adaptations have been adapted to other mediums (this film being the case of a book being adapted into a stage musical and then that stage musical adapted into a film). I agree with your assessments of the story and the characters. You really grasp the story, it’s themes, and the characters from watching this film just as those who watched the stage musical, nonmusical film, or read the book. However, while it’s easy to give credit to the story and characters for such great flexibility in translation to other media, the credit lies with those who took the time and care to adapt the story and characters into the different media. That’s the difference between good adaptations and bad adaptations. The uprising seen in the film, stage production, and book are not the French Revolution (1789-1799), but are of the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris. It was republicans attempting to overturn the re-establishment of the monarchy in July 1830. Lamarque, who is mentioned by name in all adaptations, was a real person. He was a popular former army commander who had become a member of the parliament and was critical of the monarchy. He died in June 1832 of cholera and the riots that followed his funeral (which is what’s shown in this film) is what sparked the rebellion. While the monarchy won against the rebellion then, it would ultimately end (briefly from 1848-1851 and then cease completely after 1870). The republicans often used what happened during and after this rebellion to gain further support amongst the populace for their cause to restore the republic.

Thank you!!! I know many don’t like the performances in here but I do and I’m glad you guys took a chance to watch it. If you’re going to continue with musicals please watch legally blonde the musical, full recording is on KZfaq.

Fun fact: This was filmed in the same set as Harry Potter. If you look closely at the buildings, you would realize it's Diagon Alley.

I think the singing live was the right choice. It does not make sense for a movie where everything is sung for these impoverished desperate people to suddenly switch into perfect autotuned studio recorded singing every time there's a major song. Live singing makes the transition from "dialogue" to actual song accoustically seamless, and makes it way more realistic and emotional by keeping small imperfections that would not be in a studio recording. Some musical theatre purists don't like it, but this is not musical theatre, this is film, and different choices need to be made for a difference medium with different suspension of disbelief. The only valid critique on it I agree with is that Russel Crow does not have a strong enough voice to sing live for Javert, or at least not for the soaring high notes.

Okay, I cried through this episode, since I cry through this movie... I love Russell Crowe's singing of "Stars", I think it's soft and beautiful, while I can see sometimes he wasn't the best, but that song was beautifully performed.

Les Mis always makes me cry! Such a good movie musical. Now you guys should do Phantom of the Opera, as well as Bye Bye Birdie!

I totally understand/respect everyone's love for the live singing in this version, but as a musician, I'd like to add a counterpoint. The best analogy I can think of is if an incredible cinematographer painstakingly designed all of the shots for an upcoming movie. Each choice was specifically made to say something different. The lay audience might not understand why it is so effective, but will feel how much it adds to the movie. But then on the day, the director tells the actors to do whatever blocking they feel like, don't worry about hitting any of their marks. They'll follow the basic plan, but the camera people are just going to have to do their best to keep up with what the actors decide to do. The live singing isn't a problem because of sound quality as much as it because it messes with the integrity of the musical score. Letting the actors feel it out on the day meant that the conductor and the orchestra then had to try to match up with the singers AFTER the fact with virtually no way to line it up correctly. So much of the intentional choices that the composers wrote with reason, get lost here. I think Eponine's song is a perfect example: was her song any less emotional or vocally raw for singing it as intended? Because she knew how the song worked on the stage, she new where in the song she could take some liberties and let go of technique without taking away from the song itself. Again, no hate! I actually really enjoy this version - the interpretations of the characters are stellar! I just think all of the realism and emotion could have been even more amped up if they had put a bit more focus on the music, because so much of that lives in the score itself.

I love the way the guy in the right reacts during the film, the guy in the left put some good comments after the end, nice video!

Yet again, I am going to push NEWSIES!! The pro shot stage performance on Disney plus...not that travesty film with Christian Bale. I know I'll get flak for saying that, but face it, that movie fell flat on its release and I get it. I literally took forever to give the actual broadway version a chance because I thought the original movie was so boring. Its shocking too as pretty much every scene of the stage musical just gets me pumped up.

Learning about the behind the scenes stuff, even if I don’t know much about music, the horrified expression by musicians. Plus learning russel Crowe is actually a good singer

If you ever get the chance to see this live, it's a must. The most incredible performance experience I've ever had, constant goosebumps from start to finish and plenty of tears.

Fun tidbit... there are a whole bunch of Broadway stars in this version of the production. The biggest are Colm Wilkinson who originated the role of Jean Valjean and is playing the Bishop in the movie. Next is Samatha Barks who played Eponine on West End (the Broadway of London) and the anniversary concert versions of Les Mis. Finally is my personal favorite- Aaron Tveit, one of broadway's biggest and best-known stars, is playing Enjolras who leads the student revolt.

I like the guy with green shirt, I can tell he is emotional and sensitive which is a rare and a gift ❤

This was one of my father's favourite musicals, He passed away about a month ago and I hesitate to watch this react but I am happy, I did, I cried at all his favourite songs.

The prest song and the "theres a gref that cant be spoken" song are my fav and never fail to make me cry

There were also many extras who were a part of the West End and international productions. This movie has a very credible cast.

Thank you thank you for reviewing this! Les Mis has been my favorite musical since I was nine years old, more than 20 years now, and my heart leapt when I saw it uploaded on your channel. I really liked how you both appreciated the movie in different ways, including with regard to the live singing issue - and especially at the “What Have I Done” moment, which is so powerful. I love it regardless, but I enjoy hearing different opinions. So glad you guys enjoyed it! This musical makes me tear up every time; if you ever have the chance, I highly recommend seeing the stage play too. “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” 🇫🇷 ❤️

Also y’all honest reactions and the thought processes y’all had made me subscribe !!!

Thanks for another great reaction video! It sucks you watched the movie version, but at least anything you watch after the movie version will be way better in comparison. The 10th Anniversary Concert of "Les Mis" is a favorite among many fans.

Man, I haven’t watched this in years, and I’d forgotten how much this movie makes me ugly-cry. XD I dreamed a dream A little fall of rain Empty chairs at a empty tables (that one kills me every time) Overall, such a well done adaptation of an iconic musical. Gonna have to watch this in full again.

I am so HERE for the long form commentary on this movie, especially the musical aspects of it and the singing live. Loved both your perspectives on the live part - I do have to agree on loving the live singing with Valjean's soliloquy. The way Hugh acts that section changed my understanding of acting and performance and is one of the reasons I'm off studying at theatre school now! Such an insane performance!

Such an epic movie! Gonna be singing along to all the songs

I loved your reactions to this wonderful musical, and all the discussion at the end. I believe they call it an ensemble finale when all the main characters come onstage and sing separate melodies at the same time. This kind of finale usually comes at the end of Act 1, when conflicting emotions or thoughts are at their height. There’s a shorter but still great ensemble finale at the end of Act 1 of Hamilton. Anyone who can pull this finale off well is a genius.

Eddie Redmayne is currently my second favorite actor behind Christoph Waltz! I think he has the potential to be the next Tom Hanks type actor. He already has an Oscar for Best Actor and I can easily see him winning 2 or 3 more during his career! I can't wait to see what's in store for him.

I've never in my life clicked so fast. Hope more people will react to this! I've seen the anniversary performances of the original stage cast (I mean, I was a Les Mis fan way before this came out) and I still love this movie. The acting/singing performances are incredible.

Even cut into snippets I got goosebumps! I saw this on Broadway with my Dad when I was little, and we BOTH cried our eyes out. Gorgeous music, and an incredible story.

It's really interesting to see the different reactions to this movie from americans and french people Americans seem to love it, and it won so many awards in the US French people on the other hand don't know it, don't like it or prefer the older french adaptations It's probably due to the fact that the book and Victor Hugo are such huge milestones in french culture, an adaptation must seem difficult to approach

I saw this musical in Broadway when I was a little girl, I did not speak English and even so I cried and felt everything that music gave, then I had to read the book for school and I fell in love with history, it is one of my top 3 musicals ❤️

One of my favorite stories ever, and some of the best reactors! Today is a good day!