Very disappointed :(

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

It is my favorite musical and one of my favorite DVD. But I made mistake. I had seen DVD before I saw London performance. The problem is, that this performance is cut comparing to stage score. Not to much, but significantly. I understand of course, that score was to long for TV broadcast. But in my opinion too many important songs were cut. F.eg. solo of Valjean from "Thenardier Waltz of Treachery" and ending of this song (with young Cosette), first meeting of Marius and Cosette (The Robbery), and definitely duet of Marius and Valjean in "The Wedding". Lack of these songs and lack of stage movement causes understanding of full show difficult. So do not watch this movie before watching theatrical performance. Stop complaining. It is really extraordinary performance. Singers are doing their best - Wilkinson, Quast, Henshall, Galloway, Salonga, Ball and Armstrong are simply breathtaking. Definitely best performances I have ever heard. Chorus consisting of 200 singers singing a cappella is incredible. 17 Valjeans ending show give you unique impression how different tenors might be good performers of this score. This DVD is perfect reminder of stage show. I hope 25th Anniversary performance planned on 3rd October 2010 in O2 Dome will contain stage movements and will be recorded for DVD broadcast too.

I'm assuming that this viewing was so tedious for me because it was a concert version.I am one of the few people on this planet who has never seen the musical "Les Miserables" in its entirety. I used to watch bits and pieces of this concert version as I walked along in the Mall in a midwestern city I grew up in, because it was constantly being piped in on an overhead TV from a store that sold PBS/Masterpiece Theatre type products.As I used to catch sections of it, I used to think "euuuuuwwwww... what a boring bombastic thing this is, at least from what I can see. The singers keep standing in front of microphones over-dramatically blasting away as they sing. And people in costume who aren't singing are sitting on chairs in the background, (discreetly) scratching their noses and swinging their feet." (Plus, the chorus members singing all wearing T-shirts with the Les Miz logo on them.) Weird.So......I finally rented it from Netflix. I got that same "euuwwww" feeling times 50, because it runs for 2 hours and 45 minutes.I honestly want to love this musical. So many people rave about it. But something is definitely wrong with the way it is presented here. THe audience members who praise it, I imagine, have probably seen it played out in a theatre with dialogue (I HOPE there's dialog to move the narrative along) and the actors always in character.I'm not an idiot and I'm a great fan of a LOT of musical theatre. I probably sound like a total idiot, but I just don't GET "Les Miz," at least from viewing this.

SPOILERS Recently celebrating it's 20th Anniversary, the famous musical "Les Miserables" is a magical story based on the novel by Victor Hugo. As fresh today as it was originally, the story and the music are powerful and pull at the heart strings from the start to the brilliant finish. With recordings like this one, anyone can witness the miracle of "Les Miserables", but ultimately there is no replacement for actually being at the theatre itself.Arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean (Colm Wilkinson) is eventually released from the control of the law. Promising to live a better life, Valjean flees his bail to Paris and a little girl called Cosette (Hannah Chick and later Judy Kuhn) who he promised her dying mother he'd care for. Valjean is never truly free however, because a ghost from his past in the form of Inspector Javert (Philip Quast) is never far away.Billed as staring all the masters of the production, this version of "Les Miserables" is magnificent. Culminating in an extra special of 17 Valjeans from around the world singing a song in their own languages, it is well worthy of possession.As Valjean, Wilkinson brings the play to life as we witness the evolution of his character. Ultimately though, it is Quast as Javert who steals the limelight. The character of Javert is one of those individuals in plays and musicals who you find yourself loving, even though they are meant to be evil. It's a role everyone wants to play. Like Iago in Shakespeare's "Othello", it's not the main character, but it's the one that everyone remembers. Everyone wants to be Inspector Javert, and in this performance Quast emphasises that with a skilled and luxurious attempt.There is a major flaw however with watching this DVD or VHS, and that's the simple fact that it's just not the same as being there. Like watching a sporting event on television, or watching a historical moment on a news channel, so many things are better seen in person. Whilst we can watch Valjean's adventures and we can sing along, watching them on DVD is not as much fun as making the effort to go to the theatre. The tactile nature of an event matters.As entertainment, this production of "Les Miserables" is outstanding. It captures the beauty of the story and it has you trying to singing along. With superb performances by all cast members, it is an event to watch over and over again. Sadly though, it doesn't quite have the same aura about it as actually being there.

Les Miserables is inarguably one of the most powerful and philosophically challenging musicals, of all time, we are given a clear insight in to pre-revolutionary France, as a nation and as individuals. We learn of the moral redemption of an individual, Jean Valjean and as a nation as a whole; which is communicated through the exhilarating lyrics, tear jerking ballads and the vivacious anthems of revolt.It is only at the end of the production, that we can see how good will always triumph over evil, and that life may throw these great hardships in our paths, but we, as a nation, as a unity, as human beings will always overcome these difficulties. We have an inspirational message of hope, for when tomorrow comes.