Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 6, 2014

Raymond Bernard's "Les Miserables" (1934) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include restored trailer for the film; archival interview with Raymond Bernard conducted by editor and filmmaker Roger Ikhlef; new video interview with writer and researcher Claudine Cohen; new video interview with French cinema expert Raymond Chirat; deleted scenes; archival screen tests; promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with a 28-page illustrated booklet with new and vintage writing, rare archival material, and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Jean Valjean

Arguably the most complete adaptation of Victor Hugo’s famous novel, Raymond Bernard’s Les Miserables is broken into three parts: Une tempête sous un crane a.k.a. A Storm Beneath A Skull, Les Thénardier a.k.a. The Tenardiers, and Liberté, liberte cherie a.k.a. Liberty, Sweet Liberty.

Each part -- which on Eureka Entertainment's new release of Les Miserables is identified as a separate film -- introduces different characters whose stories eventually become closely intertwined. The foundation of the film, however, is built upon two massive transformations -- the gradual character transformation of the ex-convict Jean Valjean (Harry Baur, A Man and His Woman, Moon Over Morocco) and the violent transformation of 19th century France.

In A Storm Beneath A Skull the focus of attention is almost exclusively on Jean Valjean as he begins to question his beliefs after a casual encounter with an elderly bishop. As the film progresses, the viewer is also introduced to the beautiful Fantine (Florelle, Gervaise), the greedy and abusive Thenardiers (Charles Dullin and Marguerite Moreno), the young Cosette (Gaby Triquet), and the strict and ambitious Inspector Javert (Charles Vanel, The Wages of Fear, Les diaboliques). Different events then link these characters while Jean Valjean attempts to rebuild his life.

The narrative is expanded significantly in The Tenardiers. While Jean Valjean remains the central character, a large portion of the film is now dedicated to Cosette’s (Josselyne Gael, René Sti's Le bossu) maturation. In the first half of The Tenardiers the atmosphere is also drastically different. Here the set designs, the unique use of light and shadow, and the camera movement give the film a distinctly Gothic flavor.

Liberty, Sweet Liberty is the most ambitious of the three films. It chronicles the Paris uprising of 1832 while at the same time it manages to unite all of the important characters introduced in A Storm Beneath A Skull and The Tenardiers. In addition to Jean Valjean and Cosette, Bernard’s camera also spends a good amount of time following the handsome Marius (Jean Servais, Rififi), Cosette’s lover and a passionate revolutionary, and the young beggar Gavroche (Emile Genevois, Casque d'Or), who becomes a surprising leader during the clashes.

Despite some minor omissions and adjustments, Raymond Bernard and co-screenwriter Andre Lang’s adaption of Victor Hugo’s legendary novel is unquestionably the most complete and most accurate ever done. Indeed, it covers an enormous amount of material but never loses its focus. As it moves through the years, the film also maintains excellent balance between the different characterizations when actors are replaced or simply asked to 'grow older' (Harry Baur and Charles Vanel’s performances are clearly the two most impressive ones).

Considering the fact that Les Miserables was completed in 1934, the visuals are also nothing short of extraordinary. Brilliantly lensed by the legendary cinematographer Jules Kruger (Abel Gance’s Napoléon, Marcel L'Herbier’s L'Argent, Julien Duvivier’s Pépé Le Moko), the big parade and many of the street clashes in Liberty, Sweet Liberty, for example, feature hundreds of supporting actors whose movement has to be seen to be believed.

The film’s famous soundtrack was created by the great Arthur Honegger (Raymond Bernard’s Cavalcade of Love, Marcel Pagnol’s Harvest), one of the founding members of the legendary Les Six (whose other members were Francis Poulenc, Germaine Tailleferre, Louis Durey, Darius Milhaud, and Georges Auric).

Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Raymond Bernard's Les Miserables arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

The release uses as a foundation French label Pathe's 4K restoration and reconstruction of Les Miserables which was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata. The restoration had its Blu-ray premiere last year (you can see our review of Pathe's release here).

I can't see any notable discrepancies between Pathe's release and this new release from Eureka Entertainment. Despite some minor density and clarity fluctuations the film now looks a lot healthier -- scratches, debris and stains have been carefully removed, torn frames have been repaired, and overall image stability has been dramatically improved. Furthermore, contrast levels remain stable, though there are some source limitations that occasionally make their presence felt. The most notable ones are during the daylight sequences where traces of some light fading, for instance, can be seen. As noted in out review of the French release, during the restoration process some minor denoising corrections appear to have been performed, but grain is retained and appears mostly well resolved. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Lastly, there are no serious encoding or compression anomalies to report in this review. As it was the case with the French release the first two installments of Les Miserables are placed on Disc One, while the third installment and all the supplemental features are placed on Disc Two. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The basic characteristics of the LPCM track are identical to those of the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track from the French release. In fact, I did some direct comparisons with the final installment, Liberty, Sweet Liberty, and the exact same light background hiss that occasionally sneaks in is also present on this new release. This being said, clarity and depth are very good. Overall dynamic intensity is rather limited, but this is hardly surprising considering the age of the film. There are no stability issues (even during the opening credits). The English translation is excellent.

Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features are placed on Disc Two.

• Theatrical Trailer - restored trailer for Raymond Bernard's Les Miserables. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min).

• Le Chemineau - Albert Capellani's short film Le Chemineau a.k.a. The Vagabond (1905). This film is an adaptation of the second book of Les Miserables, "The Fall". It is presented here with additional color tinting. However, it is missing the final part. (Albert Capellani also directed the 1912 silent version of Les Miserables). Silent. (4 min).

• Newsreels -
  
  1. Archival footage from a public introduction of the cast members of Les Miserables. The event was organized by Opera de Paris Garnier on February 21, 1933. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).
  
  2. Les petits lits blanc - Gaumont Pathe Archives - Victor Hugo's poem recited by Gaby Triquet (Cosette/child). In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min).

• Gavroche Screen Tests - archival screen tests with young Parisian actors auditioning for the role of Gavroche. Footage courtesy of Pathe (Gaumont Pathe archives). In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Raymond Chirat - in this new video interview, French cinema expert Raymond Chirat discusses Raymond Bernard's Les Miserables. Mr. Chirat is the creator and former director of Bibliotheque Raymond Chirat at the Institut Lumiere in Lyon, France. In French, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

• Raymond Bernard - in this archival interview from 1979, editor and filmmaker Roger Ikhlef discusses Les Miserables with director Raymond Bernard. In French, with optional English subtitles. (11 min).

• Victor Hugo in Cinema - in this new featurette, writer and researcher Claudine Cohen (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) discusses Raymond Bernard's Les Miserables, its production history, and other adaptations of Victor Hugo's legendary novel (Albert Capellani's 1912 film as well as Henri Fescourt's 1935 film). Short clips from Raymond Bernard, Albert Capellani, and Henri Fescourt's films are included in the featurette. In French, with optional English subtitles. (23 min).

• Booklet - 28-page illustrated booklet with new and vintage writing, rare archival material, and more.

Les Misérables Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eureka Entertainment's upcoming Blu-ray release of Raymond Bernard's Les Miserables is very easy to recommend to English speakers residing in Region-B territories. It brings Pathe's recent 4K restoration of the film to the United Kingdom with all of the supplemental features found on the French Blu-ray release. If you do not yet have this film in your collections, consider Eureka Entertainment's release. (I would also like to mention that Jean-Paul Le Chanois' film is out on Blu-ray in the United States, courtesy of Olive Films. It is another very good adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel with a fantastic cast). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.