The first part of this three part, four hour and 21 minute adaptation is superb and moving. For its time the characters are surprisingly nuanced in both writing and acting, and there are a number a great scenes and terrific twists.
Frustratingly the 2nd and 3rd parts feel much more hackneyed and clichéd, with more uneven acting, thinner characters, and overly melodramatic moments.
Lead actor Harry Baur is great throughout, which helps keep the 2nd and 3rd parts still quite watchable, and throughout there is some terrific camera-work, including modern-feeling touches like hand-held fights, and Dutch angled scenes. Certainly this is a brave work on a film-making level.
But as the story focuses less and less on Jean Valjean and his various incarnations, and more and more on the world around him, that thrilling feeling of watching a masterpiece fades into just watching a very interesting and impressive piece of film history.
That said, many film writers I respect treat the whole thing as a masterwork, so perhaps I'll re-visit.
Frustratingly the 2nd and 3rd parts feel much more hackneyed and clichéd, with more uneven acting, thinner characters, and overly melodramatic moments.
Lead actor Harry Baur is great throughout, which helps keep the 2nd and 3rd parts still quite watchable, and throughout there is some terrific camera-work, including modern-feeling touches like hand-held fights, and Dutch angled scenes. Certainly this is a brave work on a film-making level.
But as the story focuses less and less on Jean Valjean and his various incarnations, and more and more on the world around him, that thrilling feeling of watching a masterpiece fades into just watching a very interesting and impressive piece of film history.
That said, many film writers I respect treat the whole thing as a masterwork, so perhaps I'll re-visit.