Les Misérables - that's The Miserables in French on the BBC

[gilbertharding]

Anyone been watching this? What do we think?

I have not, and will never see the musical or - in all likelihood - read the book, so have only a sketch knowledge of the plot and structure of the story. I'm impressed so far (I'm an episode behind everyone else), but it's horribly bleak.

Enjoyed Fontaine getting rid of the hair and teeth before 'going on the game'. And the sketches with Olivia Colman are good - her husband is brilliantly awful. A bit confused by who the posh lot are, with the wigs and blusher...

Is there a happy ending, at all?

[Chollis]

Don't know the story and since this one doesn't have singing for cunts I'm looking forward to it. Suitably impressed with the first episode, visually quite lovely, and I've always got time for McNulty. I've only seen the first episode so that's all I've got to contribute to this thread right now, cheers.

[bgmnts]

The story is pretty bleak. It wasn't the bleakness that stopped me finishing the novel though, just the sheer length and pointless meandering.

[Sin Agog]

There was a lovely, very natural feeling French adaptation put out in 1934, a couple of years before the Charles Laughton version, that's never been bettered.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn-FmP0jTV0

The BBC remind me of Hollywood in the early '60s: finding themselves overwhelmed by dwindling viewership, lack of funds and an over-competitive market, they spend the money they do have on dry as the Sahara lavish adaptations that no one asked for.

[Sebastian Cobb]

My mates Mum was a bit of a Hyacinth bucket type and she used to put the CD of this on to try and appear cultured.

[Dex Sawash]

I read the book but definitely skipped a hundred pages here and there.
After about 50 pages of mundane details of day-to-day life of the bishop and his household deciding which weeds to put in today's soup, flip 15 or so, still on the soup, another 20 and now they're cooking, skip 50 and a bit of wine. The same for each of the young gentlemen.

[Chollis]

Anyone still watching this? Enjoying it very much, fucking grim though. Title should have tipped me off to that I suppose.