USHE Announcement: Les Miserables 25th Anniversary (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Amazon has delivered this title to me on release day. Woohoo!


I have always said that if an angel appeared on Earth and opened its voice to sing...it would be Lea Salonga's voice which came out. Such diction (you can hear every letter of every word), such tone, such pitch. Pure crystal.

I am now 40 minutes in and think the sound is absolutely stunning. Ron: Don't wait. Run to add this to your collection.


Of course, I make that recommendation and Nick Jonas has yet to hit the stage.


I am no student of the musical Les Miserables...but over the years have slowly come to appreciate the score and production. I've even seen it on Broadway!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Here's my mini-review.


I finished Act I Tuesday night and watched Act II on Wednesday night (last night).


First off, I thought the audio was superb. So many times I am disappointed in the recording of large orchestras and choruses (especially when mixed with solo voices). This is an extremely well-mixed, dynamic recording which really blew the doors off my rather budget-minded system (Polk R30s in the front, Polk R15s for surrounds and a Polk CSi25 center channel). The voices (many of them fabulous) are reproduced beautifully here and the orchestra and chorus are majestic as they filled my room as I'm imagining they filled that huge concert hall in which the concert took place (the O2 in London which holds 23k,000).


I thought the video looked very good as well...but I'm only watching on a very forgiving 32" Vizio 1080p set. Although dark in many instances, the stage lighting seemed satisfactory to provide the necessary detail on the performers. Large screens were deployed behind the stage for the venue audience which are, at times, distracting when seen in wide shots of the stage as the video on the screens lagged slightly behind the live action.

And one of the fun things about an event such as this are the discussions and arguments which can be had surrounding the cast and comparisons with performers who have filled these roles in the past. Personally, I thought Nick Jonas was, indeed, pretty bad and tremendously suffered when on-stage with numerus other performers with whom he, quite simply, could not keep up. [I proposed a drinking game to my wife that viewers should take a drink every time Jonas showed up on stage with a constipated look on his face. But I'm afraid noone would make it to the end of the show!] I also thought the casting of Matt Lucas as Thernadier was unfortunate as I didn't think he had the voice necessary for such a major role. A role like that can be forgiving to a lesser voice...but Lucas still didn't pull it off. And it's unfortunate for him to have the obvious comparison with Alun Armstrong who played the role in the 10th Anniversary production. Samantha Barks, who is starring in a current London production, played Eponine. And the 10th Anniversary's Eponine, Lea Salonga, slid into the role of Fantine and did the most wondrous I Dreamed a Dream ever (sorry Susan Boyle).

For me, this Blu-ray disc takes a HUGE stage event and does a beautiful job bringing it into our homes.

 

[Kevin EK]

I'll have a review up this weekend, if it will help.


Something tells me fans of this production are already evaluating it as we speak...

 

[Carlo_M]

Watching this on PBS right now. Wow Nick Jonas is bad. He sticks out like a sore thumb...er...voice. Just read online he's dating Eponine, so I guess that's how he got on. She's got all the vocal talent in that couple.


I like this Javert. Still behind Philip Quast for me, but very good. Boe acquits himself as the production goes on, but I didn't juve with his take on how the early Valjean songs were sung. The rest of the cast is solid to very good. Will probably pick this up, but I'm trying to find a way to overdub Michael Ball's vocals on top of Jonas's...

 

[Kevin EK]

Sorry for the delay on the review - I have to confess not knowing this show before watching this disc. I'm also not familiar with the Jonas Brothers or with Nick, but I wasn't thrown out of the show by his performance.


I was enchanted by the whole production, particularly the encore.


The short version of what my review will say is:


The picture quality is quite good from what I can see, considering that you're trying to see stage lighting effects on high def video, which is a difficult idea to pull off. Looks to me like some of the footage in the encore has more of a digital feel to it, but that's a reflection of the cameras being used, and not of the transfer.

The sound quality in the DTS-HD MA mix has a really nice effect to it - the surrounds actually function to put you in the middle of the audience at the performance - so the music and singing can be heard faintly with a bit of an echo behind the viewer.

 

[Carlo_M]

Kevin - is this your first Les Mis experience? I ask because although I've never liked the character of Marius (only slightly less annoying to me than Cosette), the person who originated the role, Michael Ball, set quite a high bar. Even in the subsequent times I've seen the play, the person playing Marius is generally one of the better singers in the ensemble. That's why I find Jonas's performance so awful. It has nothing to do with being who he is, it has everything to do with his performance especially in comparison with the rest of the cast on the BD. But that's just my experience, YMMV.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I watched this on PBS a few times over the past week. I like how it's more of a staging than just a concert, but I'd still rather see a full production filmed. My sister and I had to explain to my wife how spectacular the action "really" was in a lot of places.


Funny story -- when Javert came out to sing, my sister exclaimed "hey, I know that guy!" Apparently Norm Lewis was in some show that she worked on years ago (Sideshow, maybe).

 

[Kevin EK]

Carlo, this is indeed my first experience with Les Miz, and I admit being completely charmed by the whole thing, particularly the encore material.


I really think the encore by itself makes this a must-purchase for fans of the show.


I've also read that Alfie Boe is taking over as Jean Valjean this year in London.

 

[Carlo_M]

Oh I completely agree. I will be buying this for myself as well. I'm actually motivated to try and see it when it's on its limited run in L.A. over the summer.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman


Funny story -- when Javert came out to sing, my sister exclaimed "hey, I know that guy!" Apparently Norm Lewis was in some show that she worked on years ago (Sideshow, maybe).

He's very good in this. I really liked him in the role.

 

[Kevin EK]

At long last, the review is finally up.


Sorry for the delay guys - I promise to do better.


The link is:


http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/309842/htf-blu-ray-review-les-miserables-the-25th-anniversary-concert-recommended