Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Les Miserables - The 25th Anniversary Concert - Recommended (1 Viewer)

[Kevin EK]

Les Misérables

25^th Anniversary In Concert

 

Studio: Universal

Year: 2010

Length:  2 hrs 50 mins

Genre:  Musical Theater/Stage Performance

 

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

 

BD Resolution: 1080p

BD Video Codec: VC-1 (@ an average 25 mbps – up to 40 mbps at times)

Color/B&W: Color

 

Audio:

English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (@ an average 4.5 mbps)

English Dolby Digital Plus 2.0

 

Subtitles: English SDH, French European, Italian, Castilian Spanish, L.A. Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish, Turkish, Icelandic, Mandarin, Cantonese

 

Film Rating: Not Rated (No Language, Violence or Nudity, but there is some adult content, including various implied sexual references)

 

Release Date: February 22, 2011

 

Starring:  Alfie Boe, Nick Jonas, Norm Lewis, Matt Lucas, Lea Salonga, Jenny Galloway, Ramin Karimloo, Katie Hall, Samantha Barks, and an appearance by the casts of the 2010 Queen’s Theatre production, the 2010 Barbican Theatre production, and the original 1985 London production

 

Based on the Novel by:  Victor Hugo

Music by:  Claude-Michel Schonberg

English Lyrics by:  Herbert Kretzmer

Original French Text by:  Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel

Directed by: Laurence Connor and James Powell

Produced by:  Cameron Mackintosh

 

Film Rating:    4/5  

 

Les Misérables is one of the most successful and popular stage musicals of our lifetime, given its over 25 year history of continuing productions in America, London and in many other countries around the world.  To mark its 25 year anniversary, producer Cameron Mackintosh not only presented a new production of the show in its original venue in London (the Barbican) but also this special concert production at the O2 Arena on October 3, 2010.  And as part of the ramp-up toward a new theatrical film of the musical, Universal has released this Blu-ray, documenting the O2 Arena performance. 

 

For those who are unfamiliar with the production, as I was before watching the Blu-ray, I’ll quickly summarize things to say that the story follows the virtuous fugitive Jean Valjean whose attempts to do good are complicated by the relentless pursuit of policeman Javert, most of this happening in the backdrop of the 1832 Paris Uprising.  In the novel by Victor Hugo, this is a classic tale of tragedy, romance, despair, and finally peace.  As a musical, all of these ideas are gloriously amplified with a rousing score and a brace of beautiful songs. 

 

This particular performance is a bit unusual, in that we’re not actually watching a straight performance of the musical onstage, although all the complete text is presented.  Instead, in a concert arrangement, the cast deliver their dialogue and songs toward the audience, at several microphone positions at the front of the stage.  Large monitors above the stage provide close-ups of the various performers throughout the show, and an impressive lightshow accompanies the performance.   Also, this isn’t a standard cast for the performance, although Alfie Boe is remarkable in the lead role.  I realize there has been a good deal of discussion about the casting of Nick Jonas in a crucial role – and given my unfamiliarity with the material, I’ll leave that judgment to fans of the show. 

 

Once the performance is finished, however, there is still some really great material to come – and this is where things get really interesting.  I don’t want to spoil the surprises here, but fans of the show will absolutely need to get this Blu-ray, just to see the encore.

 

Les Misérables: The 25^th Anniversary Concert was released on standard definition DVD and Blu-ray on February 22.   The Blu-ray edition has a high definition picture and sound transfer of the performance, and a quick 5 minute featurette about the show.

                                                        

 

VIDEO QUALITY   4/5

Les Misérables: The 25^th Anniversary Concert is presented in a 1080p VC-1 1.78:1 transfer that has some satisfyingly deep blacks and does well with an array of different flesh tones, costumes and lighting effects.  There are some moments, particularly near the end of the encore, when the cameras go handheld as a parade marches in through the audience, where the picture quality begins to look a bit digital, but I believe that’s a reflection of the cameras being used, not the transfer.   I should note that I am watching the film on a 40” Sony XBR2 HDTV. If anyone is watching the film on a larger monitor and is having issues, please post them on this thread.

 

 

AUDIO QUALITY   4 ½/5

Les Misérables: The 25^th Anniversary Concert is presented in an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that puts the focus on the front channels for the performance, but uses the surrounds in a really interesting way.  The surround channels contain a mildly echoed portion of the audio coming from the front speakers – which effectively puts the viewer in the middle of the O2 Arena, with the sound coming off the stage and bouncing back a little from the rear of the house.  I really enjoyed this effect.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES      1/5

The Blu-Ray presentation of Les Misérables: The 25^th Anniversary Concert comes with a single special feature:

 

A Whiz Thru Miz – (4:56, 1080p)  This featurette is essentially a long trailer for the performance, with a recounting of the many successes of the show over the years.  There are a few interview snippets with Cameron Mackintosh and others, but this is much less of a meal than a snack.

 

The performance is subtitled in English and no less than 18 other languages, which is a testament to the show’s appeal across multiple continents and cultures.  The pop-up chapter menu appropriately divides the show by song, so you can access your favorite number quickly.  The chapter menu also divides the encore, allowing you to jump right to that if you wish.

 

IN THE END...

Les Misérables: The 25^th Anniversary Concert is a must-buy for fans of this musical.  It’s not a matter of the picture and the sound, which are both quite nice.  And it’s not a matter of the performance itself, which has gotten some major applause (Alfie Boe, who by the way is set to take over the role of Jean Valjean in London this year) and some brickbats (Nick Jonas).  It’s both the presentation, which is quite enchanting, and at times stunning in its ability to put the viewer in the middle of the O2 Arena, and more especially, the encore that follows the performance.

 

Kevin Koster

March 20, 2011. 

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Huge fan of Les Misérables, been waiting for the original

dreamcast video to hit Blu-ray from Sony...but who are we

kidding?


I was mostly against purchasing this Blu-ray. Once you

have a particular cast in your head it's very hard to
appreciate any other. The second time I saw this show

on Broadway some 5 years ago, I found it rather disappointing

due to the fact that it seemed like something off of a

college stage rather than being the grand production I
had loved so much.


Getting back to this particular release....


I just happened to catch some of this last night on PBS.

They were airing it in HD, with their usual beg-athon
interruptions.

Had not heard a lot of good things about the casting

choices for this 25th Anniversary ensemble and I agree

that not everyone was perfectly cast. However, I was

soon won over by the music and the production quality.

I sat it out throughl the encore and that sort of clinched it for

me. I have gone to Amazon and made a purchase.


Thanks for the review, Kevin, and the personal

encouragement to watch this.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Nothing will compare to the First National Company that I saw at the Kennedy Center in 1988. I also saw the show 7 times on tour in the DFW area. It was the full show, something I listened to countless times on the Complete Symphonic Recording (although even that was missing a couple of cues). When I saw the last tour in Dallas about 4 years ago, I was extremely disappointed as the show had been cut and sped up to play in under 3 hours with intermission. It seems that union rules required overtime pay for shows running past 11:00 pm, and the show did not want to pay it. This concert is the edited version of the show, but they avoided the speed ups. All in all, I like the disc. Thanks for the review!

 

[Andrew Stoakley]

I've seen this show 5 times live and own the original concert DVD that was recorded live at Royal Albert Hall. I also have the 3 disc complete symphonic recording and I was excited to watch this the other night on PBS. Wow, was I disappointed. The cast they assembled for this performance palls in comparison to that original DVD. I turned it off as soon as the first interaction of Valjean and Javert on the chain gang. If you get a chance, watch Colm Wilkinson (Valjean) vs. Phillip Quast (Javert) and see how these characters sound and handle themselves. I didn't realize that one of the Jonas Brothers was featured and boy am I glad that I didn't stay around to listen to him butcher the role of Marius. Watch and listen to Michael Ball - it doesn't even compare!


I'm sure the quality of the video and sound are top notch, but alas I won't be purchasing this DVD for my collection... I don't want it to sully the good one


Cheers,

Andrew

 

[PatW]

I'm torn about this production. I also caught it on PBS last week and was quite disappointed with the casting except for a few. I did enjoy Alfie Boe in the role though but he is no Colm. There is no denying he has a beautiful voice probably better suited for the Met than musical theatre. So I was on the fence on whether to buy until that encore performance and that sealed the deal for me. I've seen this live three times, once in London years ago, and twice in Toronto. Nothing can beat that performance in London and Toronto years ago.

 

[Ensign Eddie]

Originally Posted by Steve Tannehill

When I saw the last tour in Dallas about 4 years ago, I was extremely disappointed as the show had been cut and sped up to play in under 3 hours with intermission. It seems that union rules required overtime pay for shows running past 11:00 pm, and the show did not want to pay it.

This reminds of the last time I saw it in Dallas. It was more than four years ago, but it already had the speed up problem. I remarked to the people with me that it seemed like the conductor was late for the bus. It was so disappointing that I haven't seen it live since then (but I had seen it 4 or 5 times before, once in London).


As for the 25th Concert, it has it's problems to be sure, but the music still had me spell-bound. Nick Jonas wasn't as bad as I was fearing. More than anything else it seemed like he wasn't standing close enough to the microphone.


I intend to pick the BD up soon (although I am waiting for a sale). It was a good show.

 

[RAF]

I'm a huge fan of this musical having seen it on Broadway five times over the years and having introduced my grandchildren to the Broadway stage through performances of this, my favorite musical. Therefore it's a "must have" for me any time that something involving Les Miz is released. I ordered this Blu-ray as soon as it was released. The picture and the sound is first rate and I've already watched it several times. I would consider it to be demo quality sound and its clarity really shines through my Atlantic Technology 8200 7.1 sound system. As to the choice of performers for this presentation I'll leave tthat to others to comment on. I like the music so much that I'm a sucker for any performance of this score. Let's just say that all the performances on this disc are at least adequate and some of them really shine. The special encore at this performance features some nice surprises for fans as well and is worth the price of admission for this title alone. And as for the casting of Nick Jonas as Marius let's just say that his performance shows the difference between the vocal abilities of pop singers and classically trained singers. One only has to listen to his voice compared to the other male voices in the cast to realize that his vocals can't compete with the far more competent singers in the cast. While it's not a total disaster, it's the weakest part of this disc. But for me it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of this disc and I heartily endorse it's purchase.

 

[Carlo_M]

For those who own this, and have listened to the 5.1 audio track, does your volume vary wildly throughout the show (i.e. way softer in the beginning half than the second half)? Also, is it just me or is the menu volume ridiculously loud?

 

[oledinac]

Gracias man

 

[brentl]

Nothing will compare to the First National Company that I saw at the Kennedy Center in 1988.

Cmon, Toronto was amazing.....maybe that's back when they had a huge list of top talent to choose from so the concurrent productions didn't have any problems with casting the lead roles As for this disc, I loved it! It's amazing what you miss when so much time has passed, and how intently you stare at the screen because of this feelings it revived within you. The casting was quite strong overall, I never noticed a weakness until late in the first half.....when Mr Jonas showed up, that nearly ruined the show for me, WHY OH WHY would they do that, they've already mentioned an offer to Justin Beiber to take the role when it FINALLY opens in Toronto(Probably next year now due to casting issues), and fans that see this with never spend $75-150 to see HIM in Toronto, I know I certainly won't. If the inclusion is what I can expect from a full casting of "stars" in the upcoming Rock of Ages movie, I'll stay FAR away from it since I really enjoyed the play in Toronto. Brent

 

[Steve Tannehill]

When I saw the First National Tour in 1988, the Jean Valjean was played by Craig Schulman (who has also played the role in Toronto). I never will forget how his microphone stopped working in the prologue (it sounded like it fell off), and he started to belt out the songs. From the 3rd row, you could still hear him quite clearly. Fortunately, this was just in the prologue, and when he returned as the mayor of the town, the mike was fixed. Other things I remember that were very different in later shows was the height of the judges' bench in the courtroom scene, and the size of the runaway cart...subsequent tours used a little rolling cart, so small I laughed the first time I saw it. Now we have a movie musical coming out in December with Hugh Jackman as Valjean and Russell Crowe as Javert. I do not have high expectations for this movie.