Y'know what? If he'd had the same menace, the same low menace in his voice for the entire song, I would've been all about that performance. You're right, that 'No' is really good.
How Jackman starved him for this part is amazing. I heard that the 24 hours before this scene, he even stopped drinking water just to look even more malnourished. It also adds a certain quality to his voice, a hoarseness you cannot really get when in the theater
Tibo Smolders Anne also cut her hair and did some drastic changes to her wait for her dieing scenes.One of the main reasons she doesn't talk about it much is beacuse she admitted what she did was a bit dangerouse
He sounds great, I don't understand why people complain so much. He can sing and act and those are talents that, for a lot of Broadway actors I've seen, are exclusive.
The people who complain are normally theatre fanatics, and its because the voice he used to sing, and the way he acted was not the oregional broadway character, he changed the character a large amount and for people who know this musical inside out, it didnt work.
William Hillman But wouldn't you want a different approach to the character? If it were the same, Broadway fans would complain that he was lazily copying the theatrical version. I love musicals but I do see a lot of bad acting. I liked what he did, I like his stoic strength and the subtle fragility he shows before committing suicide. It is an issue of subjectivity but still, I think it's unfair to criticize Rusell so harshly.
+TomAndJerry87 Agreed. He obviously isn't Broadway material, but that level of singing with no vocal training other than acting? That's extremely impressive.
So many people are pretending they have a clue about what makes a "good" voice, just so they can criticize Russel Crowe's performance. Opinions aside, Russel Crowe sings on pitch, with great control over his chest and pharyngeal voice, and a clear tone. Sorry, people, but Russel Crowe is definitely a good singer.
The first time I ever saw anything Les Mis was during this movie. I got to watch at home, and when Russel Crow began singing (at the time I didn't know anything about the movie/show/actors/etc) and immediately honed in on him. I basically picked him as a favorite from then on. :P I love his voice. I don't understand the hate that comes with it.
I loved Russell Crowe's voice in this film!!! Why's he getting so much hate? Musicals aren't necessarily about being an amazing character, but about staying in character while singing.
Why do you need music to sing? The orchestra was recorded in the studio afterwards. The conductor then followed the speed of the singers. For most songs they used only a piano. But even then the piano player followed the singer's speed and not the other way round. This was done to give the actors more room to play their role
Why does everyone hate Russell Crowe's singing voice. Maybe it's my hearing which is fine by most standards but I can't see or rather hear anything bad about it.
It has nothing to do with his singing; frankly, it wasn't bad. It was his presence and delivery. I, like other Les Mis fans who have seen this musical over 20 times in different languages, know what every character is, and every actor nailed their respective part, minus Crowe. Whatever he was doing was NOT Javert. It would be like a stranger wearing your mom's clothes and calling you son..
It sounds like he's untrained. Like random people in church just trying to sing but not knowing what they're doing. I think this movie would have been better if they taught singers how to act instead of trying to teach actors how to sing. Nobody was really good in this movie to be honest. I might keep Hugh Jackman if I was in charge of re-doing it just because his acting was so great and his voice DID have power.
I was completely the opposite. I thought Crowe's song was very impressive, and while Jackman can certainly act, I think that constant Vibrato thing he does gets annoying after about half a song.
+Isaac Piccolo It means I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeNO
His fault was in putting the law above his fellow man and any decent sense of morality. Though in the end he sees that, his inability to compromise destroys him. It was his own fault. He did not have to see the world in black and white as bad people often do. He wasn't a good guy, but at least in the end he did his best to do right. That goes for something
However if you put it in todays context, that is exactly what would happen, doesn't matter whether you steal for your dying sister, you are going to jail and if you break parole you will be punish, I don't think javert is bad or evil at all, just doing his duty, doing what he feels is right
***** That's the point. That was the case for the time in which the book was written as well. It's making a point about how the law sometimes contradicts Christian values. That's not the whole of it, but it's part of it.
Amir Mark Dude, it's not my own personal viewpoint. It's what I believe to be an intended subtext of the story. I don't necessarily agree with it. Hop in a time machine and debate it with Victor Hugo or mail a letter to the writers of the musical.
Holy shit, if you people are complaining about them singing everything in an operatic musical then holy shit i hope you never listen to an opera ever... You will hate them singing everything that is happening but hey some people have no taste
CockpumpVideo I'll admit that a lot of the main characters aren't the best singers, at least for a classical style, I mean, look at Cosette. The rebel group, Eponine, Marius, Enjolas (the "leader" of the group) they are good. The priest did a good job too.
Peolpe keep saying Russell cant sing but hes not a singer hes an actor and he didnt do that bad compared to other actors that have tried to do musicals
Max Hickman Russell Crowe can actually sing, but he uses a different technique. He wasn't classically trained, like the majority of the rest of the cast.
Crowe's voice is perfectly fine, but his voice PLUS the epic music just equals hilarity, okay? And I'm not saying this lasts throughout the movie, but it cracks me up here and first impression's everything.
LOOK DOWN LOOK DOWN DON'T LOOK RIGHT AT THE SCREEN We can't, we've tried, it's just too damned a scene The singing's live, whose bright idea was that? PROBABLY THE GUY WHO GAVE JAVERT THAT HAT Hahahahaha gotta love him
I sing in a performance choir, meaning we do theater work, and in general try to make a special experience out of our concerts, even when it's just carols in churches around christmastime. We are instructed by our voice coach that we should strive to keep our singing as close to natural speaking as possible, while still retaining the melodic component. Enunciate and stress syllables as we would when speaking, and to think of it as telling as story, and not just as a string of sounds exciting our vocal chords. TL;DR: I call bullshit on anyone who complains that "musicals are just people speaking!"
Javert is a Napoleonic police officer, not a musical theater graduate. I'd much rather watch musicals like this with imperfect singers, than an overly trained performer like you would see in the West End.
Mrvort The point I was making was that acting should come first, I wouldn't expect terrible singers no. I've met more than enough musical theater actors and some of them would play this role fantastically. Most, unfortunately, have been so highly trained in a very specific method of singing, that given a role like this, they would be unconvincing. The point of musical theater is that performers act what they sing. Javert's voice shouldn't be pretty, it should be masculine, unrefined, and a little rough around the edges. Crowe isn't a fantastic singer, but he carries off the role of Javert; the imperfections in his voice sell the character perfectly. It would be a different matter with a character like Marius, a fresh faced and well educated student. My opinion is that the film was made all the better for the inclusion of Actors such as Crowe. We could so easily have ended up with Hair Spray the musical in France.
God I've listened to the musical version so much after seeing the movie once, that I flintch when it's not "NO! It means you get your yellow ticket of leave- you are a thief" "I stole a loaf of bread" "You robbed a house" "I broke a window pane"
MrOpera53 They should have had it quiet down to almost ambiance when Javert and Jean were singing and had it turn up when the choir was singing 'Look Down, Look Down"
That would have been a great idea! A problem with this movie is that the music and singers were soft the whole time, even when something should have been more lively like One Day More. There should have been times where it was soft and times when it got exciting.
Well he has absolutely no vibrato, but he simply doesn't have a good singing voice in general. He's very nasally. I saw the broadway show on tour shortly after this movie was released, and there's no contest. Everyone on broadway blows this cast away, but Crowe is easily the weakest singer. This movie would have been flawless if they'd just picked a better lead for that role.
I think its the fact that whilst alone his voice is good, compared to the rest of the cast who have some more musical theatre experience, he seemed vocally weaker than them?
This movie was made by Universal Studios??? Huh... imagine if Les Miserables got a ride based on it at the theme park Universal in Florida. I'd ride that...
Their voices, especially Crowe's voice, sound much better and impressive without the music. Usually it's the other way round: many singers rely on music to make their voices sound impressive, while without music they sound weak. I thought Crowe's voice was strange while I was watching the film - without the music, anyone can hear that he has a clear voice with a good tempo, and it even sounds better than Jackman's at certain points. If he was initially auditioned without music, then I can understand why the producers chose him to play Javert.
I like the musicless version because it feels so feasable and has all the water sounds that make it feel like you're working with the prisoners. It's kind of calming.
Javert Javert is so obsessed with enforcing society’s laws and morals that he does not realize he is living by mistaken assumptions-a tragic and ironic flaw in a man who believes so strongly in enforcing what he believes is right. Although Javert is such a stern and inflexible character that it is hard to sympathize with him, he lives with the shame of knowing that his own Gypsy upbringing is not so different from the backgrounds of the men he pursues. He lives his life trying to erase this shame through his strict commitment to upholding the law. Javert’s flaw, however, is that he never stops to question whether the laws themselves are just. In his mind, a man is guilty when the law declares him so. When Valjean finally gives Javert irrefutable proof that a man is not necessarily evil just because the law says he is, Javert is incapable of reconciling this new knowledge with his beliefs. He commits suicide, plagued by the thought that he may be living a dishonorable life. True to Javert’s nature, he makes this decision not with any emotional hysterics, but rather with a cool determination. Although he is a man of logic, he is impassioned about his work. To this end, Hugo frequently uses animal imagery to describe Javert, particularly when he likens him to a tiger. In the end, it is difficult to feel anything other than pity for Javert, who assumes his duty with such savagery that he seems more animal than man.
Um... You do know Javert is a FICTIONAL character right? He was a character in a 19th century novel. You really should not comment until you use your brain.
People are needlessly harsh of Russell Crowe in this film. I mean hearing him without music, he not only acts the shit out of the role, but sings very well too!
People keep asking "What if we all spoke like this?" To be true, when I watched the movie for the first time with my girlfriend, we accidently started riming everything we were saying, and we didn't really do it on purpose. It just came to us
OK, so a re-watched Les Mis just to pay a special close attention to Russell Crowe's singing, and honestly, I don't get why people disagree with it so much. I guess people say it comes off as unemotional, but this is the character Javert, to have emotion just doesn't suit him
AJ Tomecek I totally agree! I'm always confused when people talk bad about Russel Crowe's voice. I think it's fantastic and fit the character Javert fairly well.
I guess it's because of the sharp contrast between Crowe and Quast. If you listen to Quast's singing on the 10th anniversary performance, you can hear his voice just bursting with fire and emotions, while Crowe's voice always seems stoic and dull. But in my opinion, both versions of Javert work with the scenario - it's just a matter of prefference, really. Personally, I like Quast's fierce, emotional Javert more. But then again, that's just my opinion.
Well, he has a name, and ...In the movie, you HAVE To realize, Javert WAS A dick to him ( And yes, I understand why he was that way to Jean. ) But, I mean .. Javert was still being rude about it.. So..
Because he's branded as a "dangerous man" for the rest of his life which means he can't get a decent job, a decent home, etc. The next few scenes are him trying to adjust to his life but everywhere he goes, they read his papers and gets turned down. All he did was steal a loaf of bread for his family and he's branded as a criminal for life. That's why he argued.
The backing track was layered onto the singing, not the other way around. They recorded the melody on a piano and fed it to the actors through earpieces, but I don't think any of that piano track was used in the film.
Honestly it just sounds like they boosted the volume of Crowe's vocals, so it sounds like he is screaming but in all honestly the music is being overshadowed by bad sound mixing.
I hated this movie but I reckon if it wasn’t a musical and they literally just spoke their words normally it would have been tolerable for my 12 year old self suffering in French class
![{YTP} ~ 24601 Releases a Sammich on Parole [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JEVago2PKn0/mqdefault.jpg)
Best bit:
"My name's Jean Valjean!"
"AND IIIIIII'M JAVEEEERT!!!"
Prisoner in the background: "and im dave! Can I leave too?"
+PotatoKing Gaming xD
Lol!!!
+PotatoKing Gaming I am sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
+DarthRushy I like the water pathetically swishing in the background.
That "NO" is too awesome to be judged.
"No."
"Don't be rude, Javert."
agreed that no is destructive
"I get it!"
"Shut it, Javert."
Yes, this "No" killed it already at the movies when it first came out. The best part of Crowe's acting in the movie was this "no".
Almost as good as chuggaaconroy's "NNNNNOO!!!"
At French preschool:
Teacher: And what's your name?
Javert: *waltzes into classroom gloriously* I AMMMMMMMM JAVERT
MY NAME IS JEAN VALJEAN
I STOLE A LOAF OF BREAD
@@Zareena23 5 YEARS FOR WHAT YOU DID
DONOTFORGETMYNAME
Teacher: Who the hell are you?
Javert: YOU KNOW NOTHING OF JAVERT!!
Am I the only one who really loves how menacing Russell Crowe's "No." is? :D
Or when he practically roars, "FIVE YEARS for what you did! The rest because you tried to run...!"
I really like the "You'll starve again!" part, maybe it's just the way he starts it, sort of like a continuation of Valjean
I totally love EVERYTHING about Russell Crowe in this movie
I like almost everything about russel except sometimes his voice cracks but i give him credit hes a smoker and had pnomonaia
It's simply perfect, hahaha... So artistic, yet so natural.
Crowe does the best ''no'' I've ever heard (0:10)
I also don't think he's that bad at singing. I like his voice
christhln
I think people are just used to a more thunderous voice. Crowe ha a deeper voice which is ok, but it tends to be very monotonous.
christhln have you heard/seen norm lewis' "no" ? it's my personal favourite.
+christhln "Can I have a cookie?"
Me: *Javert* "NO"
hannibunny Yeah, Norm's is a close second for me. I just love Philip Quast too much.
Y'know what? If he'd had the same menace, the same low menace in his voice for the entire song, I would've been all about that performance. You're right, that 'No' is really good.
this is the only area of UA-cam that all commenters are saying they like Russell's voice
Bless you he's my fav
I love Javerts voice so freaking much
How Jackman starved him for this part is amazing. I heard that the 24 hours before this scene, he even stopped drinking water just to look even more malnourished. It also adds a certain quality to his voice, a hoarseness you cannot really get when in the theater
Great point
Tibo Smolders
Anne also cut her hair and did some drastic changes to her wait for her dieing scenes.One of the main reasons she doesn't talk about it much is beacuse she admitted what she did was a bit dangerouse
maybe he shoulda been taking singing lessons
Boom.
+Jebediah Stanton you're kidding right? Hugh Jackman has an absolutely great voice. He's a musical singer after all.
He sounds great, I don't understand why people complain so much. He can sing and act and those are talents that, for a lot of Broadway actors I've seen, are exclusive.
The people who complain are normally theatre fanatics, and its because the voice he used to sing, and the way he acted was not the oregional broadway character, he changed the character a large amount and for people who know this musical inside out, it didnt work.
William Hillman But wouldn't you want a different approach to the character? If it were the same, Broadway fans would complain that he was lazily copying the theatrical version. I love musicals but I do see a lot of bad acting. I liked what he did, I like his stoic strength and the subtle fragility he shows before committing suicide. It is an issue of subjectivity but still, I think it's unfair to criticize Rusell so harshly.
Because Crowe is not a good singer. It's pretty obvious.
Crowe's a good singer but you need to emote when doing a musical. Which he didn't.
darrenmuse Please elaborate. What parts of his voice do you think is he bad at controlling?
This video proves Russel Crowe CAN sing. Great control and pitch. I don't give a shit if you like his voice, but he can sing.
+TomAndJerry87 Agreed. He obviously isn't Broadway material, but that level of singing with no vocal training other than acting? That's extremely impressive.
Honestly Russels voice was perfect for the role
He's a folk singer, rather than an opera singer
+HairyHorux Exactly. His singing isn't bad, it just didn't work well for this film. Whatever. Shit happens.
he has a good voice for rock.
So many people are pretending they have a clue about what makes a "good" voice, just so they can criticize Russel Crowe's performance. Opinions aside, Russel Crowe sings on pitch, with great control over his chest and pharyngeal voice, and a clear tone. Sorry, people, but Russel Crowe is definitely a good singer.
Russell Crowe really does suck if I were casting this movie I would have cast the best Javert, Norm Lewis
***** Thank you for being a perfect example, hahaha. Exactly what I was talking about.
Wesley Nilsen When I first watched this, It didn't even cross my mind that people would think he's a bad singer, I thought he was brilliant
Mr Blue Sky Yeah. Most likely it's just that people love to hate celebrities. He's not amazing, but it's idiotic to say he's a bad singer.
Agreed, he played the part of Javert to a tee though, the emotion and passion was so real.
The first time I ever saw anything Les Mis was during this movie. I got to watch at home, and when Russel Crow began singing (at the time I didn't know anything about the movie/show/actors/etc) and immediately honed in on him. I basically picked him as a favorite from then on. :P I love his voice. I don't understand the hate that comes with it.
I loved Russell Crowe's voice in this film!!! Why's he getting so much hate? Musicals aren't necessarily about being an amazing character, but about staying in character while singing.
Musicals are about SINGING and acting. But you MUST sing well
There's something really cool about a musical with no actual backing track. I'd be really interested to hear more of the movie like this.
"Do not forget MY NAME"
I've wanted to use this at job fairs before
when you listen to it without music, my first thought is, "But how do they know melody to sing to?"
wishtopublish they all had earpieces that had just a piano providing back up and followed their beat and timing
wishtopublish they removed the earpieces using cgi at post
There was a guy playing piano live in their ear
Why do you need music to sing? The orchestra was recorded in the studio afterwards. The conductor then followed the speed of the singers. For most songs they used only a piano.
But even then the piano player followed the singer's speed and not the other way round.
This was done to give the actors more room to play their role
It's just funny to imagine two people having a conversation in song without music.
Why does everyone hate Russell Crowe's singing voice. Maybe it's my hearing which is fine by most standards but I can't see or rather hear anything bad about it.
It's called the "Hype-train". It's just cool to bash him, same with anne hathaway. No real reason, it's just feels cool for them.
It has nothing to do with his singing; frankly, it wasn't bad. It was his presence and delivery. I, like other Les Mis fans who have seen this musical over 20 times in different languages, know what every character is, and every actor nailed their respective part, minus Crowe. Whatever he was doing was NOT Javert. It would be like a stranger wearing your mom's clothes and calling you son..
It sounds like he's untrained. Like random people in church just trying to sing but not knowing what they're doing. I think this movie would have been better if they taught singers how to act instead of trying to teach actors how to sing. Nobody was really good in this movie to be honest. I might keep Hugh Jackman if I was in charge of re-doing it just because his acting was so great and his voice DID have power.
I was completely the opposite. I thought Crowe's song was very impressive, and while Jackman can certainly act, I think that constant Vibrato thing he does gets annoying after about half a song.
Notice how much his pitch shifts.
NEVER.
That is why. Beyond that he did a great job. He's got wonderful rhythm, he's just tone deaf in a sense.
Original: "My name is Jean ValJean ; And I'm Javert"UA-cam subtitle: " Demons come down Sean; And I'm sure there "
i can't stop thinking of the ytp
***** And I'm Javert! Do you know what AAHH! means?
+Isaac Piccolo It means I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeNO
SOS
SOS
SOS
Your gun...
Do not forget my name!
Do not forget my name!
Do not forget my mom!
2fort
To the left to the right to the left to the right
+teeman9266 I THINK OF THIS VIDEO FOR EVERY LITTLE BIT OF THE PROLOGUE!
+teeman9266 Do not forget my name! .. my name is maximus decimus meridius... father to a murdered son.. husband to a murdered wife.. etc etc
+360MegaByte tf?
so that's what musicals would sound like in real like if everyone spontaneously broke out in song
isnt that always with musicals?
What if all conversations actually went on like this? Like all in sing-song voice xD
Yeah - what if we could all speak in lyrics only....
Ilya S there was a clan in the Arabian peninsula about 1700 years ago that spoke only in lyrics. I actually study their anthropology. it is fun (:
I think there was an episode of Buffy where that was the exact plot for the entire show.
***** It'd be preeeeettty oooodddd, but if that had been set by Gooooooddd, then I admit... it'd be pretty awesooooo-ooooome!!!
Like in Wales?
In this movie I thought that javert was a good guy, the problem was in the law, it wasn't fair
His fault was in putting the law above his fellow man and any decent sense of morality. Though in the end he sees that, his inability to compromise destroys him. It was his own fault. He did not have to see the world in black and white as bad people often do. He wasn't a good guy, but at least in the end he did his best to do right. That goes for something
However if you put it in todays context, that is exactly what would happen, doesn't matter whether you steal for your dying sister, you are going to jail and if you break parole you will be punish, I don't think javert is bad or evil at all, just doing his duty, doing what he feels is right
***** That's the point. That was the case for the time in which the book was written as well. It's making a point about how the law sometimes contradicts Christian values. That's not the whole of it, but it's part of it.
Kyle Plissken True religions laws and values are more cruel by far, I mean imagine stealing a loaf of bread and getting your hands cut
Amir Mark Dude, it's not my own personal viewpoint. It's what I believe to be an intended subtext of the story. I don't necessarily agree with it. Hop in a time machine and debate it with Victor Hugo or mail a letter to the writers of the musical.
And I'm JOJvert.
Do not forget my mom; GET me a sand-wich! NOM NOM NOM!
JOJ
SUS
"I stole bread"
"Die."
2fort
Holy shit, if you people are complaining about them singing everything in an operatic musical then holy shit i hope you never listen to an opera ever... You will hate them singing everything that is happening but hey some people have no taste
Fallen Deus hmm..these are actors trying to be singers
CockpumpVideo I'll admit that a lot of the main characters aren't the best singers, at least for a classical style, I mean, look at Cosette. The rebel group, Eponine, Marius, Enjolas (the "leader" of the group) they are good. The priest did a good job too.
+CockpumpVideo i think they are good at singing
+Fallen Deus it might be better if the tune had more than two notes in it but I see your point!
+Katie Garlock
Considering who played the priest, that's not exactly surprising, is it?
"you know what that means?"
"yes!! it means i'm free 😃🙌👍👌✨😭😊☺️😀"
"👿 no"
just imagine how difficult it is to sing without music and to be in tune!! amazing!!!!
jaja they had a pianist playing the backing track (sorry for my inglish)
They had an earpiece in, playing the piano score.
julianbertero No they didnt, i was one of the extras, it was completely silent
According to Hugh Jackman in an interview, they all had an earpiece in, so only they could hear the piano backing.
They are actors and/or singers, not superhumans...
French people singing in Australian accents... seems legit.
Australian accents*
Sebastian Prior Right
Russell Crowe is from New Zealand though. That is if you mean him.
He was born in New Zealand but has lived in Australia most of his life iirc.So he has an Australian accent.
They're also singing in English. :P
This is what it would be like if everyone sang when they talked in real life. It's actually kind of nice
Peolpe keep saying Russell cant sing but hes not a singer hes an actor and he didnt do that bad compared to other actors that have tried to do musicals
Anne Hathaway (spelling?) is an actor not a singer and she knocked "I dreamed a dream" out of the f**king park
Max Hickman
Russell Crowe can actually sing, but he uses a different technique. He wasn't classically trained, like the majority of the rest of the cast.
ive heard him sing in his band and even then im not a fan
Each to his own.
Crowe's voice is perfectly fine, but his voice PLUS the epic music just equals hilarity, okay?
And I'm not saying this lasts throughout the movie, but it cracks me up here and first impression's everything.
Can I have the whole movie without the background music because it is the most hilariously awkward thing I've ever seen and I love it to bits
Other prisoner: "why are those guys singing over there?"
Another prisoner: "you new here? This is what we do every Tuesday."
I'm Yakko! I'm Wakko!
AND I'M JAVERT!
I hope you've been watching the Nostalgia Critic! >D
Charlotte Bevis How do you think?
LOOK DOWN
LOOK DOWN
DON'T LOOK RIGHT AT THE SCREEN
We can't, we've tried, it's just too damned a scene
The singing's live, whose bright idea was that?
PROBABLY THE GUY WHO GAVE JAVERT THAT HAT
Hahahahaha gotta love him
Charlotte Bevis
We can't, we've tried
It's just too damn obscene
Charlotte Bevis
I laughed harder at this than I should have.
Javert should join the cyberpolice
I sing in a performance choir, meaning we do theater work, and in general try to make a special experience out of our concerts, even when it's just carols in churches around christmastime.
We are instructed by our voice coach that we should strive to keep our singing as close to natural speaking as possible, while still retaining the melodic component. Enunciate and stress syllables as we would when speaking, and to think of it as telling as story, and not just as a string of sounds exciting our vocal chords.
TL;DR: I call bullshit on anyone who complains that "musicals are just people speaking!"
Javert is a Napoleonic police officer, not a musical theater graduate. I'd much rather watch musicals like this with imperfect singers, than an overly trained performer like you would see in the West End.
Mrvort The point I was making was that acting should come first, I wouldn't expect terrible singers no. I've met more than enough musical theater actors and some of them would play this role fantastically. Most, unfortunately, have been so highly trained in a very specific method of singing, that given a role like this, they would be unconvincing. The point of musical theater is that performers act what they sing. Javert's voice shouldn't be pretty, it should be masculine, unrefined, and a little rough around the edges. Crowe isn't a fantastic singer, but he carries off the role of Javert; the imperfections in his voice sell the character perfectly. It would be a different matter with a character like Marius, a fresh faced and well educated student. My opinion is that the film was made all the better for the inclusion of Actors such as Crowe. We could so easily have ended up with Hair Spray the musical in France.
Bill Brigand Mrvort Wow that was resolved civilly. And dat grammar
THERES SOMETHING ABOUT CROWE'S VOICE THATS SO DAMN GREAT IDK
Well dang. Russell Crowe's singing voice is awesome, I don't get apparently (according to below) that people don't like his sining voice.
Omg, the non-instrumental version looks so funny XD
Being a prisoner next to them they're just like;
"What are they doing?" .-.
Who else was on a round of YTPs and found this really hard to watch..?
Me, "Yes, It means I'm bread"
I'm always expecting It to constantly make a joke but it won't
I've come to a point where I've heard this so many times with music, I can't simply hear the normal version without it sounding in my head.
AND I'm JoJJVERT
You're a dangerous Nun! Yes, Six Six Six!
>( My name is Jooj val Jooooj
Calon Alurik
NO.
*****
Yes, it means I'm Brreeaaaad...
Calon Alurik Do not forget my maam!
LeeHJButterfield 2Fort.
God I've listened to the musical version so much after seeing the movie once, that I flintch when it's not "NO! It means you get your yellow ticket of leave- you are a thief"
"I stole a loaf of bread"
"You robbed a house"
"I broke a window pane"
it sounds better without the music really
You could barely hear the music anyway.
MrOpera53 They should have had it quiet down to almost ambiance when Javert and Jean were singing and had it turn up when the choir was singing 'Look Down, Look Down"
That would have been a great idea! A problem with this movie is that the music and singers were soft the whole time, even when something should have been more lively like One Day More. There should have been times where it was soft and times when it got exciting.
I really really do like it
I don't get why so many people don't like Russel Crowe in this movie. i think he did a great job.
Well he has absolutely no vibrato, but he simply doesn't have a good singing voice in general. He's very nasally. I saw the broadway show on tour shortly after this movie was released, and there's no contest. Everyone on broadway blows this cast away, but Crowe is easily the weakest singer. This movie would have been flawless if they'd just picked a better lead for that role.
I think its the fact that whilst alone his voice is good, compared to the rest of the cast who have some more musical theatre experience, he seemed vocally weaker than them?
imagine you're a prisoner, and you just see these 2 singing
This movie was made by Universal Studios??? Huh... imagine if Les Miserables got a ride based on it at the theme park Universal in Florida. I'd ride that...
Javert's Suiride.
BEST IDEA EVER
And I'm At the Gift Shop! Do not forget where I am! Do not forget it!
How da hell would that work?
Ross Pit: shark hunter You travel with him down the bridge and you will also make the sound he makes when he hits the bottom
The Music literally makes half of the experience.
Their voices, especially Crowe's voice, sound much better and impressive without the music. Usually it's the other way round: many singers rely on music to make their voices sound impressive, while without music they sound weak.
I thought Crowe's voice was strange while I was watching the film - without the music, anyone can hear that he has a clear voice with a good tempo, and it even sounds better than Jackman's at certain points. If he was initially auditioned without music, then I can understand why the producers chose him to play Javert.
I like the musicless version because it feels so feasable and has all the water sounds that make it feel like you're working with the prisoners. It's kind of calming.
I’m only just now getting a sense of how weird and awkward this must have been to film
Wow, this actually amazing! Imagine the cast Behind The Scenes
Javert
Javert is so obsessed with enforcing society’s laws and morals that he does not realize he is living by mistaken assumptions-a tragic and ironic flaw in a man who believes so strongly in enforcing what he believes is right. Although Javert is such a stern and inflexible character that it is hard to sympathize with him, he lives with the shame of knowing that his own Gypsy upbringing is not so different from the backgrounds of the men he pursues. He lives his life trying to erase this shame through his strict commitment to upholding the law.
Javert’s flaw, however, is that he never stops to question whether the laws themselves are just. In his mind, a man is guilty when the law declares him so. When Valjean finally gives Javert irrefutable proof that a man is not necessarily evil just because the law says he is, Javert is incapable of reconciling this new knowledge with his beliefs. He commits suicide, plagued by the thought that he may be living a dishonorable life. True to Javert’s nature, he makes this decision not with any emotional hysterics, but rather with a cool determination. Although he is a man of logic, he is impassioned about his work. To this end, Hugo frequently uses animal imagery to describe Javert, particularly when he likens him to a tiger. In the end, it is difficult to feel anything other than pity for Javert, who assumes his duty with such savagery that he seems more animal than man.
Shut up. You didn't know Javert, you never met him.
Um... You do know Javert is a FICTIONAL character right? He was a character in a 19th century novel. You really should not comment until you use your brain.
I think this was a really good analysis, thanks :)
If Russel Crowe was so good at singing why is every Les Mis Moviw comment section a giant fight over his voice? :P
My sisters child was close to death, we were starving-
YOU WILL STARVE AGAIN
AND IM JAVERT, DONT FORGET ME, 24601
"It warns you're a dangerous man!"
"..I STOLE A LOAF OF BREAD"
Russel Crowe had the most amazing voice omg..
U POST IT ON MY BDAY THXS
People are needlessly harsh of Russell Crowe in this film. I mean hearing him without music, he not only acts the shit out of the role, but sings very well too!
I like the original play's lyrics way better compared to the movie's
People keep asking "What if we all spoke like this?" To be true, when I watched the movie for the first time with my girlfriend, we accidently started riming everything we were saying, and we didn't really do it on purpose. It just came to us
is it bad that I have listened to this so much that the music played in my head during the non-audio bit?
I myself, love how both of them sing this.
I've read your comment about 10 times and lol'ed every time.
OK, so a re-watched Les Mis just to pay a special close attention to Russell Crowe's singing, and honestly, I don't get why people disagree with it so much. I guess people say it comes off as unemotional, but this is the character Javert, to have emotion just doesn't suit him
AJ Tomecek I totally agree! I'm always confused when people talk bad about Russel Crowe's voice. I think it's fantastic and fit the character Javert fairly well.
I guess it's because of the sharp contrast between Crowe and Quast. If you listen to Quast's singing on the 10th anniversary performance, you can hear his voice just bursting with fire and emotions, while Crowe's voice always seems stoic and dull. But in my opinion, both versions of Javert work with the scenario - it's just a matter of prefference, really. Personally, I like Quast's fierce, emotional Javert more. But then again, that's just my opinion.
Mário Ďuráč valid point
I love this
Actually, this is neat because it shows what musicals would sound like if you were actually there with the characters and not hearing the music.
How do people manage to watch this without laughing?
i think it's still beautiful:)
Without the music it’s even funnier that they’re randomly singing all this stuff.
I don't understand how he just gets set free and continues to argue.
Well, he has a name, and ...In the movie, you HAVE To realize, Javert WAS A dick to him ( And yes, I understand why he was that way to Jean. ) But, I mean .. Javert was still being rude about it.. So..
because hes bitter about it because he shouldnt have been there in the first place
Because he's branded as a "dangerous man" for the rest of his life which means he can't get a decent job, a decent home, etc. The next few scenes are him trying to adjust to his life but everywhere he goes, they read his papers and gets turned down. All he did was steal a loaf of bread for his family and he's branded as a criminal for life. That's why he argued.
Oh, thanks.
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout..."
"AND I'M JALVERT!"
"My name is Jean Valjean"
"And I'm JAVERT!"
"Yes, it means I'm free"
"No"
Please watch this with subtitles
This messes with my head.
damn, they must have had to listen to the backing track so many times to be able to know the exact timing
+Emily Nicholls There are a lot of cuts. A good editor can get it perfect, I doubt they had to listen much.
The backing track was layered onto the singing, not the other way around.
They recorded the melody on a piano and fed it to the actors through earpieces, but I don't think any of that piano track was used in the film.
Paul Thomas but they still must have had to listen to it a lot because they're singing it..
why is everyone ignoring the fact that Jean Valjean had 14 of his 19 year sentence just for evading police capture?
This song has so many common phrases, I'm just going to randomly reference (ahaha! Alliteration! And again! And again!) the lyrics to my friends.
"I stole a load of bread...." *awkward silence*
Honestly it just sounds like they boosted the volume of Crowe's vocals, so it sounds like he is screaming but in all honestly the music is being overshadowed by bad sound mixing.
I'm glad you agree. I can't help but defend Crowe after his performance in American Gangster, actually.
I love "javert"'s voice
Woah it sounds so different!
"It warns you're dangerous, man."
0:00
That zoom kills
I hated this movie but I reckon if it wasn’t a musical and they literally just spoke their words normally it would have been tolerable for my 12 year old self suffering in French class
I'm their patience I'm their fury... I am JAVERT
“my name is Jean Valjean”
“AND IM JAVERT”
Javert's Voice Says "I am the law..."
But his clothes say "Thunderbirds Are Go"
This still sounds great without the instruments. WOW! =D
The other prisoners rightfully ignore the bizarre duet occurring between 24601 and the guard currently having a nervous breakdown.
It's epic with and without music.
its so awkard without the music.
I like that guy at the end. Finally someone said it.
That's so hilarious!
Imagine seeing this sort of thing every day... o_e
I love how he says "FIVE years for what you did" how his voice kinda breaks :D
literally waxing lyrical