Aside from the likes of Titanic, Avengers: Endgame and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it’s rare that audiences will wait more than two hours for a feature film. Traditionally, stage shows are given longer running times which help account for set transitions and costume changes, as well as an intermission to break up the action and give both audiences and performers some breathing room. Despite some surface level similarities, both art forms differ drastically in acting, directing and storytelling techniques. While Les Miserables has been adapted to film before, Hooper had a unique problem in trying to make something written for the stage musical work on-screen. The show would go on to have lucrative runs on both the West End and Broadway before being turned into a 2012 feature film by director Tom Hooper, of The King’s Speech fame. Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, the musical tells the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his path to redemption, all the while being pursued relentlessly by police inspector Javert in a story of personal growth intertwined with the people of Paris rising up against their oppressive government. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera and Cats are just two notable examples of the trend but, in 1985, lyricist/composer duo Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg burst onto the scene with their grand, sung-through piece, Les Miserables. In the 1980s, Broadway saw a huge surge in revenue and publicity with the advent of the “mega musical.” A theater equivalent to the big studio cinematic blockbusters, these shows featured grand soundtracks, long running times, extravagant sets, and a broad appeal that made Broadway more popular than it had ever been.

2012 les miserables full movie