Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Red_Identity I just want to say, I'm on a Les Mis craze right now. After seeing the 25th Anniversary Concert yesterday, I just became too enamored by it to not check this one out as soon as possible. Was it magnificent, yes? I mean, it's Les Mis. I will try to do talk about the performers that grabbed my attention the most, in either good or bad ways. It works in the most splendid of ways, the music soaring and it hits you on an emotional level like not much else can. Like I said yesterday, I'm a total fanboy of this now, and if it wasn't for the 2012 film I wouldn't have either seen the two concerts or read the novel, so I'm entirely grateful.

freakyteenager666 I love this show completely I can't say anything bad this concert production I love how they mix in some of the scenes from the show and the cast picks blow me away and I loved how they end this with the all of the around the Valjean's and the overlapping part of "One Day More" (which is one of my favorite songs in the show. I loved the Eponine in the show she was in MISS SAIGON and the Fantine. And how they follow the show still and the score how they played it was amazing in anyway. A really great gala concert ever.An Amazing concert to such an amazing show."ONE MORE DAY ALL ON MY OWN"

White_base_groupie I love Les Mis. I love seeing it staged, I love the book, I love listening to it for hours upon end.But the thing is, a concert just doesn't work. The actors are obviously very confused. Some overact, some underact, some are very inconsistent because they are in front of a mic and just don't know how to respond to it. I don't blame them. They try their best, but it's hard to do a play when you're not allowed to... y'know... act.Also, I don't like Lea Salonga that much as Eponine. I am a HUGE Lea fan, but her voice is just too pretty and she's too mature for the role.

TheNorthernMonkee SPOILERS Recently celebrating it's 20th Anniversary, the famous musical "Les Miserables" is a magical story based on the novel by Victor Hugo. As fresh today as it was originally, the story and the music are powerful and pull at the heart strings from the start to the brilliant finish. With recordings like this one, anyone can witness the miracle of "Les Miserables", but ultimately there is no replacement for actually being at the theatre itself.Arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean (Colm Wilkinson) is eventually released from the control of the law. Promising to live a better life, Valjean flees his bail to Paris and a little girl called Cosette (Hannah Chick and later Judy Kuhn) who he promised her dying mother he'd care for. Valjean is never truly free however, because a ghost from his past in the form of Inspector Javert (Philip Quast) is never far away.Billed as staring all the masters of the production, this version of "Les Miserables" is magnificent. Culminating in an extra special of 17 Valjeans from around the world singing a song in their own languages, it is well worthy of possession.As Valjean, Wilkinson brings the play to life as we witness the evolution of his character. Ultimately though, it is Quast as Javert who steals the limelight. The character of Javert is one of those individuals in plays and musicals who you find yourself loving, even though they are meant to be evil. It's a role everyone wants to play. Like Iago in Shakespeare's "Othello", it's not the main character, but it's the one that everyone remembers. Everyone wants to be Inspector Javert, and in this performance Quast emphasises that with a skilled and luxurious attempt.There is a major flaw however with watching this DVD or VHS, and that's the simple fact that it's just not the same as being there. Like watching a sporting event on television, or watching a historical moment on a news channel, so many things are better seen in person. Whilst we can watch Valjean's adventures and we can sing along, watching them on DVD is not as much fun as making the effort to go to the theatre. The tactile nature of an event matters.As entertainment, this production of "Les Miserables" is outstanding. It captures the beauty of the story and it has you trying to singing along. With superb performances by all cast members, it is an event to watch over and over again. Sadly though, it doesn't quite have the same aura about it as actually being there.