Miserables

The DVD release of Les Miserables hopefully won't confuse too many fans of the beloved musical. The film is a non-musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's original novel. The disc is worth checking out for fans of the story, nonetheless, as the 2.35:1 widescreen transfer retains director of photography Jorgen Persson's lush but moody cinematography and gives the film an appropriately epic look. The Dolby Digital Sound is effective with both a delicate score and the sounds of the French Revolution. One fun and appropriate feature is a French language track. Paired with English subtitles, this gives the film more of an authentic feel since very few of the actors bother to use French accents in a story set entirely in France. Boasting no extras (a comparison between the novel and the better-known stage musical would have been interesting), chances are that Les Miserables won't amount to more than a rental disc.