1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Les Mis the audio drama, April 9 2012
By Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Les Misérables (Audio CD)
Producer Dave Arnold is well known for picking interesting family friendly projects for the Focus on the Family brand of audios. Since this book will be soon made into a film with Hugh Jackman & Anne Hathaway, i thought it was time I re-reviewed this presentation.
i have heard everything Les Mis from the BBC audio presentation to Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater to Ronald Coleman and the Lux radio theater of the air. This production has a stronger heart. It also seems like something a family can listen to together without any family member being talked down to.
Brian Blessed makes the role of Jean Veljean with powerfulness with passion. Leo (Rumpole)McKern is M. Gillermond with a rye sense of character stealing. Geoffrey Palmer makes Javert something to enjoy.
What makes this interesting is the direction by Philip Glsasborow. He paces the action woth great vocal talent
This is true family entertainment at its best
Bennet Pomerantz
AUDIOWORLD
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't Depict the True Story, Aug 12 2011
By NannaSusan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Les Misérables (Audio CD)
I've read the unabridged version of Les Miserables at least five times. It is a wonderful masterpiece that hasn't been beat by any book I've read besides. Now, I love audio books, and I know that audio books have to abridge the novels that are so long. I don't mind that. But this audio totally changes the whole story. If someone hasn't read the book, they would get a total misrepresentation of the characters. I don't think they could even understand the true nature of any of the characters. It is an interesting audio, but misleading, and no where's near the masterpiece of the novel.
9 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Read the book first, Jan 30 2010
By Michele - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Les Misérables (Audio CD)
This is my second dramatization by Focus on the Family Radio Theater, and again they have done a superb job. They use wonderful sound effects and first-rate voice actors.
That being said, I think that if I hadn't already read the book (once in print and once via audio book) I would have been somewhat confused by the story. Les Miserables is an epic novel that weaves together numerous sub-plots involving many characters. To distill that into a 3-hour dramatization means that many things must be cut out. The story itself suffers as a result; for example, much about Fantine, which to me was the most heart-rending part of the entire novel, was left out of this dramatization entirely. I also think that having so much omitted makes it difficult for the first-time listener to follow the plot, know what is going on and know who all the characters are. For that I am giving this 4 stars rather than 5; it would have been better for the producers to include more elements of the story, even if it meant going into 4 CDs rather than just 3.
Actually, it has always surprised me that Les Miserables has been a choice for dramatization, or for a Broadway play. I would never have thought that such a serious novel with so many elements would lend itself to that type of interpretation. However, its popularity is testament to the fact that it must work on some level; perhaps someday I'll be able to see the play myself.
My recommendation: if you have never read Les Miserables, then do that first before listening to this dramatization. If you've already read the book then enjoy this recording for the high-quality entertainment that it is.