@@samcon5373, god! this film is so hauntingly sad. I would love to know how the actors felt after watching it themselves. I wonder if they have a few tears.
Grantaire is a nihilist who believed in nothing and cared for nothing. But in Enjolras, an idealist who possessed a faith that Grantaire could not find, Grantaire-the man who believed in nothing-found something worth dying for.
I think people tend to greatly misunderstand Javert’s character. He is a man of the law, as he describes himself. Just like someone who is a man of the Bible would. He follows the law and has no room for all else. This doesn’t make him a bad man, but it does slightly blind him. He begins to realize this when he sees his people laid in a mess of bodies, while the others are laid neatly and respectfully in a line. It hasn’t fully hit though, and the anger will boil when he sees a criminal. At this point, I believe he realizes the “rebels” weren’t criminals, after all. They saw things a certain way, as did he. Javert also recognizes all of their courage in fighting for what they believe in. This is why he gave Gavroche his pin - because he recognizes his bravery and honor. Javert was a man stuck in his ways, but this doesn’t make him a villain. This makes him what we all are - human.
"This doesn’t make him a bad man, but it does slightly blind him". Ok, that is exactly the reason why this scene is perfect. For men like Javert law is a mean, not a purpose, he believed that blindly following the law he would have made the world (France in his case) a better place, because he was doing as God wanted. But then he was shocked by Valjean sparing him when he was certain he would have killed him, and began to think. It's possible he also had some "theological issue", like "how can this man always escape me, like if God itself protected him. Now he has saved me, can it be he really have God by his side?" After that, he sees Gavroche body, a child who accepted to die for a cause, to make the world a better place. He and Javert had more things in common than we could think, event the fact that Javert himself comes from the gutters, but of course decided to follow a different path. The fact that just moments later we see him let Valjean go with Marius, while he was finally in his hands makes all this inside struggle even clearer, so giving Gavroche his pin was the thing he would have done
Also, Javert's world is very black and white. He believes that a man is either good or bad. There is no in-between for him. That's why he doesn't believe that Valjean could ever have any redemption. And that's why he kills himself in the end. Valjean, a man he was so sure was bad, saved his life. It completely shattered his world, the way he viewed everything. When he saw all of the dead rebels, he was sad and confused. They were innocent, and fighting for what they thought was right. Javert giving up his metal, along with representing his realization that they were brave, evil in the name of law but good in the name of justice, was also a symbol for him giving up the world he knew. This new world scared him. He didn't know where his morals lied. He spent his whole life bringing down the law upon criminals, but they might not have been fully evil. Javert masked his insecurities of being born by criminals by hiding behind his good-or-bad facade, and now he was vulnerable and weak. That is why Javert killed himself. He couldn't bear the thought of criminals being good. Of Valjean being good.
Since when do people misunderstand Javert's character? He makes it painfully obvious that he cares for others. The only reason he hunts down Valjean is because he broke parole. But when he had no idea who the man was, he jumped to the aide of him and Cosette when they were being attacked by the Thenardiers.
It's why he is one of my all time favorite characters. He's the antagonist, but he is not a villain. He lives his life by his code. Valjean is an anathema to him, something that simply cannot exist. When he is forced to confront that the world is not black and white, it destroys him.
The generals face at 3:07 gets me every time. He’s almost surprised that he pulled the trigger. He’s drenched in sweat, and trembling in fear knowing that he has to kill these 2 young boys in the prime of their life. And for what? Trying to change france for the better? Hell, he was more scared then the boys getting shot. I don’t know the actors name, but he was such a good pick for this role.
for better? they ware communist, but they dont know this now. And this oficer job was to protect a monarchy which was put AGAIN by Napoleon and later but Congres of Vienna.
I love the Spanish translation, which It says: "and there will be more who will continue to shout "FREEDOM! (Y abran más que seguirán gritando LIBERTAD!)"
I look at Aaron Tviet (Enjolras) and I just think, "Man, some people have all the luck." He is beautiful and has a beautiful vocal range. I am totally jealous.
The music just touches me like no other...it's amazing - especially the small segment of Red and Black that plays when they are cornered and he raises the flag like "Even in our death, what we fight for does not die"...this whole musical is a masterpiece
One thing that really stands out to me about this scene is that the dead of the Army are just strewn about, like they were discarded and abandoned by their fellow men- meanwhile the Students are all lined up out of the way, each man moved carefully by his friends. The difference in the way both sides treat their dead is a subtle, but touching reminder of what each side stood/stands for.
I have to admit it's fascinating how this subtle observation never occurred to me even though I watched this movie like three times. It gives this scene a new symbolic layer I never thought it had 👍🏻
The bodies were moved by the soldiers, to confirm who they killed. Remember that almost all of these people were well-to-do students whose parents would certainly want to know what became of them, while the Government would be more concerned with making sure that no man that they knew to be an instigator had escaped.
@@auraguard0212 really? I was certain there was a scene showing the students moving bodies as they fell (at the start of the battle at least). Well, time to watch again I guess :/
yeah no pretty sure that was the soldiers to confirm everyone they killed and soldiers do that in almost every battle, there's no way any of the students had enough time organize their bodies like that
Actually, rather the opposite. It's the moment all that he is confronts the terrible reality he has defended and it begins his undoing. That he, a devout Christian, ends his life by suicide shows to me that he was completely broken
Probably the most beautifully shot, directed and acted scene in the movie, the gradual diminution of their resistance on the barricade is harrowing, and I always get choked up when Grantaire joins Enjolras to die together as best mates.
@@davidholmgren8156 is that strongly insinuated in the movie, or do you think the term "brothers in arms" would have been portrayed as less significant?
Hadley was so perfect that I keep on coming back to this video just to hear him sing for about 18 seconds. (His part was ridiculously tiny, but he was amazing. If I were the movie's director, then Hadley would have a slot in the main cast!!!!!!!!!)
The moment he gives his medal to Gavroche you hear the music from bring him home where valjean sang: He’s like the Son I might have known if God had granted me a son.
Guinevere Dommeck Everytime i return to this musical i learn something new about the absolute genius of the composers. This realization hit me like a truck
@Brian Haney bruh if they disobeyed their entire life was forfeit, might as well follow suite, since your comrades will kill them anyway. think about the US in vietnam and kuwait.
@Brian Haney whoa calm tf down yeah sure ich spreche kleine deutsch and i'm also like military history. only reason all germans are perceived as horrible is because they lost the war. Ever heard of the Azizabad Airstrike? What about the prisoners of Abu Ghraib? no, because those stories don't get told unless you lose the war, then the media goes to town on you. I'm sorry man, but sometimes the US can be as horrible as the nazis.
@Brian Haney sure, ignore the question. All military organizations have the capacity to do terrible things, and they probably will do such things. it just depends on if they look bad; then the media says "how can we make this worse?"
I LOVE the acting at 3:42 from Russell Crowe, The reality of what happened hitting him, that these were just kids, boys, and that he feels like a coward for being involved. And then he gives the medal, it's so good.
Javert is often portrayed as the bad guy of the story. I'm French, so I got to read "Les Miserables", one of the masterpiece of Victor Hugo during school (I think I was twelve at the time). We studied deeply the story and the characters. Javert is a man of duty and honor, and a way deeper character than people who hadn't read the book tend to believe. You really get to understand him during the Javert's dilemma scene. In this scene, that I found out to be pretty well done in the movie, you see Javert questioning his life choices, who he is and what should he do concerning Jean Valjean, who just spared his life. On one side, his duty. He is a man of the law. Jean Valjean is a criminal. He has to arrest him. That is how he always behaved and how he is. On the other, can he really still chase an absolute god that had mercy on him after years of being tracked down? Javert just can't go that far, even if concerning the law it is the right thing to do. Therfore, he decudes to jump in the Seine river, to commit suicide. Javert is indeed an antagonist, but not a bad person. He is a deep character that Victor Hugo used wonderfully to criticize french justice of his time. Pay respect to javert, he was just doing his job. (btw I'm like a 15 years old french boy I don't know if my english is on point...)
SO many mixed feelings about this film, but this, this is one the most touching scenes Ive seen in a movie, period. Can bash it all you want this was a well shot film with gorgeous moments.
he's literally the only enjolras i've ever heard hit that note with a clean vowel sound (although he does have a higher voice than all the stage enjolrati)
The decision to change the tone of the soldier's plea to the students ("You at the barricades...") from the quick staccato sound of the musical to this almost spoken version is easily my favorite part of this film.
I've always loved the impetuous, brave and strong character of Enjolras but also, I've always felt this scene was so painful because as their leader, he basically issued them all a death sentence because his emotions were running hot. It was an un-winnable battle and he had that one moment to stop everything and live to recalculate a new plan or strategy, find another option, and spare all these lives. The Captain is trying to give them an out because he doesn't want to kill them either. The boys had all paused and were waiting for Enjolras' direction and ugh... it just seemed like such a tragic waste of young lives, all in their prime. Valjean's expression as he sings his final doomed battle-cry says it all. It's a romantic notion to die for what you believe, but the practical/logical side of me is always sad at this scene.
Before the battle he says “the people have not stirred. We are abandoned by those who live in fear. Let us not waste lives, let anyone who wishes go from here.” And they all stayed.
I agree. + he also doesn't take into account all the soldiers he's going to kill in his senseless last stand. He's only making more "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"...
Just noticed that at 1:58 precisely, its the only time we see Enjolras show any emotion besides pure determination in this scene, and its when he's carrying a wounded comrade😭
*Javert during One Day more* : We'll make these School Boys Bleed! *Javert after seeing his men Killed a Literal Child* : Oh dear God what Have I done face
I remember watching this movie for the first time, crying my eyes out and being completely blown away by Hadley Fraser's voice. Anyway, we need another musical with both Aaron Tveit and Hadley Fraser.
Intetesting how right after Enjolras is killed, you see the red of the blood on the streets, then the black of Javert's uniform. Great cinematographic choice!
0:45 French officer Hadley Fraser face, gets me every time. His face from normal to surprise to anger is just magnificent! The way he ordered the cannons lmao
hardest part of playing enjolras is that you need to have a still look while keeping charismatic to the point where even if you know the outcome of the revolution, you’d still join. this is why aaron is my favorite enjolras, so book accurate.
The moment Javert gives his medal to the dead boy is the moment that got me more than any spoken word in this movie although the music is really really deep and melancholic as well.
Yeah, I agree. A lot of people are talking about how powerful it was when Javert gives his medal to Gavroche, but I think this other bit is more stirring. They know they're going to die, they've decided then and there that they're going to become martyrs even though there's no chance that their specific uprising is itself going to succeed. They realise, and decide, basically on the spot, that they're going to not just _risk_ their lives but actually go to their deaths _deliberately._ The willingness with which they allow their _own_ lives to be consumed in the struggle for freedom is verging on horrifying, but the nobility of their ideal ultimately makes it a moment of sublime dignity and heroism.
That song Let others rise and take our place until the earth is free that just end the war the captain has killed the king in of the end the captain has no power Enjorals rise the red flag he is new the captain of revolution
Honestly, compared to the theatre production, the film adaptation is so powerful in its own way. Not only am I referring to the much slower and ambient "You in the barricades listen to this.", but those few seconds of silence in between 0:18 - 0:23. That pause, that most probably never considered, holds the entire atmosphere of the standoff perfectly. This is not chaotic street fighting like in the theatre production, this is a revolution, and all must ensure they have pledged their loyalty firmly the cause. That's what those few seconds of silence represent.
Watching Jehan scream please and banging on the door just begging them to open it, only to be pulled away to the death he knew was coming is absolutely heartbreaking.
Okay my heart was stolen by Fra Fee (Courfeyrac) so seeing him choke out “make them pay for every man!” and knowing EXACTLY who he was thinking about-Gavroche, the kid he was gonna adopt. Aaagh. And the gent comforting him holding him even tighter with that knowledge. Seeing one of the rebels slam on a door, begging to be let in also crushes me.
Javier isn't a wicked man like everyone believes; he's a man of honor that believes, to a fault, in duty and responsibility. You can see he has a tender side too, recognizing and honoring the fallen dead who believed it was their duty and responsibility to rebel in a desperate attempt to establish a better life, demonstrating his tender side when he pinned his medal on Gavroche.
And not just any medal, but the Legion d'Honour - the highest French award for bravery. To a dead, young child who showed more courage than many grown men.
3:33 has that piece of music at the background which was in the "Bring him home" by Jean Valjean where he says ".. he is like the son I might have known.." referring to Marius. The same emotion is delivered here when Javert looks at the dead body of brave boy Gavroche without him actually saying that verbally. Small musical element very nicely used.
I do kind of wished that Javert recognised that Eponine was there too. Idk I just find it too sad that even in her death she lay on her own, forgotten and none to truly understand the pain she had suffered 😭💔
Notice how the music that plays when Javert kneels next to Gavroche is the part in Bring Him Home: "He's like the son I might have known, if God had granted me a son."
Every time I see Grantaire and Enjolras die in this movie, I remembar Geroge blagden (Grantaire's actor) said the DO record the "Long live the republic!" phrase and then decided TO CUT IT OF and i get sad :(
I have a thing for characters accepting the inevitable fact that they will not come out of their current situation alive. Like LT. Hicox In Inglourious Basterds, and Enjolras At 0:34
I hadn't noticed that this might've been the exact moment that hs accepted that he would die on the barricade sooner or later, despite the lyrics being quite obvious...😭😭😭
I somehow missed Hadley Frasier when I saw the movie, didn't realize it was him. I was so disappointed in the movie, I've only watched it once or twice since its release, and only because others wanted to watch it. That said, the part where Javert puts his own medal on Gavroche... wrecks me every time.
I love how they got non-singers like Russel Crowe in main roles whereas guys like Hadley Fraser - who has a tremendous voice - only got the minor roles.
This scene is brilliant, but there is one thing about it that I find genuinely laughable. If you want to stage a coup, then your best course of action is to take strategic points, such as forts, barracks, supply stores and the like. If you're going to put up barricades, do it on the roads in and around those points, as well as some of the other major roads in the city. But, within minutes (of screen time at least) the rebels go from making a big scene in the center of the city, which is exactly where they'd want to be, to a full retreat, despite taking next to no casualties, back to the slums. And where do they put up their barricades? Not in the streets around the Bastille or blocking the Champs-Élysées, but in a back alley... outside of a cafe... THAT THEY OWN!
I mean, in the book and the actual event, they set up barricades on numerous streets and it did completely backfire on them. But they learned from that and made improvements during the Revolution of 1848. The problem was the rebellion was too concentrated in one area of the city (near the Tuileres Garden, which was how Hugo witnessed the 1832 uprising). They also didn't have enough backing from the people (which was partially the point of the barricades being in the slums; to spur the poor into action). In 1848, the petit bourgeoisie (people like bankers) and workers fought together (at least initially) and were able to overwhelm the Monarchy. On top of that, the groups didn't all stay at their barricades, they marched on government buildings and stuff, but the army was stretched too thin and couldn't handle it. Thus, the Orleans monarchy fell. What happened afterwards is another story.
Barnaby Jones erh, try to look up the city planning of Paris through history. There’s a reason WHY Paris has all those famous broad and long boulevards they are famous for today. The city planning was changed to avoid most of all those small streets and alleys, where barricades were often built, instead building broad boulevards to make it easy to move in large military units. The 19th century history of Paris is very interesting, lots of uprisings, revolutions and insurrections. The one featured here was only a minor insurrection, that failed in gaining larger support.
And this is why when you are launching an uprising, you make sure to either have A) superior numbers and positioning, B) a hard counter to artillery, C) artillery of your own, or D) All of the above.
I like the close up on Valjon as they are ranting about fighting to the death and holding the dead boy in his arms, basically his displeasure at what they were doing
England’s Guard the whole point of it all was that none of them had a chance they deliberately made choice to keep going stubbornly That’s just me though
Still feel very empty as the June Rebellion lasted 2 days. Enjolras died for freedom, yet it was so pointless as no revolution nor rebellion happened after June Rebellion
No, no. As far as I remember there was a February rebellion, in 1848, though, so it’s a little further away date-wise than the one in Les Mis. As far as I remember, the 1848 revolution abolished the monarchy, and made France a republic, which is what the revolution of 1832, the one, again, in Les Mis., was also trying to do, And then, by the genius of the about eight revolutions this country has witnessed, put Napoleon on the ‘throne’ as president. Though, as the pure g e n I u s Napoleon is, he made himself kaiser and, well, we all know how that train wreck went-
'You Naruto Runners listen to this: The people of facebook sleep in their beds You have no chance, no chance at all, why throw your lives away?' 'It's you we don't trust let's get in while we can They can't stop all of us, We will run at every man, Let others rise to take our place, until we see E.T.!' I hate myself too
old members of napoleons old guard who were still in the military switched sides in their old napoleonic uniforms and stood with the revolutionaries, truly such honorable heroes.
Napoleon was as much an autocrat as the monarchs, I always was amused by people who act like he didn't function as a betrayal of their own Revolution. Fools.
3:07 This is why the June rebellion wasn't a failure it sparked an ember which would burn in the peoples hearts for 16 years. And the growing displeasure toward the king was the straw that broke the camel's back. This same National guard fought alongside the republicans over a decade later to end the monarchy. This very captain could have carried the fearless memories of these kids with him which could have caused him to participate himself or exert influence in the support of the revolution over a decade later.
