I’m sure I missed the frenzy that happened here after the wonderful musical came out in [name]January[/name], but I recently started reading the book and would like input from you fine ladies on the names used.
[name]Jean[/name] Valjean (to my understanding, this is basically [name]John[/name] [name]Johnson[/name])
[name]Madeleine[/name] (as a surname, but a name nonetheless)
Javert
[name]Felix[/name]
Tholomyes ([name]Felix[/name]'s last name)
Myriel (last name)
Baptistine
Favourite
[name]Dahlia[/name]
Zephine (nn for [name]Josephine[/name])
[name]Fantine[/name]
Euphrasie
[name]Cosette[/name] (somehow a nn for Euphrasie)
[name]Eponine[/name] (basically named after a soap opera character)
Azelma (same as above)
[name]Just[/name] a few of the ones I’ve come across so far, and I actually like them all, except Azelma and Favourite. Thoughts? Once I get further in I’ll have more… I find it interesting that most of the men are called by their last names, while the women have either pet names or go by their first names; probably has to do with women becoming part of their husbands’ families when they married.
It comes from ‘choisette’ meaning [name]Little[/name] Thing. It’s not directly related to the name Euphrasie.
If you like the book watch the 10th anniversary super cast concert. Best production ever. And bonus points for [name]Fantine[/name] really looking like [name]Fantine[/name]
[name]Ah[/name] ha! In the book he gives a paragraph about how he really doesn’t know how mothers come up with these strange nicknames for their children. But that’s really good to know!
My friend has the 25th one on DVD, but I’ve seen clips on YouTube of the 10th. [name]How[/name] would you compare it to the new musical-movie? (Random curiosity. Obviously a film has next to nothing on a live performance, but I’ve discovered that for that effect to happen you actually have to see it live.)
I couldn’t watch it. If the film makers could so easily disregard [name]Fantine[/name]'s actual hair colour then I dreaded to think how they’d murder the plot Besides, none of them are singers…
My first experience of [name]Les[/name] Mis was watching our video of the 10th anniversary when I was nine in 1995. The following year, my dad took me to see it live and it was good but… there’s no way any performance can ever beat the 10th anniversary one for me. The quality and size of the cast is just phenomenal.
[name]Marius[/name] has been one of my favourites for about a decade now… but not because of/ from [name]Les[/name] Misérables. I don’t know if that counts or not?
Wow, really? I watched it three times in theaters. The only movie that’s ever legitimately made me cry (if you knew me, this would impress you). The friend I’m referring to has been OBSESSED with [name]Les[/name] Mis since she was four (got a tattoo of ‘To love another person is to see the face of god’ this morning, actually), and from the way she talks about it they did a phenomenal job with the plot. I’ve listened to the soundtrack for the 10th anniversary concert once or twice with her, and they only cut a few things out–the beginning bit of On My Own, for instance. The movie was about 10 minutes shorter than the 10th Anniversary Soundtrack ([name]London[/name] [name]Symphony[/name] Orchestra, right?). Hair color is a rather insignificant detail from my perspective, I mean the important thing plotwise is that she has beautiful hair. As far as the singing goes, [name]Hugh[/name] Jackman, [name]Anne[/name] Hathaway, and [name]Amanda[/name] Seyfreid are all trained singers and they did amazingly; the girl who plays [name]Eponine[/name] was on broadway as [name]Eponine[/name], and [name]Russell[/name] [name]Crow[/name] did an awesome job singing his parts, considering that he’s a bass and Javert’s parts are all a touch higher than that. I’ve been singing in choirs for most of my life, and everyone did great! I’d recommend giving it a shot, because it really was fantastic. It certainly did better than some of the normal movie versions I’ve seen, blech… I’m not saying it’ll beat the 10th Anniversary for you, but it won’t murder it by any stretch.
Sorry, don’t mean to be preachy, but I have strong opinions on musicals and movies, heh… They’re fun to talk about.
I’m quite fond of [name]Cosette[/name] but I don’t think I would use it. The other names are just meh to me.
Actually, Huge Jackman, [name]Anne[/name] Hathaway, and [name]Amanda[/name] Seyfried all have been trained prior to being casted, with Jackman already having stage experience with other musicals. [name]Samantha[/name] Barks was [name]Eponine[/name] in the [name]London[/name] production and in the 25th Anniversary Concert. [name]Daniel[/name] Huttlestone was Gavroche for the [name]Queen[/name]'s Theatre production. [name]Colm[/name] [name]Wilkinson[/name] was the original [name]Jean[/name] Valjean in the [name]West[/name] End and Broadway productions before being casted as the [name]Bishop[/name] of Digne for the movie.
@celianne - haha, we caught the same thing! And yes, they are a lot of fun to talk about!
I know you’re a writer too but for me - as a writer - there is nothing that irks me more than when a film company ignores a detail as easy to get right as hair colour. To me, it feels like they’re saying ‘Yeah, we know a ton of people love the book the way you wrote it and want to see it on the screen the way you described it to them but… we only care about the money. Sorry.’
[name]Hugo[/name] took time and effort to create his characters. He said [name]Fantine[/name] had blonde hair ergo she should be portrayed on the screen with blonde hair. It’s not hard to get right. Hair dye, wigs… a blonde actress… anything! Especially if [name]Anne[/name] Hathaway was planning on cutting her hair off anyway, why not go one step further and dye it the right colour?
Besides, none of them are singers…
