The 2012 film was not an improvement on this one imo. Much better. The scene between the lead chracter and the priest gets me every time. Literally a near perfect movie. There was no reason to create another imo.

Unbelievably powerful story! Every time it pops up as movie option, my wife and I both think "powerful." And compared with the 2012 musical Les mis, without the requirements of a musical score and rhyming, the story is better able to shine through.

I am speechless, it's a must see

A good Summary of a great Novel.

An adaption that focuses on the main character of the book adaption rather than the french revolution (which is basically ignored).

Remains truly unrivaled as the strongest film adaptation of the acclaimed French book. The screenwriter and director balance the strengths of the story with the medium of cinema wonderfully.

The peak of Liam Neeson's acting (don't get me wrong he's a fine actor, barring all of the phoning it in he does in his recent action movies, but I can't think of a more affecting performance in his career). As another user pointed out, this movie is one of the, if not THE, most poignant portraits of law vs. mercy. Geoffrey Rush is the embodiment of justice without mercy. The second half of the movie drags a bit and is served much better in the stage play (Claire Danes is ok, but is more of a utility to the story than a moving force in her own right), but the first half and the climax are thought-provoking and moving as you see a man who simply and earnestly seeks to make good of the new life he's been given but is pursued his past. I don't know why the critics score isn't higher; similar to The Count of Monte Cristo both movies perfectly and succinctly capture the essence of their source material with brilliant and memorable performances, but the critics seem to fixate on their shortcomings in spite of their remarkable triumphs. I love how ValJean is a quiet blessing to all the people who are tangentially connected to him humbly navigates his second chance at life. From his effect on the town in he presides over to redemption of Cosette from the conniving Thenardie's, you wish that Inspector Javert could pull back and gain the perspective of the audience and be convinced to relent from his quest to fulfill the law. I can't recommend this movie enough.

The happy ending is a bit odd (at least compared to the book), but the rest of it is fantastic.

I can only thank those involved in the creative decision to use a continuous soundtrack in this movie; otherwise my cry might have been heard by more than just those in the immediate vicinity. Without thinking, Les Misérables, translated as 'The Miserable Ones', is more or less what it says in the name, feeling like I've been hit by a train several times, and some handkerchiefs have also gone through me. But I feel that the key point with Les Mis is that it was not miserable for the sake of misery. In half an hour, the depth and the three-dimensional nature of each character had already entered my heart and that is why, if you do not mind that your heart is ripped out and trampled, you should go see Les Mis.

this movie shows mercy like I have never seen.

Okay so let's break this down to the lowest common denominator here: LIAM f$&:!# NEESON. He has made a couple of the worst movies I've ever seen, yet they're still good, because, well, LIAM f$&:;! NEESON is the lead. So let's think back to 1998–I was 15, Claire Danes was around the same age, and life was good for both of us. There was no "adulting" going on. (Just so I don't have to revisit, Claire is phenomenal as usual; I only wish we'd have seen her for the entire film.) The casting for this movie was FLAWLESS. ANYWAY, back to the movie...Liam F. Neeson absolutely shines as the (I think it was?) bread thief, who will forever wear the C on his chest for this petty crime. (Btw C is for carbs, people.) 🙄 So he gets out of jail, changes his name, yet SOMEHOW Gabriel f:$&?! Byrne can't get over this H-O he has for this bread-consuming, nightmare of a man. To this police chief, carbs are the ultimate delicacy, and stealing them is an act that is punishable only by death. This crime...It consumes him. It haunts his dreams at night. He won't rest until this carb-lovin' MOFO is back in the clink, no matter how much he's changed. That sets the story, and although I've made light of it, it really is made to be very entertaining! If a teenage girl can love this film into her mid to late thirties, it obviously did something right. (I also consider myself to be a harsh amateur film critic, so there's that too.) Of course I'm not forgetting this is not just SOME period drama— it's an actual classic that has been, and will continue to be recreated on film and stage for likely thousands of years to come. I didn't watch it because I feel a certain way about musical-to-film, but Hugh Jackman was cast as the lead in the 2000's version. I've seen bits and pieces, and well, let's just say we need to stick to Liam's version of the carb-o-holic. Anyway, in conclusion, I feel that I really have done nothing but talk in circles about the pieces and fragments that make this movie so wonderful. Actually, that's a total lie. I didn't capture any of the wonderment and treasure that make this film shine like a flawless, blood-free diamond. For that I truly apologize. All I can tell you is that it triggers all the feels: you've got outrage, sadness, love, heartbreak, death, kindness, and the ultimate, which is REDEMPTION! (This all thanks to not only the story, but LFN's acting chops. Watching the f:$;@$ movie!! That is all.

Maybe I would've liked this film if I hadn't read the book prior. Because dear GOD, I was pretty angry. I stopped watching the movie after Valjean hit Cosette. Because, believe me, Valjean would sooner be hitting himself than even daring to raise a hand at Cosette. It's bad when the guy I'm supposed to not like is my favourite character in the film. Javert was the best one, hands down. Marius Pontmercy as the leader of the Les Amis? If he was the leader, everything would be on fire. Marius never lead them, he was more or less there because Courfeyrac had introduced him, and then Eponine convinced him to go to the barricade. Also, where was Eponine? She was in the beginning of the film, even Azelma was there, why wasn't she in the rest of the time? And then there Enjolras, who was my favourite in the book. Why did they combine him with Marius, they were two people with opposing views, and opposing personalities. They kicked two perfectly good characters to the curb! Valjean, oh Valjean, what did they do to you. Valjean hitting the Bishop? Really? That was a no-go, the fact he also hit Cosette later on is still making me angry. Him bashing Javert's head against the wall like that? Seriously? And the whole Fantine and Valjean romance thing, that was a bit... ugh. I hated that, let's put it that way. I'm a bit amazed they could keep Gavroche's two little brothers in, but they couldn't keep Eponine or Enjolras. Funny how that works. Also, Marius being the leader of the Les Amis somewhat fucks up another plot point in the book? Like, when Valjean was kidnapped by the Patron-Minette? Marius would've been arrested if he had gone up to Javert, because then, Javert'd know that Marius was the leader of the rebel group. Also, Javert watching the men attack Fantine, and doing nothing about it right then and there? That's not Javert. The Thenardiers, why weren't they included in this? They were there for like, one scene, and then they were never seen again. Cutting out Enjolras also cuts out the entire thing with Claquesous, while that may not be the most important thing to the plot, it's still a damn good scene. I heard that Marius was the one to have Javert caught at the barricade, and if that's true, what the fuck? Book Marius would not be doing that, sorry. I also heard that the ending ended with Javert's suicide, and Valjean walked away, smiling? No??? That's not Valjean! Valjean wouldn't let Javert kill himself like that, he would've tried to save him, that was what he did in the book! He let him go, even though Javert had been making his life hell. He knew that Javert wasn't a bad person. Ending the film with Valjean walking away as Javert drowns is... gross, and a butcher of Valjean's character. Cosette, oh, Cosette. She wasn't my favourite in the book, but why did they change her in the film? I feel like that it wasn't really needed to change her. And also, they kept in the love story. I'm not mad about that, that was fine to read in the book, but if Marius is the leader in this... should he not have time for romance? I could be wrong, because I didn't watch the rest of the film, but, Marius shouldn't have that kind of time if he's trying to revolt against the monarchy. He has to be the one to put the barricade together, get the plans, plan the protests, everything. You know, you could've left that up to Enjolras. Hell, I'd maybe be less mad if they did keep him in and just made his role smaller. Because then, Marius would actually be able to be in love. I'm probably just really mad that they didn't keep him in, or Eponine. I don't like Eponine in the book, but she's not unimportant. And she's still a good character. The film may've looked nice, set wise and all, the costumes were good, but... yeah, maybe I'd be liking this film, if I just didn't know about Les Mis prior, from the book or the musical. This is more of a rant, than a review, oops.

Yerrible. This film was absolute garbage and completely ruined the story. They didn't even finish it.

Complete misunderstanding. If you love the book, don't watch it

This 1998 adaptation of Victor Hugo's beautiful novel has some details that do not fit. There are many huge differences from the novel like Eponine's absence, the ending of the book, Valjean's death and Marius' background and even though it is not as great as the 2012 musical adaptation, Liam Neeson delivers a good performance.

Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman and Claire Danes headline this late 90's adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel from Billie August. It's a fine, if unremarkable adaptation. Rush is the standout here. Neeson is fine. Thurman is ... not great. Danes gets to cry a lot, and "My So Called Life" gave her a lot of practice at that. The best part by far of this version is that Russell Crowe does not show up and sing.

It was a little weird watching this since I've seen the musical so many times. But still pretty good!

A profound adaptation for the musical lovers who want to know more about the background and roots. Geoffrey Rush is excellently cast as Javert.

One of my favourite and most treasured DVD's!

Did this movie have to be remade?