Do You Hear the People Sing?
February 22, 2024 10:42pm
I first saw Les Misérables on Broadway in the mid-1990s. I've since seen it on stage four other times, including at Queen’s Theatre in London. I've read Victor Hugo's 1232 page novel. And I've listened to the album of the original Broadway cast at least five hundred times. No, that is not an exaggeration.
Les Misérables, the greatest Broadway musical of all time, debuted on the silver screen Christmas Day 2012. I rarely go to the movies, but I was sure to see Les Misérables that day. Tomorrow, a remixed & remastered version of that 2012 film will be re-released in the U.S. for one week only exclusively at AMC Dolby Cinemas.
However, the Destin Commons 14 AMC theatre in Florida was among a few selected venues approved to show the film tonight. I was fortunate enough to attend this evening's early premiere. The film was, of course, spectacular. But whatever audio and video improvements were brought about by remastering the film in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision were imperceptible to me. I don't recall there being any shortcomings in the production values when I saw this film a dozen years ago. It was magnificent then, and it was magnificent tonight.
Les Misérables is a captivating and intriguing story of sin, forgiveness, love, justice, despair, triumph, and redemption. Its intense musical score evokes emotions from pain to romance to jealousy to grief to the victory of God's ultimate grace. The film's star-studded cast includes Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Eddie Redmayne as Marius Pontmercy, Samantha Barks as Éponine, and Helena Bonham Carter & Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thénardiers.
Tomorrow's official theatrical re-release will renew the public's interest a few months before "Les Misérables: The Arena Spectacular" begins its world tour on September 19th. To get tickets to the spectacular re-release of this film, visit AMC Theatres here. And you too will ask:
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echos the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light
For the wretched of the earth
there is a flame that never dies
Even the darkest night will end
and the Sun will rise!
Do you hear the people sing
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!