Les Misérables *** (1982, Michel Bouquet, Lino Ventura, Evelyne Bouix, Christiane Jean, Franck Cabot-David, Louis Seigner, Françoise Seigner) – Classic Movie Review 3151

Co-writer/director Robert Hossein’s 1982 drama stars Michel Bouquet, who gives a subtle, controlled and smoulderingly quiet performance as the sneering, obsessively over-law-abiding cop Inspector Javert, in a meticulous, pleasingly enjoyable French screen version of the Victor Hugo classic tale.

Lino Ventura is also excellent as the hounded hero Jean Valjean, with Evelyne Bouix as Fantine, Christiane Jean as Cosette and Franck Cabot-David as Marius, Louis Seigner as Bishop Myriel and Françoise Seigner as La Thénardier in this nicely cast, well-acted, often effectively handed version of the oft-filmed yarn of social injustice and despair.

This cinema version is an admittedly lengthy and meaty 220-minute movie but it is a cut-down of a hugely costly six-part TV mini-series, and it suffers the obvious disadvantages of that. Probably the TV show was outstanding.

The 1935 version with Charles Laughton and Fredric March is probably still the best.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3151

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