Rating: 
Summary: quite simply the best
Review: This is, to me, indisputably the best Les Miserables recording made. The cast is superb, and the fact that it's live, in front of an audience instead of in a serile recording studio gives the performances extra life that you won't get elsewhere. Wilkinson is always a superlative Valjean, Quast plays Javert with flinty brilliance, and Ruthie Henshall is unsprpassed as Fantine. Having the DVD is a great bonus, getting to see the actors' faces and costumes makes the production more real. Though there is no blocking to speak of (it's very much a concert: folks stand in front of mics) and the show is not performed in its entirety (it's mostly complete, but is missing some in-between stuff, mostly recitative), this is the closest thing you can get to seeing the show on stage. Because it is a concert, the sound quality is not perhaps "digital" best, but that is a minor drawback.
Rating:
Summary: Les Miserables The Concert
Review: This concert is the best I have seen in many years. The cast is extraordinary. Colom Wilkenson and Michael Ball lead an outstanding group of actors in a rendition of the show that will never be seen again. I was star struck by how the music takes you through the story. It is the absolute best
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite musical in a breathtaking performance
Review: Wow! This is a fantastic performance of a wonderful musical given by an array of beautiful voices and an outstanding orchestra.To detail the entire script would take far more time than the reader is willing to engage to decide whether or not to make this purchase. If you are familiar with the story, and you like orchestral music, I have every confidence this DVD will prove pleasing to the ears. This is one that I know I'll be enjoying time and again.
Rating:
Summary: The Les Miserables Concert
Review: This is an excellent DVD for Les Miserables enthusiasts. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, buy this if you are just trying to learn about the musical. It is a marvelous score with genuinely genius lyrics but it can also get rather long to those unaccustomed to sung-through musicals. For the dedicated fan but an excellent purchase any way you look at it. Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Michael Ball as Marius and Lea Salonga as Eponine are the four major standouts. Truly the Dream Cast!
Rating:
Summary: Quite Simply the Best!
Review: This is the best recording of the best cast in the best performance of the best musical I have ever seen! You get the picture! While I would not suggest this for those who have not seen the musical before (some scenes were omitted, which may cause confusion for those unfamiliar with the story), for anyone who loves this musical, I cannot imagine a better recording being available now or in the future. This cast is as good as it gets! There is not a single major character that is not portrayed better than in any other performance of Les Mis I have ever seen (and I've seen a few!). In most cases, it's not even close! Despite this being a "concert" production (i.e., the performers standing stationary behind a microphone) rather than true theater, the quality, emotion and intensity of the performances more than makes up for any lack of physical acting. Having a full orchestra and chorus on stage backing the cast is also a really nice touch. I also love the bonus footage in which a dozen or more men who have portrayed Jean Valjean in productions around the world all come onstage to sing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" together, each in his native language! Unforgettable! This is a recording I will always treasure and hope to share with my children and grandchildren!
Rating:
Summary: Great performances, not so great DVD production
Review: Got the DVD in with great anticipation. Having previously watched this concert production of Les Miserables on VHS, I had high expectations of improved audio and video with the DVD. In this regard, I have been somewhat disappointed. The conversion from analog to digital to produce the DVD caused far more video quirks than I have seen in any DVD - artifacts, washed out details, unusual dithering patterns, blurry still pictures, etc. The audio also does not live up to my expectations for a DVD - pops, clicks, and strange sound variations including drop-outs. One other irritating oddity - a true "two-sided" DVD. This means you have to take it out, flip it over, and re-insert it in your player. With the common availability of dual layer DVD's of high capacity, the need to flip this disk over to play the entire production is an inconvenience. The performances contained in the disk are overall superb and do an honor to Boublil and Schoneberg's musical. It is unfortunate that the recording quality is not up to the performer's level. Now, as harsh as I have been on the production of the DVD, I cannot imagine a true LesMisarables fan not having this DVD in their collection, although don't expect it to be better than the VHS.
Rating: 
Summary: Big disappointment - know before you buy.
Review: First of all, I am an enormous fan of this musical and have seen it several times in different countries. The performance itself in this DVD is great in terms of quality, singing, and musicianship. I have no real complaints there. So why the low rating? The problem is the very concept of the DVD. It's rubbish, an extremely incomplete package to fleece the fans of the musical - and nowhere near the experience that is Les Miserables. I bought it believing it was the actual show. It's nothing like it at all, it's a concert in which the performers statically stand at at their microphones in front of an audience. It has none of the vibrant movement, emotion, or full performance of the play. In short, the play is robbed of many (if not most) of its qualities. Yes, some might argue that listening to the music alone is enough of an experience...but in that case, you're better off purchasing the brilliant 3-disc Complete Symphonic Recording and keeping it on the level of a listening experience. This DVD gives you none of the audio fidelity of the CDs, and none of the excitement of the theater musical: it's the worst of both worlds, so to speak. Save your money, or at least know what you're getting before you buy. Let's hope that - now that Les Miserables has ended its Broadway run - the full performance might be coming out on DVD one of these days. I'm sure it must have been a wonderful concert to attend in person, but on DVD it's frustrating and only gives you a part of what you get in the theater. It's a waste of what could have been done on the DVD format. This, in its glaring incompleteness, will not do at all. Cheers,
J.
Rating:
Summary: The best DVD I have
Review: Having watched the show already, this musical in concert really fills my need for just the music. The performers concentrated on their singing. Big choir in background added depth and volume. The singing of the theme song with an all-star international tenors sung in their native language is unbeliverably superb!
Rating:
Summary: A TOTAL BREATHTAKING PERFORMANCE!!!
Review: I absolutely think Lea Salonga deserved the crowd's applause. The creators of the show really saw something special about this woman and it did change the perception of those who saw and heard her perform. She landed the role after much controversies. She defines perfectly-pitched voice and endearingly wowed the audience with her appropriate mild yet strong and powerful version as the "bitter" Eponine. The much-loved "On My Own" and "A Little Fall of Rain" were just perfect. In my whole life as a critic, i cannot simply think of a person to better Salonga's performance or even to equal it. Her's was simply glorious! I am excited to see her version on the big screen. Probably not as Eponine, but as Kim in Miss Saigon: The Movie.
Rating:
Summary: The true dream cast
Review: I have listened to just about every version of Les Mis, and I really believe this actually is my entire dream cast. Colm Wilkinson is Valjean- there are other good actors in the role, but still. No one else deserves to take his place on this version. He is simply the best. Ditto Phillip Quast. No one else could do the part justice. Javert became my favorite character, and "Stars" is now my favorite song. His voice is breath-taking. Micheal ball is great as Marius... my friend prefers David Bryant better, but I think Micheal has a gorgeous voice. Ruthie Henshall is the perfect Fantine, better than Randy Graff or Debbie Byrne. She doesn't make Fantine seem too pathetic. Judy Kuhn is also perfect as Cosette. I really don't like the character, but I like how Kuhn seems to give Cosette a shred of personality. The Thernardiers were hysterical. I didn't think anything of "Master of the House" before I saw this, but I was in tears at the end of the song. Lea Solonga is the best Eponnine ever. Period. Now for the absolutly BEST BEST MOST WONDERFUL person in the show. I am absolutly in LOVe with Micheal MaGuire, and his performance as Enjorlas. Wow. His entrance on "Do You Hear the People Sing?" took my breath away. Literally. My school is putting on Les Mis, and I have spent many, many hours sulking over our Enjorlas, and how he doesn't sound enough like Micheal. No one will ever again live up to my standards playing Enjorlas... But he is on this, so it must have five stars. Buy this... you won't be able to find a better show.
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