Live Singing in the Production of 'Les Mis' Will Make the Film One-of-a-Kind

By Karolyn Castaldo on September 27, 2012

Do you hear the people sing? This hauntingly beautiful lyric wound its way through the classic musical Les Misérables for decades, but Tom Hooper, director of the 2012 movie rendition of Les Mis, has brought a whole new meaning to the phrase. Yes, in this movie, you will hear the people sing and it will be live.

In musical film, it is commonplace to do the recording of the songs months prior to actual filming. However, Hooper decided to do things a little differently. Each actor will be singing his or her part while it is filmed with the accompaniment of a piano; something that has never before been done in musical film.

Photo from IMDB.com

When the actors were asked how they thought this method affected the feel of the movie, the general sentiment was that it felt much more like acting this way. They were able to put the emotion of the scene and the other characters into the songs, rather than just to sing it in their best voices, as has been done in all the best films of the past. Anne Hathaway, who plays Fantine, commented that, “[t]here seemed to be something selfish trying to go for the ‘pretty version’. [Fantine is] devastated. She’s literally at the bottom of a hole looking up and realizing she’s not going to climb out of this. So I just decided to apply the truth to the melody and then see what would happen.” Anyone that has seen the trailer for the film has heard Hathaway’s devastation come to reality and can vouch that she truly captures the essence of Fantine’s despair rather than the “pretty version” that she speaks of.

So, how do they make it come to life after filming? Those who have seen the play or heard the original score know that a single piano cannot capture the soul of the music. After the scenes have been shot, the orchestra pieces, comprised of roughly 100 instruments, will be added over the piano so that the original sound is not lost.

Les Misérables, the five-volume novel by Victor Hugo, later adapted into a stage-musical, follows paroled prisoner Jean Valjean in his quest for redemption in 19th-century France during the Revolution. The film, starring Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen and Eddie Redmayne will be released Christmas 2012 and it is sure to be a hit.

For a further look into the making of the film and the live singing, click here!

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