i have read many good thing about this adaptation of my favorite novel . so invariably my expectation be crush . but they be crush more than should be expect . the movie would have be a decent movie if i have not read the novel beforehand and which perhaps ruin it for me . in any event and for some reason they change the labor camp at toulon to a ship full of galley slave . the scene at bishop myriel be fine . in fact and other than the galley and thing survive up until the dismissal of fantine . because we do not want to have bad thing happen to a good woman and she do not cut her hair and sell her teeth and or become a prostitute . the bad she do be run into the mayor office and spit on his face . bamatabois be entirely eliminate . because have child out of wedlock should also not be talk about and tholomyes be fantine dead husband and rather than an irresponsible dandy . valjean be able to fetch cosette for fantine before the champmathieu affair and so they reunite happily and yet another change . then come the convent and which be a pretty difficult scene to screw up . thankfully and it be save . after this three minute of accuracy and however and the movie again begin to hurtle towards classic novel butchering . a cosette and valjean be rid through the park and they come across marius give a speech at a meeting . about prison reform . when he come to hand out flier to valjean and cosette and he say the one line in the movie that set me scream at the tv set . we aren not revolutionary . i could hear victor hugo thrash in his grave . of course they be revolutionary . they want to revolt against the pseudo monarchy that be in place in favor of another republic and you dumb screenwriter . it a historical fact that there be an insurrection against the government in 1832. at one point cosette go to give marius a donation from her father for the reform movement and meet eponine . except . not eponine . or at least not the eponine of the book . this eponine appear to be a well to do secretary girl work for the prison reformer ( who be work out of the cafe universal a oppose to the cafe musain ) . not to mention the audience be already make to dislike her thanks to her not period and low cut and tight fitting dress and her snooty mannerism . the prison reformer ( lead by the most poorly cast enjolras that i have ever see ) decide that hand out pamphlet isn not good enough anymore . so theyre go to build barricade . i do not know about you and but i have never hear of reform movement tear up the street and building barricade and attack government troop . about three hundred people ( it be not suppose to be so many ) start attack the national guard and building a bunch of barricade and etc . eponine do die for marius and thankfully . the rest of the movie be sort of accurate and except that javert suicide again seem hard to understand thanks to his minuscule screen time and odd character interpretation . the movie end with valjean watch javert jump into the river . this be again inaccurate because valjean would never have let javert drown . he save the man life earlier and why let him die now . then there the whole skipping of valjean confession to marius and his deterioration and and his redemption on his deathbed with marius and cosette by his side . overall and i can blame the script mostly for the problem . while i be glad enjolras and eponine be at least present in the film and they be terribly misinterpret and a be the entire barricade scene . the elimination of fantine suffering prevents u from feel too much pity for her . that cosette know valjean past from the start mess with the plot a good deal . i do not even see thenardier and and mme . thenardier only have a few second of screen time . the same with gavroche . i do like frederich march interpretation of valjean a lot and however and which be one of the redeeming feature of the movie . on the other hand and charles laughton and for all his great acting in other movie and seem to have miss the mark with javert . the lip tremble and the unnecessary shouting and and his acting in general all just felt very wrong . he also and like many javerts i have see and do not appear at all menacing and something require of the character . again and this film would probably feel much good if i have not read the book . i would not recommend it to book purist and though . i would also say that the movie would have be a good adaptation for the time have not the infamously accurate french version come out the year before .