From Hugo’s novel
Film and television dramas build their own spoken versions of the novel. The 1998 film and the BBC serial belong to this branch.
05 / ON SCREEN
One story.
More than one lens.
Nine selected stops in film, television and filmed concert. Some adapt the novel; others come from the musical.
A selection of stage and screen adaptations. Source pages may contain spoilers. Availability, prices and subtitles vary by region and provider.
Which version are you looking at?
The title is shared; the starting point is not always the same.
From the stage musical
Tom Hooper’s 2012 film carries the stage adaptation and its songs into cinema.
The musical in concert
The 2010 anniversary recording presents the musical through a concert performance on stage.
Try comparing two branches: what can a face, a spoken scene or a singing ensemble bring into focus?
9 entries shown
Novel adaptation · French · black and white
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · Raymond Bernard
A wide-ranging French adaptation, running 279 minutes in the edition cataloged by Criterion. Harry Baur plays Jean Valjean opposite Charles Vanel as Javert.
WATCHING LENS: What can a long running time reveal about the society surrounding the protagonists?
Novel adaptation · English · black and white
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · Richard Boleslawski
Fredric March and Charles Laughton play Valjean and Javert in an early Hollywood sound adaptation. An illuminating comparison with the French versions from the same era.
WATCHING LENS: How do performance and cinematography shape the tension between authority and compassion?
Novel adaptation · two parts
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · Jean-Paul Le Chanois
Jean Gabin plays Valjean, Bernard Blier plays Javert and Bourvil plays Thénardier. This two-part adaptation sets personal struggles within a broad social panorama.
WATCHING LENS: When does public space take over the private story, and when does the camera return to the individual?
Television film · dramatic adaptation, not a musical
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables (1978)
Glenn Jordan directs Richard Jordan as Jean Valjean and Anthony Perkins as Javert in a dramatic adaptation of Hugo’s novel. The supporting cast includes John Gielgud and Ian Holm.
WATCHING LENS: How does a nonmusical adaptation turn a long pursuit into a drama between two people?
Official viewing page (opens in a new tab)Availability and viewing conditions vary by region.
Novel adaptation · spoken drama
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · Bille August
Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush lead Bille August's adaptation, alongside Uma Thurman and Claire Danes. A spoken cinematic version of the encounter between the past, the law and the possibility of change.
WATCHING LENS: Which relationships receive space when a sprawling novel becomes a single feature film?
Novel-based miniseries · four 90-minute episodes
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · Josée Dayan
Josée Dayan directs Didier Decoin's adaptation, with Gérard Depardieu and John Malkovich. GMT catalogs the 2000 production as four 90-minute episodes.
WATCHING LENS: How does an episodic structure change the pace and the time we spend with supporting characters?
Filmed concert of the stage musical
The musical in concertLes Misérables in Concert · 25th Anniversary
A filmed celebration of the musical's 25th anniversary, featuring Alfie Boe, Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga and Nick Jonas. Here, the story is encountered through musical performance on stage.
WATCHING LENS: What do the voices and ensemble communicate when the emphasis shifts from filmed locations to performance?
Film adaptation of the stage musical
From the stage musicalLes Misérables · Tom Hooper
Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway lead the screen version of the musical. Songs and musical sequences bring the stage adaptation of Hugo's novel into cinema.
WATCHING LENS: How does a close-up change the way we hear a song originally written for the stage?
Novel-based drama serial · six episodes
From Hugo’s novelLes Misérables · BBC / MASTERPIECE
Andrew Davies adapted and Tom Shankland directed this serial starring Dominic West, David Oyelowo and Lily Collins. Lookout Point dates the production to 2018; its PBS broadcast began in 2019.
WATCHING LENS: How does spoken serial drama build the social pressures on its characters over time?
FROM SCREEN TO PERFORMANCE
Want to see how it sounds?
Our selected performances live in one collection, with context, credits and comparisons.
Explore performances worth watchingViewing references: trailers and production films
These links open with their publishers and may contain spoilers.
Les Misérables: Trailer — BBC (opens in a new tab)
Meet Andrew Davies’s six-part dramatic adaptation, with Dominic West, David Oyelowo and Lily Collins.
BBC · 2018–2019 · uploaded 2018-12-02Les Misérables: official film trailer (opens in a new tab)
A compact introduction to Tom Hooper’s musical film and its ensemble, before exploring the production featurettes.
Universal Pictures UK · 2012 · uploaded 2012-11-10Les Misérables: 2022 West End trailer (opens in a new tab)
See the scale and stage language of the London production in an official theatre-industry trailer from 2022.
OfficialLondonTheatre · 2022 trailer · uploaded 2022-05-05The Staged Concert: official trailer (opens in a new tab)
A brief introduction to the Gielgud Theatre concert format, with the music and ensemble at its centre.
Universal Pictures Australia · 2019 concert; 2020 Australian cinema promotion · uploaded 2020-02-06Academy Conversations: the filmmakers talk (opens in a new tab)
Hear the director, screenwriter and cast discuss the film at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Oscars · 2012 · uploaded 2012-12-17Behind the scenes of the musical film (opens in a new tab)
Step beyond the finished film with a short production featurette from The Shows Must Go On!
The Shows Must Go On! · 2012 film; 2024 featurette upload · uploaded 2024-12-02Les Misérables (2026): STUDIOCANAL trailer (opens in a new tab)
Preview Fred Cavayé’s new dramatic adaptation, offering a contemporary filmmaking approach to Hugo’s novel.
STUDIOCANAL · 2026 · uploaded 2026-09-01One viewing question for every version
Where does an adaptation let us linger: on a face, an institution, a street, a song? What we see more of changes the story we feel.
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