Man With A Movie List

Director: Raymond Bernard Year: 1934 Run-time: 4 hr 49 min Source: Criterion Channel Streaming - This is frequently cited as the best adaptation of Hugo's novel, but even at nearly five hours, it's surprising how much is omitted.  It has a good Valjean, although his thoughts are occasionally brought out in this, whereas in the book he is almost a complete cipher.  Marius and Cosette seem a little more vapid, and Javert has no redeeming qualities.  I miss the omission of the convent scenes, although I understand they bear no relation on the larger plot (except for the reappearance of the cart driver). - It's quite fitting that Bernard would be the Frenchman to adapt this, as The Chess Player  had established him as a master of the blockbuster epic, particularly in balancing character and plot. - A recent ad email from Criterion Channel revealed that Wes Anderson is a big Bernard fan, including Les Mis.  It's an interesting comparison - obviously Bernard ...

Director: Raymond Bernard Year: 1927 Run-time: 2 hours 15 min Source: DVD We've seen a few films on this list, such as Intolerance  and The Big Parade , that could be considered blockbuster extravaganzas, but nothing fits that description as well as the lesser-known French classic The Chess Player .  The director Raymond Bernard took a fine bit of historical fiction (based on a French novel) and turned it into a grand spectacle, the ancestor of the kind of Oscar-bait like Braveheart  or The English Patient . This one has a couple interesting aspects that might put it one step above those popular, but ultimately flawed examples.  First, the source material really is compelling and relatively unknown.  The film is centered around the occupation of part of Poland by Russia in the late 18th century.  Although we mainly see things from the side of the Polish - the fashion of Polish men having two small pigtails is really endearing, by the way - it has sy...