As I wrote in an earlier post, a couple of weeks ago I was given an Amazon gift voucher. I had a great time selecting books and CDs. Then I saw a double DVD set of the 10th Anniversary ‘Les Miserables’ Concert and ordered it without a thought. I’ve always wanted to see ‘Les Mis’ live but haven’t got there yet. I figured that this would be second best, especially as it had Australia’s own Philip Quast playing Javert. He’s come a long way since I used to sit with Eldest watching him on Playschool singing ‘Old MacDonald’. What I didn’t think about was that this was Amazon UK and regional coding on DVDs means that it won’t play on Australian dvd players. I didn’t think about it until the parcel was winging its way across the sea. I spent a week hoping that maybe our dvd player was one of those that would play all regions.
No such luck. Sure enough it refused to play. But it will play on the computer, (though not the laptop) so I’ve spent the last few evenings blissfully soaking up the beautiful music, great acting and powerful story that is Les Miserables. Not terribly comfortable on an office chair, but worth it. The characters have to be some of the strongest ever written and the music is just as brilliant. I have to have a tissue handy. My tear ducts overflow within the first three notes of ‘Bring Him Home’, especially the way Colm Wilkinson sings it, and when he sings the other version of it at the end, I’m done for.
It would be great to watch it on the big TV screen with the proper speakers. But the computer will do for now. Next time I order something from Amazon, it’ll be the soundtrack CD so I can play it full bore in the car when I’m on my own. And next time Les Mis comes to Perth, I’m going. That’s a promise to myself.
4 comments:
Make sure you get to see 'Les Mis' when it comes to Perth, Kate. YOU WILL LOVE IT! I've seen the stage production twice and watched a concert version on video. It's just wonderful. I did try to read the book, but it was a bit too heavy going for me. You're right about the tissues. You need a whole box!
The concert version you saw is probably the one I've got Goldie. I think it's a dvd version of the video.
I saw a French TV series of Les Miserables a few years ago with Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich, which was brilliant and made me read the book, but you're right, it was heavy going.
I haven't quite worn the dvd out yet, but I'm working on it!
Hi Kate. There are sneaky ways you can re-code your DVD player to make it multi-region (even if you're not at all tech-minded). Email me for details if you'd like to give it a try.
Funny you should say that, Meg. My husband has just this minute finished doing just that. I haven't tried it to see if it worked yet. I'll certainly get back to you if it doesn't.
Nice to see you here!
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