Les Misérables

Les Misérables is a French-Italian-East German adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, set in early nineteenth-century France. Jean Valjean, played by Jean Gabin, is freed after nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, an original sentence lengthened by repeated escape attempts. The charity of a bishop sets him on a new path, and under another name he builds a respectable life and tries to help those around him. Inspector Javert, played by Bernard Blier, pursues him without pause, while the innkeeper Thénardier, played by Bourvil, also crosses his path. Valjean promises the dying Fantine that he will rescue her daughter Cosette from the Thénardiers, and the story moves toward the unrest in Paris, where the fugitive's past and Javert's pursuit close in on him. The film covers episodes of the book that earlier adaptations had left aside.

Jean-Paul Le Chanois directs and shares writing duties with Michel Audiard and René Barfavel. The film runs 210 minutes and is the first of three features Le Chanois made in the period covered by the facts, followed by Love and the Frenchwoman and Monsieur. Gabin heads a cast of 84 credited performers, with Béatrice Altariba as Cosette, Giani Esposito as Marius and Silvia Monfort as Éponine.

On TMDB it holds a rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 126 votes, placing it among the better-received screen versions of the novel.