Works Cited for "Do You See the People Sing?"

Chicago. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Renée Zellweger, Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly. Miramax, 2002. DVD.

Denby, David. "There's Still Hope for People Who Love "Les Mis"" Rev. of Les Misérables. The New Yorker n.d.: n. pag. The New Yorker. Condé Nast, 3 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Hairspray. Dir. Adam Shankman. Perf. Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron. New Line Cinema Corporation, 2007. DVD.

Hooper, Tom. "Tom Hooper 'confused' by Criticism of 'Les Mis'" Interview by Susan Wloszczyna. USA Today. Gannett, 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/01/24/les-miserables-tom-hooper-criticism/1839153/>.

Hooper, Tom. "Tom Hooper Defends His 'Les Misérables ' Close-Ups & Reveals Who's The Bigger Musical Geek: Jackman or Hathaway." Interview by Frank Digiacomo. Movieline. PMC, 25 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://movieline.com/2012/12/25/tom-hooper-interview-les-miserables-defends-close-ups/>.

Jacobs, Lea. "The Innovation of Re-Recording in the Hollywood Studios." Film History. Vol. 24. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2012. 5-34. Print.

Kearney, Christine. "Les Miserables Movie Relies on Close-ups for Emotional Punch." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 Dec. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Laszlo, Ervin. "Aesthetics Of Live Musical Performance." The British Journal of Aesthetics 7.3 (1967): 261-73. Print.

Nine. Dir. Rob Marshall. Perf. Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Stacy Ferguson. Sony, 2009. DVD.

The Phantom of the Opera. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Perf. Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004. DVD.

Schaefer, Stephen. "Musical Chairs." Entertainment Weekly 18 Oct. 1991: n. pag. Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly, Inc. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Travers, Peter. "Les Misérables." Rev. of Les Misérables. Rolling Stone 21 Dec. 2012: n. pag. Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

(PS, used the shell of an old post to post this. Hence, it says I wrote this in October 2012.)

Screenplay For "Les Mis" *Updated!

Whoa. Universal released the WHOLE SCREENPLAY for the Les Mis film. Then took it down. But read this post carefully to find out more...


I'm reading the script now.
Random thoughts as I read (page numbers follow the PDF numbers in Mac Preview, NOT the numbers on the head of the pages). One of my favorite additions is a bit about Fantine selling her teeth. It's so great and truly heartbreaking--and from the book! This whole screenplay adds way more in from the original novel than we ever could have hoped.
--The added lyrics I've seen are really good.
More...coming...after work lol.



--The transition from the "Prologue" to "End of the Day" is exactly how I hoped it would be.
--The have Fantine defend herself in "End of the Day" by ALSO singing the line, "At the end of the day she’s the one who began it!" (page 18)
--Javert gets his own actual introduction song. Interesting idea.  (page 20-21)
--"Runaway Cart" is moved up to right after "End of the Day" (page 21) There is no "I have only known one other..." scene.
--Valjean says to Fauchelevent, "No more cart driving for you!" (page 23) That line better stay.
--"Lovely Ladies" is accompanied by a man on an organ grinder. (page 24) Oh alright.
--Fantine sells her teeth! (page 26)
--Here's your reward for reading this far.
--The main brothel is in the hull of an old ship. Also the whole "Lovely Ladies" sequence sounds like it's gonna be insane and perfect.
--On pages 29 and 30 we have "I Dreamed a Dream," and there isn't much staging info given. So we'll see how it all works out, but I'm sure it'll be beautiful and devastating.
--Bamatabois stuffs snow down Fantine's shirt (page 31). More book references!
--Also on page 31, Bamatabois is given the direction, "Furious but aroused." Oh alright.
--Page 35, we have a new-ish scene between Javert and Valjean. It's an improved version of the "I have only known one other..." scene from the show. It's actually closer (once again) to the book, where Javert admits that he denounced Valjean to the French authorities, but now knows it was a mistake as the "real"culprit has been caught.
--Page 38, we kinda get a line back from the Original London Cast that I always loved. Valjean used to yell, at the end of "Who Am I?", "You know where to find me!" He says her, "Ask inspector Javert. He knows where to find me." But I doubt Hugh is gonna scream/sing it like Colm did.
--Oh my god pages 38-39, as Fantine dies, she hallucinates seeing Cosette and WE SEE IT. Gonna just start crying now.

--Page 42: Young Eponine what???
--Page 44: AHHH THEY PUT THE "SERGEANT OF WATERLOO" OPENING BACK IN TO "MASTER OF THE HOUSE." Or, at least, a good bit of it.
--Truly getting Sweeney Todd flashbacks as I read Mme Thénardier tricking customers to come into the inn.
--I'm not sure how the flashbacks to daytime are gonna work in "Master of the House." They struck me as bizarre, but we'll see how it turns out.
--Whoa they steal from Father Christmas. What even.
--Okay "Master of the House" is gonna be insane.
--They also have the scene at the well between Cosette and Valjean! (page 49-50)
--Page 52, they kept the "Colette/Cosette" gag, a long-running stage gag.
--Page 53 and 54, we see Javert visiting the Thénardiers, asking if Valjean picked up Coestte, and trying to get info from them. THEN, the Thénardiers mention sing about how they should have gotten more out of Valjean, SETTING UP THE ROBBERY IN PARIS AND FINALLY CLEARING UP THAT STUPID PLOT POINT THAT NEVER MADE SENSE IN THE SHOW!
--Page 53-54, we have the new song "Suddenly." Excited to hear it, but just reading the words leaves me kinda meh. We'll see.
--They have the famous chase scene between Javert and Valjean (with Cosette being dragged along), THEN they get to the convent and M Fauchelevent is there at the convent, like in the book! (Page 55-57).
--Page 58-59 gives us the introduction of Gavroche, and at the bottom of page 59 we have an AWESOME new verse for Gavroche about the state of the monarchy in France. Whoa. It also contains the lines, "Here is the thing about equality/everyone's equal when they're dead!"--which, to me, recall a similar set of lines from the 1980 Paris cast: "Entre nous et les bourgeois/C’est avec la mort, ma foi,/Le seul moment où y’a pas de différence." ("Between us and the bourgeois/it's then and death/the only moments where there isn't any difference between us"--the other moment referred to is when having sex, but I still feel like poor people have sex differently than bougie folks.)
--"Look Down" is now this: chorus "Look Down," two Gavroche verses, and the "Where are the leaders of the land?" bit. It ends with the police breaking up the crowd (who have gathered in front of Lamarque's house). We lose the "Where'd'ya think you're at, hangin' round me pitch?" verses and the bits associated.
--PAGE 62 HOLY CRAP M GILLENORMAND IS THERE WHAT EVEN. He admonishes Marius for "behaving like a child." Marius is like, "Peace, gramps," and leaves to go to...
--...GORBEAU TENEMENT, a crap hole of a place. Guess where that's from? Yup, DA BOOK. Also page 62.
--Pontmercy family ring, check; Eponine creeping on Marius through a hole, check; Marius being wayyyy dismissive of Eponine--super check. Still...page...62. We also have Eponine calling out Marius on being rich but "pretending to be poor."
--Also, bottom of page 62 (lot's going on on this one page) we have a great new bit between Marius and Eponine that tells us way more about Marius and his family than anything even hinted at in the stage show.
--The meeting of Marius/Cosette is changed. As "Look Down" doesn't have the Thénardiers (with the "these bloody students on our street"), Marius can't ask Eponine who they are. SO, we have him cross Cosette as he's leaving his house to mope. It's shot 33 and 34 here. Page 63.
--After this bit, we cut a little ways down the street to see the Thénardiers preparing their attack. Still page 63.

The Role of the Chorus in the Original 1980 Production

Before we begin, let me make it clear: this piece is all opinion. It's taken from the actual 1980 cast, of course, but I have no quoatations from B&S or Robert Hossein (the original director of the Paris production) to back it up.

But HERE IT GOESSSS.

One thing you may notice when listening to the original 1980 version of Les Misérables is the show's heightened emphasis on the chorus. In the modern productions, we get a sense that the chorus is a collection of individual characters. This is highlighted by the fact that there are many bit parts throughout the show. We have individual Factory Workers, individual Inn Patrons, individual Poor Folk...the 1980 version has this where needed, but when possible, they instead relied on HUGE CHORUSES OF SINGING FRENCHPEOPLE to get their point across. Why? I believe this was to highlight the facelessness that the underprivileged of the time experienced. Fantine, Eponine, the Students, Valjean, those are the faces of the revolution. But this incarnation reminds us that there were many more, unnamed, unknown, who suffered just as deeply. 

In this version, the chorus shows the faceless workers (all angry that they work an honest day's work, only to "find out" how one of their own is earning a bit more money); the chorus shows the faceless women, thrown to the bottom of life and forced to sell themselves to simply keep living (at the end of "J'avais rêvé," the prostitutes themselves join in Fantine's song, showing that Fantine is just one of many women pushed to the extreme--and actually giving more humanity to the Lovely Ladies in the process); the faceless petit bourgeoisie of Montreuil-sur-Mer (when Monsiuer Fauchlevent gets hit by the cart, we have the chorus--representing the whole town, and, by extension, the views of society--saying things like, "Back up, M le Maire, his sad life isn't worth giving up yours, no one on earth would miss him if he died!").

Hugo, in the novel, often referred to the poor as a "group" and as "masses", denominations that fit with the chorus as presented in the original production.

In the coming days (for real), I plan to add to this post a little video where you can hear what I'm talking about it. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Do you think the modern version downplays the "faceless mass" aspect, or does it make it more human? Do you think the modern version would have been different with fewer individual bit parts? Lemme know!

First "Les Mis" Trailer/Discussion REVISED

Here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-WSCf3rDDc

It's actually the best thing I've seen in a really long time.

What's that, you want me to dissect it? OKAY. Since I haven't posted a translation in a while...I'll dissect the new trailer SHOT BY SHOT so you don't have to.

First off, I wanted to mention a joke I made on Facebook the other day. Before the trailer came out, I said, "If Tom Hooper films Les Misérables anything like he did The King's Speech, everything is gonna be shot in either super low angles or from cameras hanging from the ceiling. And I'll still watch it." I later joked that all the characters would be shot off-center against walls with interesting patterns on them.

Well, after seeing this trailer...I don't think I realized how true my prediction was.

Just...just look.

I HAVE REVISED THIS (AS OF 23 OCT.) TO REFLECT NEW INFORMATION.

Shot one: Valjean on a mountain

We can assume this is during the Prologue, when JVJ wanders around for a while trying to find a grown-up job.

Shot two: Valjean at a church; singing begings

I've read in a few places that people thing this scene is also from the wandering job hunt scenes. HOWEVER, that is not true. It's some section of the line, "Another story must begin!" How can I be so sure...well, we saw them film it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjvhTXVZROs
One other note: Anne begins to sing here. Wow. It's really rough sounding, but good, and there's not orchestrations yet. More on Annetine later.

 Shot three: Police on horseback

I'm not sure about this shot. It's in the rain, so that means it's probably not "Look Down"...but those sets look like the Paris sets seen here.
It's "End of the Day."

Shot four: Javert on horseback!

The fleur-de-lys on his collar confirms that he is in Paris, as that was a mark of the Parisian policeman. 
Also "End of the Day."

Shot five: Anne as Fantine (Or "Annetine")

Ooooh now I know why she sounds that way. Just look at her. ALSO of note: her hair. It's cut already. The stage show traditionally places "I Dreamed a Dream" BEFORE "Lovely Ladies"...and we all know that Fantine has her hair cut during that song. BUTTT we see her singing, here, with short hair. That indicates a movement of songs. IDAD is now AFTER "Lovely Ladies." Interesting, because that's how it was in the original Palais des Sports version (see here and here for more on that).

Shot six: Info Card

Oh, he fancy.

Shot seven: Running urchins

Urchins running around Paris. Gavroche is the kin in the brown hat looking DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA/YOUR SOUL. You can also see him mouthing words here, so this is likely from "Look Down."
"Look Down", yes, but that itsn't Gavroche. They're just his urchin friends.

Shot eight: Some poor folks

Pretty much that. They're also mouthing something, but I couldn't tell what it was. I am SURE this is from "Look Down," though, as we see Javert at the end of the tunnel. We also have set photos proving this is meant to be in Paris. Flip through those photos and you'll find all kinds of goodies.
"At the End of the Day"

Shot nine: Little ickle Cosette

COME HERE SWEETIE I'LL HUG YOU. She's so precious.  This is in the woods, after "Castle on a Cloud." Look at all that snow on the ground, and how thin her dress is. This is one miserable Cosette.

Shot ten: Another title card

Oh, he REALLY fancy.

Shot eleven: "At the End of the Day" Overhead

Factory workers doin' their thing. It's nice to see them retain the traditional blue smock from the show, even though as we see in...

Shot twelve: Annetine (before the fall)

...they have re-designed it a bit.

Shot thirteen: We get it...

...this movie is important.

Shot fourteen: Valjean in a church

Obviously the Bishop scene. Hard to say exactly which bit this is, but his mouth is moving (so he's singing, we know) and he's falling front of an altar), so it's likely after the Bishop allows him to go free. "What have I done, sweet Jesus, what have I done..."

Shot fifteen: WHOOOSH WAVES

The Bagne at Toulon! Nice to see them being kinda historically accurate--by this time, the "galleys" (slave rowers) were no longer operating, but they WERE pulling in ships to dry docks and things like that. Also, this may be the first shot of the film. Think about it.

Shot sixteen: Valjean pulling in a ship

An interesting note from an extra about a certain line--"the sun is strong, it's hot as Hell below." According to the extra:  "Line was changed to 'no god above, and hell alone below'." How interesting; I wonder what other tweaks they'll make to the libretto.

Shot seventeen:  Dapper Mayor Valjean

I am inclined to believe this is either after or right before the Runaway Cart scene, but it's hard to tell. This is his Mayor look, though.

Shot eighteen: Javert in Paris

Javert, in Paris. Nothing much to report.

Shot nineteen: Annetine walking

Fantine--WITH HER HAIR--walking somewhere. Likely to sell...HER HAIR.

Shot twenty: Awwww grown up Cosette!

Amanda Seyfried looking lovely as she looks into the face of her father. I'm sure this scene is from the finale, as she's in her wedding dress, kneeling in front of someone and crying.

Shot twenty-one: Finale!

Some lovely shots of the barricade. If you check out this behind the scenes video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJF1saSIfTA&feature=related ...you can see the crane making the exact shot we actually see in this trailer.

Shot twenty-two: Marius

Eddie Redmayne as Marius during LaMarque's funeral...which they're showing in the film!

Shot twenty-three: Valjean in the woods

Valjean as he goes to rescue...

Shot twenty-four: La petite Cosette

...little Cosette, who gives him a much happier look here than when we first saw her.

Shot twenty-five: Walking from the well

Valjean carries her bucket as they return to the inn.

Shot twenty-six: Fantine thrown from the factory

Sorry this one is so blurry, but it's the best I could do. In this shot, we see Annetine being thrown out the door and into the street.  AND THENNNN...

Shot twenty-seven: DANCING WHORES

THE LOVELY LADIES!!! This song always held a special place in my heart because my sister and I loved it so much when we were younger. We didn't know exactly what it meant, but we knew it was provocative! Outside of the sentimentality, this show shows that, while Tom Hooper is mostly filming everything fairly realistically, they are still retaining certain musical theatre aspects. It'll be neat to see what other "musical" bits make it in; I'm betting the Wedding will be heavily choreographed, and probably also "Master of the House" (unless they go the route of the Sweeney Todd film and "God, That's Good!" and have everyone sit around munching while singing happens around them).

Shot twenty-eight: Bye, bye, hair

This is a mystery to me. I think, in the film, it'll probably come shortly after  shot 19 of this trailer (note the shawl and the dress), but is this during a song? Or what? Still no clue on how that's gonna work, as we know either "I Dreamed a Dream" was moved to after "Lovely Ladies", or there was some other shuffling that we haven't guessed yet. 

Shot twenty-nine: Oh noez my head

It's gone, Annetine. Sorry. This shot is in the same scene as shot 28, as evidenced by the hair-cutter's dress in the background. Also, I like the Tom Hooper off-centeredness of this shot.

Shot thirty: "This hell I'm living!"

Annetine is super sad cuz her life is pretty sucky now. An interesting bit to notice: if you've seen the bootleg trailer, they actually used a different shot of this scene. That trailer can be viewed here and the shot comes about :14 in.

Shot thirty-one: Looking for Valjean

Javert and his cronies (he has cronies now!) searching for, you guessed it, Valjean...well, we assume Valjean. No real indication of what part of this film this takes place in.

Shot thirty-two: New family, new home

Valjean and Cosette looking in surprise at something. I believe that this is them approaching the convent where they will live for the next ten years; that section is skipped entirely in the show, but the film restores is with the song "Suddenly," a tune written especially for the movie. This may be the beginning of that scene. The background looks very churchy, don't you think?

Shot thirty-three: Marius looking

Marius, once again. This time, he's looking over at...

Shot thirty-four: Cosette, returning the look

...Cosette! What a silly large bonnet. Also, some people are saying this is from their first meeting during "The Robbery," but I'm not so sure...unless, once again, they changed things from the show. In the show, the pair literally run into each other. Like, collide. Do they do more flirty things in the movie? In shot 33, Marius is wearing the same outfit he's wearing at LaMarque's funeral (shot 22). Could this be from a later scene?
It's their first meeting.

Shot thirty-five: Eponine!

Our first film look at the newcomer (to screen, at least) Samantha Bark as Eponine. It's raining, she's looking around, scared...I'm betting this is right before she gets, ya know, shot.
It's "On My Own."

Shot thirty-six: Javert looking at...the river

I didn't cap it cuz it was so dark, but there is an extra shot right before this that flies up a river wall and lands on Javert, seen here. Javert, looking sad, at night, by a river...this screams "Suicide" to me. ORRR perhaps it's a fake-out, and Javert likes to look out over rivers in the film, and does that several times before the fatal time. It could likely be a motif, that rivers are calming to him or something?

Shot thirty-seven: Sneakity sneak...

Valjean walking backwards; he's very dirtied up, but wearing his Mayor clothes (minus the jacket). After "Confrontation," perhaps?

Shot thirty-eight: Fantine crying

Annetine is crying; we hear he singing, "Life has killed a dream....I dreamed." However, we don't see her lips moving, which leads me to believe this is from an earlier part of the song, perhaps? This Facebook photo seems to come from the same scene, and is captioned "When dreams were made and used and wasted." Or it could be from a different scene entirely.

Shot thirty-nine: TITLEEEE

Didn't they just make this in 1998 with Uma Thurman and Geoffrey Rush and Liam Neeson?

What are you most excited to see in the new film? Personally, I can not WAIT to see all of "Lovely Ladies." What about you? Did you like the trailer? Lemme know in the comments!

"Les Mis" Trailer to Debut with...

..."Snow White and the Hunstman"! According to a recent update of the marketing website Indepedent Marketing Edge, it is being included with prints of the film and will play in cinemas starting June 1st. Get excited, folks!

My next translation will be up this weekend, and it will be Fantine's run-in with Javert.

"La nuit" post updated!

The post about "La nuit", the song that would become "Lovely Ladies," has been updated to include the original version of the song!

Check the post here, and leave me some comments! Do you like the original version? What's the most strikingly different?

Fantine & Bamatabois: A Very French Fight

Now, we're gonna take a look at another previously untranslated section of the show: when Fantine meets the customer Bamatabois.

BAMATABOIS

Que tu es laide How ugly are you

Mais moi, j’aime la nouveauté But I love new things

Approche un peu Come a bit closer

J’aime bien voir avant d’acheter I like to see before buying

T’auras cinq francs You'll have 5 francs

Tu ne vaux pas plus que ça You're not worth any more than that.

FANTINE :

Je ne veux pas. I do not want.

Non, non, monsieur, laissez-moi ! No, non, sir, leave me alone!

BAMATABOIS :

C’est bien payé It's already payed

Pour qui te prends-tu ? Who do you think you are

FANTINE :

Je ne veux pas I don't want to!

BAMATABOIS :

Non, mais des fois No, but sometimes

Petite traînée You little slut

A quoi joues-tu ? What game are you playing?

As-tu vu ta sale gueule récemment dans une glace ? Have you seen your dirty face recently in a mirror?

Et cet arbre de Noël que tu peints sur ta bouche ? And that Christmas tree you paint on your face?

Avec moi, ce ne sont pas les catins, qui décident Sluts don't decide with me

Chacun reste à sa place Each stays in their place

Quand on fait ton métier When your job is

Pour une pièce, on se couche ! Going to bed for a coin!

FANTINE :

Je te tuerai, salopard, essaye-le pour voir ! I'll kill you, you bastard, try it and see!

Même une putain qui n’a plus aucun droit Even a whore who's got no more rights

Peut refuser un rat Can refuse a rat

BAMATABOIS :

Tu payeras pour ton impudence You'll pay for your impudence

Tu vas savoir ce qui en coûte You're gonna see what that costs

Pour ton agresse d’un honnête homme For your attack on an honest man

Tu vas payer cher cet affront You'll pay dearly for this insult

Tu vas coucher avec les rats de la prison ! You'll sleep with the rats in prison!

FANTINE :

Pitié, ne me dénoncez pas Mercy, please don't report me

Je ferai tout c’que vous voudrez I'll do whatever you will want

BAMATABOIS :

Tu t’expliqueras à la police You'll explain yourself to the police!

*The 2008 Québec version of the show changes that final line to...

BAMATABOIS :

Tu t’expliqueras aux policiers !

...to preserve the rhyme. No idea why no one hadn't thought of that before.*

Now, you must be wondering why I said this fight was "very French." The biggest thing I mean by that is the use of "tu" versus "vous." Now, if you don't know I mean by that, let me explain: in French, there are two ways to say "you": "tu", which you say to people you're being informal with, and "vous," which you use formally or with those you don't know. It can be very rude to use "tu" with someone you don't know, as it comes off as disrespectful. Now, you'll notice here, Bamatabois begins by calling Fantine "tu"--"Que tu es laide !" (which is a terrible way to start a conversation). Fantine, trying to be polite, calls him both "monsieur" and uses "vous" when she asks to be left alone ("Laissez-moi !") My favorite part, though, is when she gets super fierce after he attacks her. Fantine truly shows that she can slug with the best of them with her phase, "Je te tuerai, salopard, essaye-le pour voir !" She is so fed up that she not only calls him a bastard but she gets into it and drops to the "tu" form. However, as soon as he threatens to turn her in, she switches to "vous" to try to prove her respect to the...er...gentleman. It doesn't work.

What are your thoughts? Do you like the French version better than the English version? Does the vous/tu switch give the song more depth? Let me know in the comments below!

"Fantine's Arrest" is next on the plate, and will be coming up in the next week!

SHAMELESS SELF PLUG

SO LISTEN.

When I'm not listening to Les Mis on repeat, I am a sketch comedian. My group, called Pineapple-Shaped Lamps, is raising money for a summer comedy tour of the eastern US. Here's our picture:

This is us. Enjoy our faces.

And here is how you can donate to our cause:

http://www.indiegogo.com/pineappleshapedlamps

This is our first tour and we want to bring our comedy outside of our little town of Wilmington, NC. But to do so, we need dat cash, yo. If any of you could donate even a little bit, I would appreciate it so much!

You can find all of our shows on our YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/pineappleshapedlamps

Also, I promise to get a new Les Mis translation posted later this week.

Thanks guys!

A Preview of "Fantine & Bamatabois"

Next, we're gonna take a look at another previously untranslated section of the show: when Fantine meets the customer Bamatabois. I'm going to translate and compare how the show changes over the course of twenty years. I'll begin with the 1991 Paris cast and end up at the most recent French cast, a version that ran in Québec from 2008-2009. Here's a sneak peek:

"How ugly you are!

But I love trying new things.

Come closer

I like to see before I buy

You'l have 5 Francs

You're not worth more than that..."

Check back later this week for the rest!

"La nuit": The Song that Became "Lovely Ladies" *Added song*

"Nightime, nightime, we're masters in command! Master of the town while the bourgeois sleep!" Can you imagine if "Lovely Ladies", Les Mis' jaunty ode to women of the evening, began with those words? Well, for those watching the original 1980 version of the show at the Palais des Sports in Paris, it did.

I have always liked this song; it's just so fun and dirty. It was always my sister's favorite song, too. When we were little and my mom first discovered Les Mis by way of PBS telethons, she had taped the 10th Anniversary Concert of the show. According to mom, my sister use to go upstairs, still Mom's slips and lingerie, put them on, and then sit and watch the song over and over. That was, what, 1996? Not much has changed, honestly...

"Lovely ladies!"
Recent London Cast

But that's enough about my family life. What's important here is the song, and where it came from. The current French versions of the show include "Tu viens, chéri ?" (translated to "You comin', dearie?") However, the 1980 version of the show included in its place "La nuit," which translates to "Nightime."

The writers of the show, the great Boublil, Schonberg, and Jean-Marc Natel wrote this song so that they could have a lighter number after the big heaping pile of depression that was "L'air de la misère" (see Intro to "J'avais rêvé" vs "I Dreamed a Dream" for more info on that). They didn't want a comic song, persay, but they did want something a little more bouncy to lift the audience's spirits. So they composed "La nuit" and placed it right after "L'air de la misère" and right before "J'avais rêvé." (For those keeping track, the 1980s version would have run "La journée est finie"-->"L'air de la misère"-->"La nuit"-->"J'avais rêvé.")

As far as I know, this song has not been translated anywhere else on the internet. I am working off a very rare audio of the original 1980 cast. I cannot share the entire thing with you all (as much as I'd like to), but I will soon uploadfor you the audio track of "La nuit," so you can follow along and hear how similar yet different the song was in its first incarnation.

Link to song: http://youtu.be/01ui7Cmb-dI

"La nuit": 

LES CLIENTS:
La nuit, la nuit on est maitres à bord Nighttime, nightime, we're masters in command
Maitres de la ville pendant que le bourgeois s'endors Master of the town while the bourgeois sleep
La nuit, la nuit, on navigue encore Nighttime, nighttime, we're still sailing
Porté par la houle d'une boussole qui perd le nord Carried by the swell of a compass that's going crazy [lit. "lost the north"]
Où nous déferlons jusqu'à l'aurore Where we unfurl our sails until dawn

 *They're labeled "The Clients," but I've 100% convinced these people were meant to be seamen and sailors. I mean, just look at all the nautical references and wordplay.*

LES PUTAINS (The Whores):
La nuit, la nuit, on dérive au port Nighttime, nighttime, we drift to the port
Prêtes à jeter l'ancre pour qulques rares pièces d'or Ready to throw down our anchors for a few rare pieces of gold
La nuit, la nuit, on vend nos trésors Nighttime, nighttime, we sell our treasures
Quelquefois pour rien pour voir si l'coeur bat encore Sometimes for nothing just to see if our hearts still beat
Pour adoucir un peu notre sort ! To soften a bit our lot in life!

L’ACHETEUSE DE CHEVEUX (The Hair-Buying Woman):

Les beaux cheveux, les longs cheveux que voilà Your lovely hair, your lovely hair right there
Les beaux cheveux, les beaux cheveux que tu as Your lovely hair, your lovely hair that you've got
Tu me les vends ? Sell it to me?

FANTINE:
Laissez-moi, allez-vous en Leave me alone, go away!

L’ACHETEUSE DE CHEVEUX:
Réfléchis bien Think about it
Je peux t’en donner dix francs I can give you 10 Francs for it
Réfléchis bien ! Think about it!

FANTINE:
Ma pauvre tête ! My poor head!

L’ACHETEUSE DE CHEVEUX:
Réfléchis bien ! Think about it!

FANTINE:
C’est pour Cosette It's for Cosette
dix francs déjà que j’enverrai pour la soigner Ten francs is what I'll send to take care of her!


*Listening to that section, you can hear how some things hardly change at all. Now, over 30 years after the show hit the stage at the Palais des Sports in Paris, the modern "Les Mis" contains this exact same section, with almost no changes (she sells her necklace, too, in the modern version, but not here).*

LES CLIENTS:

La nuit, la nuit on est maitres à bord Nighttime, nighttime, we're masters in command

LES PUTAINS:

La nuit, la nuit, on dérive au port Nighttime, nighttime, we drift to the port

LES CLIENTS:
Maitres de la ville pendant que le bourgeois s'endors Masters of the town while the bourgeois sleep

La nuit, la nuit, on navigue encore Nighttime, nighttie, we're still sailing

LES PUTAINS:
La nuit, la nuit, on vend nos trésors Nighttime, nighttime, we sell our treasure

LES CLIENTS:

Porté par la houle d'une boussole qui perd le nord Carried by the swell of a compass that's going crazy

TOUS:
Pour adoucir un peu notre sort ! To soften a bit our lot in life!


LES PUTAINS:
Ah ça mon Dieu, si c'est pas malhereux Oh, there, my God, if that isn't so unfortunate
D'avoir gâché d'aussi jolis cheveux Having runied such pretty hair
Qui garniront l'crâne d'une noble rombiere Which will decorate the head of some crazy old noblewoman
Avide encore de plaire avant l'cimetiere Who really wants to please before heading to the cemetery
10 franc, 10 franc, c'est bien moins qu'un client Ten francs, ten francs, that's much less than a client
Viens avec nous Come with us!

*I have to interrupt here and explain. This bit was weird to translate, but I am pretty sure she's talking about the fact that the Hair Buying Woman was gonna make Fantine's hair into a wig and sell it to old middle-class ladies who wanted to look fancy before they die. If anyone else reads something different, please let me know!*

LES PUTAINS:
La vie t'as laisée en rade Life left you out in the cold
T'es pas née du bon coté d'la barricade You weren't born on the right side of the barricade
Viens avec nous, joue ta mauvais chance Come with us, try your bad luck
La vie n'est pas un gala de bienfaisance Life isn't a gala of good-doing
Et si l'homme est parfois trop laid entre tes cuisses Et if the man is sometimes too ugly between your thighs
Ferme les yeux, pense à ton amoureux... Close your eyes, think about your true love...

______

I can't wait to post the audio for you guys so you can hear this intriguing early version of "Lovely Ladies." Next, I'll return to the current version of the show and we'll talk about "Bamatabois/Fantine's Arrest," which has been slightly different in every French incarnation of the show I've heard. I'll compare the English version to three different French versions--the 1991 Paris cast, the 1999 Antwerp cast, and the most recent French version, the 2008 Quebec cast. I might throw in the 1980 version for good measure. Let me know what you want to read!

Please leave any comments or thoughts you have about my translations, or if you have requests, please let me know! Thanks for reading.