Les Misérables

Les Misérables (1958) is a sweeping French adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel that you can watch online on iFILM, with Jean Gabin in the lead. His Jean Valjean has served nineteen years of hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread. Freed at last, he nearly slides back — until a bishop's act of mercy rewrites the rest of his life.

Valjean takes a new name, builds a fortune, becomes a mayor, and quietly raises the orphaned Cosette. Inspector Javert (Bernard Blier) never stops hunting him; to Javert, the law outranks forgiveness and a convict stays a convict for good. Around them move the schemer Thénardier, played by the comic Bourvil, the barricades of Paris, and a student uprising that drags everyone toward one bloody night.

Director Jean-Paul Le Chanois shot one of the first color versions of Hugo, and one of the fullest — close to three hours, released as two parts. Gabin plays Valjean low and still, and that restraint makes the giant ex-convict easier to believe than any louder hero. Stream Les Misérables (1958) online on iFILM.