Ridley Scott's Les Misérables And Gladiator

Although history plays a crucial role in humanity, historical accuracy has become a sub focus within modern film production that is often substituted to maximise drama and entertainment. The intentional distortion of fact often provokes the opinion, that whilst “creative artists need be granted some poetic licence” the endeavour to entice an audience “should not permit for the wholesale disregard of facts in historical fiction” (Ward, 2001). This opinionative quotation accurately infers that whilst directors and cinematographers may apply slight manipulations for dramatic, compositional or chronological effect the historical basis of the film should remain accurate to its intended stimulus. Les Misérables is a prolific example of a film that

Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator has indicated the Roman nature of the film through three focal locations; an expansive German forest, Proximo’s training camp and the City of Rome. These historical settings, as well as the stereotypical gladiatorial garments worn in the opening battle indicate to the audience that the film occurs at the peak of the Roman E mpire in 180AD. Although accurately depicting some structures of the ancient society, the scope of the Colosseum has been significantly amplified for dramatic effect. At the final battle this is evident as the scene commences with an extreme long shot than pans across a digitally manipulated crowd. As Commodus emerges into the arena the spectators erupt into a loud, enhanced cheer, and dramatic accelerando music announces his arrival. This forced perspective and practice of visual and audio special effects makes the volume of the crowd, and the extents of the Colosseum seem larger and grander than historically documented. This adaptation of a crucial and historically significant setting gives viewers an unrealistic portrayal of Ancient Rome and deceives the audience’s knowledge and opinions of the Roman Empire. These significant and unnecessary adaptations are eluded from Les Misérables and instead the film refrains from drastically

Les Misérables explores the depths of redemption in Jean Valjean’s emotional strive to vindicate the petty crime he committed in his youth. The film depicts Valjean’s imprisonment meticulously and shows the horrific treatment of minor criminals in an era dictated by a strong force of corrupt authority. The scene in which Jean Valjean is savoured by a selfless priest shows a powerful expression of desperation and gratefulness. As Valjean sings ‘Now I give back to God” (Hooper, 2012) in a plead of redemption, extreme close-up shots document the release of built up anger and emotion. The camera then follows Valjean as he paces anxiously back and forth across the alter. This gives the audience a closer connection to Valjean’s emotional turmoil and makes it appear as though they are participating in his desperate circles. The scene is finalised as the camera zooms out into an extreme, high angle long shot, leaving Valjean as a small speck against a beautifully structured background. This camera technique represents his release of the past and the redemption of a rightfully rewarded freedom. As Tom Hopper, the director of Les Misérables has chosen to focus on the emotive side of 19th-century France it has been argued that the events featured within the film do not compensate for the complex struggles that France faced. From a cinematography perspective the