Podcast interview with LES MISERABLES’ John Murphy
Although this stellar BBC production of Victor Hugo’s epic novel has yet to make it to Blu-ray in North America, its gritty content may finally distance the book from the popular 1980 musical (affectionately called Les Mis) which to many, is the first production that comes to mind.
The original Les Miserables is no easy tome to adapt for film and TV, yet TV may be the best venue for the lengthy tale, as feature-length attempts for the big screen had to present compressed versions of the riveting drama as the lives of an escaped felon and his dogged inspector-hunter in 1800s France span a roughly 17 year period.
I’ve posted a review of the 6-part mini-series to support my recent interview with composer John Murphy, who returns from a self-imposed hiatus after a busy period scoring action, comic book, sci-fi and horror films up to 2015.
Murphy’s major credits include Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002) and Sunshine (2007), and Michael Mann’s big screen version of Miami Vice (2006).
Previously, I interviewed Murphy when the stunt-heavy heist drama Armored (2009) debuted on video and its taut soundtrack on CD in 2010, and five years later when he released the album Anonymous, based on a rejected score.
Chatting with down-to-earth Murphy is always a pleasure, but it’s especially rewarding to hear in his voice the energy and zeal for Les Miserables, his first mini-series that’s blessed with a concise score that may well make its way to CD, and perhaps LP.
I’ll have an IGTV excerpt version shortly, but the audio-only podcast is available on my GooglePlay, iTunes, Libsyn, SoundCloud, and Stitcher channels, with YouTube to follow.
Coming next: review of Allan Dwan’s noir thriller River’s Edge (1957), new on Blu from Twilight Time; and KINO’s Blu-ray release of the restored Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature film shot in 3-strip Technicolor!
Thanks for reading,
Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com
Category: EDITOR'S BLOG, INTERVIEWS, podcast
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