This is probably the most accurate movie to the novel I've seen. Not necessarily to the story, but every character looked almost exactly like their character descriptions, especially Quasimodo, which made other issues forgivable. This cast I would not have made any other way. You can imagine them just as Hugo describes.
Clarke is my favorite Quasimodo, for this is the only version and only time I actually grimaced at him for being ugly, not because of a sorry makeup job like the new Notre Dame de Paris rock opera productions. He did his own thing, and did not try to be like any past actors. Chaney and Garou come a close second. Laughton I like as well, for he is unrecognizable, and while I love 97, Patinkin's makeup was pretty sorry. Hopkins was very fine although a bit too 80s for something taking place 400 years ago.
However, this movie fails at the end with a stupid ending after Quasimodo's lament. The novel and any other good adaptation following the novel leave you feeling absolutely crushed at the end. This ending almost makes it, until the very last line. Then again, the way you look at it that can be good or bad - a soft ending could increase its replay value (like 39).
Clarke is my favorite Quasimodo, for this is the only version and only time I actually grimaced at him for being ugly, not because of a sorry makeup job like the new Notre Dame de Paris rock opera productions. He did his own thing, and did not try to be like any past actors. Chaney and Garou come a close second. Laughton I like as well, for he is unrecognizable, and while I love 97, Patinkin's makeup was pretty sorry. Hopkins was very fine although a bit too 80s for something taking place 400 years ago.
However, this movie fails at the end with a stupid ending after Quasimodo's lament. The novel and any other good adaptation following the novel leave you feeling absolutely crushed at the end. This ending almost makes it, until the very last line. Then again, the way you look at it that can be good or bad - a soft ending could increase its replay value (like 39).