It might surprise you to learn just how many Les Misérables films there are. Victor Hugo's epic novel about the law, crime, social inequality, and revolution is a timeless one, and certainly one that filmmakers continually return to again and again. There are quite simply too many adaptations to count, with some existing as early as the 1910s (though these are generally lost films now, due to their age.)
It speaks to the sheer volume of Les Misérables movie adaptations that there are 10 that can be listed and compared. Also potentially surprising: despite the popularity of the stage musical (itself an adaptation of the original novel), the vast majority of Les Misérables films adapt the novel and don't feature consistently sung dialogue. This is not a list of every successful Les Misérables adaptation, but rather 10 notable ones, ranked from lowest to highest, based on their IMDb score.
10 'Les Misérables' (1952)
IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Truth be told, 6.8/10 is a little generous for this particular version of Les Misérables. It certainly feels like it was produced pretty quickly, as many standard Hollywood movies from the 1940s and 1950s often did, and it makes some strange omissions to the original story in the interest of getting the mammoth novel down to a single 105-minute movie.
It's not terrible. There are certain beats that it hits well enough, and until the ending, you do get the core story depicted solidly enough. However, it ends up being just sort of okay at best, and with so many other Les Misérables to choose from, it's probably one you can afford to skip.
9 'Les Misérables' (1982)
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
There's a general theme that tends to emerge with Les Misérables adaptations. They're either edited down to two hours or less and will cut out significant characters (usually Monsieur and Madame Thénardier) or chunks of the story (often the finale/epilogue), or they'll otherwise be epic-length movies, nearing three hours, or even exceeding it.
1982's Les Misérables is one such example of an epic adaptation of the story. It's a French film that clocks in at three hours and 40 minutes, meaning it can keep a good deal of the original novel's story. It's also notable for making a couple of death scenes happen slightly earlier in the plot than usual, making the already tragic story come across as even sadder.