AllMovie

Victor Hugo's tale of 15th century Paris receives a musical adaptation in this French-Italian stage production, here recorded on videotape for European television broadcast, which is more faithful to the tone and intentions of Hugo's novel than most film versions of the story. Quasimodo (Gio Di Tonno) is a grotesquely deformed man who lives in the bell towers of Notre Dame cathedral under the watchful eye of Frollo (Vittorio Matteucci), a priest. Quasimodo is infatuated with Esmerelda (Lola Ponce), a beautiful gypsy girl who often performs in the streets below the towers; however, she has also caught the eye of Frollo, as well as Phoebus, leader of the king's cavalry. Esmerelda is also taken with Phoebus, which enrages Frollo; the priest unsuccessfully attempts to kill Phoebus, but Esmerelda is falsely accused of the crime. Rather than see the woman he loves punished for a crime she did not commit, Quasimodo captures Esmerelda and hides her in his bell towers, but the hunchback is mistakenly seen by many as a threat to the beautiful gypsy, and he becomes the target of a band of vigilantes.