Le comte de Monte-Cristo

This is by far far the very best adaptation of The count of Monte Cristo, very true to the book, with superb Edmond Dantes - Jacques Weber, a jewel, unlike the 1998 minis with Gerard Obelix Depardieu(worst adaptatio never). Have seen this mini series in 1985 and trying to get a copy,with zero results (there is a German DVD, with German language only..maybe at the end I'll end up with it). Can't believe such masterpiece lays in dust with no possibility to see it again. Dantes is slim, dark hair as described in the novel, when you see it, all the characters appears the way you imagined them when reading the book..A must see (if you have the chance to..)

Denys de la Patelière is not one of those French directors who strike a knowing cord but his body of work reflects a steady hand and a capacity to extract good performances from his actors. Those qualities are certainly present in this miniseries, to my mind the closest to the spirit and the actual story written by Alexandre Dumas.

Jacques Weber, an actor I knew nothing about until I saw this miniseries, posts an exemplary piece of restrained acting very much in keeping with the dictum that revenge is a dish best served cold.

That said, LE COMTE DE MONTE CRISTO is not just a story of revenge. It is, in fact, a story of personal redemption. Edmond Dantés (a man who suffers the closest thing to Dante's Inferno as a result of the cowardice, greed, and callousness of people to whom he had done no harm) could easily have followed the road of pure and simple vengeance, and he would have had good reason to do it - but he is a God-fearing man who knows that it is not in his power to save or punish others.

I read the book a long time ago and found it rather rambling. This filmed version enlightened me and I stand corrected: it is a must-read book just as this is a must-see series.

Condensing 50 hours of story into 5 hours of viewing is obviously very difficult.

The scenario is very faithful but certain scenes from the book useful for understanding are removed.

Overall, the acting is really bad. Weber as Dantès is terrible but makes up for it well in the role of the count, where he transcribes the great class and hidden emotions of the count, as described in the novel. Roger Dumas in Danglars also raises the average by perfectly interpreting the character as we imagine him.

The rest of the cast is terrible and seems to recite a text without any emotion, certain scenes become ridiculous and lose all the interest provided by reading the book.

I therefore strongly recommend reading the book before seeing the film, because without it, the experience will be tasteless, and will leave the impression of an old, uninteresting film, where prior reading will allow you to make the connection between the scenes and to enjoy the sets and costumes that put an image on the book.

This version of the Count of Monte Cristo will indeed remind of the book. It is both true to the descriptions of all the characters and includes all of the sub plots of the book with the ACTUAL ending of the book and not a made up one for the pleasure of the writers and directors (as has been the case on other versions). Jacques Weber is outstanding as the young Dantes who matures into the dark, cold and mysterious Monte Cristo. It is the ideal version and image of the count and the excellence of his acting in all of the various disguises as well as his overall command of the character , he dominates each scene he is in. Excellent cast overall and excellent production values. See it if you can!!

This six-part mini-series is absolutely close at Dumas' Book on the storyline. The scenery and costumes are quite perfect, not exaggerated. Jaques Weber did an excellent job as Comte, he gave him the perfect mixture of the coolness of the Comte and the Pain of Dantés, and though he is playing the character a little theatrical sometimes, he gave him the depth he is needing. Above all, the way he changes personality when he plays the Abbé Busoni or Lord Wilmore is really great. He uses just a few little things like changing the way to speak, glasses or wigs, but he seems to be a completely different person. And the other cast is filled with big european names also, they all were great! No comparison with this new version with Gérard Depardieu which was so highly praised and presented such a wrong story with bad actors!