Le Comte de Monte-Cristo

The first question I'd love to ask directors adapting novels to movies is: if that book inspired you so much that you wanted to make a movie out of it, why then alter its story?

The Count of Montecristo is another of those cases: those who read the book will be astounded by how the ending was completely distorted; and for no evident reason I'd submit, as the book's ending was dramatic enough.

So, again, if you didn't like it, why make a movie about it? If you want to ride your own ideas by all means do that, use your fantasy and in that case the sky will be the limit.

OK, end of runt...If I had to disconnect my literary memory and judge the movie for its sheer cinematographic merits, The Count of Montecristo is a honest cloak and dagger movie, with good performances by all the key actors, good photography and decent pace.

But then again, my literary memory kicks in again and a bittersweet aftertaste lingers in my mouth...

So I have actually read the book, the real book(s), and not the watered down version you find in the book store. That story is compelling, charcter driven, intricate and the details tell how it all comes together. This while a totally ok movie has nothing of that besides the outlines of the main plotlines. There isnt the good besides the bad, there isnt the ambivalent ending and there isnt the base of it all, the relationship between the Abbé and Edmond who basically becomes a son. Also missing is the back story from the escape to Edmonds arrival in Paris that makes the whole revenge plot believable in the first place. I also cant help but miss the old Mr Villefort whose story while peripher is so central to who Edmond really is as a person. So want to see a french drama during the 19th century that is pretty ok with some good actors, go ahead. Want to immerse yourself in the real story of the Count of Monte Christo? Find and Antiquarian because that is the only place you find this masterpiece.

I read the books and saw two other versions of it as a film.

I asked myself what was the idea to make another version even though 18 exist already.

I watched it in French and realized that it is pretty far off the original storyline. Some characters are missing and others adapted. Apart from the great costumes and the brilliant locations, it seemed to me that only the beautiful, 'rich' sides were shown. The prison seemed too romanticised to me, as did the society. The Count could hardly stand out from the others due to his wealth and mystique, because this didn't always come to the surface.

Nevertheless, the film is entertaining and I was never bored. It managed to tell the whole story, although in a different way. Unfortunately, I couldn't answer the question of why this film was made, because it's just another version.

Watch the film if you don't know the story yet and like a romanticised story. Otherwise, I recommend the book by Alexandre Dumas and the film 'The Count of Monte Cristo 2002'.

Usually not a fan of action movies, the wonderful cast as well as the choice of a classic of French literature convinced me to go watch LE COMTE DE MONTE CRISTO. And man I wasn't disappointed !

Despite its three-hour runtime, the movie never bores. When it doesn't keep us on our toes, it shows us eye-popping scenes of 19th century France, leaving us wondering how they made that with only 40M euros ! I guess the beautiful cinematography and clever editing have a role to play in making this movie stand out from much costlier Hollywood productions.

Of course much of the credit also goes to Alexandre Dumas for coming up with such a poignant story, but adapting it for the screen sure wasn't an easy task either, and it was done marvelously here.

I sincerely hope this movie will have a career outside of France, as more people deserve to see this.

Merci Alexandre, merci Matthieu :)

Well, this a great piece of cinema, the actors play well, the scenes are well designed and the music is top notch. Yet, at someone that read the book before, a lot of the actual story, is not just missing but heavily modified. This is frustrating and they main reason it's a 8 and not 10, but I guess taking a 6 books story into a 3 hours move isn't that easy. Some of the original characters are missing and grouped into new character (Angelel). So, if you are not a Dumas fanatic, go watch it, you will have a good time ! The 3 hours feel like 20 minutes, with good romance, great costumes, great action scenes and drama.