A Brilliant Conflict

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

How is it possible for the people from whom Alexandre Dumas and Edmond Dantes hailed, to make such a miserable, sad, crappy rendering of the masterpiece novel of Dumas?I have seen several variations of this story, in several languages, but this is by far the poorest. Opulent as it is in costumes - one would expect better, though I am not so sure whether the description from the book of the ship Le Pharaon is even close to the real stuff.The worst, however, is the twisting of the story. Changing vital parts of the story to make an intense story more action-filled can only lead to crap. Even Depardieu's version is better than this - even though that is not very good either.In hope that someone will make an epic - that doesn't mess around with the true story. I am truly saddened.

I watched the 1975 version with Richard Chamberlain as Edmund Dantes and Louis Jourdan as Prosecutor Villefort. In this 1961 version, Louis Jourdan portrays Edmund Dantes, and does a far superior job of it. The emotional highs and lows, the torment--in his voice and on his face--every ounce of Edmund's soul pours forth as never done by any other actor I have seen in this role. Yes, it is a French film, spoken in French, but even if you do not know much (or any) French, that is no barrier. The actors are so brilliant at imparting the emotions and actions, that the plot is evident. (I happen to know some French, so that helps when watching Mr. Jourdan's French films.) This is, in my opinion, the perfect film version of this Dumas novel.

The first film of this story, that I came to know, was the 1975 version with Richard Chamberlain as ruthless avenger and I must say, this older film (1961) with Louis Jourdan as Edmond cannot compare with it.Sure, the filmmakers made all efforts, if you look at the settings, equipment and clothes. But to my taste the film lacks suspense. The story unfolds nice and neat but without any climax. All dramatic moments are predictable. Also in contrast to the 1975 TV version here the music is no more than pleasant background noise without any dramatic effect.The scene with the Abbe Faria in the dungeon is but a small intermezzo - nothing shows the development from the naive, unsophisticated Edmond into the clever coldblooded count of Monte Christo by learning from the Abbe. Even this version is much longer than the 1975 film, it has less story in it. Here the count is still too much Edmond, showing more feeling as would fit for an avenger. Like an ordinary man, he rummages in the treasure, whereas Richard Chamberlain keeps this short and considers the treasure just a tool for his revenge.The 1961 count of Monte Christo is still in love with Mercedes and tries to get her back and she also yearns for him. Maybe so much romance was wanted by the 1960s audience. So the ending - even similar with the 1975 version is not really credible here. Whereas in the latter it fits with the depicted characters, here it only seems to be a tribute to the original book. Considering the story unfolding in this older film, a happy-end would be the logical consequence.Richard Chamberlain, on the other hand, is exclusively a count with barely any rest of Edmond left in him, whereas Louis Jourdan is as the count still too much Edmond and no sinister look can hide that. Jourdan is a brilliant actor and makes the best of it, however, he cannot save the film. It should be noted, that this very Louis Jourdan plays the State Attorney Villefort in the 1975 version - and plays it wonderful.