Good story, Not enough for a whole film

From my favorite movies..

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

I was posed for an enjoyable experience given the talents of Gerard Depardieu but was disappointed. The period costuming is good, the horses and carriages good, the acting is acceptable but given the talents of the assembled cast not the best effort from any. As far as accuracy is concerned those who think this version is true to Dumas have never seen the book. The screenplay is full of inventions, omissions and short cuts and except for the basic framework a rather drastic departure from the original story. It's a shame because the book is a great story and this film belongs with the genera of miniseries that take their cues from soap operas. I would not be able to recommend this film to anyone with a serious interest in the classics (film or literature).

There have been numerous attempts to bring Dumas classic novel of romance, betrayal and revenge to the screen. This big budgeted french TV Mini Series rises high hopes but fails miserably. The producers relied heavily on the stardom of their principal actor Gerard Depardieu (1900, Greencard) and on what they thought was a script, true to the book (that is to the second half of the novel only). Sadly, neither the casting nor the script works for the film. At first, Depardieu, who was a perfect choice for the highly entertaining "Cyrano de Bergerac" years before, is a complete miscast here. His impersonation of Edmond Dantes never comes to life, his overweight is showing to bad effect, especially in the brief Château d'If scenes and whenever Dantes/Depardieu, in the wake of his revenge plan, tries to slip into the role of a priest or an English Lord, the result is ridiculous. Even worse, instead of creating an adequate film adaption of Dumas novel, the scriptwriters either omitted the best parts of the book or they followed the weaker chapters of the tale too closely, simply transferring it's sometimes overhanging twists and plots to the screen. Within six and a half hours of film, there is no introduction to the fate of Edmond Dantes, we never see his enemies build up the conspiracy against him, nor do we get more than a glimpse of his suffering in Château d'If and of his ever growing hatred. It is all left to a few laughable short flashbacks and memorizing dialog! As a result there is no real character build-up and no such thing as drama and suspense to unfold. Besides all, the filmmakers clumsy attempts of staying close to Dumas are finally put to shambles, since they opted for a completely different ending. To be fair, there are some visual delights: the period costumes look beautiful (so does Ornella Muti as Mercedes), several locations and sets, like those depicting the quays of Marseille or the narrow alleys of Rome, are exquisite – as if a painting of Delacroix had come to life. But those moments don't compensate for an otherwise boring and dull movie. Hollywoods 1934 version, featuring Robert Donat or the 2002 version with James Claviezel went for a much looser adaption of Dumas but nonetheless they gave the audience all that is missing here: emotions, drama, action and a hero, we are worried about.

One could say I am an old coot, geezer, at the age of 71. This wonderful series, starring the great Gerard Depardieu, pulled me back to my childhood at about eight years old. The two librarians in my little home town in Louisiana always pushed me to read books that were at least two grades ahead. At the end of the school year we were given the usual Summer Reading List. Presenting mine to the local librarians, they suggested a novel by Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. I had never actually read a "novel" of that size. I was a bit over- come, but began to read this book right then and there, sitting in a bay window overlooking the little river that flowed past the library's huge windows. That experience changed my life from a casual reader to a dedicated and life-long lover of books. I learned that Dumas was French and had written many other books. I read them all that summer. Then on to Victor Hugo, Balzac, George Sand, and others, all recommended by those lovely ladies in the local library. I have seen almost every film adaptation of The Count, going back to the 1934 version with Robert Donat to the last one with Guy Pierce. THIS one, with Depardieu,is my favorite. Although many liberties are taken, as usual with movie producers and directors, it still is an exciting and involving tale. Dumas' story is so sturdy that any injury visited upon it would be only superficial. I found myself an eight year old all over again. Unlike some adaptations of Dumas' novels, this one had very little swash and even less buckle, being more character driven and fueled by last minute escapes and near fatal outcomes. The ending, as several other comments express, is a bit too up-beat, but so what? Life is full of wonderful and unexpected joys. Watching this made-for-television series was one of them. AND I found it on DVD so I can watch it over and over.

This miniseries rendering of pulp novelist Dumas' 18th century "The Count of Monte Cristo" runs about 6.6 hours in length, all of it subtitled for non-French speakers. That's a whole lot of reading. However, the length allows this version of the oft filmed story to bring the characters to life in truer fashion and with greater depth than the many abbreviated knock-offs. The result is an expansive, in-depth telling the young French sailor, Edmond Dantès, who is wrongfully imprisoned for 14 years, discovers a treasure which makes him filthy rich, then uses the wealth to sustain his own cunning schemes as he seeks vengeance under an assumed identity as The Count of Monte Cristo. This film offers a fine cast with Depardieu providing a commanding presence as the charismatic Count and no one does French period films better than the French. Deficits are small, easily overlooked non sequiturs such as having to swallow the robust form of Depardieu as a man who lived for years on the meager sustenance of the dungeons of D'If...etc. An excellent but long presentation which trades the usual swashbuckling and action of the more abbreviated knock-offs for a more faithful presentation of the sagacious Count who seeks to understand who he's become and reconcile that with the man who lusts for vengeance. (B+)