Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3135 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-02-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Retelling a story that has made it onto the silver screen more than most, this latest adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo makes yet another swashbuckling attempt to win over a new generation of cinema goers. A dashing James Caviezel takes the role of the Count, who is driven by a desire for revenge after being betrayed by his best friend Fernand (played by a dishevelled Guy Pearce) and landed with 16 years of solitary confinement in Chateau D'If, a damp cavernous prison. Thus the scene is set for a good old-fashioned romp.

The trouble with this "re-imagining" (to borrow a phrase from Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes) is that it's never quite sure whether to take itself seriously or not. Alexandre Dumas's original story is a traditionally melodramatic tale of deceit and double-crossing, with clear-cut bad guys and a moral lesson to be learned at the end. Here, director Kevin Reynolds appears unsure about whether to stick with tradition or bring the story up to date and turn it into a post-modern play on the old Victorian values and style. When the Count and his heavy-breathing loved one are reunited, their kiss is actually framed as a cameo. Both lead actors are also prone to heavy bouts of overacting, garnishing their performances with exaggerated baroque gestures.

Clearly this is a film in which the actors could over-indulge themselves and (almost) get away with it, were it not for the fact that--bar Richard Harris as the "Priest"--none of them seem to have the faintest idea about how to conduct themselves in a period drama. This Count of Monte Cristo will leave the audience a little confused as to whether they should cry along with the story or laugh along with the actors. --Nikki Disney

On the DVD: The Count of Monte Cristo on disc offers no escape from the dry drawl of director Kevin Reynolds, who features in almost every element of the extensive extras package. With a shy studio disclaimer before his commentary, he's got a refreshingly frank attitude to explaining a movie's making. Also included are details of the ambitious swordfight choreography, the origins and adaptation of Dumas's classic book and how the sound was developed as well as a behind-the-scenes feature on location. Quite often the footage feels like a tourism promo for Malta. The 5.1 sound mix is superbly utilised (when Reynolds isn't talking) and the transfer (1.85:1) is as pristine as you'd hope and expect. --Paul Tonks

From the studio
• Deleted Scenes

• Sword Choreography

• Multi-angle Featurette

• Sound Design Featurette

• Audio Commentary

Synopsis
In this highly entertaining, beautifully photographed rekindling of the classic French novel by Alexandre Dumas, director Kevin Reynolds choreographs a fantastic adventure replete with breathtaking scenery, fiery swashbuckling battles, lavish costumes, and, above all else, sweet revenge. In 19th-century Marseille, Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) is the optimistic but uneducated son of a sea captain. He cherishes his friendship with the son of a count, Mondego (Guy Pearce), and is deeply in love with his fiancee, Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk). Young Dantes is so innocent and naive that it is positively shocking when Mondego turns on him, accusing him of treason, and having him sentenced to life in the dreary dungeon of Chateau D'If. Years of isolation and torture nearly defeat the revenge-thirsty Dantes, but with the help of invaluable lessons from the Abbe Faria (Richard Harris), his luck slowly changes. An incredible prison break starts Dantes on his way to a new life, and from there Reynolds' COUNT truly takes off. Battles with pirates lead to hunts for sunken ocean treasure, and soon Dantes is living in Marseille as the transformed, newly rich, self-proclaimed Count of Monte Cristo. Installed in a ritzy chateau, he slowly unfurls his excrutiatingly careful plans to exact his revenge on Mondego and all those who ever wronged him.

Customer Reviews

Good fun, but a bit simplistic
I've recently started learning to fence. Why? Because I have a great love for films such as this, sword fights are amazing when done well, and the climatic duel here is no exception. If you've seen the trailer you'll have seen a clip or two of it, and it is exciting and well choreographed, lots of flashing blades, and a couple of cutting quips thrown in for good measure.

Of the direction, after a few (well deserved, have you seen Waterworld?) years in the wilderness, Kevin Reynolds has made a decent movie again, and thankfully Kevin Costner's nowhere in sight. It looks great, the underworld rescue of Fernand's son by Dantes is really well done, shadows everywhere, and Monte Cristo's first appearance (by balloon) is also great to watch, slow, majestic, with a sea of awed French aristocrats staring up at this flying man.

Jim Caveziel is fantastic as the brooding, obssessed Edmond Dantes, although the script lets him down, which is where my main complaint come in: we are left without the deep insight into the mind of a man so whole heartedly bent on revenge that a longer, less Hollywood film might have given us, and that the tv version, with Depardieu, certainly did. It is too simplistic, Caveziel does his best, which is certainly good enough, but more care and attention to detail if you please. Oh, and while we're on the subject of complaints, I wanted more sword fights! A childish request I know, but like I said, I like seeing a good sword fight on screen.

As far as the rest of the cast goes, Guy Pearce seems determined to rank alongside Alan Rickman as a movie villain, and hams it up very entertainingly, with an amazing bouffant hairdo, achieved through 18th century hairdryers, i have no doubt. Richard Harris does yet another old, weary father figure, Luis Guzman mugs along as Dantes smuggler sidekick (but he does this sort of thing better than most) but the supporting player that stands out has to be Michael Wincott as the sadistic warden of the Chateau D'If. Obviously having great fun with the role, Wincott is a joy to watch (as much as watching a brutal, yet cultured prison warden can be fun to watch I suppose). Typecast he may be, but he's damn good at what he does.

Overall, this is high class swashbuckling entertainment, and Reynolds can now be (pretty much) forgiven for giving far too much screen time to Costner's ego in the early nineties. A more detailed script would probably have killed it at the box office, but would have improved the film greatly rather than just making it a superior Saturday night at the movies. Oh, and again: can I see more sword fighting please?

Some interesting twists on the Alexander Dumas classic
The tendency is to see this 2002 version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" as redemption for director Kevin Reynolds after the fiasco of "Waterworld," but this particular retelling of the classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas père is mainly the creation of screenwriter Jay Wolpert. I read the novel--the unabridged version--in the sixth grade despite the insistence of my teacher that I could not possibly do so. Consequently, "The Count of Monte Cristo" holds a special place in my mind. Wolpert's adaptation provides several new twists on the classic tale, but these are not gratuitous liberties. The idea that Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) and Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce) are now best friends, the creation of the sadistic Armand Dorleac, d'If Warden (Michael Wincott), and the new rationale for the marriage of Mercedès Iguanada (Dagmara Domincyzk), all work within the framework of the story. They are not additions as much as much as ways of enhancing the tragedy. The animosity between Edmond and Fernand is now that of a man betrayed by his jealous "brother." Edmond's imprisonment at Chateau d'If takes on added horror as the warden willingly admits it is a place to which only the innocent are sent. The secret Mercedès reveals at the end allows the final battle between Edmond and Fernand to be played out against a new dynamic of suddenly revealed relationships.

This is Wolpert's first movie screenplay. Previously he worked as a writer on the television series "The Lot," having mostly been a producer of television games shows such as "The Price is Right" and "Match Game." So it is rather surprising that his adaptation is so strong. I would not have minded if the film had more of an epic heft to it, but I do understand the Hollywood mentality that depends such films come in under two hours. Wolpert's dialogue also has some wonderful moments, such as when Dorleac strings up his new prisoner, Edmond, and says: "Now you're thinking, just now 'Why me, O God?' The answer is, God has nothing to do with it. In fact, God is never in France this time of year." Later on Jacopo (Luis Guzmán), the smuggler turned valet who serves the Count, tells his master "God sees you out of the corner of his eye." There are several gems like this throughout the film, which balance the more pedestrian lines and the several anachronistic examples of street talk that intrude on the tale. This version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is not a great film but it is a very good adventure story, whether you know the original tale or not (unabridged or not).

The Count Of Monte Cristo
Having read many other reviews of this film, it would seem that the general consensus is that the film has managed to capture the Saturday matinee feeling of the great epic adventure films of yesteryear almost perfectly. I'm more than happy to echo this sentiment and say this was one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a while.

Based on the classic Alexandre Dumas book of the same name, it is the story of lowly born Edmond Dantes who, whilst diligently working his way up the social ladder by hard work and honesty is betrayed by his so-called fiend, the Count of Morcerf Fernand Mondego. Mondego is green with envy and more than a little enraptured by Dantes's fiancée, the stunning Mercedes Iguanada and once Dantes is out of the way he wastes no time in moving in on the now available Mercedes.

Poor old Edmond is not only out of the way, he is sent to the infamous prison castle of Chateau D'If where the prisoners are beaten every year on their anniversary of incarceration to remind them of the time they have been behind bars. Fortunately for Edmond he receives a "visit" by fellow prisoner Abbe Faria, an ex-soldier and priest, who not only is digging a tunnel out of the prison but also undertakes to teach the naïve Edmond lessons in subjects as diverse as sword fighting, economics, unarmed combat and reading and writing.

To tell any more of the plot would ruin the film, but suffice to say that what follows in a entertaining roller coaster ride of fun and adventure as Edmond, recreated as the Count of Monte Cristo, plans to extract his revenge on those who have betrayed him.

One of the best things about the film is that the cast, whilst being fairly familiar to cinema fans, are not big major stars. There's no grabbing of the limelight here by some big name about whom the screenplay has been designed. James Caviezel is great as the misfortunate Edmond with a real wide-eyed innocence about his performance. Likewise Dantes's nemesis Fernand Mondego is superbly sneering played by Guy Pearce. There also some great support from Luis Guzman as the Count's hilarious and entertaining sidekick Jacopo the Maggot, JB Blanc as the smuggler boss and the gorgeous Dagmara Dominczyk as Mercedes. Possibly stealing the show is the much-missed Richard Harris as Edmond's prison friend Abbe Faria.

Another great plus point of the film is that it combines the elements of action, romance, sentiment, intrigue and storyline in exactly the right amounts, so it doesn't become a sloppy piece of period romance nor a unfathomable mess of plot and counter-plot. Great viewing for the family and thoroughly entertaining.