Who'd have thought university would be so time-consuming!
Who'd have thought university would be so time-consuming!
Member since:19.06.2005
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As many of you may have done, I watched this film on TV a few nights ago, since I have heard of the book but never read it, and I have recently watched and enjoyed Le Bossu (The Hunchback), so I'm into period French revenge swashbucklers at the moment. The first thing I have to say about this film is that if you watched the fourth series of 24, you will recognise the man who plays Villefort, and it will annoy you all the way through trying to work out where you've seen him. Well it did me. His name is James Frain, and he played Paul Reynes. So there you go.
Anyway, now onto the film. Directed by Kevin Reynolds, it is the latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, starring Jim Caviezel (Passion of the Christ) and Guy Pearce (Memento) in the two main roles.
The story is one of pure revenge. A sailor from Marseilles named Edmond Dantès is asked by Napoleon Bonaparte to deliver a letter, but before he can do this he is captured and arrested on charges of treason. It turns out his best friend, Mondego, has betrayed him, because he was jealous of Edmond's success. He is sent to the Chateau d'If, a brutal island prison surrounded by stormy
seas, where he spends 13 painful years. Inside, he meets a priest called Abbe Faria who teaches him to read, write, and swordfight, in return for helping him dig an escape tunnel. However, when Faria dies, he uses this as his chance of escape; hiding inside the body bag and getting thrown into the ocean. He finds his way onto an island and meets a group of smugglers, then goes off to discover a hoard of hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. On his return to Marseilles, he discovers that his fiancé Mercedes is now married to his enemy and they are living in Paris. So he goes off and tracks them down, and with his new-found wealth, he can finally get his vengeance on all those that betrayed him, under the pretence of the Count of Monte Cristo…
As I said, I do like this genre of film anyway, so I was always going to enjoy this. It has everything an adventure film should have: a gripping storyline, a dastardly villain (but not over the top), some great swashbuckling action, stunning locations and costumes, and even buried treasure. The acting from the two leads is fine, if not ground-breaking, with Guy Pearce being cast perfectly as the baddie due to his evil grin. There are also appearances from the late Richard Harris as Faria, and possibly someone off Taggart playing Napoleon Bonaparte; see if you recognise him! The woman who plays the love interest, Mercedes (I thought that name was funny), is good looking, and doesn't need to do much acting, apart from standing there looking pretty.
The story is fantastic as you'd expect from such a classic tale, and although I wouldn't really know because I haven't read it, I would imagine that this film does well to condense 900 pages into two hours. The action scenes are well choreographed, especially the final showdown in a corn field, which I only saw part of because the phone rang at that moment. They don't need any special effects or gore to make them exciting, just a bit of music and good old-fashioned swordplay. Come to think of it, the beatings Dantès suffers in the Chateau d'If, combined with the fact that somebody gets stabbed through the stomach with a sword, should surely mean this film is more than a PG. I wouldn't let a 5 year old watch it.
The script is average, with a few bad lines here and there, and possibly a couple of out of place phrases which they might not have said in whatever century this is set. There is also a decent but not amazing soundtrack to keep your interest and make the action scenes a little more exciting. I can't remember how any of it goes now, which kind of proves my point. I think that my favourite moment of the film is when the Count reveals himself to all his guests at his palace. Against a backdrop of fireworks and a beautiful chateau, he appears in a stunning blue hot air balloon, from which people drop down on ropes in the style of the BBC advert, and he walks out on a red carpet in a fabulously opulent costume, and looks over his guests and says "Greetings". It all looks amazing, and is such a huge contrast to the pre-prison Dantès that it's not surprising nobody recognises him.
Overall, I found this film a really entertaining night in, although after watching it I didn't feel an urge to go out and buy the DVD. I just don't think it's the sort of film you would want to see more than about two times. However, it's certainly well worth a watch if it comes on TV again, or if you can find it cheap somewhere.
Since watching this version, I have also watched the 6 hour long, French version from 1998 starring Gerard Depardieu, which was shown on TV at Christmas a few years ago. I was amazed at how little time is spent on Edmond's time in prison, and just how much scheming he does afterwards. There is so much missed out of the more recent version compared to this, that I was almost tempted to give it 3 stars rather than 4. Watch that version if you can find it, as it probably stays very close to the book, boasts fantastic performances from the whole cast, and is just so much better. ___________________________________________
The Count of Monte Cristo is available to buy online for £5.99 from www.sainsburys.co.uk. Like I said, I only watched it on TV, so I don't know about the extras.
Director: Kevin Reynolds Starring: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, James Frain, Dagmara Dominczyk, Albie Woodington Running time: 131 mins Classification: PG
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Retelling a story that has made it onto the silver screen more than most, this latest ... more
adaptation ofThe Count of Monte Cristomakes yet another swashbuckling attempt to win over a new generation of cinema goers. A dashing James Caviezel takes the role of...
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Jim Caviezel (Pay it Forward, Thin Red Line) and Guy Pearce (Momento, The Time Machine), ... more
two of the hottest young actors today, give sizzling performances alongside Richard Harris (Harry Potter) in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - Dashing young sailor Edmon...
Retelling a story that has made it onto the silver screen more than most, this latest ... more
adaptation ofThe Count of Monte Cristomakes yet another swashbuckling attempt to win over a new generation of cinema goers. A dashing James Caviezel takes the role of...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The Count of Monte Cristo is Alexandre Dumas' classic story of an innocent man wrongly but ... more
deliberately imprisoned and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him. Dashing young sailor Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) is a guileless a...
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Advantages: The advantages to buying The Count Of Monte Cristo would be enjoying an amazing movie. Disadvantages: The disadvantages would be a decrease of some pounds or dollars in your wallet.
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