| | |  | FRANCE | Home » » The Count of Monte Cristo | | | | | | | Description: | | Acclaimed actor Gérard Depardieu stars in the adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of love, intrigue and revenge. The Count of Monte Cristo tells the dramatic story of Edmond Dantès, a young French sailor who is falsely denounced as a traitor and unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years without a trial. After a daring escape, Dantès secures a treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo bequeathed to him by a dying inmate. Using these riches, he assumes a new identity and devises a plan to seek vengeance against all those who betrayed him. | | | Features: | |
• Alexandre Dumas' THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO follows the adventures of Edmond Dant s (G rard Depardieu), a 19th-century French version of James Bond or Batman, a rich, ruthless, and suave purveyor of homemade justice. This French production goes all out, having the destinction of being the first filmed version of the newly restored unabridged version of Dumas'ic, which runs about 800 pages.
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Gérard Depardieu, Ornella Muti, Jean Rochefort, Pierre Arditi, Sergio Rubini | | Director:
| Josée Dayan | | Format:
| Color, Content/Copy-Protected CD, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC | | Language:
| French | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 2 | | Studio:
| Koch Lorber Films | | Run Time:
| 400 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| December 06, 2005 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 48 reviews |
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| $14.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.30+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.31+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.32+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $14.40+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.87+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.88+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $16.56+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $17.95+ $4.19 *Shipping | New | | | $17.98+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $18.56+ $3.99 *Shipping | New | | | $19.17+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $19.36+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $19.40+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $19.43+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $19.95+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $20.50+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $20.78+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $21.03+ $8.20 *Shipping | New | | | $21.40+ $2.93 *Shipping | New | | | $21.59+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $21.90+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $21.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $22.03+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $22.49+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $24.11+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $24.83+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $28.41+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $28.71+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $43.15+ $4.69 *Shipping | New | | | $119.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 48 customer reviews )
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58 of 59 found the following review helpful:
 "I'm Number 34 ~ When Vengence is Allied With Justice"Jun 01, 2007
By Brian E. Erland
"Rainbow Sphinx"
Note: French with English subtitles.
The French adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel 'The Count of Monte Cristo' released in '99 as a television mini-series is a daunting 6 six hour and 54 minute production that is at times a little challenging to stay with, but overall will prove to be a satisfying and enjoyable watch. Gerard Depardieu is superb as the brooding and calculating Edmund Dantes proving once and for all that he is truly one of the best actors in the world today. The locations and sets are magnificent, the acting excellent and the women beautiful (Julie Depardieu as Valentine, Florence Darel as Camille, Ines Sastre as Princess Haydee and Ornella Muti as the beloved Mercedes).
Word of advice, take your time to watch this feature over a period of several sittings. If you tire at any given point turn it off and come back again later, you'll enjoy the subtle nuances that permeate this extaordinary film much more if you're rested and focused.
My rating: 4 1/2 Stars.
53 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 An Amamzing ProductionFeb 27, 2006
By Yogi-D
This is a superb translation of the Dantes classic, quite possibly the best one to date. Gerarde Depardieu delivers a deep and moving performance as the count, and the star laden international cast does not disappoint either. I must admit it is difficult to perceive the 200+ pound Depardieu as a starving prisoner in the Chateau-Dif, but this is part of where a viewer must suspend belief and let the story be told, and it does this in such a wonderful manner. This is the first version of the story I have ever seen that does not try to abbreviate the tale, or make characters into composites of people from the book in an effort to save time. Albeit there are always some changes in a screen-play from a book, but this so far is the truest adaptation of Dantes work. For those who are learning French, or already know it and want to keep your language skills sharp what better way then to do it while watching a movie you will definitely enjoy. For those intimidated by subtitles, don't be with this film. The story is so easy to follow you could turn them off and still understand what is going on. You can't go wrong with this movie it's a sure winner for any fan of classic stories.
46 of 49 found the following review helpful:
Very enjoyableJan 03, 2006
By Beatrix Potter
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time so I was hesitant to see it translated on film. I purchased this version as opposed to the newer/American one, because I thought a French production would lend a certain authenticity to it. Not surprisingly, the dvd leaves parts of the story out; that's the harsh reality of translating a book into film. There were a few cheesy images--like a small boat surrounded by whipping waves but the boat didn't really move. Oh well. It's not perfect. But it is VERY good. I would rather rationalize a large Gerard Depardieu as a starved prisoner than watch a version that purports to condense a fabulous story like this one into a two hour movie. Very well acted and I highly recommend.
25 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 Missing a star or twoOct 06, 2008
By J. MOLDOVAN
Almost everything that needs to be said about this version has already been said by other reviewers. I will only add three things which may explain my painful three stars instead of the five I would desperately like to give.
Firstly, as already mentioned, but needing emphasis in a big way - the physical quality of the two disks I got were atrocious. I had to rip and re-burn them to enable me to watch the whole series without interruption, and even then I had a hard error which I could not recover. Come on!!! This isn't the 1930's and we aren't talking about 45rpm scratchies. Not good enough!
Secondly, as a keen intermediate level student of French, I looked forward to being able to pick up a few gems while enjoying this magnificent story presented by a superb cast. It would have helped if the idiots who created the subtitles actually translated what was being said instead of just making some of it up themselves. (Example: "Donc, tu est sûr de ne pas pouvoir aimer une autre femme que Valentine de Villefort?" translated to "You're sure that Valentine is the one?".) I know, I know. Subtitles are always a problem, but gee, give us a break.
The final problem is the ending. It's ridiculous and has nothing to do with the original story. The ending for Monte Cristo was not some idyllic return to the past with his long lost love, who incidentally also betrayed him, but an attempt by an emotionally and physically exhausted man to find some happiness with a woman, the princess Haydée, who was also betrayed and who also suffered terribly as a result. The faux ending must have been created as a feel-good finale with an eye to the American market or something like that. It does leave a bad taste in the mouth though.
With all this in mind, you should still buy this version. It has lots and lots to offer and you will, as I have, enjoy hours of splendid viewing.
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
Best film adaptation yet, but still not perfectFeb 19, 2007
By Adam
I'm a big fan of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, and read an unabridged version (the penguin classics edition) about 2 years ago. As you can imagine, faithfully converting a 1200+ page novel to film, even a 6 1/2+ hour film, is extremely difficult.
Judging the film on its own merits, it probably would have earned 5 stars. Despite it's length, it really doesn't have very many "slow" parts and I enjoyed it quite a bit, watching it over a period of two evenings. There are a few cheesy parts (it seems somewhat low budget and/or cheesy at times compared to the hollywood films we're used to), but the overall piece is excellent. The acting was good and the subtitles didn't bother me a bit, although I've never been bothered by subtitles.
I am a little bit surprised, however, at some of the reviews stating how true this film is to the novel - there really are a number of completely unneccessary differences versus the novel.
For example, it completely glosses over the entire first 1/4 or so of the book, without developing the relationship between Dantes and his accusors, and between Dantes and Faria. They also unneccessarily changed the dialogue of several key scenes, such as with Dantes' controntation with Morcerf, which detracted somewhat from the story if only for those of us who have read the book (come on though, how could the director think he knows better than Dumas?). The worst offense, however, was the ending - they completely changed it! Now, I understand some of the differences versus the novel were necessary given the task of converting 1200+ pages to 6.5 hours, but many of the differences were quite simply unnecessary and detracted from the story - hence the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.
On the plus side, I think Depardieu's interpretation of Monte Cristo was quite good, if a little unbelievable (come on, in order to pull off masquerading as 3-4 different characters without anyone catching on would require somewhat nondescript features, i.e. near average height and build ... Depardieu sticks out like a sore thumb regardless of which disguise he's wearing). But his Monte Cristo isn't the all-knowing, invincible Monte Cristo from the novel, and I think that does make the viewer better able to relate to the character.
Overall - a good interpretation of a great story. It's not perfect, but it's probably the best film adaptation out there.
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