The Count of Monte Cristo - Book vs. Movie

[@menchacism5327]

Monte Cristo would be way better as a series than a movie

[@benbrookes44]

Gankutsuou has entered the chat

[@menchacism5327]

@@benbrookes44 ok but that makes like a million changes to the source material

[@Biczeschlappe]

The Richard Chamberlain miniseries from 1975 is a classic.

[@Musiclover-rt1ej]

@@menchacism5327 In the book was Edmond Dantes illiterate, Because in the movie he can't read or write? He gets taught how to read and write by the priest, Is this the same in the book?

[@menchacism5327]

@@Musiclover-rt1ej i believe so

[@girishthegreat]

The thing I loved about this book was the background details of side characters. Those details explain their nature and behavior.

[@Historyprepares]

Agreed, it ties everything together.

[@miguelbrooks5462]

People look before answer Edmond had the same problem

[@evans1368]

I'm two years late but the backstory of Vampa, which Adam implies was unnecessary in the book, was some of the most engaged I remember being during my read. I love how much Dumas fleshed out him and other "minor" characters. Notably young Morrel and Valentine, both of whom where left out of the film.

[@NetanelWorthy]

Jay Wolpert, the screenwriter of the film, summed it up perfectly: “What would you say to those who said you weren’t true to the book? I would say, thank you. My job wasn’t to write a book. My job was to write a movie. If you want a dead-on version of the book, read the book. It’s a good book. It’s just not a movie.”

[@DarkCyberElf]

@David Sadly he (Jay Wolpert) cannot "learn how to write...." anything because he passed away in January of this year. Maybe you should learn to appreciate the difference between screenwriting for cinema, and writing literature. Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings is also not without its own "flawed script" as compared with Tolkien's books, but it remains an undisputed cinematic masterpiece of a film trilogy. Absolute book accuracy when adaptations are made is not the necessary ingredient that source-material sticklers think it is.

[@Nick64266]

I love this comment! Yeah if you don’t like the movie for not bring faithful to the book then just read the book! The movie is never gonna be faithful. That’s its job to be shorter and cut out stuff that might be interesting but will make it too long.

[@odysseus3285]

We already had the French adaptation of the three musketeers with Eva Green and Vincent Cassle, which has a much better script than the 1993 and 2011 adaptations. Filming has begun on the 2024 French adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo with Pierre Niney as Edmond Dantes and Anamaria Vartolomei as Haydee. The film is not only mediocre compared to the book, but on its own. All plots in the film were used with immense superiority by Homer in the Odyssey. Like the portagonist's reunion with his son and the protagonist reuniting with his old love.

[@odysseus3285]

Alexandre Dumas read Homer (Dumas A., Mes Mémoires, Paris, Bouquins, 2003, p. 590.) and the odyssey influenced the history of the book. But Alexandre Dumas chose not to make Albert a new Telemachus, he would be the son of Edmond and Mercedes because both were not married and virginity was important and he also did not make Edmond return to Mercedes like Ulysses returned to Penelope, because Penelope did not marry the compilers who coveted the kingdom of Ulysses (Ithaca) But Alexandre Dumas took advantage of the Faecians' hospitality and transferred them to smugglers, Edmond uses Albert to enter French high society just as Ulysses uses Telemachus to enter the palace, Mercedes recognizes Edmond as Euryclea does with Ulysses, Edmond returns to prison and finds the Abbot's writings that solve his doubts, Ulysses goes to the world of the dead to consult Thyreseas and hears advice from acquaintances who were there. Just as Edmund punishes those who conspired to usurp everything from him as Ulysses did Penelope's suitors. Ulysses's home was Ithaca and for the earl it became the east. He felt that he no longer had any connection with France after the betrayal he suffered. Haydee would be a synthesis of Penelope with Nausicaa.

[@AndrewIGoode]

I remember as a kid this being my favorite movie and reading the book and feeling like the book was more things, but they weren't as interesting or satisfying as the film. I haven't read it in years so maybe a reread will change my mind because I still love the movie

[@AdamWrightReviews]

I loved this movie when it came out in 2002 (I was 13 at the time). Unfortunately it didn’t age *quite* as well as I had hoped. Still a good movie though.

[@LeSurrealDream]

This is one of my favourite movies. I watch it again and again and always enjoy it.

[@johnkiunke4508]

(spoiler alert) A big difference between the movie and book seems to be that in the book there is pretty much never an instant where the count's enemies aren't vastly outmatched. He is always many steps ahead and on top of that is physically stronger and far more skilled at just about everything. His only real challenge is grappling with the morality of his actions.

[@AdamWrightReviews]

Great point!

[@RR-fg2rl]

These books war and peace, les miserable, Moby dick, a lot of Charles Dickens novels went on tangents because they wrote for magazines to make money and dragged stories out.

[@flyingturret208thecannon5]

I found that Bertuccio’s story was very intriguing, and loved how it delved into the characters of the world.

[@Biczeschlappe]

I personally loved all the weird digressions and tangents in the book. Probably my favorite was the massive bandit turducken that was Luigi Vampa's backstory. "Here's the entire backstory of this minor character, Luigi Vampa, who is basically only incidentally related to the main plot, and in the backstory of this semi-relevant bandit character is the backstory of a completely irrelevant bandit character called Cucumetto who Luigi Vampa killed for character development, and in THAT backstory is a whole self-contained little melodrama about another completely irrelevant bandit called Carlini who Cucumetto killed for character development.

[@huberthepner3754]

All "not important parts" were indeed imporatant. Because this book is more about relations between people, than about revenge of Edmund, and by creating so many characters with their own agendas constantly crossing Dumas made really a great work of art

[@AdamWrightReviews]

I understand what you’re saying, but was it really “important” to spend so much time giving Luigi Vampa’s backstory? I don’t remember how many pages were dedicated to it but it was an unnecessary amount in my opinion. And Vampa is arguably the most insignificant of all the minor characters. He’s used as a MacGuffin to put Albert in the Count’s debt and only appears again at the very end so Danglars can be put in a cell.

[@huberthepner3754]

But he his backtory had at least small importance. Without it reader woudn't know in how grave situation Albert got. Also from "inside the story" point of view, they didn't know Vampa before, and without his introduction by the hotelier, they woudn't know that Albert has a big problem

[@AdamWrightReviews]

@@huberthepner3754 I think Dumas could have conveyed Vampa’s reputation to the reader more succinctly.

[@mnindif]

@@AdamWrightReviews yeah Dumas definitely didn't need to go into such detail with Vampa in my opinion but I feel that the detail they went into Bertuccio is more justified considering it ties in well with his pupose being with the Count and also the eventual revenge on Villefort.

[@jamesa7506]

I agree with you about the importance of the "not important parts" . There's a reason why this book is considered a classic just as Le Miserables, both long,and complicated at times and filled with "not important parts", but undeniably a true representation of each author's ability to invoke thought ,self reflection and consciousness of the world we live in. Hence, the title classic. Movies and abridged versions of books are reflective of the spectator's need or desire for superficial intellect of the given subject. "Nobody cares about or notices the rose bush till it blooms or pricks your skin with its thorns." Take the time to edify yourself ,you'll appreciate it and enlighten your surroundings. Books are always better than their movie counterparts.

[@williamprescott6432]

Even though I thought the movie was an absolutely phenomenal performance by Jim caviezel, reading the book as a teenager provoked the richest imagery in my mind that I’ve ever experienced in another book. I felt that prison cell. The movie just can’t capture what the reader can feel

[@bennieviljoen291]

In my opinion, the book is not meant to be read once. I agree that during the first time reading it you regularly ask yourself what the hell is going on; reading it the second time with the knowledge of how everything fits together, you pick up on even more of the subtle connections and references and how well thought out the plan was (and the story, of course). The one thing I love most about the book, is the way that it is a representation of real life (although perhaps slightly exaggerated) where so many different lives are connected, affected, influenced by and/or contribute towards each event happening; enforcing the concept that it reality, nothing that happens is completely isolated to those directly involved in the main story/event. Another thing I usually point out to those who watched the movie and want to read the book is to regard it as two completely different stories not connected at all; the book is the original story, the film basically used a handful of the characters and built a story around a 30 second summary of the book by someone that read it a while ago.

[@AdamWrightReviews]

Totally respect this, and pretty much agree. Thanks for commenting!

[@ebenezer4107]

The Count of Monte Cristo is an upcoming English-language television television miniseries directed by Bille August and starring Sam Claflin. It is an adaptation of the Alexander Dumas novel of the same name. Carlo Degli Esposti had been working on the series for half a decade. It is produced by Mediawan with Palomar in Italy and DEMD Productions in France, and in association with Entourage Ventures. Its commissioning broadcasters are RAI and France Televisions. In 2023, filming took place at the Palais-Royal in Paris. Other filming locations include Turin, Milan, and Malta. While faithful to the literary classic, “The Count of Monte Cristo” will place a larger emphasis on the characters’ psychological depths, emotions and motivations. It will also boast stronger female characters, including the young Haydée, who isn’t a frightened slave as in the book but rather a brave and empowered woman. August says he was lured by the project because it’s “all about relationships, the complexities of human beings and in that sense it’s very modern and timeless.” “I love ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ is a great story about the human being and about person who is so obsessed by revenge that it eats him up from the inside and he is not able to love anymore. That’s an important message,” says August, adding that the series also tells a “beautiful love story” nevertheless. August says the series stayed true to the protagonists of the novel and “spent almost half a year just to cast (the show) to try to find the best actors for each role.”

[@YayWalterSullivan]

If you can stomach it, there’s a pretty good anime adaptation called Gankutsuou. It has a radically different setting and a few anime trope embellishments, but retains a lot more of the book’s plot than the 2002 film.

[@sevasentinel4146]

One of my favorites; the art style is probably the most beautiful of any anime I've seen. Also, watching the anime is how I learned that the movie made changes to the original story.

[@docworking]

Loved the Audible unabridged version. Fabulous reading performance!

[@TedPatrickBaird]

Dumas never met a paragraph he didn't love. Excellent analysis. I personally enjoyed the film (albeit very idealistic in many ways) more than the book. I listened to the audio book and I had to double check I was still listening to the Count of Monte Cristo after page 300 or so because after his escape I had no idea what was going on.

[@fernand3932]

It is not simple love and selflessness that would make Edmond the relationship between Edmond and Mercedes work. Edmond is a bitter and frustrated man, he lost his innocence, he developed another worldview. As much as Mercedes loves Edmond, this is not enough for her to develop a strong emotional bond with Edmond. So many traumatic experiences prevent him from achieving a consistent relationship with her. haydee for being the same as Cpunt, she understands him better, she manages to develop an affectionate relationship, Albert is Edmond's son, but he didn't raise him, hardly only the biological kinship would allow them to have a father-son relationship. fernand raised Albert and Albert's chances of loving his foster father. He never got along with him. I love the movie The Prisoner of Château d'If (Узник замка Иф) directed by Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich for keeping Edmond cooler and more distant from Mercedes. she's like before. He cares about her, but he's changed, he feels closer to haydee who has suffered like him. This is what happened to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his two wives. Haydee is a purer girl as in romanticism. The relationship between her and edmond happens in the end as a symbol of a new beginning, when the count abandons its revenge. In the movie The Prisoner of Château d'If, Edmond realizes how inputil his revenge is and starts a new life with haydee . . Could Edmond have started a relationship with Haydee sooner? Yes. The director of The Prisoner of Château d'If, Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich, during filming, he initiated an affair with Nadira Mirzaeva who played haydee, despite being married and divorced his wife to marry her, Could haydee have even more initiative with him like Anna tamaryova with Admiral Alexander Kolchak (he was 20 years older when anna tamaryova confessed to him). Dumas wanted to say that hatred blinded Edmond to Haydee's love, how he wasted his life in revenge instead of being happy, but mostly how his forgiveness gave him the right to a second chance. I think Edmond changed his worldview from jena Jacques ERosseau to Thomas Hobbes.haydee and max are one of the few people he trusts. In The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002), edmond acts like an avenging angel who comes to do justice. The Prisoner of Château d'If, the count seems like a man who loses his confidence in institutions, thinks he is above the law to do justice, but wants to delight in their support. even if he hurts his enemies. Eke is not just a rebel who no longer believes in institutions, but a sadist raised by suffering. If Jim Cavizell trusts God's judgment in duels, Viktor Avilov thinks it's right to apply as he does, as well as understand the Old Testament.

[@ORKEN6]

I want to say that the book is better than the movie in all ways. I really want to! *** Minor Spoilers Warning! *** I had no problem with the book going into great details about the lives and motivations of main characters. For proper, tailor made revenge, you need to understand what they value and love so you can understand what will truly hurt them. The details on secondary or tertiary characters were probably unnecessary and could have been cut without much loss to the story, but they were well written, in general. I'd say the first half of the book was good. Maybe the first 35% to 40%. I love how the book showed the evolution of Edmond Dantès from his descent into darkness and his recovery. That he was paying ALL debts, good and (eventually) bad, but he had no faith or belief in goodness in humanity, until seeing the genuine gratitude of the Morrel family after he saves them. Their love and appreciation to their unknown benefactor showed Edmond that there are good people and he should not have only darkness and "debts" in his heart. No movie ever shows that aspect of Edmond Dantès and it deserves to be shown. However, I swear, I hope there is a special layer of Hell for Maximilian and Valentine, for how painfully boring their story was. It was torture to get through that. By the time their story became relevant in the main story, I was rooting for Madame de Villefort to successfully poison Valentine! The final 25% of the book is magnificent and no movie ever comes close to the book because the details are what make the successful completion of revenge so satisfying. This alone is enough to make the book better than the movie. However the movie is fun and exciting and moves at a good pace always. There are no places that drag on and on. I do enjoy the movie and watch it periodically, because it is fun from start to finish. I cannot say that about the book. I will never reread the book in its entirety again. I will read parts of it, but there are hundreds of pages I will gladly avoid. My final word is the book is better than the movie, but both are worth your time to experience.

[@Nemo-j6z]

The trailer for the new film The Count of Monte Cristo with Pierre Niney has already been released in French cinemas. Someone filmed and uploaded the trailer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2awgY2Mq6ubiqc Producer Dimitri Rassam, director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre said in tweets that they wanted to maintain the drama of the story and therefore that there would be no happy ending ending... and that The Count of Monte Cristo was their favorite book and that therefore That's why they wanted to make this film even more than The Three Musketeers. The father of director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre, de la Pattelierre was the director of the 1979 miniseries that is the most faithful adaptation of the book. The son will follow his father's path. The Count goes to the Orient with Haydee who is played by Anamaria Vartolomei. The French themselves stated that they do not want the film to have the ending of the 1998 and 2002 versions, which are highly criticized.

[@ZeroTwo-is3bf]

The scene that villefort confesses in the 2002 film was very poorly written. An experienced man like him would never confess. The scene was bizarre.

[@Biczeschlappe]

Seriously, the dude is the most senior attorney in France. Besides him never confessing like that, a confession of that kind would never stick against someone like him in a court of law.

[@Ivy94F]

I figure they had to find a way to speed up villefort’s downfall, because in the books it takes so much time for his plan to come to fruition.

[@ultimatelv27]

they had to wrap it and put a bow on top for the movie

[@kriitikko]

The book has been adapted to mini-series several times. The two stand outs for me are the 1964 BBC series, which does a really good job of adapting majority of the story while also condensing it to about 6 hours, and Japanese retelling of the story from few years back which set the story in modernday Japan, and obviously changed all the names, but kept so much of the plot the same that it was easy to follow and tell who is who of the characters. The 2002 movie is fun but I really didn't like the Albert plot twist. Also making Fernand the one who knows Dantes has the letter from Elba takes away any reason to have Danglars in the movie so why was he even there?

[@rebecca7861]

The 1964 version is excellent, I also love the French version of 1979 and the Soviet version of 1988. Allan badel is excellent like Edmond. I see that the problem with the 2002 film is not to portray the bitterness resentment that the protagonist would experience after years of suffering. Cinema romanticized everything as the Sissi film with Romy Schneider. The film romanticized and simplified the complex reality.

[@IsraelNowIsraelForever]

Sadly, the 1964 version is not available on home video in the United States or on KZbin.

[@paintedjaguar]

@@IsraelNowIsraelForever At the time of this comment, the 12-episode 1964 Alan Badel version CAN be found on KZbin. With the limitations of a 60s BBC production, I'm not sure it's the most entertaining but it is the most faithful of the four or five filmed versions I've seen. Recommended.

[@IsraelNowIsraelForever]

@@paintedjaguar thank you.

[@paintedjaguar]

@@IsraelNowIsraelForever Have fun.

[@yasminni485]

This is my favourite book of all time. I feel that even though there was a lot of history of side characters, it got you to understand them as they are in the present, who they were and who they became. It also all comes together so wonderfully at the end. I also have a huge problem with the ending of the movie. To me it means that they didn't understand the character of Edmond Dantes at all. There was a French mini series of The Count of Monte Cristo starring Gérard Depardieu in the late 90s. It was actually really good and much closer to the book itself. I'd like to see your reaction to that series :)) I wish they made a remake of that series in English.

[@ebenezer4107]

There are many other adaptations besides the 1934, 1975, 1998 and 2002 versions. There are adaptations, including the end of the book. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYPMd36frdqdjtU

[@Ἰλιάς]

In the book, the revenges are much better elaborated, the count has the help of people who also want to take revenge like him. The count's history with Haydee is very similar and what makes them very similar and ideal for each other than an old love. The revenges in the 2002 film are so quick and its dialogue is so cheesy, especially between Edmond and Mercedes. It's very difficult that the count could reconcile with his ex-fiancée, at least so easily after she married the man responsible for him spending 13 years in a dungeon. Revenges are such obvious traps that it is difficult for anyone to fall into them. There are actually two French miniseries, the 1979 miniseries with actor Jacques Weber as Edmond before and later as the Count and the version with Depardieu. The 1979 miniseries is much more complete, it adapted all of the book's subplots and kept the ending with Haydée. There is an English-language miniseries, the 1964 BBC version with Alan Badel. It is a more complete adaptation, but it suffers from its low cost. This year we will have an English-language French-Italian miniseries with actor Sam Claflin as The Count and a French film with Pierre Niney.

[@KarenSDR]

When I was 13 I found the (unabridged) book in my parents' library and read the whole thing for fun in one weekend. I started Friday after school and read until late that night, when he found the treasure. Then I basically stayed in bed the next two days reading until my eyes were burning, because I couldn't put it down (and I suppose I wanted bragging rights.) Forty years later I picked it up again, this time on my kindle, and took a more reasonable week to read it on a road trip. I found it just as compelling. I was surprised and delighted by the lesbian love story between two minor characters that had gone right over my head as a kid. Now I'm reading it again and finding it just as much of a page turner, though I'm mostly listening to the excellent librivox audio book (the solo version) on my daily walk. I'm interested this time in the Abbe's and Nortier's strokes, since I had a stroke myself a while back and was unable to speak for a couple of days. Tonight I watched the movie and wasn't so much surprised at what they left out as what they changed completely. It was a well done and enjoyable movie, but nothing like the book. That doesn't upset me: Hollywood's going to do what it does. But I probably won't watch it again. I missed the chesslike subtlety of Dantes' incredibly intricate plots. And I missed so many of the characters, especially Nortier and Valentine

[@johanneshaufniensis6002]

The 2002 version looks like a copy of Odyssey by Homer. Count is Odysseus, Mercedes is Penelope and Albert is Telemachus. The traps are very obvious, Edmond using his treasure as bait for a trap was too obvious for someone to fall for the trap. And the way he used to even compel villefort to confess that he had his father killed doesn't really work with an experienced man like him. The film ignores the issue of social class division that existed in France. A rich noble like Fernand would never be friends with a poor sailor ous and marry the poor peasant. The way Edmond rescued a stranger instead of calling the police, it looked like it was all set up and he had a plan. Albert accepts that Edmond is his father when he believed that Fernand was his father. Mercedes lied. Telemachus knew that Odissue was his father and so he accepted Odissue as his father. but Albert for years believed that fernand was his father and later it was revealed that he was Edmond. While Odysseus faces many obstacles to return to Ithaca, Menelaus mustered an army to retrieve Helen in Troy. Edmond never returned to France to pull back Mercedes. Mercedes voluntarily married fernand and Edmond was not obsessed with her. It would be hard to accept that she married his enemy and for years had a relationship with him. Even if Edmond returned to her, nothing would ever be the same. in the odysseus Menelaus used medicine to support the suffering for the years that Helen was in troy with Paris.

[@johanneshaufniensis6002]

France has adaptations closer to the book. The book had other adaptations for a movie and miniseries. drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Yh_GtjOpLgOG5AinDFyNBIIe-69uCFWv?usp=share_link

[@randymonster4105]

FYI The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the most influential books to Jose Rizal, the National Hero of the Philippines. He wrote novels that inspired a nation to rise against the Spanish occupation of the Philippines. Jose Rizal was wrongfully imprisoned and executed. His books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo draw strong inspiration from the Count book. José Rizal's influence on the Philippine Revolution was profound and undeniably significant, even though he himself did not directly advocate for an armed uprising. His ideas, writings, and martyrdom inspired the Filipino people's struggle for independence and were instrumental in shaping the revolutionary movement.

[@Historyprepares]

Count of the Monte Cristo is bar none my favorite book. Even in the "boring" chapters they highlight very important events and every character/scene has a purpose and once finalized made me love the "inconvience" even more. Vampa, for example the side story of how he rises to power was so good and needed. Or the recompense of M. Morrel. "THE PHARON! THE PHARON! I wept and when I say I wept, I did. Dumas was a playwrite and dialogue is what drew me to his work. Ive read it multiple times, and listen to a verson done by simon vance/aka Richard Mathews who does an absolute fantastic job. An incredible performance by Richard, a must listen.

[@Sivanshu_sahay]

Yes the book is a long and sometimes boring...but you have to go through some unnecessary chapter to find real gem.. Classic book have this kind of problem..we have to respect them.

[@billthebard805]

I love the book for what it is, I love the movie for what it is, I don’t consider them the same thing…because in my opinion, if you compare them against each other you’ll hate one of them.

[@purrpuffs]

I feel myself way more drawn to liking the 2002 movie over the the book because of the romanticism of it. In the book, you have this very gloomy and empty ending in my opinion, which leaves you feeling like it lived up to bring g a revenge tale but it's also so depressing and melancholy to think about where each character ended up. Yes, Edmond does end up with Hadee in the end but I felt like it gave Mercedes a dull and depressing ending to her story. Not to mention, when comparing this to the forgiveness between Edmond and Mercedes in the movie, it really feels more like the movie had a romantics approach to it rather than throwing it all away and allowing Edmond to be struck to the bone with grief, not forgiving her for decisions she made after he had 'died'. It took unnecessary parts frpm the book out and tweaked what it needed to in order to make the film flow and work. It truly felt like a better retelling of the story, at least from my point of view, and even though I am SUCH a die hard literature fan and almost never prefer a movie adaptation over a book, I can't help but favor the movie here.

[@denisl2760]

Never read the book, but I did not like the ending of the movie. Just doesn't seem realistic, seems like something from a Disney movie rather than real life.

[@jeanpierre3103]

Real life is not a Disney movie for kids. Solzhenitsyn after his release from prison, abandoned his first wife in solitude and got mixed up with another woman.

[@purrpuffs]

@@jeanpierre3103 There are depressing and unfair aspects to life, but that does not mean that good things also don't happen or work out. A lot of people seem to get nihilism, and other grim concepts mixed up with realism in recent times a lot more than before and it is truly something sad to see. Stories and adaptations where things work out and don't end up sad or depressing for the majority of characters are not something that is childish. So many English courses and spaces push this idea that reading stories with a happy ending is something you grow out of and is meant for children and not adults but that would be blatantly ignoring the good parts of the world around us that happen. People can live miserable lives and die happy. People can live happy lives and die miserable. An aspect of life that gets so incredibly overlooked by literature fans and writers alike is that aspect of realism that deals with happy endings because it isn't something restricted to just a children's book at all, and it's incredibly sad to see it be reduced to that. A preference of the book over the movie comes down to just that, a preference at the end of the day. I felt the movie tug more at my strings than you probably did and that is okay, but I don't think it is fair to reduce the movie or any story with a happy ending down to something that is unrealistic and just a children's Disney story because it's not true.

[@jeanpierre3103]

@@purrpuffs What the film did was an idealization. They stripped Edmond's dark laod to be a less cruel character. Becoming a much purer character. Have you read les Miserables by Victor Hugo? I've read and never really liked the book because of the excessive idealization of the character Jean Valjean. It is inspired by Eugène-François Vidocq who was a French criminal turned criminalist. Jean Valjean was a criminal who became someone else because a priest was good to him, but the real Jena valjean, Vidocq was no longer a criminal because it was to his advantage. On 1 July 1809, only a few days before his 34th birthday, Vidocq was arrested again. He decided to stop living on the fringes of society and offered his services as an informant to the police. They created a pure and selfless character when the real jean Valjean was a bully, a womanizer and sought personal advantage. The book created an idealized figure. It's not just the idealized ending, but Edmond's rather cruel revenges, removing his sadistic side. He didn't just want to punish them, he enjoyed making them suffer slowly and painfully. I love Dostoevsky's books for exploring the dark side of being human. He was admired by Niezsche for knowing human psychology well. The good thing about loving a famous book is that it never needs Hollywood to make a good fit. There is The Prisoner of Château d'If (Узник замка Иф) directed by Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich. Nadira Mirzaeva is beautiful like Haydee, I don't blame the director for divorcing his wife to marry her. She looks like Haydee incarnate.

[@purrpuffs]

@@jeanpierre3103 And that is where we differ because I personally believe that removing those crueler aspects of his characters worked to the advantage of retelling the story with a different tone and outcome. I heavily disliked the book's methods of having Edmond tediously drive the other characters towards killing themselves and becoming financially bankrupt. I favored the movie in this aspect because the way he sought revenge on them there, was through locking two of them up like he had been, and intending to do the same with the other, but ended up killing him himself. It made it much more to the point and seem way less pretentious and drawn out for the sake of it. The movie also cut our a lot of characters that didn't need to be there because they served very little to the plot, and I am actually quite glad they removed Haydee because the whole storyline of falling in love with the person who bought you as a slave just because they treat you like a person is... less than pleasant to say the least. I also think your comment about the director leaving his wife for the actress who played Haydee in that particular movie is a little bit sad? I feel awful for that poor man's wife... ouch But regardless, back on track. I am prone to depression, I naturally want to see the bad in everything but I have come to realize over all these years that everything isn't always going to be purely negative and even though a story might be overall happy with a happy ending and everything, it doesn't mean that it is unrealistic because these things are achievable in real life. You don't see people complain very often at all about dark stories that border on nihilism be called unrealistic even when there are next to no happy moments in them, but it would be just as unrealistic as the dreaded happy ending then, wouldn't it? Yes but people do not want to talk about it for many reasons. At the end of the day, this comes down to preference again. You enjoy the book because it is depressing and dark, so good for you, that is what you enjoy. I will sit in my corner I think alone and favor the movie because that is what I enjoy.

[@chevalier1783]

Personally I love the book, I listened to it on Audible since i don't have much time to read these days. Because of that probably had an easier time getting through it. and since i listen to books to occupy my mind while I'm doing other things I didn't mind all the winding roads the book goes down.

[@traciebecker6669]

I was thinking an audiobook might be a good idea for the full novel. I have the abridged version but on average don't prefer them.

[@blacksky379]

Hey Adam! What's up?! I recently read The Count Of Monte Cristo and I think that despite of having many "filler" moments, it never made me loose the interest in the book. The book is a true page turner! On the other hand, just to make a comparison, if you read Les Miserables you'll see lots and lots of chapters about many subjects that don't make the plot go forward it all. The so called digressions. There's a whole chapter about the sewers of Paris, another one about how a convent works, a chapter describing the Waterloo battle... while reading Les Miserables I felt exactly what you mentioned in the video about Monte Cristo. Both books are great, Victor Hugo's one just requires a little bit more of a reading effort. And I still hold Les Miserables as my favorite book ever. Cheers!

[@KingDucky-]

I just watched it recently and I thought it was great and after reading the book I see how much of a narrative difference there was in how it was enacted, but honestly I feel the ending in the movie was much more satisfying and enjoyable than the book, and left me more fulfilled and excited than the book as well

[@jeanpierre3103]

Real life is not a Disney movie for kids. Solzhenitsyn after his release from prison, abandoned his first wife in solitude and got mixed up with another woman.

[@KingDucky-]

@@jeanpierre3103 yes I’m aware, and just because you live a sad little life doesn’t mean all of fiction has to represent that

[@Nemo-j6z]

Natalie Portman's husband, who is French, despite the couple having two children, had an affair with a French woman. You will never see someone wanting to fight to win over their old love, but you can see real stories of men who left their families for another woman. The film Admiral (2008) is based on a true story whose protagonist abandoned his wife for his beautiful lover. Is there a film based on a true story about a man who struggles to win back his old love? Is there a story for such a film? The Illusionist with Edwrad Norton distorted a true story. The film grossly altered the history of the Mayerling incident. The prince and his lover committed suicide.

[@Nemo-j6z]

The trailer for the new film The Count of Monte Cristo with Pierre Niney has already been released in French cinemas. Someone filmed and uploaded the trailer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2awgY2Mq6ubiqc Producer Dimitri Rassam, director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre said in tweets that they wanted to maintain the drama of the story and therefore that there would be no happy ending ending... and that The Count of Monte Cristo was their favorite book and that therefore That's why they wanted to make this film even more than The Three Musketeers. The father of director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre, de la Pattelierre was the director of the 1979 miniseries that is the most faithful adaptation of the book. The son will follow his father's path. The Count goes to the Orient with Haydee who is played by Anamaria Vartolomei. The French themselves stated that they do not want the film to have the ending of the 1998 and 2002 versions, which are highly criticized.

[@Nausicaa-vo6jp]

The book ending is how life really works, while the movie ending is how we wish life worked. Real world vs fairy tale. Logical somewhat satisfactory vs illogical and MORE satisfactory. Honestly, it's why movies are so popular. They cater to the fantasists in all of us. Books cater to our brains a little more. Neither is wrong. They're just different.

[@FrankNStyne303]

Have not read the book myself but one of my favorite stories/movies of all time. Thanks for the breakdown!

[@craftyarts7431]

I suppose I have a different point of view cuz I listened to it on audible so I wasn’t staring at paper, but I absolutely love the slow build of the original, and I found all the side stories and conversations pretty important ^^’ I suppose the only time I felt like something dragged was the story of Luigi Vampa, that probably didn’t need to be so long

[@willmpet]

It was written at first as a serial. Though the movie was not as good as it needed to be, it was better at showing some things than earlier films. And at least it got me to read the entire novel. I am reading it for the second time now. It would be impossible to reduce it to a film without serializing it! It shows much of the reality of 7:15 French society, and that is difficult when trying to change the mediums from book to film. Different media have different strengths, the written word can give detail, but the film can give vibrancy.

[@newhorizonsintuitiveguidance]

Adam, were you punishing yourself by reading The Count of Monte Cristo? LOL I say this because I just recently listened to the audiobook and found the last half excruciating! LOL So much so I skipped some of it just to finish it. Something I rarely do! I agree with your assessment and it is a good one. The movie is deviates too much from the book but really had to! I also just came across a historical video on Dumas on The History Guy's channel and wow! The book is based on his father's stories! Interesting. I always felt the story was based on a true story and it is true! Thanks for the review and for the bleeps. I'm sure there are kids watching your channel.

[@george.6618]

Does Edmond have a lot of inspiration from ex-criminal Eugenie Vidocq? Where do you think Alexandre Dumas relied on the count's disguise skill as abbé Busoni. Where do you think Dumas drew on Dantes' Escape skill? Vidocq was constantly escaping prisons and was a master at disguise. In addition to a great detective who had a personal file on several criminals and prominent figures in France. Did you ever catalog your enemies' crimes based on Vidocq? I don't remember Thomas Alexandre Dumas being an expert on escape or disguise. only Vidocq was. The 2002 version as a historical adventure and revenge film doesn't compare to the French film On Guard by Philippe de Broca. And as a revenge story it is inferior to the film The Prisoner of Château d'If or (Узник замка Иф) by Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich . The writer Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn in a situation similar to Edmond with mercedes in the nobel, acted exactly as the protagonist acted with Mercedes and married a young woman who was from a family of political prisoners instead of being a slave and whose father was betrayed. It is very unlikely that there was any reconciliation between them. The film failed. What would stop Edmond even having a child with Mercedes from getting a young lover? The History of the poet Fyodor Tyutchev and Elena Denisyeva inspired Tolstoy to develop the relationship between Anna and vronsky The dramatic love story of Tyutchev is the young mistress Elena Denisyeva, a pupil of the institute where Tyutchev's daughters studied. To meet with her, the poet rented a separate apartment and, when the secret connection became apparent, he practically created a second family. For 14 years, Tyutchev, as it already happened once, was become between two beloved women - a legal and "civil" spouse - unsuccessfully tried to make peace with the first and could not part with the second. But Elena suffered from this destructive passion much more: her father dela, friends dela abandoned her, it was possible to forget about the maid of honor's career dela-all doors were closed to her from now on. Under the yoke of human disapproval, Denisyeva developed morbid irritability and irascibility. She came to religion but could not reconcile its principles with her position. Elena Tyutcheva loved passionately, madly and demandingly, so she suffered when her lover went for weeks without visiting her.

[@apollonia6656]

Like many other writers, for example: Dickens; Wilki Collins.....they were paid by newspapers specializing their work and word count meant money for the authors !

[@AdamWrightReviews]

Good to know, thanks for sharing!

[@patrickfoteff4994]

Best fiction ever. Fantastic. I've read thousands of books, and this is the best. Its been made into more movies and series than any other movie I'm aware of. What a story.

[@USAR8888]

I like your commentary. I just finished the book, and while the drawn out tangents could become tiresome at times, I couldn't put the book down. Incredible story, incredible, thoroughly developed characters, action, romance, betrayal, vengeance, mystery. The Count of Monte Cristo has it all.

[@Phoenix_DarkMoon]

There was an anime of Monte Cristo that came out a few years back. Would be interested in your thoughts on it

[@luizfernandoferreirasousa6322]

Gankutsuou won much praise in France, unlike the 2002 film. The title of the article is: Dumas à l’écran : le comte de Monte-Cristo Signalons encore un film réalisé en 2002 par Kevin Reynolds (La Vengeance de Monte-Cristo) qui n’ajoute guère ou pas grand chose. Ah si, l’abbé Faria devient un expert en arts martiaux et Albert se révèle le fils d’Edmond Dantès. Où va se nicher le puritanisme hollywoodien sous sa forme modernisée. Bref, hum… Monte-Cristo ou Gantkoutsuou Alors est-ce bien tout ? En cherchant bien, nous trouverons les Japonais. Férus de littérature occidentale, ils ont adapté grands et petits classiques sous forme animée, la plupart destinée à un jeune public. Il n’en va pas de même avec La série Gankoutsuou (2004) qui se révèle l’une des plus intéressantes transpositions du roman. Elle montre qu’on peut rester fidèle à l’esprit de Dumas tout en faisant œuvre originale. Son réalisateur Mahiro Maeda a travaillé d’abord au studio Ghibli (Nausicaa, Le Château dans le Ciel et Porco Rosso). Le titre étrange de cette série télévisée d’animation de vingt-quatre épisodes de 25 minutes peut être traduit par le Roi de la Caverne. L’histoire originale est transposée dans un univers techno-futuriste, au 51e siècle. Nous sommes donc en 5053. Ce futur se combine néanmoins avec des éléments (vêtements, architecture, véhicules) empruntés au XIXe ou au XXe siècle français. Chaque épisode s’ouvre sur un prologue récité en français qui offre un petit résumé de l’action. La chanson du générique de début est une adaptation de l’étude « Tristesse » de Chopin par Jean-Jacques Burnel du groupe Stranglers. Chopin chanté faux en anglais par un francophone cela fait tout drôle. La musique classique tient d’ailleurs une grande place dans cette histoire. À l’opéra, le comte, par exemple, écoute « Nonnes qui reposez » du Robert le Diable de Meyerbeer. Originale mais fidèle La principale originalité de cette version tient à son point de vue. Il est centré sur Albert de Morcerf et la jeune génération. Les enfants des crapules et leurs amis sont des adolescents qui regardent d’un œil critique leurs parents. La première partie du roman avec les mésaventures d’Edmond Dantès est ainsi évacuée au profit de la vengeance de ce personnage ténébreux. Mais cette vengeance nous est montrée par le filtre des personnages secondaires du roman devenus ici les protagonistes. L’adaptation suit d’ailleurs plus fidèlement les épisodes de cette seconde partie que bien des adaptations plus conventionnelles. Une intense amitié, et sans doute davantage, unit Frantz d’Épinay à Albert. Elle fait écho à une relation saphique entre Eugénie Danglars et Louise d’Amilli, sa « maîtresse de chant » dans le roman original. Plus sombre que l’œuvre de Dumas, cette série présente un Monte-Cristo en monstre dénué de toute pitié. Dans le roman, il s’arrêtait au bord du précipice. Ici, l’esprit de la vengeance se déploie jusqu’au bout. Aussi, pour reprendre la formule répétée rituellement à la fin de chaque épisode et empruntée au roman : Attendez et espérez !2

[@woland192]

The problem is that the 2002 film does not go so deeply into the psychological question. Someone like the protagonist in the film, after suffering so much, he would be a deeply bitter and resentful person like someone who was in a stalin gulag. And we don't see the protagonist conveying this or acting like someone who has suffered and had his life broken. The relationship between Edmond and Mercedes was bound to fail. Edmond would never be fleiz with her because of the painful memories of the past, her future was with Haydee with whom he would be happy. When you read Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov and Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, you see people who are embittered to live the hell on earth. Edmond never forgives Mercedes for marrying Mondego and stays with another woman. Solzhenitsyn abandoned his first wife, who married while he was in prison to married another woman. Aleksander Solzhenitsyn was married to Natalya Alekseevna Reshetovskaya, when he went to the gulag, she divorced him after he was released. She marries Vsevolod Sergeevich Somov. After his release, Solzhenitsyn was sent into exile to a settlement (the village of Berlik, Kokterek district, Dzhambul region, southern Kazakhstan). He worked as a math and physics teacher from 8th to 10th grade at the local high school by the name of Kirov. In June 1956, by decision of the Supreme Court of the USSR, Solzhenitsyn was released without rehabilitation for the absence of a body of crime in his actions. In October 1956, she visited her ex-husband in the Vladimir region, Torfoprodukt station, where he was a teacher at the time. . In 1957, Solzhenitsyn moved to Ryazan, and in the same year they remarried. But the relationship was never the same, there was bitterness in him towards her, he did not forget that he was abandoned by her and that she married another while he was in prison. Later, the two admit that they made the mistake of trying to enter the same river a second time. Natalia devoted herself entirely to her husband. She helped him diligently in everything, fulfilled all his wishes. But his he was getting more and more distant from her. He later ended up meeting Natalia Dmitrievna Solzhenitsyna (Svetlova) whom he married a second time. And she was 20 years younger than him. Solzhenitsyn's first wife attempted suicide and yet he divorced her to marry his second wife. The family of Natalia Dmitrievna Solzhenitsyna (Svetlova) was a victim of Stalinist purges as Solzhenitsyn was a victim of Stalin. She actively collaborated with her husband in the fight against communist repression. Much more important than having an old love from the past, it would be someone with an affinity like Solzhenitsyn and his second wife. As was Edmond and Haydee.

[@ultimatelv27]

just so hard to pack all that in a two hour movie--it's quite impossible

[@staceyowens8842]

The references to God that are peppered throughout the film are there at Jim Caviezel's request. As an ardent Catholic, he made it known that if the references were removed, then he wasn't the right person for the role.

[@Ramblr]

The film takes so many liberties with the plot and characters that it's difficult to believe they even called it by the same name. However, I love the movie for what it is and, likewise, adore the book for what IT is.

[@malcolmwaddilove1822]

Love the movie,I've watched it several times,Im reading the book now for the 4th time,even better,as you always pick things up I missed before, a classic by Dumas.

[@DanielGarcia-us7tf]

Some Adaptations from Novels and Stories: 1. Jane Eyre (1983) 2. Les Misérables (1998) 3. The Great Gatsby (1974) 4. Wuthering Heights (1992) 5. Anna Karenina (1997) 6. The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) 7. Pride and Prejudice (1995) 8. Moby Dick (1956) 9. Sense and Sensibility (1995) 10. A Farewell to Arms (1932) 11. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) 12. Of Mice and Men (1992) 13. War & Peace (1972-1973) 14. The Three Musketeers (1993) 15. The Brothers Karamazov (1958) 16. Crime and Punishment (1998 TV Movie) 17. Oliver Twist (2005) 18. East of Eden (1955) 19. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 20. Cannery Row (1982) 21. Treasure Island (1950) 22. Lord of the Flies (1963) 23. The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) 24. The Invisible Man (1933) 25. Howards End (1992) 26. All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 TV Movie) 27. Gulliver's Travels (1996) 28. The Man in the Iron Mask (I) (1998) 29. Beowulf (2007) 30. Fellini Satyricon (1969) 31. The Decameron (1971) 32. Taras Bulba (1962) 33. A Simple Twist of Fate (1994) 34. The Age of Innocence (1993) 35. The Bostonians (1984) 36. Catch-22 (1970) 37. A Christmas Carol (1999 TV Movie) 38. The Citadel (1938) 39. David Copperfield (1999-2000) 40. Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) 41. Daisy Miller (1974) 42. The Killers (1964) 43. The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) 44. Great Expectations (2011-2012) 46. House of Usher (1960) 47. Doctor Zhivago (1965) 48. Notes from Underground (1995) 49. The Plague (1992) 50. 1984 (1984) 51. The Hunger Games films 52. Harry Potter films 53. Sleepy Hollow 54. The Count of Monte Cristo 55. The Secret Garden 56. The Shawshank Redemption 57. The Green Mile 58. The Maze Runner films 59. Christine 60. It part 1 and 2 61. Salem's Lot 62. Carrie 63. The Running Man 64. The Green Knight 65. The Odyssey 66. Sherlock Holmes (2009) 67. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) 68. Excalibur ( 1981 film) 69. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 70. Frankenstein (1931 film) 71. The Dark Half ( 1993 film) 72. Little Women (1994 film) 73. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)

[@MarvelFanboy-ff1zq]

Now i know why Mel Gibson hired Jim Cavizeal as Jesus. Him growing a beard and being whipped helped. Also in Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets malfoy tells dimbledore that he is suspened at hagrid goes to Askaban, that came out in 2002, then in 2002, Richard harris shows up in a prison that is on a rock surrounded by only water.

[@thesevideos4382]

Each chapter was originally published in the weekly newspaper. Then, later published in book form. This may explain why you found the un-condensed cumbersome to read... the original format was episodic.

[@Cononized]

The movie characters just seemed alien to me and didn’t make sense with the changes to characters actions.

[@Radarfilms100]

The book is a little bit of a slog sometimes, the middle portion can be poorly paced. If you can make it through the slower parts it becomes an absolute behemoth of a novel and incredibly satisfying, especially with the resolution of the villains in the story.

[@hoochrocks]

You nailed it. I finished the book today and felt exactly as you stated. Don Quixote is a better book overall. I think men may feel more like you did in general as the middle has a soap-opera feel to it. Women may like that aspect more.

[@BBSurf37]

Finished the book in 9 days. The reason why he wrote about the side characters was to flesh out their story and to bring in the understanding of how monte Cristo took revenge.

[@Narine360]

I was told by my professor that has a degree in History and Literature, when she found out my favorite book is The Count of Monte Cristo explained that it was hers too. She also explained that Alexandre Dumas originally released the book in a newspaper that was monthly, weekly, or daily and was paid for word count which explains it's so long and rambling at times. Although, just like me she read and appreciates the long version, we both recommend the abridged to others.

[@markdanghyan3396]

you can't fit whole story of Monte Cristo into single movie, it's gonna be a goddamn long movie, omit one chapter from the book and movie would be incomplete in my opinion

[@markdanghyan3396]

to be honest when Ive read the book 2 times and both times it was like a movie in my mind, I especially improvised some parts like Edmonds appearance being the same throughout his whole detainment at Chateau d'If, beard with long hair appearing only when it is mentioned by smugglers, and his countenance lineaments when he finally gets to look at himself in the mirror after 13 years. I'll read it again.

[@ModernConversations]

This was the novel that inspired me to take revenge on my envious enemy conspirators.

[@trorisk]

It should be understood that this book was published in a newspaper as a "serial" week by week. That's why at the end of each chapter there is a cliffhanger.

[@thebighat99]

I read this along time ago, what sticks out in my mind is it wasn’t a happy ever after book like the movie. Specially for Mercedes. There are lot of flims 1912, 1913, 1934, 1943, 1954, 1961, 1975, 2002, and it was miniseries 1998. I have seen a lot of them. I do really like the 2002 alot it as fun. Richard Harris as the old monk was a good casting.

[@Detroitburke79]

I’ve never read the book and I was introduced to the film after its release in theaters, however, this is my all-time favorite film and story. In my opinion, it has everything you could want in a story and film. Guy Pearce is also a remorseless villain, which I always appreciate.

[@Ἀχιλλεύς-ε9π]

In the book Albert is Fernand's son and Edmond became interested in a younger woman like Natalie Portman's French husband and left Mercedes behind.

[@santanuranjandas2247]

1975's The Count Of Monte Cristo is much better than 2002's The Count Of Monte Cristo...but yes both are never can be matched as The Novel....who ever read the whole original Novel they will never recommend for 2002's The Count Of Monte Cristo movie for sure....bt i love the Novel.... "An Eye for An Eye" ..... If you are trying to distroy someone without any reason then he will be come back with lots of power to take his revenge... "Give time to time after the end of the time..time will give you your result".....Thanks to Sir Alexander Dumas for giving us as a great gift.

[@jolenebrimageprosper974]

Great distillation. I hoped you'd mentioned that if in the book, Dumas did not have a child in the book, it was indeed a clever twist to the tale of the tale.

[@drachireidnoc6659]

I read the book about 10 years ago in college for a literature class (I forget if it was the abridged version or not) and just watched the film tonight. It’s been awhile since I’ve been with the material but I was entertained by the film. Liked listening to your thoughts. Nice video 👍

[@gilliatt3952]

The film goes far for pure idealism. Edmond was imprisoned for many years, lose his youth, his job, his fiancee married one of his enemies and his father died. He would not be content with just duels and fights, he would want to show the maximum of his sadism and perverse torture of his enemies. A beast had been inside him that would be freed from its bonds. A person who suffered unfairly and he loses everything, his hatred would not be small, he would delight in a perverse way with greater suffering. The film tries to justify that Mercedes married pregnant when simple solitude would be a reason. They want to put in the ideal that the protagonist's girlfriend would only marry another man for a greater reason. She couldn't marry because she felt lonely and because of the search for sexual satisfaction. The problem that she gets married and has sexual relationship with the enemy of the protagonist. If she married another man, there could be a reconciliation. But for Edmond who suffered so much, he remembered that while in prison, Mercedes had sex with Mondego. Everything would be replenished if Mercedes married someone who did nothing to Edmond. A current feminism is outraged by Edmond, when the truth is that a person would never passively accept something asism. Let's go to the most silly plan of idelaism. In the manichaean story, Mondego has to be a bad father, he cannot have light and darkness. Everything to ustify the return of mercedes to Edmond.Sention she could resemble an Anna Karenina, someone who by simple passion leaves her husband. Edmond may be the biological father, but Mondego was the one who was present in Albert's life. The bonds would be stronger between the two than with a man he did not live with. Edmond was in prison, he is the biological father and mondego is a scoundrel. Naive recipe from the end was prepared.

[@thefrenchinhaler]

I've just watched the film and I hated it 😂 I really enjoyed the book, which surprised me due to the fact that it was only the second time I had ever read a fiction novel, and so I thought the pages alone would send me barmy. Somehow though I found it a joy. As usually everyone says, the first 300 pages are brilliant, and they certainly weren't wrong ( I was truly amazed at how Dumas managed to convey all of the emotions that arise in severe human suffering, and how he established them onto paper) although as well as this, I also found the love story between Maximillian and Valentine, and the struggles that they faced to be together, along with Albert and how he manages to start again with his mother following the unveiling of his fathers past, unbelievably entertaining.

[@delinarandoma1053]

I would watch it as mini series as long as it does become ridiculously modernized as all these streaming services dearly love to do.

[@baishihua]

Read the book, and yeah the second half was a chore and I fell asleep a couple of times, it got good again when the duel was about to happen. I think Mercedes in the movie was more pious and had more faith in the goodness of Edmond, then she was able to put positivity back into his mind, that's why the ending was happier.

[@Nemo-j6z]

The trailer for the new film The Count of Monte Cristo with Pierre Niney has already been released in French cinemas. Someone filmed and uploaded the trailer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2awgY2Mq6ubiqc Producer Dimitri Rassam, director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre said in tweets that they wanted to maintain the drama of the story and therefore that there would be no happy ending ending... and that The Count of Monte Cristo was their favorite book and that therefore That's why they wanted to make this film even more than The Three Musketeers. The father of director and screenwriter Alexandre de la Pattelierre, de la Pattelierre was the director of the 1979 miniseries that is the most faithful adaptation of the book. The son will follow his father's path. The Count goes to the Orient with Haydee who is played by Anamaria Vartolomei. The French themselves stated that they do not want the film to have the ending of the 1998 and 2002 versions, which are highly criticized.

[@othellossorrow6982]

When you were talking about your frustrations with the book and how it d r a g s I was reminded of what I felt while reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame lol you don't give a flying fuck about 99% of the characters so it's so frustrating to spend so much time with them

[@edmunddantes7097]

I've read the book several times. Had to keep a pad and pencil (this was before computers and cell phones were common and not the size of bricks) near trying to remember who was who. Honestly enjoyed the audiobook more. It made the too descriptive and sometimes long-winded sections relaxing while stuck in ridiculous traffic. A great story everyone should enjoy.

[@BigSurJay]

The movie was crap. Absolute crap. I was super excited to watch it, but when it was done I was super confused as to what book the director was making into a movie. The only things that were similar is that the characters in the movie had the same names as the characters in the book.

[@celestialnubian]

The movie was great. A perfect 10.

[@squirequirk1618]

“King’s to you Fernand.” Never referenced in the book once.

[@zacace]

I just finished listening to the entire D'Artanion Romances and the Count of Monte Christo and, as someone who has loved the movies, i have come to the conclusion that the writers of the movies loved Dumas' ideas but hated Dumas' writing and endings. It has made the movies feel more like fan fiction to me due to the changes that the movies make. That's not to say i do not still enjoy the movies, i just have to mentally categorize them as fan fiction.

[@bc900]

As I am on page 101 of the original Alexander Dumas version, and have watched the movie by Kevin Reynolds( which I must say I do love and have probably watched amir 20 times.) Adam I can agree that some of the foreshadowing of events could be surpassed, but they are important to understand why there was such a conflict. Such as the movie did not portray. M Villfort traveling to the king and fighting for his name when he knew his father was such a traitor to the country. Sadly to say, I am merely on page 101, so I have more to learn of the original Alexander Dumas version... The original is a difficult read, as translated from Old French to New English. Either way, I encourage everybody to take the time to read it. If you can read the Bible, then you can read this adventure.

[@starlord2211]

I had a very small version of the book....children book....barely 50-60 pages with pictures......😜

[@brandonroberts1638]

I have to say that i'm rereading and rewatching both recently I almost enjoyed the movie at least as much, And Jim is probably the reason why why. Also, henry cavill is fun in it too. I also liked the added swordplay. Guy was amazing

[@mechelemede4579]

I love both. I consider the movie to almost be its own story, "inspired by" "The Count of Monte Cristo". There is so much that is different; Fernand's role alone. The movie is well cast, fun, and gets the spirit of the book. I even like the changes they made. The "King of the Moment", was a nice touch. I agree about the book's drag, however I think I'm more forgiving. I found that even though Vampa's history (for example) wasn't necessary, it was still a fun story in its own right. Also, I was impressed with how seemingly superfluous scenes and characters were drawn together. Have you watched the Anime version? I once saw it a long time ago, and all I can remember was that the style was strange. Going to rewatch it out of curiosity. It's called: "Gankitsuou", if you're interested.

[@mechelemede4579]

@Laurence Svetlov Yeah, I'm not sure what I think about that aspect of the story, yet. In both versions, Mercedes was told that Edmond was dead. Is she supposed to be a nun for a dead man? That makes no sense to me. The only thing I could think of was The Odyssey, were Odysseus was whoring around, yet expecting his wife to be chased. Was Mercedes supposed to wait around, just in case he wasn't actually dead? And, yes, I get the whole "women are wonderful" aspect of Hollywood and society these days.

[@mechelemede4579]

@Laurence Svetlov I saw "The Illusionist" once, but don't remember it. I thought "The Prestige", which was released around the same time, was a better movie. The book sounds way more interesting, though. I might check that out. I agree with your assessment that, in the book, Edmond and Mercedes could not have a functional relationship after what transpired. It was a good and fitting conclusion. The movie gives Mercedes the excuse/motivation of a pregnancy, which is completely understandable, in that time. (Not saying it's good, because it's fraud. If Fernand had been an innocent person, then Mercedes would be quite a villain for doing that to him. Since he's not, the audience is okay with her actions. I mean beyond, that society already accepts women doing this.) I don't think the comparison between Edmond and Solzhenitsyn is apt. Again, Mercedes was told Edmond was dead. Was Solzhenitsyn's first wife told the same? Was there an expectation that no one returned after being arrested? If it's just the expectation, then you can probably say: "wait and hope". If she's told: "he is dead", what is there to wait for? It seems to me, there's nothing wrong with moving on after a death. Mercedes waited 18 months after she was told he was dead, which seems like a decent period of mourning. If one's husband is imprisoned, but alive, then yeah, I expect her to wait. I think if Mercedes had not been told he was dead, then I could understand the story/Edmond's reasoning. As far as I can tell, book Mercedes did nothing wrong, so I did not understand why she was judged to have sinned. I have not read Madame Bovary. Sounds depressing. xD Thanks for the recommendation. I've been trying to figure out what I want to read next. I think I'll go with that.

[@pierre7958]

I think the 2002 movie is very, very naive. It feels like one of those romantic books that Emma Bovary read and raised expectations about a romance. Believing in eternal love and all that and many women will end up getting disappointed when the man ends up being interested in another woman. Have you seen the 1975 version? The ending has a dramatic air of separation and never forgetting the first love, forgets and overcomes. Emma Bovary created expectations that didn't live up to reality. The movie was in a kind of romantic fantasy. Dangerous Liaisons by Chordelos de Laclos how we can be manipulated by malicious people and there is no Hollywood ending. Showing all the dangers of malicious people, showing the emotional wounds that are caused.

[@mechelemede4579]

@@pierre7958 I have not seen the 1975 version. Is that the version that is mentioned in "V for Vendetta?" I'll check that out, too. Always hunting for something good to watch/read. Agreed. This makes me think of "A Streetcar Named Desire", specifically Blanche. She is always portrayed as a victim. The author thought she was. Hollywood says she is. She is a manipulative, drunk, pervert. Or "The Great Gatsby" and it's message about "the one". I see it as a: "don't do what this dummy did. (I haven't gotten to start "Madame Bovary" yet. QQ Been reading "The Madness of Crowds." )

[@pierre7958]

@@mechelemede4579 This is the 1934 version.

[@thianhlun]

Of the few books that I read it's my favorite. The added actions in the film doesn't bother me but I hated the fairytale ending

[@newhorizonsintuitiveguidance]

Hi Adam, Please allow me to suggest to you three great award winning classic novels that will keep you entertain from the beginning to the end and unbelievable stories that you'll never forget! Don't think these novels are written just for women. Men can relate to them as well as they are full of drama. And you guys play a major role in all of them! In fact I feel all three books focus more on the male's point of view than the women. All three are a great look back in time. Although we've come very far from those times it's still interesting to know people haven't changed much from then to now! I hope that you'll review them on your channel. I'm sure they will cause a lot of interesting conversations among your viewers. These books and movies don't disappoint! #1 Gone With The Wind - American Author, Margaret Mitchell Award winning American Classic that is still a controversial topic today! Great historical accuracy although a fictional. After seeing the movie people wanted to visit the big white house but it was only a movie prop that was taken down. The movie is guarantee to not disappoint you. The director did an awesome job turning a long historical novel into a movie. Afterwards he said he can't take it anymore and is quitting the business! LOL The book is long with historical details that sometimes add to the richness of the story and sometimes is just filler. And yes, there is a lot of crazy drama in the movie and the book! Men can relate to the male characters. I've listen to the audiobook while working. #2 Wuthering Heights - English author Emily Brontë This book is a English classic and even in these moderns times a collectors item for those who love antique books! Don't think this is just a love story for women. This story has a lot of crazy drama in it to! It is not just a love story! Men can relate to the male characters. For Me, although the timelines are somewhat off, the book is better than the movie. I've listen to the audiobook and have read the story. #3 Anna Karenina - Russian author, Leo Tolstoy One of Oprah's book club favorites. The story is full of drama. I like the book a little more than the movie. Tolstoy gets long winded in the book but it does give you more back story to help you understand the movie. I did not like the style of the movie but the characters are well played and matches the book. Somewhat philosophical but that was the nature of most authors at that time.

[@traciebecker6669]

Great reviews. I bought the abridged novel and the movie. Watched the movie tonight which does make me want to read the novel even more. I usually don't buy abridged books but with 400+ tbr books on my shelves and being about 65% through the full version of Les Miserables and getting discouraged I thought I would try the abridged first.

[@AdamWrightReviews]

Thanks! What did you think of the abridged book?

[@traciebecker6669]

@@AdamWrightReviews I bought it but haven't read it yet. I'm sure I will enjoy it because I suppose the foundational story of it is much like the movie. The scenes that you mentioned from the movie that weren't in the book aren't important. Especially the balloon dropping the Count into his party scene was quite a bit much.

[@pranaypradhan4245]

I had not realised Henry Cavill so far in this movie..I always thought the son looked familiar when I rewatched this movie in recent times ..I have watched the movie couple of times....I liked it greatly hence read the book as well..

[@louisduplessis2075]

I wonder how many times this book has been filmed...I have seen 3...but there must be more.

[@ejm51395]

The movie is great, but on the whole I was would say the book is better.... except for the ending. The whole subplot with Haydee and them ending up together even though is bought her as a slave and more or less raised her a daughter and referred to her as one is just.... I don't know I didn't like it and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I liked her as a character and I thoroughly enjoyed the scene of her in court. The romantic subplot with her and the Count just felt weird. But I honestly just chalked it up it to one is an ending for 19th century audiences and one is an ending for 21st century audiences. I loved everything else about the book and wish they had been able to add some more of that detail. The revenge is far more satisfying in the books than in the movie. But in all honesty the movie is still great and one of my favorite movies. I'd love to see it made into a mini series so they could show the satisfying and beautiful revenge in the books, but keep the 2002 movie's plot changes of Albert being the Count and Mercedes's son and the family being reunited at the end.

[@ebenezer4107]

The classics are classics because they are above any cheap moralism. These moralistic preachings that have no practical effect. In real life nobody really acts following this superficial moralism. In the Soviet film adaptation of the novel "The Prisoner of Château d'If" in 1988, we have the beautiful actress Nadira Mirzayeva as Haydee. This is exactly how I pictured Haydee when I read the novel. And she really does look like a concubine in her revealing translucent clothes. And immediately you can easily understand the count: is it possible to refuse such a woman if she asks for your love? It is known that the director of the film, Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich could not resist Nadira and even left the family and married her. "But I honestly just chalked it up it to one is an ending for 19th century audiences and one is an ending for 21st century audiences." That film was a box office failure outside the United States. In Europe this film was widely rejected. See box office numbers. In Europe, the French adaptations of 1943, 1954, 1979 are preferred. France is about to launch a new adaptation.. Europeans are used to reading classics like The Iliad and The Odyssye by Homer, Metamorphoses by Ovid, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. It's not a little movie with a superficial moralistic little show that's going to make the story interesting for them.

[@ebenezer4107]

Box Office DOMESTIC (71.9%) $54,234,062 INTERNATIONAL (28.1%) $21,160,986 WORLDWIDE $75,395,048 Budget $35,000,000 The film had an international box office far below budget. Hollywood's cheap morlaism did not have worldwide repercussions, being much more restricted to the domestic audience. Remembering that nothing this film did is groundbreaking. It's just an attempt to imitate the odyssey in which he developed the story with immense mastery.

[@ebenezer4107]

Natalie Portman's husband, French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, was unfaithful to his wife The French ballet dancer and choreographer, had an affair with Camille Étienne, The couple had children and yet he had an affair. It seems that hollywood moralism has no practical effects. People in real life are different. Having children and a wife does not prevent a man from having another family and another relationship. French President François Mitterrand was married to Danielle Mitterrand with whom he had children and that didn't stop him from having an affir with Anne Pingeot.

[@Fernando-nz3rb]

These fictional Hollywood dramas are the biggest joke. And why would a rich and powerful man like the count return to his ex-fiancée, regardless of having his child when he can have a young and beautiful lover? Just like THE REAL STORY OF JULIUS CAESRA AND CLEOPATRA. Why don't Hollywood clichés appear in films based on true stories? Reading non-fiction stories shows us how reality is and not how we want it to be.

[@felixicon]

the cheese lines take it down a notch.. but you gotta put butts in seats.

[@thomasklugh4345]

I'm reading it right now. I'm on pg. 801 of the 1,243 pages. I love it. Dumas was a genius. And by the way, "Dumas" is pronounced Du•mah, not Du•mas.

[@jjhay269]

Calling it 1200 pages is hard to compare for because back then they were paid by page so authors were well known to stretch sentences and word use. I thought they cut a lot of filler to be honest

[@jayteegamble]

Prefer movie. I'm just a softie that finds the Edmond-Mercedes reconciliation extremely satisfying. Mercedes deserves justice and happiness too as her love and their life together was stolen from her as well.

[@finnavx]

Dumas and the writers from that era got paid for so many words in the papers so they always ended on a cliffhanger that people always wanted to read next weeks😂

[@TheWaynos73]

I never read the book. I was going to attempt it but looked at the sheer size of the thing and decided I didn’t have time. I only have a certain amount of time to read and so I never got around to it. The movie I really did enjoy though it was most entertaining.

[@malcolmwaddilove1822]

It's good to watch the movie 1st as you get each characters face reading the book,I think where all a count of Monte Cristo at heart? Plus we advertise the bad guys in our modern day life every day,ok it's just a book,but one of the best ever written😁

[@MeiziVu]

Please make more videos!

[@shazzthedon]

Who plays Edmund dantes in the book?

[@cynthiaholmes5124]

I watched the movie as a kid really enjoyed it I'm reading the cut version right now I gotta say the movie version is definitely better to me Richard Harris was so great in the movie along with jim

[@robertoheidegger6114]

For anyone who has read the book (or watch any reasonable adaptation), Monte Cristo is the symbol of the sublime being, someone who believed to be guided by God. Umberto Eco explained it by saying he was one of the first portraits of Nietzsche's Overman. Well, in this movie all this magnificence has been converted to a middle American super-hero, with middle American values. I'm sorry, but there are so many American topics in this movie, and so little from Alexandre Dumas' Count, apart from the name, that it just hurts to see it. Not only because it is a hardly an "adaptation", but also because it represents the contrary of the original meaning of the story. 2 hours is certainly not enough to adapt a 1400 page novel, especially one as dense as the Count of Monte Cristo. Leaving out the incredibly complex revenge plot in the books can certainly be forgiven, even if it leaves the revenge part of the plot lazy and cheesy at best. But not understanding the core message of the film - that revenge can backfire and cause you to become a monster - is unforgivable. The Count of Monte Cristo is not a revenge story, quite the opposite. In the penultimate chapter of the book, the Count meditates on the distinction of justice and revenge. Justice is impersonal, it is not about deriving pleasure. It is through the regret of the consequences of his revenge, and his embrace of forgiveness after justice has been given. Just a few examples of these "incorporated" values/topics:here, as in any other Hollywood movie, the good guys are good and the bad guys are very bad. So, they thought necessary to add some battering in the prison. Besides, Fernand is not a common man taking profit of the situation, as in the book, here he has a wicked soul, and so the "adapters" decide to show it by making him committing murder and being an unfaithful husband. There is a scene, where Fernand and Monte Cristo fight with their fists, that is ridiculous: where is the gentlemanliness that not only the book, but also the place and time of the story demands? Even the movements of the camera in that moment are offensive: you don't know what movie you're watching, Monte cristo or Rambo 6. It's Americanized in a way that class differences and nobility vs. Common folk are completely ignored. Yet the story is set in France. In America, (at least in fiction, like North and South by John Jakes, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, etc.), one's origins didn't matter. You could come to America as an indentured servant or dirt poor, but through talent and ambition, you can elevate your family into the upper and respectable classes in a few generations. And marry into established old-money families. In France, it wasn't like that, not in 1815. The scriptwriters in the movie didn't HAVE to make Fernand an aristocrat from the start, but they did, opening up a huge can of worms and plot holes galore. Dumas did it right... Fernand as a humble fisherman, drafted into the army, made a name for himself and switched allegiances at just the right time, and enriched himself by betraying Ali Pasha, and coming home rich, and hailed as a hero by the Royalist faction that came to power. Dumas knew and understood France. The screenwriters of the 2002 movie did not. In France, there was a great formality in the relationship between a Count and his servants. Only certain servants of very high rank (Baptistin, Bertuccio) could speak directly to the Count, and not in crude slang. Others had to ask Baptistin or Bertuccio to speak for them. In the book, Edmond Dantes takes years to plan his revenge, not weeks or months, and does it in a very calculated, cold-blooded way, weaving an intricate, multi-faceted web in which to snare his enemies. In the movie, Edmond is still a hot-head, even after all those years in the Chateau d'If, and I could not help but feel cheated by his rather slap-dash methods. But the movie... has Fernand (a Viscount) being best friends from childhood with a common boy, and he wants to marry a common girl. Fernand's boss is Morrel, and he has to wait for Morell to dismiss him before he can go. Danglars (looking very dirty and grungy) casually invites Viscount Fernand to drink with him and speaks to him very informally. The Count's "revenge" on all of his enemies consists of dangling the Spada treasure in front of them and they all fall for it, lured like moths to a flame? How was Dantes privy to details of Clarion's murder, since he wasn't a witness to it and neither of the 2 culprits told him about it? Villefort was too experienced to fall into that primitive trap of the count and confess the crime that way.

[@AdamWrightReviews]

Excellent insight. Thank you for commenting!

[@emmasolberg14]

I agree so much 😂 It was when Domas stared to list of the exact economic situation of every single character I was beginning to doubt if the book was ever gonna get to the point! I think I would love an abridged version. Because there are many beautiful moments in the story but also a lot of weird and pointless rants😂😂

[@brydenmorales7657]

how can anyone like this movie who read the book? the book is such a masterpiece whereas the movie is just ...

[@sergiuosan8674]

I really loved the book, especially the beginning and the end (my first favorite part by far is the prison time), the movie was way too action oriented for my taste. I really disliked the fancy dialogue you find in the book, but the ideas and the moral dilemmas Edmond and other characters have is just amazing. Also I really enjoyed the side plots and I think they were intended to make the world of the book bigger and to give you more depth regarding the French society of that period. There is one sequel book which I liked even more that Count of Monte Cristo, I think the translation in English would be The hand of the dead (I am Romanian so I don't know if there even is a translation in English but I assume there is). That book is about a character who wants to take revenge on Edmond, pretty much like he did in the first place. And in my opinion is an amazing book, not only because you get to find out what happens to Edmond, but also because you can't really choose who the villain is in that story. Is a lot more morally gray and it puts you in a lot of uncomfortable spots. Maybe you will consider reading it, it's a shame is not more popular. (Also there are a lot of people who hate it, so it may not be anybody's coup of tea).

[@thecasul1524]

Can you name the book in it's original name? I try to but I can't find it anywhere

[@sergiuosan8674]

@@thecasul1524 I just found out that the novel is actually mistakenly attributed to Alexandre Dumas and it was written in fact by Alfredo Hogan in Portugal. The original title is "A Mão do finado". My bad, the book I have actually had Alexandre Dumas as author on the cover. The book is still great tho, but I guess it is not translated in English sadly.

[@thecasul1524]

@@sergiuosan8674 so basically it's a glorified fanfiction? Interesting. A shame it isn't translated.

[@sergiuosan8674]

@@thecasul1524 Yeah, something like that. And it's pretty good considering the fact that I enjoyed it at least as much as the book of Dumas. Maybe one day it will appear in English also. It's pretty weird that it is translated in Romanian but not in English.

[@Taylors_Tunes]

Couldn't disagree with you more regarding the novel. The stories that explain the motivations of the side characters is amazing. Reminds me of Dostoyevsky with how detailed Dumas gets.

[@BusinessHomeExpert]

I thought the movie was better. "It had sound, and pictures....and best of all, NO READING!" ~Jim Gaffigan

[@GreenParlour0749]

While I can understand that the book rambled and did have boring parts I found that the abridged didn’t portray why things happened just that they happened. I also hated the movie for changing the relationships between the major characters and could not get past Edmond being arrested. A part of me wishes I had watched the movie first like my friend because she enjoyed it.

[@ebenezer4107]

There are many other adaptations besides the 1934, 1975, 1998 and 2002 versions. There are adaptations, including the end of the book. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYPMd36frdqdjtU

[@Brotherofthe4thCompany]

God, I want a Lost in Adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.

[@jamesremmers1842]

Awesome review! Nobody has really took the time to read the book

[@Boss69AP]

I already read this incredible story 🖤... One of thr Best stories i have ever read

[@mets2128]

Try sitting through Gankutsuou the 2004 anime adaptation of the story

[@IsraelNowIsraelForever]

Read the short version first, then the unabridged version.