There exist quite a few adaptations of "The count of Monte-Cristo" ; this is one of the best I've seen. Both of the twin movies (known as "The betrayal" and "The vengeance") are of very high quality, successfully combining narrative clarity with a wealth of colorful details. The viewer also gets to enjoy an array of interesting and sharply-drawn characters. Even minor characters spring to vivid life, such as an older "cat lady" reminiscing on her glory days as a famous actress ; from a psychological viewpoint, the viewer has no difficulty in joining the dots and reconstructing the course of her life. Jean Marais gives a powerful lead performance, although I've got to say that he impressed me more as the grimly elegant, bitterly determined Count than as the young and naive Edmond Dantès.
The production budget must have reached up to the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral, since the costumes, props and scenery all scream money. Watch the movies and you'll understand what it meant to be either very, very poor or else very, very rich during the first half of the nineteenth century...
Much of the enduring power of the "Monte-Cristo" tale consists of an indictment of both tyranny and political instability. Here, kings and emperors play a frantic game of musical chairs, with the result that the average well-meaning citizen can run into egregious trouble simply by leading his life ; bow to Napoleon on Monday and you're showing proper respect to your rightful ruler, bow to Napoleon on Wednesday and you're betraying your legitimate monarch. And of course such a political environment nurtures and invites all that is basest in Man, such as plotting, calumny and false denunciation. Behind this fictional Edmond Dantès one can distinguish the weeping shades of thousands of real-life victims who disappeared due to some anonymous letter...
The production budget must have reached up to the top of Notre-Dame Cathedral, since the costumes, props and scenery all scream money. Watch the movies and you'll understand what it meant to be either very, very poor or else very, very rich during the first half of the nineteenth century...
Much of the enduring power of the "Monte-Cristo" tale consists of an indictment of both tyranny and political instability. Here, kings and emperors play a frantic game of musical chairs, with the result that the average well-meaning citizen can run into egregious trouble simply by leading his life ; bow to Napoleon on Monday and you're showing proper respect to your rightful ruler, bow to Napoleon on Wednesday and you're betraying your legitimate monarch. And of course such a political environment nurtures and invites all that is basest in Man, such as plotting, calumny and false denunciation. Behind this fictional Edmond Dantès one can distinguish the weeping shades of thousands of real-life victims who disappeared due to some anonymous letter...