Having seen the terrific 1934 version of the Alexandre Dumas novel and the above average 1970's TV movie, I looked forward to seeing this French language version which is a two plus hour screamfest. Louis Jourdan does tone it down for the love scenes with the beautiful Yvonne Furneaux, but a good 75% of the film is nothing but yelling. Certainly a gorgeous film made on sumptuous French locations, it is pleasing to the eye, but the ears suffer as a result.
The Technicolor photography really shows off the French Riviera to its best, and the costumes are a sight to behold in all its gloriousness. Even the squalor of life at sea is a pleasure to witness. The story is melodramatic enough without all of the yelling, even prior to Jourdan being imprisoned. The sound was so shrill that I began to wonder if it had been dubbed over even though I recognized Jourdan's voice. I couldn't imagine listening to the original three hour version so I'm glad the print was edited. But the editing didn't make it cumbersome as I could follow along, and it was tempting after a while to just turn the sound off even though I'd be missing the memorable musical score.
The Technicolor photography really shows off the French Riviera to its best, and the costumes are a sight to behold in all its gloriousness. Even the squalor of life at sea is a pleasure to witness. The story is melodramatic enough without all of the yelling, even prior to Jourdan being imprisoned. The sound was so shrill that I began to wonder if it had been dubbed over even though I recognized Jourdan's voice. I couldn't imagine listening to the original three hour version so I'm glad the print was edited. But the editing didn't make it cumbersome as I could follow along, and it was tempting after a while to just turn the sound off even though I'd be missing the memorable musical score.