Feature-length and full-rigged, this recent French adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic is big, handsome and slightly homogenized for easy digestion. The film’s one eccentric note comes from the unlikely casting of Pierre Niney (FRANTZ/’16), thin of frame/beaky of nose (think Gallic Adrien Brody) as our hero, the revenge-minded self-invented Count. As usual, Dumas plots to beat the band, and, as usual, gets away with every coincidence, over-ripe characterization and plot reversal as Edmond Dantès, a rising young sailor whose selfless deed causes him to gain, then suddenly lose a Captainship thru bitter envy; a bride thru jealousy; and his freedom thru a purloined letter. Escaping from his prison island to find the treasure chest a fellow inmate promised, he’ll use this fortune to seek a merciless revenge on the three men who done him wrong, helped by two more victims from the next generation. It’s all ridiculously satisfying, even in a version that occasionally fumbles the narrative ball. (And blows the staging on the big sword fight finale.) All told, there’s probably more of the story here than in any other big-screen telling, and you really can’t miss with Dumas in any of these adaptations which rival his THREE MUSKETEERS in number.
DOUBLE-BILL: Also in 2024, an even better received eight-parter on French tv. Coming to PBS in ‘26.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/LINK: Don’t expect to hear the immortal Act Two curtain line, ‘The world is mine!,’ famous from American adaptations. It’s not Dumas, but was likely added to the famous stage vehicle by its star James O’Neill, father of playwright Eugene. (Did James really play this 4000 times across the country?) You can hear the line spoken (most beautifully, almost incanted) by Robert Donat in the 1934 film version. And don’t ignore the remarkably fine 1922 silent with John Gilbert. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2012/06/count-of-monte-cristo-1934.html https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2023/07/monte-cristo-1922.html
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