The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writers:

Alexandre Dumas (novel) (as Alexandre Dumas père), Jay Wolpert (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Caviezel	...	Edmond Dantes
Guy Pearce	...	Fernand Mondego
Richard Harris	...	Abbé Faria
James Frain	...	J.F. Villefort
Dagmara Dominczyk	...	Mercedès Iguanada
Michael Wincott	...	Armand Dorleac
Luis Guzmán	...	Jacopo
Christopher Adamson	...	Maurice
JB Blanc	...	Luigi Vampa
Guy Carleton	...	Mansion Owner
Alex Norton	...	Napoleon
Barry Cassin	...	Old Man Dantes
Henry Cavill	...	Albert Mondego
Zahara Moufid	...	Holga (as Zhara) (credit only)
Brendan Costello	...	Viscount

Storyline

'The Count of Monte Cristo' is a remake of the Alexander Dumas tale by the same name. Dantes, a sailor who is falsely accused of treason by his best friend Fernand, who wants Dantes' girlfriend Mercedes for himself. Dantes is imprisoned on the island prison of Chateau d'If for 13 years, where he plots revenge against those who betrayed him. With the help of another prisoner, he escapes the island and proceeds to transform himself into the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo as part of his plan to exact revenge.

---

Plot Keywords:

priest | sword fight | prison break | france | color remake of black and white film | 

---

Taglines:

Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge.

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence/swordplay and some sensuality

Details

Country:

UK USA Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,376,150, 27 January 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$54,234,062

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$75,395,048

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures,Spyglass Entertainment,World 2000 Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening scene, where the characters are sailing towards the island, is actually filmed in a giant water tank in Malta, (and the island is superimposed via computer). Another film that used this exact same tank, was the war movie, U-571

---

Goofs

When Monte Cristo makes his entrance in the hot air balloon, four assistants slide down ropes then pull the gondola rapidly to the ground. Once they touch the ground, the weight that the balloon was carrying would decrease, causing the balloon to rise slightly or at least slow its decent speed rather than increase it.

---

Quotes

Luigi: We shall call him... Zatarra.
Edmond: Sounds fearsome.
Luigi: It means, "driftwood."

---

Alternate Versions

The UK version had 6 seconds cut by the BBFC to earn a PG certificate instead of a 15. The cuts were to two shots of a man being hung.

---

Connections

Version of The Count of Monte Cristo (1913)

User Reviews

Box Office does not equal greatness in this case

The Count of Monte Cristo is such an under-rated gem. Great performances, exciting story, and a fun wit, this film has everything that was terrific in Dumas' original novel and then twists it all up to adapt perfectly to the screen but doesn't stray to far.

But is perfectly to strong a word? Of course not. Monte Cristo boasts the talent of both Guy Pearce and Jim Caviezal as former friends who have turned against each other in the epic-set Napoleanic French era. As Caviezal grows more throughout the film, Pearce becomes more and more a monster basking in his own greed.

The late Richard Harris is very bold in one of his final performances and Luis Guzman is perfect as Monte Cristos right-hand man.

See this film and reccomend it. It truly deserves better than what audiences gave it last year.