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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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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 white polka dot dress with ornate floral pattern on the bodice that Dagmara Dominczyk (Mercedès Iguanada) wears at the office of Monsieur Villefort is the same costume Julia Sawalha (Lydia Bennet) wears while observing Wickham horse riding in Pride and Prejudice (1995), and Ruby Bentall (Mary Bennet) wears to the Meryton Assembly Ball in Lost in Austen (2008).

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Goofs

A storage area of stacked bales of hay can be seen in the background during the final fight. Hay wire was not invented until 1905. Prior to that, hay was piled into stacks and stored in barns.

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Quotes

Napoleon: Kings and pawns, marshal. Emperors and fools.

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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.

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Connections

Version of Novela: El conde de Montecristo (1969)

User Reviews

Good movie, if you haven't read the book

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Dumas is one of my favorite books, it keeps you on your toes the whole time, guessing what will happen next. The movie doesn't accomplish this as well. While the book is subtle with the Count's revenge, the movie screams for all to hear. "The Count of Monte Cristo, formerly Edmund Dantes is going to get revenge on his friends!!!" They left out 3 main characters, and DRASTICALLY changed the ending, they had to, the end involves those 3 characters they left out. But I did like the movie and if you enjoy it too I encourage you to read the book!