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, Christopher Adamson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Adamson	...	Maurice
JB Blanc	...	Luigi Vampa
Guy Carleton	...	Mansion Owner
Barry Cassin	...	Old Man Dantes
Jim Caviezel	...	Edmond
Henry Cavill	...	Albert Mondego
Briana Corrigan	...	Casino Prostitute
Brendan Costello	...	Viscount
Mairead Devlin	...	Partygoer No. 2 (as Maireid Devlin)
Dagmara Dominczyk	...	Mercedes
Stella Feeley	...	Partygoer No. 3
James Frain	...	Villefort
Patrick Godfrey	...	Morrell
Luis Guzmán	...	Jacopo (as Luis Guzman)
Joe Hanley	...	Partygoer No. 1

Storyline

'The Count of Monte Cristo' is an adaptation 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 | color remake of black and white film | firework | 

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Taglines:

Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kevin Reynolds chose Tom Rand as the costume designer on the basis of his work on Ridley Scott's The Duellists (1977), which was also set during the Napoleonic era.

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Goofs

In the opening scene on the beach Dantes and Mondego are being chased by British Red Coats on horseback. Red coats of the type depicted were only worn by British infantry who never rode on horseback. Britain had separate mounted musket troops, dragoons, who wore entirely different uniforms and colors (generally blue and gray).

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Quotes

Mercedes: Just a few answers from you, and I shall be gone forever.
Count of Monte Cristo: Ask your questions.
Mercedes: Where have you been?
Count of Monte Cristo: Thirteen years in the Chateau d'If, and everywhere else you can imagine.
Mercedes: The Chateau d'If for thirteen years. Did you suffer?
Count of Monte Cristo: [scoffing] Are you finished now? I have a good deal on my mind.
Mercedes: What happened afterward?
Count of Monte Cristo: Much.
Mercedes: Why did you not come to me?
Count of Monte Cristo: Why did you not wait? You married the very man who betrayed...
[...]

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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

References The Duellists (1977)

User Reviews

Satisfying revenge story from a famous book.

One of the most famous revenge stories, The Count of Monte Cristo is here turned into a dashing, old-fashioned swashbuckler. The plot is riddled with unconvincing coincidences and occurences (as indeed was the book), but other than that this is a well-made, enjoyable film, with some literate dialogue and believable action sequences. It is the fact that the action is believable that makes the film memorable, because in too many 2002 releases the action was so overblown and unrealistic (not to mention physically impossible) that the credibility of such films was destroyed.

Edmond Dantes (Caviezel) is a honest young sailor working out of 19th Century Marseilles. His best friend Fernan (Pearce) secretly craves the hand of Dantes's fiancee Mercedes (Dominczyk), so he informs to the authorities that Dantes is a conspirator plotting to aid in Napoleon's escape from Elba. Dantes is sent to a terrible, inescapable island prison, while Fernan takes Mercedes to be his wife. After many years of hardship, Dantes makes an audacious escape and, having acquired a fortune by solving a cryptic treasure map, slowly plots his revenge under the new identity of the "Count of Monte Cristo".

Caviezel was a relative newcomer when he did this film, but he really catches the eye as the innocent man driven to despair by his terrible and unjustified punishment. Pearce is good too, perfecting his arrogant sneer as the deplorable Fernan. The prison scenes are well shot, with the hopelessness and horror of the place captured in considerably believable detail. It's quite surprising that The Count of Monte Cristo was a relative disappointment at the box office, since its dramatic storyline, and the themes of revenge, betrayal and loss, are usually guaranteed crowd-pullers. This film deserves to be seen by more people, and the more people that see it the more its reputation will surely grow.

Details

Country:

UK USA Ireland Switzerland

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

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