The Count of Monte Cristo
Year of release : 2002
Run time : 2h11min
Genre : Action / Adventure / Romance
Cast : Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Henry Cavill, Luis Guzmán
The movie is based on the popular adventure novel written by Alexandre Dumas father,completed in 1844,with the help of his ghostwriter, Auguste Maquet.
In 1815,second mate of a French merchant vessel, Edmond Dantes, and his rich friend, Fernand Mondego, a representative of the shipping company, end up on Elba,asking for help for their dying captain.
Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled on the island. After helping them, Bonaparte asks Edmond for a favor,to bring a letter to a friend of his upon returning to land. He asks him to tell no one, but Mondego sees them.
In Marseille, Edmond is praised for his actions by the company owner,and is promoted to captain of the Pharaon.
Envious on Edmond's luck, Mondego,who is in love with Edmond's fiance,Mercedes, with Danglars,who was skipped in Edmond's favor, tell the authorities of the letter Bonaparte gave Edmond.
Edmond is taken by the authorities and is almost released until he gives them the name of the man who was supposed to pick the letter. Edmond is tricked into getting on the prison carriage and taken to Chateau D'If, a prison where the authorities keep the men they are ashamed of,not the guilty.
6 years later, when Edmond has almost gave up on life and God, his cell is broken into by another prisoner, who was trying to dig his way out. The man is asking him to help him dig, in return offering him knowledge. Edmond accepts the deal, and the man teaches him everything he knows, from reading and writing, to economics and sword fights.
Edmond escapes 11 years after, when his friend who taught him everything, dies while digging the tunnel.
He washes ashore in front of a band of pirates who were in the midst of executing one of their own. The leader tells Edmond he offers him the chance to fight the one they want to kill,Jacopo, and if he wins he can become one of them,the alternative being death. Edmond accepts,and upon defeating the man,he asks the leader to spare his life and take both of them on their boat. The leader accepts,and Edmond has made a loyal friend for life,having spared his life in a life or death knife fight.
Working for the pirates for a few years, Edmond,named Zatara - driftwood, by the pirates' leader, leaves the ship with his friend, Jacopo, when they reach Marseille.
Visiting the man he used to work for, he finds out Mondego was involved in his imprisonment along with the man who sent him to jail, and Danglers,and that the woman he loved, Mercedes, married Mondego a month after his imprisonment .
He takes the map his teacher gave him before dying marking the treasure he refused to give the location to to Bonaparte,who sent him to jail, and looks for it. Upon discovering the many chests filled with gold, he decides to go to Paris, as count of Monte Cristo,plotting his revenge.
This is a movie I first watched 20 years ago,and loved. I finally found it a few months ago, and watching it last night, I still loved it,and it still made me cry.
The movie has a good plot, it keeps you entertained the whole time, having as a backdrop beautiful landscapes, great set design, interior design, costumes and acting.
Edmond goes from an innocent illiterate poor man to an intelligent man who can plot his vengeance and can see the moves of people based on their character and what he knew about them,playing them like pieces of chess on a chess board.
The actors were great.
The soundtrack was good.
You can watch the full movie here,for free : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxdY1CwBzSM&ab_channel=KotsMicky
Rating : The stuff dreams are made of !
