The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Kevin Reynolds

Writers (WGA):

Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Jay Wolpert (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Escape | Treason | Best Friend | Treasure

Cast

James Caviezel	...	Edmond Dantes (as Jim Caviezel)
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
Aliaz Moufid	...	Holga (credit only) (as Zhara)
Brendan Costello	...	Viscount

Also Known As:

Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

131 min | Spain:134 min

Country:

UK | USA | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38851) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:PG (cut) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The beige dress with paisley bodice worn by an extra on the Marseilles wharf early in the film is the same costume Sabina Franklyn (Jane Bennet) wears at Longbourn in "Pride and Prejudice" (1980), Rachel Fielding (Mrs. Benson) wears in _Princess Caraboo', Julie Cox (Annabella Milbanke) wears to read Byron's poetry book in Byron (2003) (TV), and Freema Agyeman (Tattycoram) wears on the Marseilles wharf in "Little Dorrit" (2008). The same costume is also worn by a guest at Fanny's wedding in Miss Austen Regrets (2008) (TV).

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Edmond returns from Elba he is promoted to Captain of the Phareon (sic). Later, when meeting Abbe Faria in prison, he asks the priest if he would teach him to read and write. This is incongruous as a ship's Captain of the early 1800's (or for any period for that matter) would have been well educated by any standards for purposes of keeping the ship's log, maintaining manifests and bills of lading as well as being able to read a map and to navigate. Often in more than one language. No ship's owner would entrust command of his ship to an uneducated sailor.

Quotes:

Dorleac: Come on, come on, I haven't got all day... wait. Actually, I do. I've got...
[laughs]
Dorleac: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "MythBusters: Mega Movie Myths (#4.19)" (2006)

The Count rides again.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" (2002), a contempo back-to-basics treatment of the famous Dumas novel for new generations, spins its tale of passion and revenge with all the glory and melodrama of Hollywood's golden years. Full of lavish costuming, sumptuous sets, beautiful locations, dashing men, a gorgeous damsel, dank dungeons, the ever popular swashbuckling (whatever that is) etc., all supported with a classic story makes for 2+ hours of solid entertainment. Who could ask for more? Kick back and enjoy this fun adventure flick worth a trip to the video store. (A-)