One of my all time favorites.

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

A lot of fun.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

I'm a big fan of the Alexandre Dumas story' Count of Monte Christo. The atmosphere in as well the book as the 2002 movie directed by Kevin Reynolds is fabulous!! Although in the 2002 movie I would have liked to see more detailed revenge plans, I really liked the part in which Edmond Dantes is educated by his visitor in jail Abbe Faria... In this miniseries the opposite is true.. it's absolutely fabulous in working out the part of revenge (so especially after you've watched the first 1/2 episodes, it gets great). Dantes teached by Faria is less more interesting in this miniseries.. which I think is logical since the French have a totally opposite view on what's interesting in comparison to the Americans. Gerard Depardieu acts great as le Comte le Monte Christo.. and this miniseries sticks better to the original story which I also like... One 2 Watch.. more than 1 time.. :-)

Gérard Depardieu has lavished much care and attention to detail on this production of the famous Dumas story. He is most impressive as Edmund Dantes who is falsely imprisoned by his "friends" in the awful Château d'If for some 18 years, then escapes, finds a vast fortune, and as the mysterious Count takes revenge upon those who betrayed him in a very complex series of intrigues. Bearing in mind the great length of the original novel, simplification of the sub plots are inevitable in any screen version, although the extended running time of this TV series allows much of the text to be brought to the screen faithfully. Using some quite stunning set pieces and beautiful scenes to background the action, the cast perform exceedingly well, dominated by Depardieu's portrayal of Monti Cristo. Although a rather overweight Count, his strength as an actor overcomes this minor flaw, and certainly its unlikely we'll see a better performance of the role for years to come. If you have the patience to view the extended version here, it is a rewarding and finally well crafted adaption of a most difficult subject.

but once again, there is this apparently uncontrollable desire to rape the storyline. Whereas the most recent Hollywood version leaves the reservation early and never attempts to regain a relationship with the source material, the Bravo edition tries to stay on track. However, several story lines are materially altered - to the point of creating new characters. If you familiar with the book, you will probably understand how radically the ending is altered when you know that Haydee is only a marginal character with about 5 minutes of total screen time, if that. Why do people have to tamper so much with the original? I mean, you'd think they'd have a pretty good idea of how the ending is, since in this case, the book has only been around for a couple hundred years. This was the best version, IMO, but there is a certain degree of bitterness involved when you watch for 6 hours only to find that the ending is a cop out (Yes, that's a SPOILER if you've read the book, because it's super easy to see how it WOULD end if the writers from WHEN HARRY MET SALLY were in charge). Regarding spoiling the end, I only wish I had known in advance (6 hours worth of viewing in advance, I might add) that they were going to rape the ending, I would have THANKED the reviewer...

This miniseries rendering of pulp novelist Dumas' 18th century "The Count of Monte Cristo" runs about 6.6 hours in length, all of it subtitled for non-French speakers. That's a whole lot of reading. However, the length allows this version of the oft filmed story to bring the characters to life in truer fashion and with greater depth than the many abbreviated knock-offs. The result is an expansive, in-depth telling the young French sailor, Edmond Dantès, who is wrongfully imprisoned for 14 years, discovers a treasure which makes him filthy rich, then uses the wealth to sustain his own cunning schemes as he seeks vengeance under an assumed identity as The Count of Monte Cristo. This film offers a fine cast with Depardieu providing a commanding presence as the charismatic Count and no one does French period films better than the French. Deficits are small, easily overlooked non sequiturs such as having to swallow the robust form of Depardieu as a man who lived for years on the meager sustenance of the dungeons of D'If...etc. An excellent but long presentation which trades the usual swashbuckling and action of the more abbreviated knock-offs for a more faithful presentation of the sagacious Count who seeks to understand who he's become and reconcile that with the man who lusts for vengeance. (B+)