Post by Reno on Nov 10, 2005 1:49:17 GMT -5
The greatest story of revenge ever told, and an excellent cinematic adaptation starring, rather humorously, the man who would later go on to play Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ, Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo.
Interesting bit of trivia: while filming The Passion, Caviezel was actually struck by lightning during a take of the Sermon on the Mount. God must not have been too angry, though, because Caviezel did another take shortly thereafter.
Anyway, back to The Count of Monte Cristo. Excellent performances by not only Caviezel, but Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Luis Guzmán, and Dagmara Dominczyk, among others.
For anyone not familiar with the story, I suggest you read the book by Alexandre Dumas, also author of The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. Even though he's French, doesn't take away from the fact that he was a terrific author.
This film managed to stay true to the original story while still playing around with it just a bit. My favorite scene in the whole movie:
Villefort, the man who knowingly sent an innocent Edmond Dantes to the island prison Chateau d'If to protect his own father's connection to Napoleon Bonaparte, has just been tricked into confessing that he hired Fernand Mondego (Edmond's childhood friend, who betrayed him to Villefort) to kill his father. The police escort Villefort outside to a waiting prison carriage, a scene reminiscent of Edmond's being loaded into a similar carriage earlier in the movie.
But when Villefort gets in, he finds a pistol awaiting him on the seat. The policeman informs him "Courtesy for a gentleman," as Villefort looks back at Edmond. As the door closes, Villefort puts the pistol in his mouth and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. And Edmond's face appears at the window: "You didn't think I'd make it that easy for you, did you?"
Interesting bit of trivia: while filming The Passion, Caviezel was actually struck by lightning during a take of the Sermon on the Mount. God must not have been too angry, though, because Caviezel did another take shortly thereafter.
Anyway, back to The Count of Monte Cristo. Excellent performances by not only Caviezel, but Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Luis Guzmán, and Dagmara Dominczyk, among others.
For anyone not familiar with the story, I suggest you read the book by Alexandre Dumas, also author of The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. Even though he's French, doesn't take away from the fact that he was a terrific author.
This film managed to stay true to the original story while still playing around with it just a bit. My favorite scene in the whole movie:
Villefort, the man who knowingly sent an innocent Edmond Dantes to the island prison Chateau d'If to protect his own father's connection to Napoleon Bonaparte, has just been tricked into confessing that he hired Fernand Mondego (Edmond's childhood friend, who betrayed him to Villefort) to kill his father. The police escort Villefort outside to a waiting prison carriage, a scene reminiscent of Edmond's being loaded into a similar carriage earlier in the movie.
But when Villefort gets in, he finds a pistol awaiting him on the seat. The policeman informs him "Courtesy for a gentleman," as Villefort looks back at Edmond. As the door closes, Villefort puts the pistol in his mouth and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. And Edmond's face appears at the window: "You didn't think I'd make it that easy for you, did you?"