The Count of Monte Cristo - Worth your time?
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- Here's my book review of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I read the Robin Buss translation from Penguin Classics.
Link to the reading schedule over the course of two months: file:///C:/Users/gebruiker/Downloads/The%20Count%20of%20Monte%20Cristo%20-%20OCTOBER%202023.html
0:00 - Book review
7:15 - Quotes
8:23 - Advice
10:21 - Movie review
12:08 - Book review - Розваги
Nice review. When I was in high school, I read the famous ~600-page abridgement by Lowell Bair. At the time I had no idea what "abridged" meant so I thought it was the complete book. It was only about 20 years later that I realized that what I read was not the entire novel and I then picked up the Robin Buss translation. It took me four years to complete it, mostly because I kept getting distracted by other books, but I finally finished it just a few days ago.
It is an excellent novel. I heard someone once call the single most entertaining novel of all time and that may be true. I decided I wanted to go back through the story again, without setting the book down for long periods of time, and so now I'm re-reading it and using the classic 1846 Chapman and Hall translation.
The 2002 film, I would say, is faithful in spirit but not in the details. It's a great movie in its own right but obviously if you want a truly faithful adaptation you won't find it in a two-hour film.
Yes, it is such a joy to read. What a masterpiece. I also didn't know there were abridged novels out there when I started reading classics, so I just bought whatever I could find. I had bought an abridged version of Monte Cristo, but found out in time and got myself the Robin Buss by Penguin. Glad I did - it was worth every second of my time.
Absolutely agree about book vs movie.
@@ProseAndPetticoats While I think that readers SHOULD always go for the unabridged versions of books they want to read, I do have to put in a good word for the Lowell Bair abridgement. The story is cut down so smoothly that I never suspected anything was missing. It seems that that edition is now out of print, from what I can tell, which is kind of surprising because it has the reputation for being the best abridgement available and I know it was very popular among high school literature teachers here in the US. (Obviously assigning a 1200+ page book to high school students is not practical.)
It was, at the very least, a great introduction to the story for me and it lead me to later reading the unabridged Buss translation.
This is so helpful, thank you! I love seeing people's well-tabbed books. And I love that you're way more geeky (I mean that as a compliment!) than me, making an Excel list and everything. I am not sure this is the classic for me, at least, not right now. I am leaning more towards The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I will look back to any videos you've made on that. I always appreciate your book reviews/discussions. They give a lot of help but you never spoil things for us!
I would love to make a video about how to best approach Notre-Dame; it's my favourite! I really hope you will enjoy it!
Aww, thank you, it's so good to hear you find my content helpful. And I don't mind being called geeky or nerdy, haha.
Great review! This is my favourite book that I read so far. I love the intricate planning that Edmond does and his different personas. And the fact it keeps you enticed all through the book and not really sure how it is going to play out.
My favorite adaption is the mini series with Gerard Depardiue. Not completely faithful but still really good.
Yes, Edmond's planning and manipulations... It's just so well written. Glad you enjoyed it too! I couldn't stop reading.
I will be checking out that mini series if I can find it. Thank you.
Awesome video! I share a lot of your sentiments about the book. I was always so intimidated by this story’s size, but it is so worth it. Edmond’s struggles in prison and his subsequent relationship with Faria is probably my favorite section of any literature ever. What a beautiful sorry!
Yes, I agree. Good to hear you enjoyed it too. It's a big one, but it's so engaging that you fly through :)
My all time favourite classic! Father Faria mvp of the book, teaching Dantes the most valuable advice - wait and hope! I'm glad that you enjoyed the book! Maybe I can suggest you a short romantic novel by the son Alexander Dumas - The Lady of the Camellias, you will be equally pleased if not more when you read it! Best regards, lovely review 🇫🇷
Father Faria, oh, forgot to list him as one of my favourite characters! There are just so many excellent ones. I will write down your recommendation and am looking forward to reading it.
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Why didn't Dumas make an Edmond and Mercedes ending together?
Why didn't Dumas write an ending in which Edmond recovered Mercedes and brought her back like Menelaus did with Helen?
In Book IV of The Odyssey, Telemachus visits Menelaus who won Helen back after his elopement with Paris. Helen was sorry for what she did, but still Menelaus needed to use drugs to forget his painful memories like Helen's union with Paris. This influenced Alexandre Dumas. Edmond would never be happy with Mercedes and would never forget her marriage to Fernand. This would always make him have painful memories. Their marriage would be deeply unhappy.
Haydee does not bring the count the painful memories that Mercedes does. More realistic for him to be happy with Haydée.
Mercedes alternates between Penelope, Eurycleia and Helen, while Haydée is a bit of Briseis, Nausicaa and also Penélope. She waits patiently. Dumas builds a little of each of the characters in both.
Like Penelope and Helen, she is desired and when her fiance is presumed dead, she ends up agreeing to marry Fernand. She marries a rival of her ex-fiance, as Helen married Paris. Like Penelope, she still misses Edmond, like Penelope longed for Ulysses' return, like Eurycleia Mercedes recognizes Edmond but says nothing.
Haydee is the count's slave like Briseis was Achilles' slave, like Nausicaa she falls in love with the count but he is a little oblivious to her feelings, while Nausicaa saved Ulysses' life, Edmond who saves Hayde's life, like Pnelope she hopes patiently for the count's love and in the end the couple reunites.
If Ulysses disguised himself as a Beggar to enter the palace and no one would suspect a king as a beggar, the count was a simple sailor and no one would suspect a sailor becoming a rich count. Ulysses used Telemachus to infiltrate the palace and the count used Albert to enter French high society.
That idea of Albert and the Count's interrupted duel was taken from the odyssey, when the duel between Ulysses and the relatives of Penelope's suitors was interrupted and the parties made peace
It is a story of vengeance and forgiveness that unfolds slowly. The reader gets to fully understand just how powerless Dantes feels with his situation and how helpless he is. It is difficult not to feel for the character and the treatment he has received for simply being what, I perceive at least, to be a pleasant, non-offensive, person. For this reason, I also saw it as a romantic love story of sorts. During the time of his incarceration the only thing keeping him alive is the thought of one day being reunited with the love of his life, Mercedes. It is his love for her that drives him forward, demonstrating the power that true love can have on the human psyche. His will to return to the arms of a loved one kept him going during those long years in solitude, without that hope he probably would have lost his fight for life.
It is however, also a story reflecting that revenge does not always satisfy. We often feel that when we are wronged we need to retaliate and then we will feel better but that is often not the case and The Count of Monte Cristo definitely highlights that. Dantes does in fact exact his revenge but is he any happier afterwards?
Finally, I suspect that the story also reflects the despair Dumas could have feeling at the time of writing. Perhaps, he was not simply noting down a story but also in an indirect way, was highlighting what was going on around him. The financial, political and judicial systems in France, during this time, were all corrupt and therefore The Count of Monte Cristo could also be demonstrating just how unsettled the country was.
I think it's funny that people want to problematize the relationship between the count and Hayde, thinking it would be an improvement to change or omit Haydee. When there are real stories that are the same and even worse.
Variety magazine's review of the new French adaptation with Pierre Niney of The Count of Monte Cristo
“By swearing himself to revenge, Dantès suffocates what he once knew of love, all but dooming his protégés, Haydée and Andrea, to deny their hearts and share in his hatred. Enchantingly played by Anamaria Vartolomeï (“Happening”), Haydée could be a problematic character by 21st-century standards: an orphaned slave whom Dantès buys as part of his master plan to get back at Moncerf (the military hero responsible for her father’s death). It’s a hitch easily corrected here, as Haydée is now presented as a willing accomplice in the elaborate retribution scheme.”
I want to see when Cleopatra by Denis Villeneuve premieres, showing that Caesar was married when he started an affair with the young Cleopatra.
The film The prisoner of Château D'If (Узник замка Иф) is a more faithful story to the book.
Great vid ! ❤ As for the movie adaptation, I'm anxious but excited to see how good the french one coming out this summer will be, it looks pretty epic in the trailer. In the meantime, I recommand the 1998 french Tv Serie with Gérard Depardieu, it's the best so far imo !
Thank you! I think it will be hard for one movie to do the book justice, but I also hope it will be worth a watch! 🤞
Happy New Year, Emily, to you and your family! I hope it was joyful and relaxing. EXCELLENT VIDEO! I have been waiting for your review of TCoMC. I know you love Hugo and you know I love Dumas! :) Even though my TBR list greatly exceeds 100 books, I really should revisit this book since I last read it about 14 years ago and I have forgotten a lot of it (but remembering that I loved it). Speaking of Dumas; for Christmas, I received an Amazon Card, so I purchased both Court of Daggers and Blood Royal by Dumas. I can't wait to get to them. As an aside, for the Holidays, I am in Melbourne, FL and visited two used books stores and purchased even more books to add to my TBR. I purchased Dune, Vanity Fair and then in the Penguin Black Spine editions: Euripides plays, Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, Sophocles The Three Theban Plays (Antigone, Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus), The Alexiad of Anna Comnena and Chronicles of the Crusades by Joinville and Villehardouin. I have no idea how I am going to find room in my luggage to bring back home. Anyway, loved your video and hope you get to read more Dumas books and make videos on those as well. Have a great week!
Hello David. Oh-oh. Does your wife allow you to return home with all those books? 🤣 wow, so many! You should revisit The Count of MC for sure, now that it has been that long. Excited for you. Enjoy your holidays & happy new year!
@@ProseAndPetticoats She just shook her head in disbelief at all these books. Somehow they all have to fit in my luggage b/c I don't think there is any room in hers. 😂
I finished this book over the weekend and it was worth every page. It exceeded everything I thought it would be!
I am happy to hear you have enjoyed it so much! Do you think you will ever read it again?
🎉 I’m so glad you read and loved this one!
I'm OBSESSED with it. 🫢 Great novel.
Dumas is my fav author and I have just started reading Le Comte de Monte-Cristo in French. I appreciate your annotation suggestions.
That's lovely! I can see why he's your favourite author. Happy reading!
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Alexandre Dumas read Homer (Dumas A., Mes Mémoires, Paris, Bouquins, 2003, p. 590.) and the Iliad and Odyssey influenced the count of Monte Cristo.
Interesting a similar situation of Andromache in The Iliad and Haydee in the count of Monte cristo the appeal and confession that both make.
Andromache asks Hector to stay within the walls of Troy and not to face Achilles, there was a good chance he wouldn't come back alive.
Haydee asks Edmond don't leave her after he takes his revenge and that she stay by her side.
Both make a very similar confession of love.
“Nay- Hector- you who to me are father, mother, brother, and dear husband- have mercy upon me; (...).” - Iliad by Homer/ Book VI (429-430)
“I do love you! I love you as one loves a father, brother, husband! I love you as my life, for you are the best, the noblest of created beings!” - The counto f monte cristo by Alexandre Dumas/ Chapter 117
In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas, the poisoner Madame de Villefort is frequently compared to Locusta. Chapter 101 is entitled "Locusta."
Locusta served as a poisons expert under empress Agrippina the Younger. According to some historians, in AD 54, already notorious and imprisoned on poisoning charges, Locusta was ordered by Agrippina to supply a poison for the murder of her husband, Claudius. This was sprinkled on a mushroom and given to the emperor by his food-taster Halotus; when this poison appeared to be ineffectual, the doctor Gaius Stertinius Xenophon murdered Claudius with a poisoned feather ostensibly put down his throat to induce vomiting. Both met in exile on the island of Pontia. After the murder of Claudius, Nero ascended the throne.
Agrippina killed her husband Claudius so that her son Nero would become emperor and Heloise De Villefort killed so that her son would inherit everything.
Duma may have been inspired in Agrippina to write about Madame De Villefort.
Best wishes with your reading choices in 2024. New to this books on UA-cam business.
Thank you so much. Best wishes to you too. I'm glad you discovered BookTube! You're welcome to stay ;)
Correction: The movie adaptation you are holding up was released in 2002.
In that movie adaptation, the actor Jim Caviezel plays the Count.
Jim Caviezel would later play Jesus Christ in the movie *The Passion of the Christ* , which outlines the crucifixion of Jesus.
I too read The Count of Monte Cristo for the first time during 2023, and just like you I watched the movie with Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dantes. If I remember correctly I split up my reading into 50 pages a day (being a slow reader that is an accomplishment, but it is also proof of how good of a book it is). I often caught myself googling and deepen my knowledge of France, how you pronounce certain names (people, cities and streets a like) and I really enjoyed it. Like you say, it is impossible to put in so many details into a 2 hour movie (same thing with the Lord of the Rings adaptations) - but it is a good movie for what it is. Thank you for the excellent review. I enjoyed my read through and I'm happy you did as well. All the best!
I absolutely agree. Glad you enjoyed it! Will you be reading more Dumas?
@@ProseAndPetticoats The Three Musketeers is coming out in reprint later this year from what I've heard. If nothing else comes up I think I'll get into that one!
@@emilkarlegrund8800 Oh yes, did a video on that one too. Happy reading!
Certain changes didn't look very good in the film.
Alexandre Dumas read Homer (Dumas A., Mes Mémoires, Paris, Bouquins, 2003, p. 590.) and the Iliad and Odyssey influenced the count of Monte Cristo.
Why didn't Dumas make an Edmond and Mercedes ending together?
Why didn't Dumas write an ending in which Edmond recovered Mercedes and brought her back like Menelaus did with Helen?
In Book IV of The Odyssey, Telemachus visits Menelaus who won Helen back after his elopement with Paris. Helen was sorry for what she did, but still Menelaus needed to use drugs to forget his painful memories of her like Helen's union with Paris. This influenced Alexandre Dumas. Edmond would never be happy with Mercedes and would never forget her marriage to Fernand. This would always make him have painful memories. Their marriage would be deeply unhappy.
Haydee does not bring the count the painful memories that Mercedes does. More realistic for him to be happy with Haydée.
@@ebenezer4107 interesting input!
Love your channel. You do great reviews. I have discovered that my favorite books seem to be the really long ones. I’m not quite sure why that is but it seems to be the case. The Stand, Lonesome Dove, Brothers K, Anna K, War and Peace, and I’m currently reading Les Miserables and honestly I think it may be my favorite of all. Count Of Monte Cristo is coming up next and I’m just curious which of the 2 books you love the most? Who’s writing do you prefer out of Dumas and Hugo? I’m super curious. lol
@@cdane7 Thank you so much! I'm so happy you are falling in love with Les Misérables. I can see why the big books make such an impression.
I would still pick Les Mis, because that story had me in tears (as you can see in my reading vlog, haha) and I still prefer Hugo's writing style.
I'm curious which one will become your favourite!
We don’t exist to pay financial debt.
Our lashes are the silk from spider stars.
Our neurons taught our hearts to lose their breath;
a thing in which no tax deserves remark.
If only Anne beheaded Henry first,
she might’ve known his castle was her own.
The servants of a haunted mansion Earth
realize they’re cotton-candy-cobweb souls.
It was you lifting Louis’s severed head.
It is you that deserves to live for free;
you blink the way a butterfly descends-
-the slaves can finally pursue their dreams.
Now, chose freedom instead of some career.
Our fingers must remember Louis’s hair.
my name is Nicholas Leonard, and this is a sonnet that I wrote
I’m so happy that you’ve read it.
And enjoyed it at that. 😀 I read it so long ago. I might have to do a reread but maybe next year.
I think someone should do an episodic TCOMC. Where they can take the time to include as much as they can from the book. A 2 hr movie is definitely not enough time to tell this story.
I agree, a series would be way better. I'd love to see that! Glad to hear you enjoyed this novel too.
Love your 🐱 💘💘💘
Read the book but honestly cannot remember .such except "revenge" ! Si, you now got me to bring down from the book shelf yet another brick ! My TBR consists of 90% books over 859 pages !
Haha, I know the feeling. But you won't regret it. Every page is a delight. Happy reading! 🐱
I really like your formatting and presentation. It's informative and flows really well. I do have a question. In recording this video or any video, why do you decide to use English instead of your native language? It isn't a criticism, your English is really good, but it occurred to me when watching your video that if I spoke another language as my native language I would probably write and do videos in that language. Good video!
Hello! Thank you so much. The reason why I picked English is because I consume books in English, thus it is more logical to me. Also, by speaking English I reach a much wider audience. I didn't want to limit myself to Belgium and The Netherlands.
The greatest revenge story ever. I'm learning how to write myself and I hope to one day create a revenge plot that's half as good.
keep writing
That is great! Good luck with your writing. Analyze as much stories as you can, especially your favourite ones!
@@ProseAndPetticoats thank you! Right now I'm working on a portfolio of middlebrow new weird short fiction. Sort of like Futurama if it was written by Ligotti/Vandermeer.
I read this book a long time ago, but I don't remember it being so long. I figure I must have read an abridged version, but when I look on Amazon, I don't find any abridged versions. My sister wants to do this as a buddy read, so I'll get a chance to read it again. A really long novel, well-written, is a rare pleasure. I like your term "book hangover." So accurate!
There are many abridged versions. I bought a version, but didn't know it was abridged, and then ended up buying this Penguin edition :) I hope you'll get a chance to read it again! Amazing novel.
@@ProseAndPetticoatsis the abridged version better than the full vers ?
@@WillGraham-uv1ol I didn't read the abridged, but I'm confident to say you should go for the full version. It's amazing! :)
The mini-series adaptation with Gerard Depardieu is well worth a watch, although I say so not having read the novel.
I agree, probably the best adaptation even though it still condenses the story a lot.
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I would say a series could do the book justice. One movie is just too short. Will you ever read the book?
There is the 1979 French miniseries with Jacques Weber that makes a complete and unchanged adaptation of the book.
I'm sure it would be a lovely experience.@@ProseAndPetticoats
.I've seen a film that shows the relationship between Count and Haydee in a well-written way.
The film The Prisoner of Château d'If or (Russian: Узник замка Иф, romanized: Uznik zamka If) from 1988, directed by Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich we have the relationship count snd Hsydee.
The film showed in a very well written and developed way, for example, the relationship between the Count and Haydee. The two stay together.
Briseis is Achilles’ slave in the Iliad by Homer. And I've seen films and series that adapt the iliad, showing their relationship in a well-developed way.
Nice review! It was a good spoiler free breakdown of what to expect. Do you think this book will have an influence on the way you write any potential novels in the future?
Yes, it is masterfully written and I am sure it will be an influence!
I loved the movie, it's one of my favorite movies of all time and I've been hesitant to read the book since I thought I would know the plot and ending so hearing that the movie changes a lot from the book makes me want to read it haha.
Oh my, you should definitely read it! You'll love it so much. Very different from the novel (and the book is 1000x better) 🥰
heyy love this video! i recently started reading this and this is super helpful! also the link in your bio for the reading schedule isnt working could you please edit that? thank you
Hello there! The link should work, I just tested it. Here's the link again, and I hope this works for you:
www.patreon.com/ProseAndPetticoats
@@ProseAndPetticoats thank you ! is there any way I can access it without a patreon membership? actually I live in India so the prices when converted to my currency is actually quite high as I'm a full time pre med student and i dont really work a part time job. if it's not possible then no worries :D
My favorites were Faria, Valentine and Haydée.
So many amazing characters in this novel... 😍
I liked Haydee too, and Albert and his friend! For some reason, my favorite villains were madame and monsieur De Villeforte.
@@michiamamomimi All the characters are BRILLIANT 😍
I read this book in both English and French. This is how much I was taken or else enchanted by this book. After all it’s the best revenge story ever written and one of the best novels ever created. I recommend that you watch the limited series starring Gereard Depardieu and Ornella Mutti. It was a nice interpretation. Which chapter was your best?
I don't have a favourite chapter - loved ALL of them 🥰
@@ProseAndPetticoats couldn’t agree more, but the 48 th one titled ideology was really something else.
Great advice, thank you! I've still to read this one, and will remember your tips. It's a shame that they included a spoiler-riddled family tree in the front of the book - maybe they could have done that better.
I'm writing out a Bucket-List of classics I've never gotten around to reading (probably because they're all huge books haha) but it's also finding the 'best' translation and a book with a nice big font size, which is very important to me!
Oh yes, we have to be very careful with those family trees! 😅 I can't wait to read this book again, I enjoyed every minute. Good things await you.
@@ProseAndPetticoats I'm excited to read it!
So, Penguin Black Spine for these, ok.
Now I just have to find lovely editions with good font size for one of my favourite classic authors, Dickens!
(side note, but ATM I'm playing a video game called Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which is set in 1860's Victorian London. I get to hang out with Charles Dickens and so side quests with him, chasing Spring-Heeled Jack and other ghosties as a part of his rl Ghost Club!)👻
Haha, that sounds delightful! 😄
@@ProseAndPetticoats Teehee, he is, and we always meet up with Dickens in a pub 😂🍺
I'm reading Les Miserables on my Kindle Paper White. I will do Count of Monte Cristo next. A Monte Cristo is also my favorite sandwich.
Two of my favourite books! 🥰 Haha, never heard of that sandwish. What is it?
Turkey, ham, cheese, on French Toast style bread. Heck of good. I finished a Balzac novel last year. Lots of good French writers to explore...
@@aaronaragon7838 Sounds great! French authors are my absolute favourite. 🥰 Balzac is incredible.
My only problem with classics like this is there is so many translations and editions that I wanna pick the best if I’m gonna read it. And I need it as unabridged as possible
Yes, so many options. I think Penguin Classics does an amazing job :)
@@ProseAndPetticoats I have the beautifulllllllll Fall River press hardcover from barnes and noble, $8 buy lol.
This is one of my favorite books along with The Iliad and Odyssey
I have 12 adaptations of the book for film, series and anime.
Monte Cristo (1922) with John Gilbert
Monte Cristo (1929) with Jesn Ângelo
The count of Monte Cristo (1934) with Robert Donat
Le comte de Monte Cristo (1943) with Pierre Richard Willm
Le comte de Monte Cristo (1954) with Jesn Marais
Series The Count of Monte Cristo (1964(with Alsn Badel
The Count of Monte Cristo (1975) with Richard Chamberlain
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo series (1979) with Jacques Weber
The Prisoner of Château d'If (1988) with Viktor Avilov
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo series (1998) with Gerard Depardieu
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) with Jim Caviezel
Anmei Gsnkutduou (2004)
That is impressive! Can you tell me which one is your favourite?
My favorite adaptations are:
1 - Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1979)
2 - The Prisoner of Château d'If (1988)
3 - Monte Cristo (1929)
4 - Gankutuou
5 - Le comte de Monte Cristo (1998)
I just book it. And this year there will be two new adaptations: the film with Pierre Niney and the series with Sam Claflin.
I knew about the French film (hope it'll be good), but I had no idea about a show. That's interesting...
♥️
The book is a masterpiece.
Dumas was the master of weaving several parallel stories that are all connected.
My favorite adaptations are the film The Prisoner of Château d'If (1988) by Georg Yungvald-Khilkevich and the anime Gankutusou.
Spoiler
I really liked The Prisoner of Château d'If (1988), which showed the Count's darker personality, but he then saw a chance to be happy with Haydée and decided to leave his heartache in the past.
I really liked the Gankutsuou anime, as they gave a lot of development to Andrea Cavalcatti/Benedetto, in addition to his dark personality. There is the presence of the demon Gankutusou who took advantage of Edmond's despair to take over him, and he became the cruel Count of Monte Cristo.
I watched several adaptations of the book.
The adaptation with Jim Caviezel is terrible in itself.
The film has serious problems with anachronisms and ignores the social class division in France. If Fernand was the son of a rich nobleman, his father would never allow him to be friends with a simple sailor like Edmond, he would have an arranged marriage just like Albert, Eugenie and Valetine had. He could never marry Mercedes. She was no longer a virgin, virginity was valued and could lead to the marriage being annulled and Fernand suspecting that the child was not his.
When Edmond returns to France and throws that party, high society shows up in force. This would never happen, because the French nobility was a closed circle and the way he acted would be seen as nouveau riche. It was Albert who opened the doors of French high society for him.
Dumas offers a much better overview of what social relations were like than a foreigner who has never studied France at all. I suspect that the screenwriter knows nothing about French society and didn't make the slightest effort to research it.
How does Edmond become captain of a ship if he doesn't know how to read and write? How will he deal with accounting and bureaucracy?
How did Albert not suspect the kidnapping when a stranger saved him with just a sword from a well-armed bandit's lair?
With Fernand, Villefort Danglars did not suspect a trap. When Edmond suspiciously lets the transport of his fortune leak without the slightest protection. It was obvious it was a trap. A very obvious trap for anyone to fall into.
The way Vilelfort confesses his crime is so primitive that an experienced man like him would never fall into this trap. And what authority does the count have to command a police force and order Villefort's arrest? He is not a judge, prosecutor or police officer.
Mercedes was married for years to Fernand, even if it was because of her pregnancy. She could have chosen another man, but she would have married her ex-fiancé's friend. Reconciliation is very difficult, because it is difficult for him to accept that his ex-fiancee was married to the man who ruined his life.
The fact that Haydee was a slave is no excuse for her to be omitted. Troy with Brad Pitt, with all his problems, did not omit the relationship between Achilles and Briseis, who was his slave. Or do it like the film Odyssey (1997) with Arnnad Assante. On his travels Ulysses meets Circe and Calypso, could Edmond while sailing with Vampa have met another woman.
Thank you so much for breaking this down. You've really studied the movie well! I agree, and I will forever return to the book. It indeed is a masterpiece.
The movie (2002 version) is a dumb swashbuckling adventure. The point of the book is that the Count gets his revenge through cunning and planning and deceit, whereas the movie is just a bunch "hwah! I have a sword! Have at ye scallywag!"
Also in the book, the Count is described as being vampire like, captivating to look at, almost otherworldly. His attire is exotic and affluent. When he enters a scene every character is transfixed on him. In the movie he's just this generic potato looking guy whose outfits look like they came from a costume shop.
Never realized the main character shared his last name with the guy who killed Alexander Pushkin🙈
I know Pushkin was shot (I think in a duel?) but I have no idea about the man's name! Interesting fact :)
@@ProseAndPetticoats yeah, the running joke is that Pushkin was a real one from da hood: part black from his grandfather, wrote rap and was killed in a gunfight.
That's the kind of thing we've learned in literature class in every post-soviet school ;)
@ProseandPetticoats,
The Christian name of the man who shot Pushkin was Georges, as for his surname....sorry, I think it was something like Antes but don't hold me on that..
You have to be a pretty good and committed reader to finish a house brick like that in rougly a month
Committed, yes, but it's easy when you love what you read. This one was so addictive! ;)
@ProseandPetticoats,
Have you read War and Peace and/or Anna Karenina, please ?
Regards from GB
@@apollonia6656 Yes. I highly recommend both of them! I have a video about W&P on my channel 🤎
The Count of Monte Cristo enchants everyone who reads it. The film didn't do it justice, as you pointed out. There is a Gerard Depardeiu mini series that is more faithful to the book. Depardeiu as Edmund Dante is not perfectly cast (Daniel Day Lewis would've been better), but the mini series is good.
I'm going to check it out if I have the chance!
p.s. There is also a science fiction adaptation by the American writer Alfred Bester, The Stars my Destination, a classic in the genre. It isn't as ambitious as Dumas, but it's good. @@ProseAndPetticoats
The 1998 Adaptation with Gerard Depardieu is not the only adaptation of the book made by France.
The first major French adaptation was in 1918 by Henri Pouctal and with Léon Mathot as the count, then there was the 1929 adaptation by Henri Fescourt and with Jena Angelo as Edmond Dantes, in 1943 we have the adaptation by Robert Vernay and with Pierre Richard Willm as Edmond, in 1954 Robert Vernay made a new adaptation of the book and with Jena Marais as Monte Cristo, in 1961 we had the last adaptation for a French film by Claude Autant-Lara and with Louis Jordan as the count. In 1979 there was a television series from classic by Alexandre Dumas and with Jacques Weber as the count.
Of all the French adaptations, the 1979 version is the only version that adapts the book in its entirety. This adaptation has all the plots of the book, including the wedding of Andrea Cavalcanti and Eugenie, Benedetto's trial, Edouard's death, Edmond and Haydee leaving for the east.
The 1929, 1943, 1954 and 1961 adaptations omit the Danglars. In the 1929 version, Benedetto's marriage is to Valetine. The couple of lovers end up running away together after Benedetto is arrested.
Far beyond the change at the end, the series made the mistake of giving little space to the count and Abbé Faria, changing the character of Benedetto, omitting Eugenie and Edouard. And the cjnt giving up all his fortune was too stupid.
The revenge against Villefort was the weakest part of the series.
Camille's character was very poorly used. After Count escaped from prison, he could have settled down with Camille, much like Ulysses spent a few years with calypso before returning to Ithaca. But the hatred and desire for revenge does not let the count forget his revenge and the count would leave Camille to return to France to take revenge, just as Ulysses returned to Ithaca.
Spoiler
In the book, the count no longer feels part of France and leaves for the East with his new bride, Princess Haydee.
The 2002 film appears to emulate the ending of Homer's The Odyssey. The count recovers everything that was taken from him like Ulysses and returns to his origins, Marseille.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus spends 10 years in the Trojan war and another 10 years lost at sea because of a fight with the God of the seas. Meanwhile men lust to steal your wife and kingdom. As he was missing, they thought he was dead and tried to force his wife to find a new husband.
Ulysses returns in disguise with the help of the Goddess Athena and her son Telemachus. He kills the men who coveted his wife and his kingdom. He returns home to his family.
God helped the count to kill Fernand to recover his family, just like Ulysses.
That is so interesting! Thank you for sharing that. Could you maybe warn the comment readers by putting a spoiler alert before your first sentence?