Squeele Every fan of the original novel must cringe while watching this amateurish rendition of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of vengeance. And every person who hasn't read it yet should avoid it at all costs.The Count of Monte-Cristo is one of the most adapted novels in the history of Cinema/television. And oddly not a single adaptation was even remotely faithful, if so entertaining. However this French mini-series had the perfect length (6 Hrs) to succeed in putting on screen the innumerable characters, themes and places where so many failed miserably for almost a century. Well, better luck next time, I guess. As Josee Dayan provides what is arguably one of the worst Monte Cristo ever put on screen. Which is somehow an amazing performance considering the challenge...You're in for six LONG hours of mediocre performances, lousy direction and terribly cheesy writing. Of course Dumas' style was also very heavy and somewhat ham-fisted, but it never harmed the main plot and even managed to convey the social criticism, as well as contain the over-the-top situations and strengthen the emotion.This horrible mess has nothing. No social relevance, no engaging "larger than life" drama or adventure. The sets are cheap and the art direction ugly. And above all, the emotion never translates from the book to the screen. Not a single minute out of 360. Nice achievement.Oh, and did I mention that they *changed* the ending? Turning the amazing, challenging and beautiful conclusion of the novel into a ridiculous piece of garbage the worst Hollywood hack would be ashamed of.Avoid this thing. Seriously.

bbosman 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.. :-)

John Bale 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.

Stephen_Starfox This is not a series about a man working to achieve his revenge - it is the story of what happens to a man as he takes his revenge. The opposition is not his adversaries, but the count's own soul. Combined with the wonderful atmosphere and grandiose acting, it makes for an unusual, fairy-tale-like story. I love it, but you may not.