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Reviews
The Northman (2022)
A revenge film far superior to The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Robert Eggers was based on the legend of Prince Amleth who inspired Shakespeare to write his masterpiece Hamlet. This film does not romanticize or soften revenge, betrayal and hatred. Everything is shown realistically. And so it can offend modern sensibilities. After all, not everyone is prepared to see what a realistic story about revenge and what hate is like.
What separates Robert Eggers from the mediocre Kevin Reynolds is that Robert Eggers seeks to make a film less commercial and more artistic, he doesn't care about the box office and Kevin Reynolds sacrifices any art and realism to guarantee the box office, even sacrificing the quality of the film. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is a great book and was adopted in a meidocre way by Kevin Reynolds. The result was a romanticization of the story, which left her too naive.
The Northman is a masterpiece among so many mediocre commercial films made today. Alexander Skarsgård is excellent as Prince Amleth, Nicole Kidman is excellent as Queen Gudrún. I'm glad that despite her age, she can still be valued and have good roles. It is unfortunate that the cinema discards actresses when they turn 40.
Troy (2004)
A mediocre and poorly written film
The weak scriptwriter replaced the Greek myths with nonsense. He failed to create a realistic epic like war and peace by Tolstoy. He made a cheap adventure movie with many flaws in the script.
Monte Cristo (1922)
Much lower than the 1929 version
The film used the synopsis of the book I am everything at an accelerated pace without the proper development of the story, in addition to a superficial writing. 1h and 30 minutes are not enough to adapt the book and develop the story properly.
The 1929 French version is far superior
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Although director Fescourt's version of Monte Cristo presented a somewhat simplified version of Dumas' story (having authored, as usual, his own screenplay), the above outline does itself capture only the barest threads of what remains a complex and multi-faceted plot. But with a slimmed down storyline and a near four hour running time Fescourt had ample time to encapsulate and depict the very essence of Dumas's novel, not only in its drama and scale and the constantly changing fortunes of its characters but also in its portrayal of their evolving attitudes to one another.
And this distinction between the first and second half of the film is echoed in a number of other aspects. The first half is very much an adventure film, with Dantes' return from the sea, his arrest, incarceration, daring escape and search for the treasure. In contrast, the second half is much more carefully paced. In place of thrills we have gradually escalating tension and melodrama. While the first half made stunning use of location shooting, with the arrival of the sailing ship in Marseilles and actual filming on the Château d'If island prison being particular highlights, the largely Paris-focused second half was mainly studio based, with a series of increasingly grand set pieces, each sumptuously designed and decorated. While Dantes's Arab-themed palace on Monte Cristo island may have looked just a tad over the top, it was certainly visually stunning. Equally impressive was the set of his Parisian residence (above right) where Mondego is humiliated. Built on an enormous scale, the matt-ing between actual set and painted backdrop was just seamless. Then there was the evening at the opera, where Monte Cristo makes his grand entrance. But even the more intimate scenes were often shot on an impressive scale, for example the shooting gallery where Dantes practised for his forthcoming duel,.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Bad adaptation and mediocre as an independent film
The film fails to do a convincing portrayal of the historical context, to create compelling characters
Jay Wolpert is not Tolstoy or Alexandre Dumas. .
The film combines big hestriony and lazy writing.
If you want to watch a good adaptation of the book watch Le Comte de monte cristo (1979) with jacqes weber or want to watch a good movie that involves adventure and revenge, watch Le bossu (1997) with Daniel Auteui.
Le bossu (1997)
A great adventure movie
A great adaptation of the French book Le Bossu and a film that combines adventure, intrigue and revenge in a well-written way different from the mediocre film the count of monte cristo (2002).