The Count of Monte Cristo (1998 miniseries)
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Montecristo.png
| director = Josée Dayan
| producer = Jean-Pierre Guérin
| based_on = {{Based on|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas}}
| writer = Didier Decoin
| starring = Gérard Depardieu
| first_aired = {{Start date|1998|09|07|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1998|09|28|df=y}}
| cinematography = Vittorio Storaro
| num_series = 1
| num_episodes = 4
| runtime = 100 minutes (per episode)
| country = France
Italy
| language = French
| budget =
| music = Bruno Coulais
}}
The Count of Monte Cristo (a.k.a. Le Comte de Monte Cristo) is a French-Italian four-part miniseries based on the 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
The series had approximately 12 million viewers for each episode during its initial premier in September 1998.{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Adam |title=Eight Hours of Retribution |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1999/06/20/eight-hours-of-retribution/6acb392e-9e9a-4495-826a-5b35fe78eb6f/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |work=The Washington Post|date=19 June 1999}} The series premiered on Bravo on 21 June 1999 in the United States.
Plot
Edmond Dantès is falsely accused of Bonapartism and sentenced to spend the rest of his life imprisoned in the dreaded Château d'If, an island fortress from which no prisoner has ever escaped, and to which the most dangerous political prisoners are sent. While imprisoned, he meets the Abbé Faria, a fellow prisoner whom everyone believes to be mad. The Abbé tells Edmond of a fantastic treasure hidden away on a tiny island, that only he knows the location of. After many years in prison, the old Abbé dies. Edmond escapes and creates a new identity for himself as he swears to exact a cruel vengeance on the three men responsible for his suffering.
Cast
{{Div col |colwidth=22em}}
- Gérard Depardieu as Edmond Dantès
- Sergio Rubini as Bertuccio
- Ornella Muti as Mercedès Igualada
- Jean Rochefort as Fernand Mondego
- Pierre Arditi as Gérard de Villefort
- Florence Darel as Camille de la Richardais
- Georges Moustaki as Abbé Faria
- Guillaume Depardieu as young Edmond
- Naike Rivelli as young Mercedès
- Julie Depardieu as Valentine de Villefort
- Christopher Thompson as Maximilien Morrel
- Stanislas Merhar as Albert de Morcerf
- Hélène Vincent as Heloise de Villefort
- Michel Aumont as Baron Danglars
- Constanze Engelbrecht as Hermine Danglars
- Roland Blanche as Caderousse
- Jean-Claude Brialy as Père Morrel
- Inés Sastre as Haydée
- Serge Merlin as Noirtier de Villefort
- Jean-Marc Thibault as Barrois
- Thierry de Peretti as Toussaint
- Patrick Bouchitey as Beauchamp
- Frédéric Gorny as Château-Renaud
- Stéphan Guérin-Tillié as Franz d'Épinay
- Dominique Besnehard as Defense Attorney
- Julien Rochefort as the young Fernand Mondego
- Dimitri Rataud as the young Danglars
- Michel Bompoil as the young Villefort
- Arthur Nauzyciel as the young Caderousse
- Didier Lesour as Boville
- Daniel Martin as Doctor d'Avrigny
- Micheline Presle as Madame de Saint Meran
- Roger Dumas as Cocles
- Mattia Sbragia as Luigi Vampa
- Ubaldo Lo Presti as Pepino
- Jacques Boudet as President of the Assembly of Peers
- Albert Delpy as The host of a show
{{div col end}}
Critical reception
The New York Times positively reviewed the series, praising its visuals and "straightforward, old-fashioned spirit."{{cite news |last1=James |first1=Caryn |title=TELEVISION REVIEW; Depardieu Revels Lustily in Revenge and Derring-Do as the Count of Monte Cristo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/21/arts/television-review-depardieu-revels-lustily-revenge-derring-count-monte-cristo.html |access-date=7 November 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=21 June 1999}}
The Los Angeles Times praised Gérard Depardieu performance as the Count as well as the series's visuals, but criticized the series for some of the changes that were made from the book. They also criticized the last four hours of the series as being too "meandering and convoluted."{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Howard |title=A Faithful 'Monte Cristo'? Don't Count on It |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-21-ca-48595-story.html |access-date=7 November 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=21 June 1999}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0167565|The Count of Monte Cristo (1998)}}
{{Alexandre Dumas, père}}
{{The Count of Monte Cristo}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Count of Monte Cristo, The}}
Category:Films based on The Count of Monte Cristo
Category:Television shows based on The Count of Monte Cristo
Category:1998 television films
Category:1990s French television miniseries
Category:Television series set in the 1810s
Category:Television series set in the 1820s