This movie had a story
So much better than any movie I have seen lately. I had never read the book or seen the movie and I just loved it. It captured my imagination and the acting was so believable. Jim C. was the Count. I want to see it again and again.

DVD Purchase
It was so easy to buy the DVD I was looking for, The Count of Monte Cristo, on Amazon.com! Even ColumbiaHouse did not have it! I entered a search, got instant results, looked at the reviews, chose a seller and ordered a used but "like new", DVD. It arrived in just days and was in perfect condition! I'm very happy with the seller and with Amazoncom!

Completely misses the point!
The book, The Count of Monte Cristo, is one of my favorites. I know that movies can miss certain elements in the book and that usually the book is better. So I can forgive most movies even if they miss some things. But this movie seems to have missed the point entirely. It seems that they thought sword fights and one-liners where what this story is about. Where the book created this fully fleshed world of Edmond Dantes, the movie is like the superficial Hollywood version of the hastily read cliff notes. If you are looking for a movie that takes the themes from this book accurately, then watch the movie, SLEEPERS. (with Jason Patrick, Brad Pitt, Robert DeNiro, etc.) Even though the time and place and people are entirely different, the story of this film rings more true to the heart of the novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, than any film version of the book I've ever seen. Read the book, and watch both movies and you'll see why.

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
James Caviezel, Guy Pierce, Richard Harris, Luis Guzmain, and the rest the cast give great performances. Under the astute direction of Kevin Reynolds the pacing is good and you truly get a feel for the events. The costumes, sets, and music are well done and add to the illusion of being there. This is a classic and remarkable Alexandre Dumas story of a common man falsely accused and imprisoned. His escape and revenge will have most people cheering or at least on the edge of their seat. The action seems almost non-stop but even the slower moments have good character development and help clarify the story. A fair amount of time is spent with Harris's and Guzmain's characters which helps develop them. The amount of treasure he finds is overwhelming. I highly recommend you catch this version. Although I have not read the book, this version inspires me to do so as I have a feeling it follows it more closely. Good quality DVD with great replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "The Man in the Iron Mask" and "The Three Musketeers". - C. Luster

What went wrong
What went wrong? Dumas' novel is a wonderfully straightforward masterpiece
from which any third year film student could produce an at least halfway interesting movie simplely by following story line. This version is a typical "forget the story just add a few tens of millions of dollars of fluff and a couple of handsome faces and the idiots will rush to the box office." variety of film. Watch Richard Chamberlain's made for TV "Monte Christo", and you'll see how real quality can be achieved even on a "made for TV" budget. It rates a one only on the basis of its utility as a drink coaster. A function it began to perform less than half-way througn the film.