I will tell you how to truly experience my favourite book
One of the few memories I have of my father is that he raved about The Count of Monte Cristo as being among his favorite novels.

During my American 'education' - in front of the TV screen - I have of course come across the recent version with James Caviezel, and I thought it a nice movie but, as I have come to perceive most films, it was nothing really spectacular.

I have begun listening to audio books, which I can rent a great number of for free from the public library, and per chance I have come across an unabridged version of this novel. It is a narration by Fred Williams spanning 40 CDs.

No literary or visionary escapade I have yet witnessed compares with the sublime splendor of the masterpiece which I have, quite by accident, discovered - that is why ... I couldn't STAND this movie, which I hurried to procure immediately afterward. I progressively grimmaced through the first part and didn't even watch the latter ones, though I had rented them from the library. I'd rather enojoy the Caviezel version which greatly changed the story [including the ending ... aia yai] than this one which parallels close to the literary masterpiece, yet only enough so in order to remind an aware viewer of its desperate inferiority.

An audio book is the ideal compromise between the fatigue of actually reading an enormous novel in today's demanding society and the superficiality of Hollywood interpretations. If you would see a Count of Monte Cristo that dazzles you by his personality more than his wealth; if you would experience a script that inspires in its expression and a plot that is leagues beyond anything even Tom Clancy can conceive, then vizualize it in the fathoms of your mind, as you contemplate the unabridged audio version of this book.

Sadly, I am not certain that Amazon has it in stock, but you can find it in other sources. The relevant information is that it is narrated by Fred Williams and published by Blackstone Audio, Inc and has an ISBN of 078613853X. Be careful to not settle for an abridged version ... the full length book is at least 35+ CD lengths long.

Not perfect if you benchmark it against the book, but worth the money comapred to other adaptions
The bad:
1. The ending is probably the most criticized part of this adaption. Dantes ended up with with Mercedes instead of Haydee, and the love between the count and Haydee was simply not mentioned. This disappointed thousands of hardcore fans of the book.

2. The creation of some unneccessary characters seems rather stupid.

The good:
1. Depardieu did a fantastic job portraying the count even with a seemingly exaggerated body frame. Nearly everything(excluding the right bodyshape)is there, the style, the attitude, the character all make you feel nobody can possibly do a better job. All other actors and actresses seem to know their job very well too.

2. The role of Bertuccio has far exceeded my expectation, bravo!

3. Great music and fabulous scene design.

Well let's face it, putting the original story into 4 episodes is a daring adventure and they managed to pull it off(Many other trials of putting the story into a movie have failed miserably). It will take at least 10 episodes to create a perfect adaption that brings ultimate satisfaction to the most hardcore fans, and before it is done, this mini-series is probably the best you can get.

A wonderful film, but
A wonderful film, but one thing is a little disappointing.
You cannot put on and off the subtitles.
They always appear on the screen.

One of my favorites!
I bought this DVD set back in 2000 when it first came out after seeing the original miniseries aired on Bravo. The scenery is spectacular, the acting is well-done and it remains fairly faithful to the original. If anything was changed, it was to streamline the story (the book I have is 1400+ pages) but there were a few creations that weren't necessary in my opinion.

There are a few things about the book that made it better, such as the ability to disguise the identity of certain characters, giving the audience/reader a sense of occlusion. This isn't possible when you have an actor playing their parts, but it isn't fair to fault the filmakers for that.

I'd reccommend it, especially if you're into historical pieces. I originally bought it to keep up with my French, and have watched it five or six times (which is a lot given that it's so long!) but I now watch it for it's artistry.

This one is a classic
I had bought this before the latest English version came out. After watching this version, the newer one pales in comparison.
Even though I watch this with subtitling, it will always be a favorite.