Box Office: $75m international, ...
but only $282m domestic? Bulgaria was higher! Quebec alone should have made that much.
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt26446278/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
People in US are loving it. They have extended the viewing engagements in theaters all over where I am. Everybody is talking about it favorably and going to theater managers and saying that haven’t seen anything like it in a long time. And they love the music. It’s a classic. It’s grownup. And it is just beautiful. Must be seen in a theater.
shareIt's good but it's not all THAT. I love the book and was really looking forward to a new adaptation but I walked away thinking that it was good but not great.
The locations are well-chosen and there are some nice sets but the film overall looks bland and lacks visual character. The 2002 film with Jim Caviezel remains the superior production. It has a more stylish look, a greater sense of adventure, and Caviezel did a better job of embodying the character from the novel. The only way in which this version if superior is in having an extra hour of run time with which to tell its story.
Don't get me wrong: I still enjoyed the film. But it was a let down after waiting more than 20 years for another screen adaptation.
Caviezel’s was a good one. So was Depardieu’s - maybe better.
This latest one I first saw on an international flight and it wasn’t very clear. I went back to see it at a theater (because you have to see this at a theater - it’s required) and thought wait a minute this has a lot of stuff missing and then my biggest complaint was that it apologizes for the revenge part. And it shouldn’t. This is the greatest revenge story ever told. And it should be. It’s calculated with precision over time and the intent was never to kill but to exact suffering. Also, Haydee was never with Albert. But I don’t even recall Haydee in Caviezel version. Do you? Because that was huge - the story of Ali Pasha. And, Edmond does ends up with Haydee in the book. And, although Caviezel does have a majestic presence, so much is left out of that movie. It bothered me. The first half was good and then it squandered the second half. The Depardieu version is the most complete. Ines Sastre played Haydee and the fabulous Ornella Muti played Mercedes. I do think Pierre Niney was the consummate Edmond Dantes. And it has to be in French.
I would have liked to have seen this version without having read the book. But as I not only have read the novel but read it recently, it's impossible to judge the story as it's presented in the film without comparison to Dumas's original.
Haydee was not in the Caviezel version, no. And you're right that a lot was left out of that one. But it looks more lavish and I think Caviezel did a better job of embodying the Count as he is described in the novel. I also think the script for the 2002 film was simply more fun. It had humor, which the book also had, and the Jacopo character as played by Luis Guzman is enjoyable. This 2024 version, by contrast, is deadly serious and humorless at all times.
Also, I have to say, I was disappointed in the scenes with Edmond and Faria. The whole aspect of Faria being a TEACHER who is imparting all of his knowledge and wisdom, ranging from languages to history, and making Edmond into a new man, is almost entirely lost in this one. In this film, he is essentially just the guy who tells Edmond where to find the treasure.
Yes to everything. And also Edmond hops on a pirate ship and gets the treasure. Completely omitted. Lots of omissions. And I didn’t like the casting of Mercedes either. But I think I could see this story over and over no matter who did it. The audience did like this 2024 movie and I can only think that people really wanted to see something so desperately great on the big screen. I mean adults. The music was sweeping. I have to say that song that Haydee sang was probably one of the most beautiful I have ever heard.
Depardieu version also has Bertuccio and he was a fantastic cook. I believe both Jacopo and Bertuccio were in the novel. But leave it to the French to show this to-die-for meal. This series was also lush. But Depardieu one was filmed in France, Italy, Malta - mainly Paris and Naples. The Caviezel one is filmed in Ireland and Malta. I felt that visually. Marseilles has to feel like Marseilles and Naples was good enough.
I have a friend who is something of a wizard at finding movies and shows online, albeit not always from authorized sources. I'll have to see if he is able to locate the Depardieu version somewhere so that I can watch it.
I agree that it's always nice to see new versions of this story, even when they don't live up to my expectations. It's a shame that we only get them so rarely. 22 years between the Caviezel version and this one is too long. However, have you heard that a miniseries has also been produced? I think it is supposed to become available sometime this year. Here's a trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk9ncn5rM-8
I have quite mixed feelings about it.
I don’t know how or what to say but I believe I saw this one. I remember Jeremy Irons. And that’s it. A few months ago. I think I thought oh good they made a series and then I didn’t think it was that good. But I will watch or re-watch as the case might be. Apparently my saying I can see this story over and over didn’t register with this one.
shareAccording to Wiki, it has only been made available thus far in a few European countries, so unless you are in one of those countries, or you ran across a pirated stream, I don't know how you would've seen it. If you did see it though, and you barely remember it, that certainly isn't a good sign.
I presume it's going to hit US streaming services later this year. I want to see it but I think that the trailer looks rather bland and uninspired, and the guy playing the Count seems totally wrong for the role. But I'm hoping to be surprised. It's supposed to be eight episodes long so they have plenty of time to tell the story.
You’re absolutely right. So, I will look forward to it in its entirety. And, I didn’t think the guy was right either. I’m trying to think and I may have seen one episode when I was in Rome in October or November of last year. If not Venice or Sicily at least. On TV. It would have to be then. But I wasn’t impressed as I recall. I just remember Jeremy Irons distinctly and it was in English. How weird - to fly over on Air France and see the French one on a 10-inch screen on the back of a seat and then an episode of this newer one in a hotel after nada in the last 22 years. Just realized Caviezel one is on Hulu - I am going to watch it right now.
shareYes, it is quite strange that after so long with seemingly no one interested in telling this story again that two new major projects hit. It seems an odd coincidence.
And I hope you enjoyed revisiting the 2002 film! Has it been a while since you last saw it? What did you think?