The Count of Monte Cristo--book and movie. Some spoilers, I guess.
I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo yesterday, and I just finished watching the movie adaptation a few minutes ago. Now I wish our comparative analysis in Literature was about this book and not Twilight.
Since Wuthering Heights instilled in me a thirst for the classics, a few months ago I decided to buy Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. And it is what people say: It is a beautiful book that is truly worth recommending. Unlike The Once and Future King, Wuthering Heights, and other classic literary pieces that I've read in the past, Dumas narrated Edmond Dantes' story with simple accuracy that could have relieved readers who were not used to the 'deep' prose of the normal classic. But keep in mind that although simple, the narration is entirely different to the typical teen books we often see in our bookstores these days. The plot was complex yet understandable (although I think this is the case only if you continuously read it. As I said, the plot is complex, and you would probably forget about important scenes if you rest too long from reading the book.) until it all bore down to the fine thread drawn in the first few chapters of the book which is Edmond Dantes' misfortune and vengeance.
I believe the movie adaptation would have been brilliant to me if it weren't for the fact that I read the book first before I watched it. Of course I understand that using the original plot wouldn't work because there were so many scenes and issues in the book, and that the movie could not contain them. Putting aside the fact that in the movie Edmond and Fernand used to be friends, I personally believe that the first half of the movie was brilliant. Jim Caviezel was the perfect Edmond Dantes. He was able to portray him as the dashing yet humble young sailor who was contented with his simple life with his father and Mercedes. Oh, and Mercedes! Dagmara Dominczyk was so pretty, she ultimately won my heart especially after I saw the Mercedes in the anime version. After the first half of the film, I was--not angry, but a bit disappointed. Caviezel was the perfect Dantes, but not the Count of Monte Cristo. He was more like Simoun in Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo. It saddened me that they didn't show Maximilien, Valentine, and the others in Albert's generation. And Albert, handsome as he may be in the movie, is not supposed to be Dantes' son. As far as I know, he is Fernand's son. It suddenly dawned on my that the movie was starting to become cliche-ish. A minor difference in the movie, by the way, is that they didn't use the title 'Morcerf' and Fernand was the son of a count instead of a fisherman. And Danglars didn't become a baron (and that's why didn't show Euginie--another disappointment for me) And at the last scenes, I didn't like how Monte Cristo killed Fernand. In the book, most of his vengeance weren't violent--or they didn't directly concern Monte Cristo, at least. It was just--odd.
All in all, though, both the book and the movie were great and I would greatly recommend them to everyone. A piece of advice would be that you watch the movie or the anime first before reading the book.
"The sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope" -Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo
Since Wuthering Heights instilled in me a thirst for the classics, a few months ago I decided to buy Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. And it is what people say: It is a beautiful book that is truly worth recommending. Unlike The Once and Future King, Wuthering Heights, and other classic literary pieces that I've read in the past, Dumas narrated Edmond Dantes' story with simple accuracy that could have relieved readers who were not used to the 'deep' prose of the normal classic. But keep in mind that although simple, the narration is entirely different to the typical teen books we often see in our bookstores these days. The plot was complex yet understandable (although I think this is the case only if you continuously read it. As I said, the plot is complex, and you would probably forget about important scenes if you rest too long from reading the book.) until it all bore down to the fine thread drawn in the first few chapters of the book which is Edmond Dantes' misfortune and vengeance.
I believe the movie adaptation would have been brilliant to me if it weren't for the fact that I read the book first before I watched it. Of course I understand that using the original plot wouldn't work because there were so many scenes and issues in the book, and that the movie could not contain them. Putting aside the fact that in the movie Edmond and Fernand used to be friends, I personally believe that the first half of the movie was brilliant. Jim Caviezel was the perfect Edmond Dantes. He was able to portray him as the dashing yet humble young sailor who was contented with his simple life with his father and Mercedes. Oh, and Mercedes! Dagmara Dominczyk was so pretty, she ultimately won my heart especially after I saw the Mercedes in the anime version. After the first half of the film, I was--not angry, but a bit disappointed. Caviezel was the perfect Dantes, but not the Count of Monte Cristo. He was more like Simoun in Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo. It saddened me that they didn't show Maximilien, Valentine, and the others in Albert's generation. And Albert, handsome as he may be in the movie, is not supposed to be Dantes' son. As far as I know, he is Fernand's son. It suddenly dawned on my that the movie was starting to become cliche-ish. A minor difference in the movie, by the way, is that they didn't use the title 'Morcerf' and Fernand was the son of a count instead of a fisherman. And Danglars didn't become a baron (and that's why didn't show Euginie--another disappointment for me) And at the last scenes, I didn't like how Monte Cristo killed Fernand. In the book, most of his vengeance weren't violent--or they didn't directly concern Monte Cristo, at least. It was just--odd.
All in all, though, both the book and the movie were great and I would greatly recommend them to everyone. A piece of advice would be that you watch the movie or the anime first before reading the book.
"The sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope" -Edmond Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo