written over 150 years ago, le comte de monte cristo has been adapted for film nearly 30 times. in reviewing a number of previews, the french adaptations, such as the one with gerard depardieu, seem to be much more in keeping with edmond dantès' character than the american films. of course, i'm only in chapter 13, but dantès never shouted out in emotional rage at anyone as they arrested him. he was fully convinced a mistake had been made and he would soon be free.
but let's not give away the book anymore. future postings can do that. alexandre dumas' novel has also provided the inspiration for many tales of vengeance. in his biography, lew wallace credits le comte de monte cristo as being a driving influence for his novel, ben-hur. monte cristo has also been referenced many times in films, such as in the shawshank redemption and v for vendetta.
finally, wikipedia has a neat graphic display of all the characters of the novel and how they are related to each other. it has me shuddering in anticipation.
preview
this is the 2002 american film based on the book
