>Brad DeLong wrote: >> > >>>I've just watched _The Count of Monte Cristo_. The movie >>>is good _qua_ movie, even thought I have some doubts wrt >>>the conversion book -> movie. Namely: >>> >>>(spoiler space) >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>>. >>> >>>IIRC, in the book Mondego's son is really his son, and the Count >>>refrains from going in his revenge through the end, saving the >>>boy's life, and becoming a little more heroic than in the movie, >>>where he only spares the boy _after_ knowing that he is >>>_his_ son. >> >>And in the movie Edmond Dantes winds up marrying his TWUE LOVE, his >>original fiancee, while in the book he does not. >> >>The key differences are, I think, that we are a more romantic and >>less realistic civilization than nineteenth-century France, and that >>we also demand greater "tightness" of plot. >> >I think the key difference stems from the fact that we are a materialistic >and amoral culture, so that the uplifting that book-Dantes got from >_refraining_ from executing his revenge wouldn't be appreciated >by the hordes that the m*vie-makers want to attract in order to increase >their profit.
book-Dantes does not exactly refrain from revenge. He limits his revenge before it destroyes his soul... > >Even at the destruction of the _spirit_ of the book, that _revenge_ is >evil. A spirit that I thought was well-conveyed in the movie. > >Probably only a humanistic culture could make a true-to-the-spirit >_Count of Monte Cristo_ movie. It's a pity that neither Cuba nor >North Korea have the monetary resources to do it :-( > >Alberto Monteiro THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, VERSION A, PLOT SYNOPSIS Unjustly imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, Edmond Dantes escapes, finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, and heads for Paris to seek revenge on his tormentors. On the way to Paris, however, he finds a copy of the works of the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il. Overwhelmed by the Dear Leader's brilliance and humanitarian vision, he exchanges his entire fortune for rice seedlings, moves to Pyongyang, and devotes himself to agricultural improvement. At the end of the movie, the Dear Leader himself appears to praise Edmond Dantes's understanding of the spirit of Juche... THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, VERSION B, PLOT SYNOPSIS Unjustly imprisoned in the Chateau d'If, Edmond Dantes escapes, finds the treasure of Monte Cristo, and heads for Paris to seek revenge on his tormentors. On the way to Paris, however, he finds a copy of the Maximum Leader Fidel Castro's speech, "History Will Obsolve Me." Overwhelmed by the Maximum Leader's brilliance and humanitarian vision, he exchanges his entire fortune for sugar-cane processing machinery, moves to Playa Giron, and devotes himself to biochemical research. At the end of the movie, the Maximum Leader himself appears to praise Edmond Dantes for understanding that his fortune should be used not to torment individual members of the bourgeoisie to disgrace and death but to build up the power and strength of the world proletariat. At the end of the movie, the Maximum Leader leads the cast in a rendition of "patria e muerte" as the invasion fleet that will overthrow the world bourgeoisie sets sail for Miami...
