It is the second biggest box office success of 2024 with its 9 million admissions, it is of course the film The Comte de Monte Cristo. And since January 3, it has been available on myCANAL. This feature-length adventure film produced by Dimitri Rassam is based on a 5-star cast led by an excellent Pierre Niney. At his side, choice actors Laurent Laffite, Bastien Bouillon, Vassili Schneider, Anaïs Demoustier and Anamaria Vartolomei. Rated 4.5 out of 5 on Allociné, it is spectators’ favorite film in 2024. An undisputed success which makes the film by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière a much more appreciated version than the mini-series directed by Josée Dayan in 1998 . At the time, it was Gérard Depardieu who took up the challenge of interpreting the character of Edmond Dantes/Monte Cristo. And during the writing of this masterpiece by Alexandre Dumasn, a story of revenge and redemption, the ending was then changed. At a request from… Gérard Depardieu.
This is in fact what we learn from an article from our colleagues in the newspaper The Parisiandated 1998. At the time the series finale had just been broadcast. And while the viewer was waiting for the reunion between Gérard Depardieu (Dantes/Monte-Cristo) and Ornella Muti (Mercedes), he was ultimately not disappointed. They take place from the beginning of the fourth and last episode of the Comte de Monte Cristothe big back-to-school soap opera on TF1. However, the story was not over since Dantès had not yet completed his revenge, which first fell on Morcerf, husband of Mercedes, then on the prosecutor Villefort (Pierre Arditi). That left Danglars (Michel Aumont), the banker and third traitor. But if Edmond Dantès was finally avenged, this did not please Gérard Depardieu, who “refused to end on such a dark note“.
An ending that was too “black” for the star of the series
So, the ending was changed in Josée Dayan’s mini-series. “So, one last time, Didier Decoin, author of the adaptation, took some liberties with Dumas’ novelour colleagues then wrote. Since he had invented Camille de la Richardais, the young widow in love with Monte Cristo, he could use her as he wished! And it was she who, sacrificing herself for love, returned Edmond to Mercédès.” The viewer waiting for this reunion between Gérard Depardieu and Ornella Muti was therefore not disappointed: they did take place, from the start of this last episode of The Count of Monte Cristo, after four weeks.
