(bright music) (quiver clacking) - "Count of Monte Cristo" has always been one of my favorite stories.

I was asked if I was interested in do this eight-hours television series, and I thought, "Finally, we are able to tell the full story, the complete story."

- I discovered the book of Alexandre Dumas, "The Count of Monte Cristo," like many, many French students in school.

I remember my teacher gave us the book to read during the summer.

And I have to say that after a few pages, I was really hooked.

- Consider the challenge accepted.

It's a very well-crafted book, and every character is so complex and so incredibly well crafted, that it makes for a really good read.

- At the time, Alexandre Dumas released it in the newspaper every week.

This is why it fits so well a TV series today because it was really written to hold the audience.

It's the ultimate revenge story.

- When you understand the time in which it was written, when, you know, televisions and radios were nonexistent, it really paints the perfect picture of each scene and all of the characters, and describes things that people who weren't well traveled would need to have known.

It sort of paints the perfect picture of Marseilles and Paris of that time.

- One of the reasons this story has lasted so well and it's still such a good read is because there still remains inequality of people who are messed around by people in power.

I mean, it's human nature.

It's happening all around us.

- I've been dreaming of revenge.

- And planning revenge.

Dig your own grave first.

- When you use a novel as a base for a TV series or a film, you have to make the story work for screen.

Because of the complexity, so many characters are involved, it was a huge challenge to try to get it into one narrative force.

But it's an amazing story.

And I also think it's fascinating that a man from many years ago was dipping his pen in some ink and started to write, and could imagine this enormous story 1,000 pages later.

I'm deeply impressed by the work.

(upbeat music)