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The Main Characters
--Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is a famous symbologist who gained fame based on a previous mystery he solved. He gets caught up in another mystery, this one dating back to the time of Christ.
--Sophie Neveau (Audrey Tautou) is a French cryptologist whose ties to this mystery are much deeper than even she knows. She journeys with Robert on his quest.
The Setting
France and England.
The Film (2:28:58)
Robert Langdon is a very famous symbologist and when the curator for the Louvre is found dead, his help is requested. He doesn’t know, that he is a suspect in the curator’s murder. A young woman, Sophie, shows up to help him and together the two start piecing together the mystery of a dark secret the curator (who is also Sophie’s grandfather) has been hiding. It is a secret with huge ramification for the Catholic church. It is the secret of the Holy Grail, that Jesus’ lineage continued past his deat. From the opening minutes we are led on a mystery that Robert and Sophie must solve before they are stopped by a Catholic cult (Opus Dei) or the French police.
Movie Review
Anytime you take a best-selling novel and adapt it to film you will have people who are not happy with the results. This is one of the few movies out now that I actually read the book before reading the movie. I loved the book and understood all the scrutiny that fans gave the film. Of course, over time, I have forgotten most of the minor things that have been changed. Sure some of the major plot points were changed slightly but you have to remember that a 2 hour movie is much different than a 300 page book. Is the film perfect? No, not by any means. At times it tended to drag and there were perhaps too many twists and turns that work well with novels but not with major motion pictures. Tom Hanks was believable as Langdon, but it wasn’t his best role. Audrey Tautou is the real revelation for me, as she is great in this role, and Paul Bettany is just downright scary. Ian McKellan and Alfred Molina also throw in some solid performances. Like I said, it wasn’t a perfect adaptation but it was quite enjoyable and I think made more sense than the National Treasure movies (which some call a rip off of these anyway). The best thing about this movie is that its success lead to Angels & Demons being made (as they show in a :20 clip prior to DVC playing), the prequel to DaVinci Code that I think is actually much better. It’s a good enjoyable movie and stands up well as time goes on. **1/2.
DVD Features
A) Extras
---Disc One---
1) Previews
I think all of these were on the Click DVD I reviewed a while back. I really don’t have anything to add to these.
---A) Casino Royale (1:21)
---B) The Pursuit of Happyness (2:27)
---C) The Holiday (2:30)
---D) Ghost Rider (2:01)
---E) Spider-Man 3 (1:41)
---F) Curse of the Golden Flower (1:24)
---G) Gridiron Gang (2:33)
---H) Open Season (2:15)
---I) All The King’s Men (2:33)
---J) Click (2:05)
---K) Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2:17)
---L) Seinfeld Season 7 (2:44)
---M) Coming to Blu-Ray (1:14)
---Disc Two---
1) First Day on the Set with Ron Howard (2:08)
Ron Howard directed this and he says he was excited about the prospect of filming in the Louvre, which is done on the first day of filming.
2) A Discussion with Dan Brown (4:47)
Dan Brown was the executive producer on this film and he talks about the first thing he wrote when he was five (and jokes that he hopes Ron Howard makes that film next). Dan was fascinated with hidden stories and hidden mysteries. He says the origin came from Angels & Demons and other secrets of the church. He was always interested in the history of the church. He researched for a year for the book and spent a year of writing. He knew the book was going to be big because of pre-orders and all of a sudden his book signings were packed. He says the fame came with a price, basically his privacy. He talks about another Robert Langdon novel in the works and I will be picking it up when (if) it ever comes out. The new book takes place in the US.
3) A Portrait of Langdon (7:13)
Dan talks about Langdon being an amalgam of professors her knew and is a very intellectual person. Hanks read it knowing that Ron Howard was making the movie and he was so immersed in the book. Ron said a lot of actors expressed interest in working on the movie and he was surprised when Tom expressed interest, too. Ron mentions that they were making the movies out of order and to the movie-going audience there was no Angels & Demons. He thought Hanks would make the everyman side of Langdon relateable. Dan Brown said he had no one in mind for the part of Langdon but he was thrilled to have Hanks on the role of Langdon.
4) Who is Sophie Neveu? (6:53)
Dan says he thinks of Sophie as an island, someone with no friends, family, or real backstory. Audrey read the book before she knew the movie was going to be made. Ron lived the idea of the sacred feminine aspect of the story and the emotional journey of Sophie. Ron said a lot of big-name acresses expressed interest in Sophie but they wanted a French actress and went about casting for the role. Audrey wasn’t really considered until they saw an interview with her on Charlie Rose and they met her and she auditioned with Tom Hanks. She was the least prepared of all of them but had a unique quality. They show some of the audition and she got the role.
5) Unusual Suspects (17:52)
This featurette focuses on the supporting characters in the film, most notably, Jean Reno (the only character Dan Brown had in mind when he wrote the book), Ian McKellan, Paul Bettany and Alfred Molina. They wanted to hire actors of the nationality they play to make it more authentic. All the actors who play the character talk about them, as does Dan Brown. Ironically, Paul Bettany was not available when production started but as filming got closer no one was cast and so he was asked and he gladly took it. Molina mentions that Aringarosa in Italian is basically Red Herring. They touch on some of the other characters, like the curator (who interviews in French), Teabing’s butler and the manager of the bank. This was really interesting.
6) Magical Places (15:52)
The places here are all the different locations the crew filmed. Ron says that France was great in allowing filming. They shot in the Louvre, some great places in England (which had some great crowd support). They were not able to film in Westminster Abbey but they filmed in Lincoln Cathedral, which is almost identical, a great chapel in Scotland and everywhere in between.
7) Close-Up on Mona Lisa (6:32)
The Mona Lisa plays an important role in the early part of the film and Dan Brown talks about seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time and thinking it was pretty small. Ron talks about seeing the Mona Lisa when he was 19 and he too, thought it was small. Tom Hanks saw it at the Louvre many years ago. Ian doesn’t understand the fuss about it and when he saw it, it still hadn’t been cleaned like it is now. Ron and Tom agree that being all alone with the Mona Lisa was an amazing moment for them. They talk about the eyes of the Mona Lisa and how they seem to follow you. Audrey says there is something mysterious about it that makes it special. Interesting look at the painting.
8) Filmmaker’s Journey Part One (24:34)
The introduction of Langdon is something not in the book (since we knew him already in Angels & Demons) but is a great introduction for the film. It took them months to build the lecture he used. The dead body on the ground is actually a fake, a cast of Jean-Pierre (the actor who played the curator). Ron says he doesn’t speak French so he would ask Jean Reno for help to make sure everything was alright with the performances. They talk about Silas and the self-flaggelation, Teabing and how it jumpstarts the movie.
9) Filmmaker’s Journey Part Two (12:14)
I don’t know why they seperated this into two parts since it would flow better as one (and it is quite good) but it is, and we have to deal with it. It continues with the climactic scenes and these two extras were quite well done.
10) The Codes of The Da Vinci Code (5:27)
Ron says they built a code within a code in the film, which Dan Brown assisted with. Most of the things are things you won’t notice on first pass. They go through some of the codes in the film which is really interesting. The artwork on the front of Langdon’s book is called Birth of Venus by Botticelli, who was a member of the Priory of Sion. An air freshener in the car is the angel Gabriel who represents a call to duty. There is a Caravaggio sign called the Boy in the Well which represents Langdon’s childhood. They show Les Mis, and Victor Hugo was Priory of Sion member as well. The rose in the alabaster jar represents Mary Magdelene. One of the symbols on the bank represents Phi, which is derived from Fibbonacci sequence. In the vatican there is a mural on the ceiling called hell, and it represents a fallen angel. In Teabing’s house there is a statue with two-heads, representing Janus (and Teabing). There isa Templar Knight we see, and a family tree when Sophie goes into the church. This was the best extra on here by far.
11) The Music of The Da Vinci Code (2:55)
This featurette just briefly goes over the music of the film. Hans Zimmer composed the score and it lends itself very well to this treasure quest the characters are on, and enhances the mystery of the film.
12) DVD-ROM The Da Vinci Code Puzzle Game PC Demo
I didn’t try it so I can’t really comment on it.
B) Audio/Video
The video is Widescreen (2.40:1) and audio is standard Dolby Digital 5.1. The widescreen is very nice and is a nice transfer. The audio is really not needed, but it does an admirable job as well.
C) Packaging / Liner Notes
Standard DVD packaging. Liner notes include a sheet of DVC merchandise, a $3 rebate, and a pamphlet of Blu-Ray Sony DVD’s, which is worthless now.
D) Easter Eggs
None that I could find, though they should have some considering this is a movie about finding things that are hidden. Oh well.
Overall Review
There are a ton of previews to start off this disc: Pursuit of Happyness (2:27), All The Kings Men (2:33) and Click (2:05). That’s just too much. Other than that quibble, this is a very nice collection. The movie is dedicated to one disc so that all the disc space is dedicated to the movie itself. The second disc is full of extras (about an hour and 45 minutes) and most of them are very well done. I notice a few things missing that makes it not quite perfect. A commentary (by Dan Brown and Ron Howard would’ve been awesome) is sorely missing. It’s odd that there are no deleted scenes. Also, they showed some footage of Audrey’s audition which would’ve been a nice addition. I don’t think we’ll ever see this (unless they make Angels & Demons and re-release this) but as it stands, this is a very good collection and is recommended.
Overall Rating
8.5
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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