Director
Ron Howard
Cast
Tom Hanks”¦”¦”¦Robert Langdon
Audrey Tatou”¦”¦”¦Sophie Neveu
Ian McKellen”¦”¦”¦Sir Leigh Teabing
Jean Reno”¦”¦”¦Captain Bezu Fache
Alfred Molina”¦”¦”¦Bishop Manuel Aringarosa
Paul Bettany”¦”¦”¦Silas
DVD Release Date: November 14, 2006
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 149 Minutes
The Movie
The greatest story about the greatest figure in religious history has given hope and light to many faithful worldwide. Perhaps, though, there’s more than we have learned and heard during the sharing of pages after pages of salvation and divinity. The greatest controversy in human history is upon us and only a few people hold the keys to truth.
The Da Vinci Code has been causing controversy since 2003 when Dan Brown had his novel published. A story of falsehoods in the Word of God – and how the Catholic Church has done whatever necessary to keep the truths hidden. The book has sold close to 60 million copies and obviously Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon and decided to adapt it into a film. They were smart knowing that the appreciation and dissention for the subject matter made it a hit, and fast.
Robert Langdon is an avid professor, and expert, of religion and symbology. His life gets turned upside down when one of Paris’ most notable figures requests his presence after his murder in the Louvre. Langdon arrives to try and figure out exactly why he was chosen, but is soon considered more a suspect then ally. Agent Sophie Neveu steps in to help the only man she believes can find out the identity of her grandfathe’s murderer.
This leads Langdon on a great chase all over Europe trying to find out what sort of conspiracy Sophie’s grandfather may have been trying to keep that caused his demise. Through history, great artistic and architectural creations, and the help of a sarcastic old man named Sir Leigh Teabing, Langdon and Sophie are in for one of the most confusing and dangerous nights of their lives”¦to solve the mysteries left behind by Leonardo Da Vinci.
The film starts out very quickly without giving much back story, but considering the filmmakers needed to fit almost 500 pages of information into two and a half hours, it could begin no other way. As the film goes on, many discussions and short lectures teach you all you’ll need to know to follow along. Some good action is intermixed in the form of some car chases and suspenseful scenes of “whodunnit?”
Avid fans of the novel may find a lot of problems with Da Vinci, as much is left out, but as my previous paragraph notes, it really was necessary. The first time I saw this film in theatres, all I did was nit-pick as to what was the same and what was different from the book. Seeing it now, though, I realize how good a film it truly is and how much of a story it tells on its own without the extra information from the novel.
The actors are spot on with their delivery and Ron Howard shot it perfectly as to keep you guessing about the true culprit until the very end. You begin to feel as if you are a part of Robert Langdon and going all over Europe with him trying to figure out the clues to lead you to the next one hoping to solve the code and figure out the truth.
The Video
Unfortunately, the review copy handed to me has the dreaded “fool screen presentation.” The film is shown in 1.33:1 full screen format. The colors look good and it transferred over to DVD exceptionally well. You can’t help but notice the fantastic pieces of art and architectural works you see throughout the film that are simply breathtaking.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds great. There is a lot of dialogue in this film and the filmmakers made it a point for it to be heard over the action noises going on around the characters. Well, same holds true on the DVD”¦when you need to hear action, it sounds great. When you need to pay attention to dialogue, it takes center stage. Not to mention the fact that the musical score is phenomenal. Nicely done.
Special Features
First Day On The Set With Ron Howard – The first day of shooting with Howard as he describes why he knew he wanted this directing job for Da Vinci and how he feels being in Paris.
A Discussion With Dan Brown – The author talks about his love for writing and how he came to pen the novel. He speaks of the amount of research he had to do and when they knew they had something big with this one. He does have another book coming out and gives a little insight into what adventure Langdon will go on next.
A Portrait Of Langdon – How Tom Hanks became the professor through way of not only the novel but his own appreciation for what the symbols and story brought about. Ron Howard also gives his insight on Langdon and how he came to choose Hanks for the role.
Who Is Sophie Neveu? – A view inside the story of the French agent’s life and how Audrey Tatou played her exactly as she was portrayed in book.
Unusual Suspects – Very interesting featurette on how almost everyone in the film is considered a suspect, and also how the filmmakers wanted to cast actors who were of the same nationality as they were in Brown’s novel.
Magical Places – A look at the filming locations such as the city of Paris, the Louvre, and the European countryside and their importance to history and the story.
Close-Up On Mona Lisa – The cast and crew share their visions and thoughts of Da Vinci’s famous work of art.
Filmmake’s Journey Part One – Learning about the press and buzz when the media first heard the movie was going to be made. You then follow Howard, the producers, and the cast as they started making the film. How things were going to be similar from the book or kept out, and what little things needed to be added to make the left out items not be missed. Watching how Paul Bettany became Silas is a really interesting segment.
Filmmake’s Journey Part Two – The second half delves more into how Howard wanted the film to be “a page turner as the book was.” Howard’s directing style is shown and described more in this part about how he films and how he likes to have things done. The entire cast and crew also kept in touch with each other discussing things in secret, e-mailing each other, and improvising new ideas to make Brown’s novel really come to life.
The Codes Of “The Da Vinci Code“ – Ron Howard and Dan Brown explain how they placed numerous symbols and codes in the movie. The scenes are then shown to you to let you try to find them. If you can’t, they will point them out and explain their meanings. Very interesting and informative extra.
The Music Of “The Da Vinci Code“ – takes a look behind the music, the orchestra, and how it all fits in with the essence of the film.
DVD-ROM The Da Vinci Code Puzzle Game PC Demo – A fun puzzle game trying to solve clues.
The Inside Pulse
The Da Vinci Code delivers a tremendous amount of entertainment into two discs to keep you busy for almost an entire day. The movie is really good considering the fame the story had already received. The special features are very informative and extremely fun to watch if even just to see more about the wonderful locations these lucky actors got to film in. If you’re a fan or not, I would sincerely recommend picking this up for you will not be disappointed. And you may even come away feeling a lot smarter when you’re done.
