Dan Brown's international bestseller comes alive in the film THE
DA VINCI CODE, directed by Ron Howard with a screenplay by Akiva
Goldsman. Join symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and
cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) in their heart-racing
quest to solve a bizarre murder mystery that will take them from
France to England - and behind the veil of a mysterious ancient
society, where they discover a secret protected since the time of
Christ.
.com
----
Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable
blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take
with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da
Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a
certifiable franchise. The leap for any story making the move
from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the
case of The Da Vinci Code, the plot is concocted of such a
preous formula of elements that you wouldnt envy
screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the man tasked with making this
story filmable. The script follows Dan Browns book (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400079179/${0} ) as closely as possible while
incorporating a few needed changes, including a better ending.
And if youre like most of the world, by now youve read the book
and know how it goes: while lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard
Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to
the Louvre by French to help decipher a bizarre series of
clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator. Enter
Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist. Neveu and
Langdon team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is
propelled across Europe, ballooning into a modern-day mini-quest
for the Holy Grail, where secret societies are discovered, codes
are broken, and murderous albino monks are thwarted
oh, and
alternative theories about the life of Christ and the beginnings
of Christianity are presented too, of course. Its not the typical
formula for a stock Hollywood thriller. In fact, taken solely as
a mystery, the movie almost works--despite some gaping
holes--mostly just because it keeps moving. Browns greatest trick
was to have the entire story take place in one day, so the action
is forced to keep moving, despite some necessary pauses for
exposition. As a screen couple, Hanks and Tautou are just fine
together but not exactly memorable; meanwhile Sir Ian McKellens
scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just
what the film needed to keep it from taking itself too seriously.
The whole thing is like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to
think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip.
--Daniel Vancini
Visit The Da Vinci Code Store (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/116858011/ref=d_ap_dvc_1 )
On The DVD
The DVD extras on a film as popular as The Da Vinci Code should
be plentiful, and this version doesnt skimp. With over 90 minutes
of special features, including ten behind-the-scenes featurettes,
theres a lot here to explore beyond the film itself. The question
is, is there anything new here that we havent heard before, in
all the hype, pseudo-documentaries, and controversy surrounding
the movie, to make it worthwhile? For most viewers, the answer
will be "yes." Essentially, if you like the movie, if you enjoyed
the book, you will get a lot out of them. Just as the movie is
intended to make the book come to life, the DVD extras should
make the film come to life by pointing the audience into the
world of the filmmakers, connecting the dots between print and
film, and for the most part they do just that. The extras here
range from the typical look behind-the-scenes to more in-depth
features on the supporting characters, the locations, and the
Mona Lisa herself. "First Day on the Set with Ron Howard"
features the director gushing about the rtunity to film in
the Louvre and work with Tom Hanks again (the two worked together
before on Splash ( /dp/B00015YVD6 ) and Apollo 13 (
/dp/0783219695 )). Its a short piece that doesnt reveal much
beyond making an attempt to share Howards excitement (with the
"Gee, I really loved working with him/her on this project" that
you hear in every such featurette), but viewers might enjoy
seeing how the stage was set up in the famous museum, down to the
spike tape on the floor showing actors where to hit their marks.
The Filmmaking Experience, Parts 1 and 2 further explores the
creative and technical aspects of the filmmaking process. A
Conversation with Dan Brown starts out feeling like a puff-piece
(the man who wrote this book got started at age 5 with a story
called The Giraffe, The Pig, and the Pants on Fire. "It was a
thriller," he says.) and unfortunately it doesnt go very deep
into much of anything of interest. But on the other hand, this
isnt 60 Minutes here; its intended to give viewers a better sense
of the man behind the franchise, which it does. Much of the
footage from this interview is sprinkled throughout some of the
other featurettes. Meanwhile, the character behind the franchise,
Robert Langdon, is examined in his own featurette, as is Sophie
Neveu. The cool thing here is getting under the skin of the
actors to see how they approached the characters, knowing that
most of the movie-going public already has formed their own ideas
about the characters from the book.
The most interesting extras are the featurettes that focus on
the history behind the mystery. Or is it the mystery behind the
history? Either way, the first one on the Mona Lisa, and the
second featurette on the many codes and symbols that are hidden
throughout the movie balance out the remainder of the extras
nicely by demonstrating the sense of intrigue, mystery, and
game-playing adventure that made The Da Vinci Code so popular in
the first place. --Daniel Vancini
Beyond The Da Vinci Code
( /gp/browse/ref=d_ap_dvc_1/?node=14055391 )
The Films of Tom Hanks ( /gp/browse/ref=d_ap_dvc_2/?node=426780
)
The Films of Ron Howard ( /gp/browse/ref=d_ap_dvc_3/?node=457978
)
The Da Vinci DVDs: Decoding "The Da Vinci Code" (
/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2XMKS33UK41H2/ref=d_ap_dvc_5 )
More About The Artist (
/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R2U7SOYDIIIC27/ref=d_ap_dvc_6 )
Stills from The Da Vinci Code (click for larger image)
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/us/davinci/da_vinci_langdon_sophie_monalisa.jpg )
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/us/davinci/da_vinci_silas_lurking.jpg )
( https://images-na.ssl-images-.com/images/G/01/dvd/us/davinci/da_vinci_langdon_louvre.jpg )
