THE DA VINCI CODE [2006 / 2011] [Extended Cut] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Takes You Beyond High Definition!
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 symbolists Robert Langdon [Tom Hanks] 1993 Academy Awards® winner for Best Actor in ‘Philadelphia,’ and 1994 Best Actor for ‘Forrest Gump’ 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. With first-rate performances by Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Jean Reno, critics are calling ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ involving, intriguing and first rate thriller.
FILM FACT: According to the Associated Press, during a preview for the film the critics in Cannes, a line spoken by Tom Hanks “drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls.” Nearing the end of the screening, “there were a few whistles and hisses, and there was none of the scattered applause even bad movies sometimes receive at Cannes.”
Cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean-Yves Berteloot, Etienne Chicot, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Marie-Françoise Audollent, Rita Davies, Francesco Carnelutti, Andy Clark, Fausto Maria Sciarappa, Joe Grossi, Denis Podalydès, Harry Taylor, Clive Carter, Lilli Ella Kelleher, Daisy Doidge-Hill, Garance Mazureck, Crisian Emanuel, Charlotte Graham, David Saracino, Lionel Guy-Bremond, Yves Aubert, Brock Little, Matthew Butler, Roland Menou, Hugh Mitchell, Tina Maskell, Peter Pedrero, Sam Mancuso, Andre Lillis, Mario Vernazza, Agathe Natanson, Michael Bertenshaw, Sarah Wildor, David Bertrand, Dan Brown, Charlie Rose, Paul Adams (uncredited), Stefana Brancastle (uncredited), Scott Davidson (uncredited), Laine Edwards (uncredited), Neil Findlater (uncredited), Christopher Fosh (uncredited), Sean Francis George (uncredited), Kas Graham (uncredited), Martin Heathcote (uncredited), Paul Herbert (uncredited), Helen Holman (uncredited), Arnaud Klein (uncredited), Dhaffer L'Abidine (uncredited), Rob McGillivray (uncredited), Andy Orr (uncredited), Paul Sacks (uncredited), Robert Stone (uncredited), Brian Teles (uncredited), Darren Travers (uncredited) and Chris Wilson (uncredited)
Director: Ron Howard
Producers: Brian Grazer, Dan Brown, John Calley, Kathleen McGill, Louisa Velis, Ron Howard and Todd Hallowell
Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman (screenplay) and Dan Brown (Story)
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Cinematography: Salvatore Totino (director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby TrueHD Master Audio
Subtitles: English, English, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian and Swedish
Running Time: 174 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: SONY Pictures Home Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Shocking! Controversial! Blasphemous! Heretical! Just some of the adjectives used to attack Dan Brown's runaway best-seller ‘THE DA VINCI CODE,’ and also this; it's big-screen adaptation. As a content agnostic, I have to say that this entire religious backlash over ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ means nothing to me. All I care about going into see a film like ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ is whether it works or not as intended and meaning, is it a good thriller or not, if it is realistic or literal to matters of faith.
To answer that question, on the level of pure popcorn entertainment, and ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ does work, if to some not barely. This is a polished, star-studded and sometimes engaging thriller whose plot is absolute hogwash, but that's fun enough while you watch it that you forget to care much about the illogical details. I still can't believe anyone would take Brown's obviously commercial intentions seriously as anti-religious, or label them as anything but old-fashioned showmanship and that's no slam against the author. In fact, this guy is a genius, as he sure knew how to push buttons and in selling books and that he did... by the truckload. Unfortunately, the story he concocted also doesn't really hold up much too critical scrutiny, because while it's easy to praise its efficiency, it really doesn't have much emotional weight or thematic resonance beyond its own gargantuan success.
Since the book is now in print in like 30 countries, and has sold millions and millions of copies worldwide, the plot is probably already familiar to you. Tom Hanks plays Robert Langdon who plays opposite the cryptologist Sophie Neveu [Audrey Tautou], who both run around churches and museums, trying to unlock ‘THE DA VINCI CODE,’ which the Catholic Church has kept hush-hush because it thinks its discovery will lead to mass apocalypse (or, at least, a drop in donations). What follows is back-room plotting by a cable of mean old Catholic priests, one really psychotic monk-dude Silas [Paul Bettany] who likes to whip himself, endless dialogue about hidden clues and church lore (and I mean endless), and of course, lots of edge-of-your-seat chase-and-rescues.
As I said, I don't find ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ remotely offensive. This is fiction, pure and simple. So I'll give Brown and director Ron Howard credit for not kowtowing to religious groups, and keeping the film faithful to the book. And it's also hard to criticise Dan Brown for committing any crime except being just pulp fiction. ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ may place itself in a religious milieu, but its plotting, villains, big secrets and general structure are as formulaic as any literary page-turner of old.
In fact, the greatest strength of Dan Brown's creation is that he takes pains to paint his characters as, if not wholly three-dimensional, then at least relatable and likable. There is much less time for him than in the novel, but Tom Hanks' Robert Langdon feels genuine and roots our empathy. Audrey Tautou is charming and effervescent as always and for once we don't have an “acclaimed French actress” who comes off as slumming to win her first big American role. Ron Howard also populates Dan Brown's sometimes stuffy world with memorable character players like Paul Bettany, Sir Ian McKellan, and Alfred Molina all show up, and they give credence to even the most unbelievable and talk endless of Dan Brown's plot contrivances.
Despite being so slick and professional, ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ doesn't rank as anything near a great film for me because, ultimately, it isn't really about anything. After racing from set piece to set piece, and listening to a mind-numbing amount of plotting and stretched to the film's 174 minute Extended Cut, I expected more of an emotional payoff than I received. I can't reveal any spoilers of course, but Dan Brown sets up such an intricate mystery that nothing less than the apocalypse would satisfy me. We certainly don't get that in ‘THE DA VINCI CODE.’' Despite this I can still give the film a five star rating because there are lots of twists, turns, violence, and car chases to make it good rollercoaster ride of enjoyment diverting enough. I still can't fathom why ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ and especially the book, has become such a phenomenon, but if nothing else, I guess it proves that the world loves a conspiracy theory, however debatable.
THE DA VINCI CODE MUSIC TRACK LIST
PHIANO (Written by Dan Brown) [Performed by Dan Brown]
LA JAVANAISE (Music by Serge Gainsbourg) (Lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg) [Performed by Serge Gainsbourg]
LE RESPECT (Written by Hichem Zaki) [Performed by 5é Bastos]
SECRETS (Written by Flipper Dalton) [Performed by Flipper Dalton, Libera Benedetti and Irina Björklund]
KYRIE FOR THE MAGDALENE (Written by Richard Harvey)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Given the anticipation for and filmmakers behind ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ it's no surprise that it is handsomely produced in the way only a major, big-budget studio movie could be. If I still find Ron Howard's directorial style a bit nondescript and “everyman,” this is certainly a very good-looking impressive 1080p encode image. Note that the film's 174-minute Extended Cut is presented here and there is no theatrical cut version offered, or any seamless branching option that I could find. The colour palette of ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ is rich and a bit dark, by intention. I appreciated the nice uses of browns, deep blues and crimson. It feels “religious” and looks smooth, clean and well-saturated. Flesh tones sometimes feel de-saturated or a little orange-y, but it's appropriate to the stylistic intentions of the film. Blacks are solid throughout, and contrast healthy and adding a nice sense of the depth to the image. This is a very detailed transfer as well, with strong clarity and healthy shadow delineation and even the murkier areas of the picture held pretty firm and there is some black crush, but it usually isn't bothersome. And befitting a relatively new release, the print is in tip-top shape and there are no encoding issues. ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ will not disappoint you.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – SONY offers the first high-resolution audio presentation for ‘THE DA VINCI CODE,’ giving us a fine English 5.1 TrueHD Surround track. ‘THE DA VINCI CODE,’ like any big, glossy thriller, pumps up its big moments with plenty of Surround action. The rears are frequently engaged with prominent discrete effects and nicely-handled ambiance. The score may be a bit over-the-top, but it's bled well all around and certainly adds to the sense of envelopment and atmosphere. Dialogue is important here, as the film is overloaded with it, as well as Audrey Tautou's difficult French/English accent, which at times was sometimes hard for me to understand. I did struggle at times with low tones, with mumbled dialogue sounding obscured. Otherwise, the mix is robust and full-bodied, and low bass is strong. ‘THE DA VINCI CODE,’ sounds as good as it looks.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Unlocking The Code: Here we have an Interactive Picture-in-Picture from SONY, who has produced their most interactive, and complex PIP track yet for ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ and it even comes with a video demo. Engage the feature, and throughout the film little symbols will appear and these are your “code” to unlock, which grants you access to various making-of and contextual material. There is seven types of information scattered throughout the track, including: Interviews; Storyboards; Prop Talk; B-Roll; Photos; Symbols & Codes; Langdon's Journey and Location Trivia. It's a nicely done track, and quite a mixture of video and still material, photographs, pop-up facts and behind-the-scenes footage. I'm not a huge fan of the icon-and-click approach, but SONY certainly has certainly pushed themselves to produce something new for the studio.
Special Feature: Select Scenes Commentary with Director Ron Howard: Hear Ron Howard explains in great detail about certain selected scenes throughout the whole film, especially explaining in great detail about: Paul Bettany; The Louvre; Filming in the Louvre; Jean Reno; Audrey Tauto; The Louvre at Night; Stunts; Silas [New Scene]; Flashbacks; A Lesson in History; Exploring The Theories; Double Decker Bus; Remy’s Demise; Shooting on Location; Lincoln Cathedral; Dramatic Moments; Langdon’s Mind; Teabing’s Fall; Emotional Fallout [New Scene]; Filming in Britain; Filming in Scotland; Rosslyn Chapel Mystery; Sophie’s History; Happy Accidents; Follow the Bloodline; Tom Hanks; Dan Brown. You can either select individual Titles or Play All. Ron Howard also touches a bit on the controversy surrounding Dan Brown's novel. I certainly would have liked a much fuller audio commentary, but what we do get here is very informative and well worth listening to.
Special Feature: CineChat: One of two BD-Live features, CineChat allows you to watch ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ while launching an online live chat with others also currently watching the film. I dunno and I am an old-fashioned kind of guy, but I guess if people didn't live near each other, this would be the next best thing. Too bad SONY doesn't provide some kind of discount coupon to get something else.
Special Feature: Angels & Demons Extended Preview [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:00] Oh, come on now, you didn't really think SONY would miss an opportunity to flog the upcoming big-screen prequel to ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ now would you? This a First Look at ‘Angels & Demons;’ includes a brief intro by Ron Howard, followed by a complete four-minute scene from the film, and finally the Theatrical Trailer.
Special Feature: BD-Live Functionality: Finally, SONY has BD-Live-enabled ‘THE DA VINCI CODE.’ At the press time, the disc's web portal had not been launched, but I suspect it is all working hunky dory now, but as stated above, this aspect of the 21st Century does not interest me one bit and is a total bore as far as I am concerned, I am more interested in just viewing the film, then looking at the extras.
Finally, I make no bones about being a non-believer. So the “controversy” that continues to greet ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ means nothing to me. All I cared about was watching the film to decide whether it would work as a thriller and more often than not, it does work 100%, even if I find its big revelations etc., a bunch of malarkey. Still, I can't deny that I was very entertaining. This Blu-ray is without a doubt a really good one, with strong image and audio and plenty of extras, both new and exclusive. ‘THE DA VINCI CODE’ is well worth checking out on Blu-ray for fans of the film. SONY has really pushed the boat out with a substantial undertaking with this Blu-ray, incorporating strong digital qualities regarding the film itself with fantastic implementation of Blu-ray's Javascript Picture-in-Picture capacity. Along with that, we've also got a slate of nice supplements, both old and new, as well as a serviceable array of scene-selective commentary tracks from director Ron Howard. It's a firm thumbs up purchase for this decent adaptation of Dan Brown's culturally iconic novel. And if you're merely curious, then I maybe I advise you to go out and rent it. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
