Da Vinci Code

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 05 19 (USA)

UPC: 043396161238

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: Dan Brown's controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that's been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris' Louvre museum is broken when one of the gallery's leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died. Hoping to learn the significance of the symbols, police bring in Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a gifted cryptographer who is also the victim's granddaughter. Needing help, Sophie calls on Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a leading symbologist from the United States. As Sophie and Robert dig deeper into the case, they discover the victim's involvement in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members have been privy to forbidden knowledge dating back to the birth of Christianity. In their search, Sophie and Robert happen upon evidence that could lead to the final resting place of the Holy Grail, while members of the priory and an underground Catholic society known as Opus Dei give chase, determined to prevent them from sharing their greatest secrets with the world. Also starring Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, and Alfred Molina, The Da Vinci Code was shot on location in France and the United Kingdom; the Louvre allowed the producers to film at the famous museum, but scenes taking place at Westminster Abbey had to filmed elsewhere when church officials declined permission. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Mystery

Awards: Film Presented – Cannes Film Festival Best Score – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Original Score – null Best Original Score – Satellite Awards Best Visual Effects – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Sound – Satellite Awards Best Art Direction in a Contemporary Film – Art Directors Guild Best Original Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Unlocking the code interactive picture in picture (1-pip)
New select scenes commentary with director Ron Howard
17 Featurettes including
First days on set with Ron Howard
Discussion with Dan Brown
Portrait of Langdon
The filmakers' journey
Learn about the codes, the music, the props, the sets, and the visual effects

Da Vinci Code

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 04/28/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DTHD null, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 174 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Cammila Albertson

A book that should have been a movie in the first place, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code was the best seller of the decade when a film adaptation hit screens in 2006. The premise, whether or not you've read the book, sounds like the recipe for a guaranteed great suspense thriller: large-scale cover-ups, precious artifacts, an albino monk from a Catholic sect who self flagellates, and Tom Hanks donning the strangest haircut of his career. Where could they go wrong? In quite a few places, apparently, but The Da Vinci Code is still an enjoyable movie. When the pace gets going and the intrigue builds up, the film flies on its own momentum...and we'd expect nothing less from Ron Howard. Unfortunately, the screenplay was adapted by Akiva Goldsman who was responsible for such ugly book-to-screen transitions as I, Robot and Practical Magic. Goldsman succumbs to the most common screenwriter's pitfall in adapting a book, by including extraneous information, alternate timelines, and far-abreast side stories with no time to make them into something entertaining or useful to the audience. Unless he was operating from the assumption that every viewer of the film had read the book, the chintzy-looking fuzzy-screen flashbacks don't provide useful backstory but instead just muck up the pace and weaken the film's focus. A more dramatic and sweeping take on the thrill-ride would have tightened up all of these problems: a musical or visual refrain used whenever the heroic cryptologists examine a new riddle, or even a stronger concentration on the cabalist mazes would have lent the movie the excitement and captivation its premise deserved. As it stands, The Da Vinci Code is a good movie whose only tragedy is that it could have been great. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Calley  Producer 
Brian Grazer  Producer 
Todd Hallowell  Executive Producer 
Ron Howard  Director 
Hans Zimmer  Composer (Music Score) 
Akiva Goldsman  Screenwriter 
Dan Brown  Executive Producer 
Tom Hanks  Actor 
Audrey Tautou  Actor 
Ian McKellen  Actor 
Alfred Molina  Actor 
Jürgen Prochnow  Actor 
Paul Bettany  Actor 
Jean Reno  Actor 
Jean-Yves Berteloot  Actor 
Etienne Chicot  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Marielle  Actor 
Marie-Francoise Audollent  Actor 
Rita Davies  Actor 
Francesco Carnelutti  Actor 
Seth Gabel  Actor 
Fausto Maria Sciarappa  Actor 
Denis Podalydès  Actor 
Harry Taylor  Actor 
Clive Carter  Actor 
Garance Mazureck  Actor 
Daisy Doidge-Hill  Actor 
Lilli-Ella Kelleher  Actor 
Crisian Emanuel  Actor 
Charlotte Graham  Actor 
Xavier De Guillebon  Actor 
Tonio Descanvelle  Actor 
David Bark-Jones  Actor 
Serretta Wilson  Actor 
Eglantine Rembauville  Actor 
Dan Tondowski  Actor 
Aewia Huillet  Actor 
Roland John-Leopoldie  Actor 
David Saracino  Actor 
Lionel Guy-Bremond  Actor 
Yves Aubert  Actor 
Rachael Black  Actor 
Dez Drummond  Actor 
Mark Roper  Actor 
Brock Little  Actor 
Matthew Butler  Actor 
Roland Menou  Actor 
Tina Maskell  Actor 
Peter Pedrero  Actor 
Sam Mancuso  Actor 
André Lillis  Actor 
Mario Vernazza  Actor 
Agathe Natanson  Actor 
Daz Parker  Actor 
Andrew Robb  Actor 
Tom Barker  Actor 
Maggie McEwan  Actor 
Michael Bertenshaw  Actor 
Sarah Wildor  Actor 
David Bertrand  Actor 

Country: USA