The Da Vinci Code (2006)

A murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.

Director:

Ron Howard

Writers:

Akiva Goldsman (screenplay), Dan Brown (novel)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Jean Reno

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Robert Langdon
Audrey Tautou	...	Sophie Neveu
Ian McKellen	...	Sir Leigh Teabing
Jean Reno	...	Captain Bezu Fache
Paul Bettany	...	Silas
Alfred Molina	...	Bishop Manuel Aringarosa
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Andre Vernet
Jean-Yves Berteloot	...	Remy Jean
Etienne Chicot	...	Lt. Collet
Jean-Pierre Marielle	...	Jacques Saunière
Marie-Françoise Audollent	...	Sister Sandrine
Rita Davies	...	Elegant Woman at Rosslyn
Francesco Carnelutti	...	Prefect
Seth Gabel	...	Michael
Shane Zaza	...	Youth on Bus

Storyline

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 symbolized 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on supposedly true story | secret | holy grail | opus dei | leonardo da vinci | 

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Taglines:

Uncover The Secret

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Falcon and Columbia Pictures [Czech Republic] Official site [Russia]

Country:

USA Malta France UK

Language:

English French Latin Spanish

Release Date:

19 May 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El código Da Vinci

Filming Locations:

Rue Saint-Georges, Paris 9, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$77,073,388, 21 May 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$217,536,138, 20 August 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$758,239,851, 25 November 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Imagine Entertainment, Skylark Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

149 min 174 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sophie Marceau, Virginie Ledoyen, Judith Godrèche, and Linda Hardy auditioned for the role of Sophie Neveu.

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Goofs

If Sophie's grandfather Jacques knew that the holy grail is safely kept at Louvre and no one except Sophie's grandmother (who even Sophie or the Teacher didn't know about, the Teacher even didn't know Sophie was Jacques' granddaughter) knew about it, why did he ask Sophie to find Langdon? If he wanted Sophie to know about her lineage and/or holy grail, her grandmother who herself is a Priory of Sion member could explain it better than Langdon. There is no danger either to Sophie or Sophie's grandmother or to the holy grail. Silas could never get the holy grail with the information Jacques gave and it was just a red herring. If he wanted Sophie to find her family or her grandmother, all he had to do was do nothing. Her grandmother who knew about Sophie would find her anyway after things calmed down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Silas: Stop now. Tell me where it is.
[removes hood]
Silas: You and your brethren possess what is not rightfully yours.
Jacques Saunière: I... I don't know what you are talking about.
Silas: Is it a secret you will die for?
Jacques Saunière: Please.
Silas: As you wish.
[cocks gun]

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Crazy Credits

The Columbia Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Skylark Productions logos are treated as 2D paintings and are scanned with an ultraviolet light.

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Alternate Versions

An extended version is available on DVD and is 26 minutes longer. The additional scenes include, among others, Sophie threatening to deface 'The Madonna of the rocks' to aid her and Langdon's escape from the Louvre, flashbacks of Silas killing the other Senechaux, Silas' escape from Prison, Collet discovering the surveillance room, Fache debriefing and apologizing to Langdon and Sophie, and a scene is which Sophie and Langdon discuss religion during the flight sequence. Many verbal exchanges between characters in many scenes are extended.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09 (2008)

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Soundtracks

La Javanaise
Music by Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg
Performed by Serge Gainsbourg
Courtesy of Mercury Records France, a division of Universal Music S.A.
Under Licence from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

An entertaining, yet not spectacular movie about the book that made the World talk.

I just watched the film, and even though I liked it, I must confess, I too expected more. I can't precisely point out what was missing and what I was expecting, but some it has some details that weren't there, some small imprecisions, some little things could have been better.

Nevertheless, a pleasant movie to watch. I confess I need to see it again, since I saw it from 3 to 6 am, with very few hours of sleep on the night before. I suggest the ones who read the book to re-read it before they go see it - to add a little bit more perspective. To those who haven't, I wish you a lovely time at the movies - it really is pleasant to see.

Praise to Audrey Tautou, a beautiful splendid actress, and all the other actors that don't need any more praise, like Ian McKellen, Jean Reno and Tom Hanks, who I didn't see fit the part at first, but who grew on me half-way through the movie, if not sooner. A huge praise to Paul Bettany too, for his astonishing and disturbing performance as Silas.

I give it an 8, because it's one of the first movies made from books that did not make me go 'Oh, this was not like this in the book' every five seconds. I never saw Ron Howard as the ideal director for this movie - but he pulled it off decently, though a bolder choice would have been in order.