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(聖杯伝説)
(マグダラのマリア)
(シオン修道会)
(オプス・デイ)
(レオナルド・ダ・ヴィンチ)
ダ・ヴィンチ・コード（The Da Vinci Code）
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ダビンチコード（動画検索）
小説説明ダン・ブラウンは本書『The Da Vinci Code』で、世界を舞台にした殺人ミステリーの醍醐味と、2000年に及ぶ西洋史から選り抜いた魅惑的な謎の数々とを組み合わせた、知的で明快なスリラーを見事に創造した。 閉館後の静寂に包まれたルーブル美術館で起きた殺人事件をきっかけに、明るみに出た不吉な筋書き。それは、キリストの時代以来、ある秘密結社により守られてきたベールをはがすものだった。殺人の被害者は、古くから連綿と続くその秘密結社の総長。彼は死の直前、不気味な暗号を犯行現場に残していた。その暗号を解くことができるのは、被害者の孫娘で著名な暗号解読者でもあるソフィー・ヌヴーと、高名な象徴学者のロバート・ラングドンのみ。ふたりは事件の容疑者となる一方で、ヌヴーの祖父の殺人事件のみならず、彼が守り続けてきた、古くから伝わる驚くべき秘密の謎をも調べ始める。警察当局と危険な競争者の追跡を間一髪ですり抜けながら、ヌヴーとラングドンは謎に導かれるまま、息つく間もなくフランスとイギリスを、そして歴史そのものを駆けめぐる。前作『Angels and Demons』（邦題『天使と悪魔』）に続く本書は、ページを繰る手が止まらないスリラー作品に仕上がっていると同時に、西洋史の驚くべき解釈をも披露している。主人公のふたりは、モナリザの微笑みの意味から聖杯の秘密にいたるまで、西洋文化の大いなる謎をめぐる知的かつ魅力的な探索に乗り出す。ブラウンの解釈の真偽に難癖をつける向きもあるかもしれないが、その推測のなかにこそ、本書のおもしろさがあるのだ。思わず引き込まれる『The Da Vinci Code』は、豊かな思考の糧となる1冊だ。 コメント レオナルド・ダ・ヴィンチが英知の限りを尽くして絵に描きこんだ暗号とは？ ヨーロッパ史上、最大最高の謎ーーそしてついに、歴史は塗り替えられた！ 二千年のヨーロッパ史を覆す、世紀の大問題作。 荒俣宏氏、児玉清氏、養老孟司氏絶賛。 内容 ルーヴル美術館館長ソニエールが館内で死体となって発見された。殺害当夜、館長と会う約束をしていたハーヴァード大教授ラングドンは、フランス警察より捜査協力を求められる。ソニエールの死体は、グランド・ギャラリーでダ・ヴィンチの最も有名な素描『ウィトルウィウス的人体図』を模した形で横たわっており、さらに、死体の周りには、複雑怪奇なダイイングメッセージが残されていた。館長の孫娘でもあり、現場に駆けつけてきた暗号解読官ソフィーは、一目で祖父が自分だけに分かる暗号を残していることに気付く…。『モナ・リザ』『岩窟の聖母』『ウィトルウィウス的人体図』―。数々のダ・ヴィンチ絵画の謎が導く、歴史の真実とは。 ルーヴル美術館長が死体で発見される。その夜館長と会う約束になっていたハーヴァード大教授ラングドンは、警察より捜査協力を求められた。その死体は、ダ・ヴィンチの最も有名な素描を模した形で横たわっていた…。 ブラウン,ダン著者略歴 1964年ニューハンプシャー生まれ。アマースト大学を卒業後、英語教師から作家へ転身。2003年3月本書『ダ・ヴィンチ・コード』を刊行、無名の作家ながら、1週目からベストセラーランキング1位を獲得、刊行後1年以上たった2004年4月現在なお1位を譲らないという、社会現象といえるほどの驚異的な売れ行きとなる。2000年に刊行したシリーズ第一作である『天使と悪魔』も同時に売れ始め、一躍ベストセラー作家の仲間入りを果たす。父は数学者、母は宗教音楽家、そして妻は美術史研究者であり画家でもある(本データはこの書籍が刊行された当時に掲載されていたものです) ダ・ヴィンチ・コード（The Da Vinci Code）百科事典
『ダ・ヴィンチ・コード』（The Da Vinci Code）は、2003年、アメリカ合衆国において、出版されたダン・ブラウン著作の長編推理小説である。『天使と悪魔』に次ぐ、「ロバート・ラングドン」シリーズの第2作。 レオナルド・ダヴィンチの作品であるウィトルウィウス的人体図、モナ・リザ、岩窟の聖母マリア、最後の晩餐の謎に始まり、多くの流説を結びつけた内容は世界的にヒットし、44言語に翻訳され7000万部の大ベストセラーとなった。筆者が（フィクションであるにもかかわらず）事実に基づいていると述べた為、多くの研究者による論争が行われている（後述の#批判・論争を参照）。 日本では、2004年5月に角川書店から上下巻で刊行された。翻訳者は越前敏弥。その後、角川文庫で上中下巻の廉価版も発刊された。日本国内での単行本・文庫本の合計発行部数は1000万部を突破した[1]。 2006年、映画化。詳細は「ダ・ヴィンチ・コード (映画)」を参照。 また、アドベンチャーゲームとして、Microsoft Windows、PlayStation 2、Xboxにてゲーム化もされている。詳細はダ・ヴィンチ・コード (ゲーム)を参照。 あらすじ深夜、パリのホテル・リッツに宿泊していたハーヴァード大学宗教象徴学教授ロバート・ラングドンの元に、フランス司法警察中央局警部補ジェローム・コレが訪ねてきた。 急用による同行を請われ、到着した場所はパリ・ルーヴル美術館だった。そこで、ロバート・ラングドンは、ルーヴル美術館館長ジャック・ソニエール（76歳）の死体が、猟奇殺人にも、似たウィトルウィウス的人体図を模した形で、発見されたと伝えられる。 フランス司法警察は、宗教象徴学者の立場から、事件に対するラングドンの見解を聞きたいと協力を要請した。しかし、実際はソニエールと会う約束をしていたラングドンを容疑者として疑い、逮捕するために呼んだのである。 ロバート・ラングドンは、ジャック・ソニエールの孫娘にして、フランス警察の暗号解読官ソフィー・ヌヴーの協力により、その場を脱した。ソフィー・ヌヴーは、祖父の状態を祖父が自らに遺した、自分にしか解けない暗号であると考え、ロバート・ラングドンの潔白に確信を持っていた。これを上に報告しても、一笑に付されると感じたソフィー・ヌヴーは、ロバート・ラングドンの協力を得るため、彼を逃がす。 しかし、そのことによってソフィー・ヌヴーは、ロバート・ラングドンともども、フランス司法警察に追われることになってしまう。 一方で、ジャック・ソニエールを殺した犯人と、その黒幕は、かつて、ジャック・ソニエールが秘匿したとされる聖杯の秘密を追っていた。そして、その毒牙もまたロバート・ラングドンたちを狙う。 登場人物
作品内に登場する観光名所批判・論争フィクションであるにもかかわらず、冒頭に実在の組織名を挙げ、「この小説における芸術作品、建築物、文書、秘密儀式に関する記述は、すべて事実に基づいている」と述べているために、扱われている内容の真偽について議論が起きた。例えば、冒頭に登場するオプス・デイは実在する組織であるが、「秘密結社」のシオン修道会やその「秘密儀式」は想像上のものである[3]。とりわけキリスト教、とくにカトリック教会の教義に深く関わる部分は大きな反響を巻き起こし、2006年3月には米国カトリック司教会議(USCCB)が、教義について反論するウェブサイト[4]を開設している。作品内でドラクロワの壁画で知られるカトリックの教会、サン・シュルピス教会の中にある日時計（ローズライン）に秘密を解く鍵が隠されていると記されている。これを鵜呑みにしたメディアが押し寄せた為、教会側は入り口に「日時計はローズラインと呼ばれた事もなければ、異教徒の陣の名残でもない」という張り紙を張った。サン・シュルピス教会は観光名所ということもあり、書かれている文字は何ヶ国語かに訳されている[5]。 批判の一環として、特別番組「ダ・ヴィンチ・コードの嘘」が放送された。また、「日経エンタテインメント!」は『大名所で原作のウソを発見!』と題し原作で描かれている名所と実際の名所の相違点を挙げている。 また、レオナルド・ダ・ヴィンチ作品の謎、キリスト教における異説や、聖杯伝説に関する解釈、メロヴィング朝の由来などの多くは『レンヌ＝ル＝シャトーの謎』からの借用であることが問題となった。プロットの下敷にアイデアが盗用されたとして、『レンヌ＝ル＝シャトーの謎』の著者たちから訴えられたが、ロンドンの高等法院は原告側の訴えを退ける判決を下している。 脚注
関連項目外部リンクダ・ヴィンチ・コード (映画)百科事典
『ダ・ヴィンチ・コード』（The Da Vinci Code）は、2006年のアメリカ映画。ジャンルはミステリー映画、サスペンス映画。ダン・ブラウンの小説ダ・ヴィンチ・コードを原作とする。監督はロン・ハワード、主演はトム・ハンクス、他にオドレイ・トトゥやジャン・レノなどフランス人有名俳優も出演。 2006年5月20日より全世界で同時公開された。日本では日劇1・3系で全国公開。また第59回カンヌ国際映画祭でオープニング作品として上映された。上映時間2時間29分。言語は英語とフランス語。 原作で著者は「この小説における芸術作品、建築物、文書、秘密儀式に関する記述は、すべて事実に基づいている。」と述べ、映画の製作者は「今世紀最大の話題作」だとしているが、イエスの婚姻関係および子供に関しての確たる証拠はない。現在も研究は続いているものの、史的イエスの構築すら困難を極めるほどに史料が根本的に不足しており、学術的かつ客観的結論を得るのはまず不可能であるため、原作含め学術的にはフィクション作品として扱われることが多い。 ローマ教会（カトリック教会）はイエス・キリストを冒涜したものだとして、ボイコットを呼びかけた。 ストーリールーヴル美術館の館内で館長であるジャック・ソニエールの射殺体が発見された。不思議なことにその身体はダ・ヴィンチによる「ウィトルウィウス的人体図」を模した形になっていた。さらに奇妙な事はそれがソニエール自身の意思によるものであることだった。 パリで講演を行い、書店でサイン会を行っていたハーバード大学のロバート・ラングドン教授は、フランス警察のベズ・ファーシュ警部に呼び出され、宗教象徴学の専門家として捜査協力を求められる。ロバートとソニエールは面識があり、事件の当日突然連絡をしてきた彼と会う約束をしていたものの、約束の場に現れなかった。ロバートはすぐさま警部と共にルーヴルを訪れ現場の検証を行うが、ソニエールの意図は掴めない。困惑するロバートの前に現れた暗号解読官のソフィー・ヌヴーは、彼に身に危険が迫っていると告げる。彼女は、現場にソニエールの手によりロバートの名が残されており、すでにこの殺人の容疑者としてファーシュが逮捕する気であることを説明した。しかしソフィーによればソニエールは自分の祖父であり、現場に残っていたのは「ロバート・ラングトンを探し出して彼に託せと」いう意味であるという。ロバートは今一度ソニエールが床に残したメッセージを見直し、そこからダ・ヴィンチの名と、絵の裏に隠された鍵を発見する。 この鍵こそ、ソニエールが狙われた理由であり、二人に残した遺志に違いないが、その正体を見極める前にファーシュの手に落ちれば彼の死は無駄になり、濡れ衣を晴らすことも難しくなる。ロバートとソフィーは警察の目を逃れてルーヴルを抜け出すことに成功するが、ファーシュの疑念はいっそう深くなり、追及の手も厳しさを増してしまう。 ロバートは旧友であるリー・ティービングの屋敷を訪れて意見を仰ぐが、そこで事件の背後に潜む恐るべき物語の示唆を受ける。それは聖書にも記される失われた聖遺物、聖杯を巡る確執である。長い歴史の中で何度も繰り返され、しかし明るみに出ることなく隠された戦い。それこそがこの事件を動かす者たちが持つ動機であるというのだ。 そしてダ・ヴィンチもまた、作品を通じて暗号（コード）を残し、それにはキリスト教の歴史を根底から覆す意味が隠されているという。著名な壁画「最後の晩餐」でダ・ヴィンチは聖書では生涯を独身で終えたはずのイエス・キリストが、じつはマグダラのマリアと呼ばれる女性と結婚をしており、磔にされたとき、彼女はキリストの子供を身ごもっていた、とにわかには信じられない説をリーは語る。 はたしてソニエールがロバートに託そうとしていたのは何だったのか。そして何者が、どんな意図でそれを防ごうとソニエールを殺したのか。ロバートとソフィーは警察に追われながらダ・ヴィンチの暗号とそれを巡る事件の謎に挑んでいく。 キャスト
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原作との相違点
付記事項シラス役のポール・ベタニーは企画の当初はスケジュールが合わずに出演を断念せざるを得なかったが、他の役者をオーディションしてもなかなか納得できる配役が決まらず、監督のロン・ハワードが「ベタニーじゃないとこの難役は無理だ」と考え、無理を押してベタニーにシラス役を頼んだ。ベタニーはシラス役を演じるにあたり色素欠乏症を特殊メイクで施すため全身の体毛を剃っている。 トム・ハンクスは天然パーマだが本作の為に若干髪の毛を伸ばした上でストレートパーマに矯正している。またこの映画の撮影中、服に下着の線が出るのを嫌い、服の下には何も付けずに撮影を行った。 ジャック・ソニエールの死体は当初は全体像は人形で顔のアップだけマリエールを使う予定であったが、マリエールの型を取って製作された人形があまりにもリアルで出来が良かったため、死体の映像は人形ですべて撮影された。 音楽は当初はロン・ハワードと親しいジェームズ・ホーナーが担当することになっていた。 映画のロケは2005年7月のホテルリッツの場面から開始された。原作でラングドンが宿泊したのは512号室である。映画も一部のシーンが実際の客室で撮影された。ラングドンがヴァンドーム広場に出てくるシーンの撮影時には一般の通行を遮断した。その撮影時には広場に100人ものスタッフで埋め尽くされた[3]。 ルーヴル美術館で撮影が行われたが、同美術館で映画の撮影が許可されたのは本作が初である[4]。同美術館に所蔵されている『モナ・リザ』も登場しているが、直接照明を当てることは許可されなかったので、撮影には複製を使っている[4]。ウェストミンスター寺院での撮影は拒否されたため[5]、そのシーンはウィンチェスター大聖堂とリンカーン大聖堂で撮影された。 リー・ティービングの邸宅として登場するヴィレット城は、パリ北西約40kmの所に実在する。2006年時点ではカリフォルニアで不動産業を営む女性オリビア・ベッカーが個人所有しており、普段は一般客の宿泊や料理教室、ウェディングパーティなどで利用されている。ベッカーは原作者ダン・ブラウンの妻ブライズと知り合いで、夫婦は城に遊びに来たこともある。城内でも撮影が行われたが、書斎の調度品は撮影用にほぼ入れ替えられた[6]。 カンヌでのプレス向け試写会で鑑賞したジャーナリスト及び批評家達には不評であり、劇中の重要なシーンでは失笑され、拍手の代わりに口笛を吹かれるほどであった。ゴールデンラズベリー賞（ラジー賞）の最悪監督賞にノミネートされたが、受賞は免れている。 記録的な興行収入を達成した一方で宗教的な理由から物議を醸しており、国によっては上映禁止措置や上映反対運動が行なわれている。例えばサモアでは、若者のキリスト教の信仰に悪影響を与えるという理由から、キリスト教の指導者を試写会に招いた上で上映禁止となった。インドや中国、エジプト、イエスをキリストとして認めないイスラム教国パキスタンでも上映禁止となった。また、教会（特にカトリック）指導者も強く反発している。指導者の中には信者に対して鑑賞しないように訴える者がいる一方で、神学的見地からの冷静な論争の必要性を呼びかける者もいる。フィリピンではR-18指定（18歳未満は鑑賞禁止）で公開されている。他の国と違って上映禁止にならずR-18指定になっているのは大人は正しいこと、間違っていることを認識できるから、としている。 Blu-ray/DVD/UMD2006年11月3日にソニー・ピクチャーズ エンタテインメントよりDVD/UMDの2フォーマットをリリース。その後2009年4月29日にはBlu-ray Discをリリース。
脚注
関連項目外部リンク
TOP The Da Vinci Code encyclopedia
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris, when they become involved in a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ having been married to Mary Magdalene. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the finding of the first murder victim in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, naked and posed similar to Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a pentagram drawn on his chest in his own blood. The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) though Dan Brown has stated that it was not used as research material. The Da Vinci Code provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Mary Magdalene's role in the history of Christianity. The book has, however, been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, and consistently criticized for its historical and scientific inaccuracies. The novel nonetheless became a worldwide bestseller[1] that sold 80 million copies as of 2009[update][2] and has been translated into 44 languages. Combining the detective, thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, it is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel Angels & Demons. In November 2004, Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, a film adaptation was released by Sony's Columbia Pictures. PlotLouvre curator and Priory of Sion grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as the Teacher, who wishes to discover the location of the "keystone," an item crucial to the search for the Holy Grail. After Saunière's body is discovered in the pose of the Vitruvian Man, the police summon Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is in town on business. Police captain Bezu Fache tells him that he was summoned to help the police decode the cryptic message Saunière left during the final minutes of his life. The message includes a Fibonacci sequence out of order. Langdon explains to Fache that Saunière was a leading authority on the subject of goddess artwork and that the pentacle Saunière drew on his chest in his own blood represents an allusion to the goddess and not devil worship, as Fache thinks. A police cryptographer, Sophie Neveu, secretly explains to Langdon that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter, and that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer because the last line in her grandfather's message meant for Sophie said "P.S. Find Robert Langdon," which Fache had erased prior to Langdon's arrival. Neveu is troubled by memories of her grandfather's involvement in a secret pagan group. However, she understands that her grandfather intended Langdon to decipher the code, which leads them to a safe deposit box at the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich. Neveu and Langdon escape from the police and visit the bank. In the safe deposit box they find the keystone: a cryptex, a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five concentric, rotating dials labeled with letters. When these are lined up correctly, they unlock the device. If the cryptex is forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar breaks and dissolves the message inside the cryptex, which was written on papyrus. The box containing the cryptex contains clues to its password. Langdon and Neveu take the keystone to the home of Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert on the Holy Grail. There, Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup, but a tomb containing the bones of Mary Magdalene. The trio then flees the country on Teabing's private plane, on which they conclude that the proper combination of letters spell out Neveu's given name, Sofia. Opening the cryptex, they discover a smaller cryptex inside it, along with another riddle that ultimately leads the group to the tomb of Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey. During the flight to Britain, Neveu reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather ten years earlier. Arriving home unexpectedly from university, Neveu secretly witnesses a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather's country estate. From her hiding place, she is shocked to see her grandfather with a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who are wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She flees the house and breaks off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as Hieros gamos or "sacred marriage." By the time they arrive at Westminster Abbey, Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher for whom Silas is working. Teabing wishes to use the Holy Grail, which he believes is a series of documents establishing that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and bore children, in order to ruin the Vatican. He compels Langdon at gunpoint to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon realizes is "apple." Langdon secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before tossing the empty cryptex in the air. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who by now realizes that Langdon is innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an Opus Dei Center, he assumes that they are there to kill him and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a gunshot wound. The final message inside the second keystone leads Neveu and Langdon to Rosslyn Chapel, whose docent turns out to be Neveu's long-lost brother, whom Neveu had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's long-lost grandmother. It is revealed that Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. The real meaning of the last message is that the Grail is buried beneath the small pyramid directly below the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre. It also lies beneath the "Rose Line," an allusion to "Rosslyn." Langdon figures out this final piece to the puzzle in the last pages of the book but he does not appear inclined to tell anyone about this. He follows the Rose Line to La Pyramide Inversée, where he kneels before the hidden sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, as the Templar knights did before him. CharactersMain article: List of The Da Vinci Code characters
Secret of the Holy Grail
Detail of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
In the novel, Sir Leigh Teabing explains to Sophie Neveu that the figure at the right hand of Jesus in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper is not the apostle John, but actually Mary Magdalene. Teabing says the absence of a chalice in Leonardo's painting means Leonardo knew that Mary Magdalene was the actual Holy Grail and the bearer of Jesus' blood. He explains that this idea is supported by the shape of the letter "V" that is formed by the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, as "V" is the symbol for the sacred feminine. The absence of the Apostle John in the painting is explained by knowing that John is also referred to as "the Disciple Jesus loved", which would be a code for Mary Magdalene. The book also notes that the color scheme of their garments are inverted: Jesus wears a red tunic with royal blue cloak; Mary Magdalene wears the opposite. According to the novel, the secrets of the Holy Grail, as kept by the Priory of Sion, are as follows:
The secrets of the Grail are connected, according to the novel, to Leonardo da Vinci's work as follows:
ReactionSalesThe Da Vinci Code was a major success in 2003 and was outsold only by J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.[3] Historical inaccuraciesMain article: Criticism of The Da Vinci Code
The book generated criticism when it was first published for inaccurate description of core aspects of Christianity and descriptions of European art, history, and architecture. The book has received mostly negative reviews from Catholic and other Christian communities. Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. The New York Times writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of Pierre Plantard, who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956. Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. For example, Marcia Ford wrote:
Richard Abanes wrote:
The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "The Priory of Sion – a French secret society founded in 1099 – is a real organization". This assertion is broadly disputed; the Priory of Sion is generally regarded as a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard. The author also claims that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents... and secret rituals in this novel are accurate", but this claim is disputed by numerous academic scholars expert in numerous areas.[5] Dan Brown himself addresses the idea of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his web site, stating that the "FACT" page at the beginning of the novel mentions only "documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture", but not any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters, stating that "Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader". Brown also says, "It is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit" and "the secret behind The Da Vinci Code was too well documented and significant for me to dismiss."[6] In 2003, while promoting the novel, Brown was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it." In a 2003 interview with CNN's Martin Savidge he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99% is true... the background is all true". Asked by Elizabeth Vargas in an ABC News special if the book would have been different if he had written it as non-fiction he replied, "I don't think it would have."[7] In 2005, UK TV personality Tony Robinson edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Dan Brown and those of Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, who authored the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, in the program The Real Da Vinci Code, shown on British TV Channel 4. The program featured lengthy interviews with many of the main protagonists cited by Brown as "absolute fact" in The Da Vinci Code. Arnaud de Sède, son of Gérard de Sède, stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the Prieuré de Sion, the cornerstone of the Jesus bloodline theory: "frankly, it was piffle". The earliest appearance of this theory is due to the 13th-century Cistercian monk and chronicler Peter of Vaux de Cernay who reported that Cathars believed that the 'evil' and 'earthly' Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, described as his concubine (and that the 'good Christ' was incorporeal and existed spiritually in the body of Paul).[8] The program The Real Da Vinci Code also cast doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories, such as the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France. According to The Da Vinci Code, the Roman Emperor Constantine I suppressed Gnosticism because it portrayed Jesus as purely human. The novel's argument is as follows.[9] Constantine wanted Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the Roman Empire. He thought Christianity would appeal to pagans only if it featured a demigod similar to pagan heroes. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus was merely a human prophet, not a demigod. Therefore, to change Jesus' image, Constantine destroyed the Gnostic Gospels and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which portray Jesus as divine or semidivine. But Gnosticism did not portray Jesus as merely human.[10] All Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (see Docetism).[11] Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.[10] Literary criticism[edit]The book received both positive and negative reviews from critics, and it has been the subject of negative appraisals concerning its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed negatively by The New Yorker,[12] Salon.com,[13] and Maclean's.[14] Janet Maslin of The New York Times said, "it concisely conveys the kind of extreme enthusiasm with which this riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilaratingly brainy thriller can be recommended. That word is wow. The author is Dan Brown (a name you will want to remember). In this gleefully erudite suspense novel, Mr. Brown takes the format he has been developing through three earlier novels and fine-tunes it to blockbuster perfection."[15] David Lazarus of The San Francisco Chronicle said, "This story has so many twists – all satisfying, most unexpected – that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds."[16] While interviewing Umberto Eco in a 2008 issue of The Paris Review, Lila Azam Zanganeh characterized The Da Vinci Code as "a bizarre little offshoot" of Eco's novel, Foucault’s Pendulum. In response, Eco remarked, "Dan Brown is a character from Foucault's Pendulum! I invented him. He shares my characters’ fascinations—the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. The role of the Knights Templar. The hermetic secret. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist."[17] The book appeared on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers.[18] Salman Rushdie said during a lecture, "Do not start me on The Da Vinci Code. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."[19] Stephen Fry has referred to Brown's writings as "complete loose stool-water" and "arse gravy of the worst kind".[20] In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, "I just loathe all those book[s] about the Holy Grail and Masons and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there's so much more that's interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way."[21] Stephen King likened Dan Brown's work to "Jokes for the John", calling such literature the "intellectual equivalent of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese".[22] The New York Times, while reviewing the movie based on the book, called the book "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence".[23] The New Yorker reviewer Anthony Lane refers to it as "unmitigated junk" and decries "the crumbling coarseness of the style".[12] Linguist Geoffrey Pullum and others posted several entries critical of Dan Brown's writing, at Language Log, calling Brown one of the "worst prose stylists in the history of literature" and saying Brown's "writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad".[24] Roger Ebert described it as a "potboiler written with little grace and style", although he said it did "supply an intriguing plot".[25] In his review of the film National Treasure, whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: "I should read a potboiler like The Da Vinci Code every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like The Da Vinci Code."[25] Lawsuits[edit]Author Lewis Perdue alleged that Brown plagiarized from two of his novels, The Da Vinci Legacy, originally published in 1983, and Daughter of God, originally published in 2000. He sought to block distribution of the book and film. However, Judge George Daniels of the US District Court in New York ruled against Perdue in 2005, saying that "A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that The Da Vinci Code is substantially similar to Daughter of God" and that "Any slightly similar elements are on the level of generalized or otherwise unprotectable ideas."[26] Perdue appealed, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, saying Mr. Perdue's arguments were "without merit".[27] In early 2006, Baigent and Leigh filed suit against Brown's publishers, Random House. They alleged that significant portions of The Da Vinci Code were plagiarized from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, violating their copyright.[28] Brown confirmed during the court case that he named the principal Grail expert of his story Leigh Teabing, an anagram of "Baigent Leigh", after the two plaintiffs. In reply to the suggestion that Henry Lincoln was also referred to in the book, since he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence.[29] Because Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, Justice Peter Smith, who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid his own secret code in his written judgement, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it.[30] Baigent and Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal.[29] In April 2006 Mikhail Anikin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Dan Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book's title and one of the ideas regarding the Mona Lisa used in its plot. Anikin interprets the Mona Lisa to be an Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image's right half, one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anikin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 René Magritte exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend Anikin granted the request on condition that he be credited in any book using his interpretation. Anikin eventually compiled his research into Leonardo da Vinci or Theology on Canvas, a book published in 2000, but The Da Vinci Code, published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin and instead asserts that the idea in question is a "well-known opinion of a number of scientists."[31][32] Parodies
Release detailsThe book has been translated into over 40 languages, primarily hardcover.[33] In reference to Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, two of the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Brown named the principal Grail expert of his story "Leigh Teabing", an anagram of "Baigent Leigh". Brown confirmed this during the court case. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence. After losing before the High Court on July 12, 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal.[29][34] Following the trial, it was found that the publicity had actually significantly boosted UK sales of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.[35] Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:
FilmMain article: The Da Vinci Code (film)
Columbia Pictures adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard directing. The film was released on May 19, 2006, and stars Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu, and Sir Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77 million in America, and $224 million worldwide.[37] See also
References
Further reading
External links
The Da Vinci Code (film)encyclopedia
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman, adapted from Dan Brown's 2003 best-selling novel of the same name. The first in the Robert Langdon film series. The film stars Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean Reno, and Paul Bettany. In the film, while in Paris Robert Langdon, a professor of religious iconography and symbology from Harvard University, is the prime suspect in the grisly and unusual murder of Louvre curator Jacques Saunière. In the body, police had found a disconcerting cipher and since that moment police starts a mysterious investigation.[3] He escapes with the assistance of a police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and they are embroiled in a quest for the legendary Holy Grail. Langdon realized that the curator was part of a secret society. In this society the members were: Da Vinci, Victor Hugo, Botticelli and so on.[3] He is pursued by a dogged French police captain, Bezu Fache. A noted British Grail historian, Sir Leigh Teabing, tells them the actual Holy Grail is explicitly encoded in Leonardo da Vinci's wall painting, the Last Supper. Also searching for the Grail is a secret cabal within Opus Dei, an actual prelature of the Holy See, who wishes to keep the true Grail a secret; the revelation of this secret would certainly destroy Christianity. The film, like the book, was considered controversial. It was met with especially harsh criticism by the Roman Catholic Church for the accusation that it is behind a two-thousand-year-old cover-up concerning what the Holy Grail really is and the concept that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and that the union produced a daughter. Many members urged the laity to boycott the film. Two organizations, the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei figure prominently in the story. In the book, Dan Brown claims that the Priory of Sion and "...all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate". The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Despite that, it became a huge box office success earning US$224 million in its worldwide opening weekend and grossing $758 million worldwide becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2006 behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. PlotJacques Saunière, the Louvre’s curator, is pursued through the Great Gallery by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who demands the location of the Priory’s “keystone” to find and destroy the Holy Grail. Saunière gives him a false lead and is murdered, the police finding his body posed like the Vitruvian Man. Police captain Bezu Fache summons American symbologist Robert Langdon to examine Saunière’s body. Langdon discovers a message hidden by blacklight which contains an out of order Fibonacci number sequence. A police cryptographer and Saunière’s granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, reveals to Langdon that Fache planted a tracker on him, believing he murdered Saunière due to a message to find him, erased by Fache. The two get rid of the tracker and sneak around the Louvre, finding more clues in Leonardo da Vinci’s works, Langdon deducing that Saunière was grand master of the Priory of Sion. Silas is revealed to be working for an anonymous person named the Teacher, alongside members of Opus Dei led by Bishop Aringarosa. Evading the police, Langdon and Sophie travel to the Depository Bank of Zurich, discovering a safety deposit box opened by the Fibonacci sequence. Inside is a cryptex: a cylindrical container that hides a papyrus message which can only be accessed by spelling out a five-letter code word using dials. When the police arrive, Langdon and Sophie are aided by the bank manager Andre Vernet, only for him to take them hostage in the back of a truck, demanding the cryptex. Langdon disarms Vernet, and he flees with Sophie. The two visit Langdon’s friend Sir Leigh Teabing, a Holy Grail expert, who claims the Grail is not a cup but instead Mary Magdalene, who was Jesus Christ’s wife and pregnant during His Crucifixtion, and the Priory was formed to protect their descendants. The Opus Dei have been trying to destroy the Grail to preserve the credibility of the Vatican. Silas breaks in, but Teabing knocks him out. The group escape to London via Teabing’s private plane, aided by his butler Remy Jean. They travel to the Temple Church but the clue to unlocking the cryptex is a red herring. Silas is freed by Remy, who claims to be the Teacher, taking Teabing hostage and dumping him in his car’s trunk while Silas hides out in an Opus Dei safe house. Teabing poisons Remy and send the police after Silas, who is shot by police after accidentally wounding Aringarosa, who is promptly arrested by Fache for using him to hunt Langdon. Langdon and Sophie are confronted by Teabing, revealed to be the Teacher, who wants to bring down the Church for centuries of persecution and deceit. The trio goes to Westminster Abbey to the tomb of Isaac Newton, a former grand master of the Priory. Langdon tosses the cryptex into the air, Teabing catching it but the papyrus is destroyed. The police arrive to arrest Teabing, but he realizes Langdon removed and solved the cryptex’s code beforehand. The code is revealed to be “apple” after the apocryphal myth of Newton’s gravity-based discovery and the clue leads Langdon and Sophie to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Inside, they discover Magdalene’s tomb has been removed. Langdon realizes that Sophie’s family died in a car crash, but the media reported she too died. Saunière was not her actual grandfather but her protector, and she is the last descendant of Jesus Christ. The two are greeted by several members of the Priory, including Sophie’s grandmother, who promise to protect her. Langdon and Sophie part ways, the former returning to Paris. Whilst shaving, he cuts himself and has an epiphany when his blood curves down the sink, reminding him of the Rose Line. He follows the line to the Louvre, discovering the Holy Grail is hidden beneath its iconic pyramid and kneels before it like the Knights Templar before him. Cast]
ProductionDevelopmentThe film rights were purchased from Dan Brown for $6 million.[4] FilmingFilming had been scheduled to start in May 2005; however, some delays caused filming to begin on June 30, 2005.[citation needed] LocationPermission to film on the premises was granted to the film by the Louvre (although, since the crew was not permitted to shine light on the Mona Lisa, a replica was used instead, while the film crew used the Mona Lisa's chamber as a storage room). Westminster Abbey denied the use of its premises, as did Saint-Sulpice. The Westminster Abbey scenes were instead filmed at Lincoln and Winchester cathedrals, which both belong to the Church of England. (Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar, a church or chapel under direct jurisdiction of the monarch; whereas Saint-Sulpice is a Roman Catholic institution.) Due to the denial of a location permit for Saint-Sulpice,[5] the entire scene had to be recreated virtually by post-production company Rainmaker U.K. and though the set had been partially built, the co-ordinates were centimeters out from what the compositors had expected and so the entire process was extremely difficult to complete.[6] Lincoln Cathedral reportedly received £100,000 in exchange for the right to film there, with filming there occurring between August 15 and 19, 2005, mainly within the cloisters of the cathedral. The cathedral's bell, which strikes the hour, was silent for the first time since World War II during that time. Although it remained a closed set, protesters led by a 61-year-old woman named Sister Mary Michael demonstrated against the filming. Sister Mary Michael spent 12 hours praying on her knees outside the cathedral in protest against what she saw as the blasphemous use of a holy place to film a book containing heresy.[7] Winchester Cathedral answered criticism by using its location fee to fund an exhibition, lecture series and campaign to debunk the book.[8] The scenes for the Pope's summer residence, Castel Gandolfo were filmed on location at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, England. Shoreham Airport in West Sussex, England, was used as a filming location, with its art-deco terminal building utilised in a night shoot for the scenes at 'Le Bourget' Airport.[9] Filming also took place elsewhere in the United Kingdom.[10] Locations included King's College London campus; Fairfield Halls (Croydon); the Temple Church (London); Burghley House (Lincolnshire) and Rosslyn Chapel and Rosslyn Castle (Midlothian, Scotland) make an appearance at the final of the film. Studio shootsThe filmmakers shot many of the internal scenes at Pinewood Studios;[11] the opening sequence in the cavernous 007 Stage at Pinewood Shepperton, where the interior of the Louvre was recreated.[12] In this sequence, Hanks' character is taken by French police to the Louvre, where a dead body has been discovered. David White of Altered States FX, a prosthetics and special makeup effects company, was tasked with creating a naked photorealistic silicone body for the scene. Lighting effects were utilized to obscure the body's genitalia, a technique also used on television programmes such as NCIS.[13] Pinewood's state-of-the-art Underwater Stage was used to film underwater sequences.[14] The stage opened in 2005 after four years of planning and development. The water in the tank is filtered using an ultraviolet system which creates crystal clear water, and the water is maintained at 30 °C (86 °F) to create a comfortable environment to work in for both cast and crew.[15] Alternate versions of Bettany's nude flagellation scenes were shot, in which he wears a black loincloth. Clips of these versions appear in the History Channel's "Opus Dei Unveiled" documentary, aired in summer 2006. Catholic and other reactionsThe Vatican]At a conference on April 28, 2006, the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican curial department, Archbishop Angelo Amato specifically called for a boycott of the film; he said the movie is "full of calumnies, offences, and historical and theological errors."[16] Cardinal Francis Arinze, in a documentary called The Da Vinci Code: A Masterful Deception, urged unspecified legal action against the makers of the film. He was formerly Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Vatican.[17] Opus DeiStating that it does not intend to organize any boycotts, Opus Dei (the Catholic organization that is featured prominently in the novel and the film) released a statement on February 14, 2006, asking Sony Pictures to consider editing the soon-to-be-released film so that it would not contain references that it felt might be hurtful to Catholics. The statement also said Brown's book offers a "deformed"[18] image of the church and that Opus Dei will use the opportunity of the movie's release to educate about the church. On Easter, April 16, 2006, Opus Dei published an open letter by the Japanese Information Office of Opus Dei mildly proposing that Sony Pictures consider including a disclaimer on the film adaptation as a "sign of respect towards the figure of Jesus Christ, the history of the Church, and the religious beliefs of viewers."[19] The organization also encouraged the studio to clearly label the movie as fictitious "and that any resemblance to reality is pure coincidence."[19] According to a statement by Manuel Sánchez Hurtado, Opus Dei Press Office Rome,[20] in contrast to Sony Corporation's published "Code of Conduct" the company has announced that the film will not include such a disclaimer. American Catholic bishopsU.S. Catholic bishops launched a website, JesusDecoded.com, refuting the key claims in the novel that were about to be brought to the screen. The bishops are concerned about errors and serious misstatements in The Da Vinci Code.[21] The film has also been rated morally offensive – by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting, which denounced its depiction of both the Jesus-Mary Magdalene relationship and that of Opus Dei as "deeply abhorrent."[22] PeruThe Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP) declared the movie — and the book — as part of a "systematic attack on the Catholic Church".[23] Furthermore, the Archbishop of Lima, the Cardinal and member of Opus Dei Juan Luis Cipriani, urged his community not to see the film: "If someone goes (to see the movie), they are giving money to those who hurt the faith. It's not a problem of fiction; if truth is not respected, what arises we could call white glove terrorism."[24] NOAHThe National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) expressed concern about Silas' character giving people with albinism a bad name.[25] However, the filmmakers did not change his appearance. CensorshipChinaAlthough The Da Vinci Code was passed by Chinese censors, it was abruptly removed by authorities from public view in mainland China, after "a remarkable run in China, grossing over $13 million",[26] due to protests by Chinese Catholic groups.[27] EgyptBoth the book and the film were banned in Egypt due to pressure from Coptic Christians. Some Muslims compared the film to the Danish cartoons that had caused a controversy earlier that year.[28] Hafez Abu Saeda, of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights stated that "This violates freedom of thought and belief ... This is fiction. It's art and it should be regarded as art."[29] Faroe IslandsThe biggest cinema in the Faroe Islands, Havnar Bio, decided to boycott the film, effectively blocking it from the other smaller cinemas, who rely on second-hand films from this source, because it seems to be blasphemous in their point of view. Its CEO, Jákup Eli Jacobsen, says that "he fears losing the operating license if it exhibits blasphemy in the cinema".[30] A private initiative by the individual Herluf Sørensen has arranged the movie to be played, despite the boycott by Havnar Bio. The movie played at the Nordic House in the Faroe Islands on June 8–9, 2006.[31] IndiaThere was a huge outcry in many states by the Christian minorities to ban the film from screening in India for the perceived anti-Christian message. Possibly the largest reaction occurred in Kolkata where a group of around 25 protesters "stormed" Crossword bookstore, pulled copies of the book off the racks and threw them to the ground. At the same day, a group of 50-60 protesters successfully made the Oxford Bookstore on Park Street decide to stop selling the book "until the controversy sparked by the film's release was resolved".[32] The film was allowed to be released without any cuts but with an A (Adults Only) certification from the Central Board for Film Certification and a 15-second disclaimer added at the end stating that the movie was purely a work of fiction.[33] The Supreme Court of India also rejected petitions calling for a ban on the film, saying the plot which suggested Jesus was married was fictional and not offensive.[34] The film has been totally banned in some states such as Punjab, Goa, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.[35][36] The Andhra Pradesh High Court subsequently reversed the State Government's order banning the screening of the film in the state; the State Government had previously banned the film based on the objections lodged by Christians and Muslims.[37] JordanThe film was banned in Jordan where authorities said the film "tarnishes the memory of Christian and Islamic figures and contradicts the truth as written in the Bible and the Koran about Jesus".[38] LebanonThe film was banned in Lebanon.[39] PakistanPakistan banned The Da Vinci Code for showing what officials called blasphemous material about Jesus. Christian groups, along with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal held protests against the film calling for a global ban.[40] PhilippinesMain article: The Da Vinci Code in the Philippines
The Philippine Alliance Against Pornography (PAAP) appealed to then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to stop the showing of The Da Vinci Code in the Philippines. They branded the film as "the most pornographic and blasphemous film in history"[41] and also requested the help of Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other religious groups to stop the showing of the film.[42] However, Cecille Guidote Alvarez, Philippine Presidential Adviser on Culture and the Arts, said the Philippine government would not interfere in the controversy about the film and leaves the decision to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board's (MTRCB) rating.[43] Eventually, MTRCB decided to give The Da Vinci Code an R-18 rating (restricted to those 18 years of age and above) despite PAAP's opposition for showing it.[44] SamoaThe film was banned outright in the Independent State of Samoa after church leaders watching a pre-release showing filed a complaint with film censors.[45] Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he would seek to have the film banned in his country, as it might threaten the Solomons' predominantly Christian faith:
Sri LankaSri Lanka is also one of the countries that banned the film from being released.[47] It was banned by presidential order of Mahinda Rajapakse.[48] ThailandChristian groups in this mostly Buddhist country protested the film and called for it to be banned. On May 16, 2006, the Thai Censorship Committee issued a ruling that the film would be shown, but that the last 10 minutes would be cut. Also, some Thai subtitles were to be edited to change their meaning and passages from the Bible would also be quoted at the beginning and end of the film. However, the following day, Sony Pictures appealed the ruling, saying it would pull the film if the decision to cut it was not reversed. The censorship panel then voted 6–5 that the film could be shown uncut, but that a disclaimer would precede and follow the film, saying it was a work of fiction.[49][50] Cast and crew responseHanks told the Evening Standard that those involved with the film "always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown. But the story we tell is loaded with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense."[51] He said it is a mistake "to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this."[51] He also stated at the Cannes Film Festival that he and his wife saw no contradiction between their faith and the film, as "My heritage, and that of my wife, suggests that our sins have been taken away, not our brains."[52] Also at Cannes, McKellen was quoted as saying "While I was reading the book I believed it entirely. Clever Dan Brown twisted my mind convincingly. But when I put it down I thought, 'What a load of [pause] potential codswallop."[52] During a May 17, 2006 interview on The Today Show with the Da Vinci Code cast and director, Matt Lauer posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. (Some high-ranking Vatican cabinet members had called for a boycott of the film.[53]) McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes. . . an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie—not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story." He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it."[54] Marketing campaignThe film's teaser trailer was released in the summer of 2005, a full year before the film's worldwide release and prior to shooting even a single frame of the movie. It features crevices with some hidden symbols and was later revealed as an image of Da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. (In reality, the painting plays a very small part in the film and is shown only for a few seconds.) The court case brought against Dan Brown by Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, the authors of the non-fiction book Holy Blood, Holy Grail, has added to the film's publicity. A cross-promotion appeared on The Amazing Race 9, where one team earned a trip to the movie's premiere in Hollywood, California. The prize was awarded to the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop bearing two parchments and demonstrating that, when combined, they revealed a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" and a coded message. Promotional puzzlesMain article: The Da Vinci Code WebQuests
As part of the promotional lead up to the film, various encrypted clues were placed in trailers and interviews. In mid-April, two such clues appeared in the Da Vinci Code interviews on Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, as highlighted letters in the names of interviewees. In February, Sony, in cooperation with Grace Hill Media, launched The Da Vinci Dialogue (aka The Da Vinci Challenge), a fairly comprehensive web site which is intended to defuse Christian opposition to the film. The site mixes some mild criticisms with movie promotional material. Reactions to the filmCannes Film FestivalAccording to the Associated Press, during a preview for movie 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."[55] ProtestsThere have been protesters at several movie theaters across the United States on opening weekend protesting the themes of the film, citing it as blasphemy and claiming that it shames both the Catholic Church, and Jesus Christ himself. More than 200 protesters also turned out in Athens, Greece to protest the film's release shortly before opening day. In Manila, the film was banned from all theaters and the set by the local MTRCB as an R18 movie for the Philippines.[56] In Pittsburgh, protesters also showed up at a special screening of the film the day before its widespread release.[57] Protests also occurred at the filming sites, but only a monk and a nun stood in a quiet protest at the Cannes premiere.[52] In Chennai, India, the film was banned for a two-month period to appease local Christian and Muslim groups.[58] Critical receptionThe Da Vinci Code received mixed to negative reviews from critics. It garnered a 25% "rotten" rating on the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on a sample of 220 reviews and an average rating of 4.8/10. The critics consensus states: "What makes Dan Brown's novel a best seller is evidently not present in this dull and bloated movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code."[59] The film was poorly received at the Cannes Film Festival, where it debuted.[55] Michael Medved gave the film a negative review, citing it as "an attack on religion".[60] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker addressed the concerns of Catholics in his film review, stating that the film "is self-evident, spirit-lowering tripe that could not conceivably cause a single member of the flock to turn aside from the faith."[61] In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin called the film "a letdown in every respect."[62] Director Howard noted that the overwhelmingly negative reviews were "frustrating" to him.[63] Conversely, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times (who had spoken very negatively of the novel) gave the film three out of four stars, stating "The movie works; it's involving, intriguing and constantly seems on the edge of startling revelations." Of the storyline, he also commented "Yes, the plot is absurd, but then most movie plots are absurd. That's what we pay to see."[64] Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer, who also liked the film, gave it three and a half out of four stars and noted "unlike most Hollywood blockbusters, this one assumes audience members will be smart."[65] Although many critics gave mixed to negative reviews of the film, critics of both sides acknowledged and praised the strong performances of McKellen as well as Bettany.[66] On the "Worst Movies of 2006" episode of the television show Ebert & Roeper (January 13, 2007), guest critic Michael Phillips (sitting in for the recovering Roger Ebert) listed the film at No. 2.[67] The film earned a Razzie Award nomination for Ron Howard as Worst Director, but lost to M. Night Shyamalan for Lady in the Water. Box office responseOpening weekendThe film opened with an estimated $31 million in box office sales on its opening day, averaging $7764 per screen.[68] During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77 million in America, and $224 million worldwide.[2] The Da Vinci Code is the best domestic opening for both Tom Hanks and Ron Howard.[69] It also enjoyed the third biggest opening weekend for that year (after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and X-Men: The Last Stand, and the second biggest worldwide opening weekend ever, just behind 2005's Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.[70]) This has led some critics, particularly in the UK, to moot the idea of the 'critic-proof film'.[71] Ranking and gross
Accolades
Home mediaThe film was released on DVD and VHS on November 14, 2006[74] in three editions:
All DVD sets include an introduction from director Howard, ten featurettes, and other bonus features. In Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Latin America (DVD region code 4), the two-disc set also included an extended edition of the film, including over twenty-five minutes of extra footage, bringing the running time to almost three hours.[citation needed] In Hong Kong and Korea (Region 3), the extended cut was also released on DVD in a two-disc set. Two gift sets were also released, with working cryptex replica, replica journal, and more. The French and Spanish Region 2 disc also received a special gift set.[citation needed] On April 28, 2009, a two-disc Blu-ray edition of the extended version of the film was released in North America. While there is no regular DVD release of the extended version in the United States or a Region 2 release in the United Kingdom, a version of the extended cut was released in Germany.[citation needed] SequelsMain article: Robert Langdon film series
Angels & DemonsMain article: Angels & Demons (film)
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, with the help of Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, adapted Angels & Demons (a Dan Brown novel published before The Da Vinci Code) into a film script,[77] which was also directed by Howard. Chronologically, the book takes place before The Da Vinci Code. However, the filmmakers re-tooled it as a sequel. Hanks reprises his role as Langdon in the film, which was released in May 2009 to moderate (but generally better) reviews. InfernoMain article: Inferno (2016 film)
Sony Pictures produced a film adaptation of Inferno, the fourth book in the Robert Langdon series, which was released on October 27, 2016[78] with Ron Howard as director, David Koepp adapting the screenplay and Tom Hanks reprising his role as Robert Langdon.[79] Filming began on April 27, 2015 in Venice, Italy, and wrapped up on July 21, 2015.[80] On December 2, 2014, Felicity Jones was in early talks to star in the film.[81] Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has also been cast, as The Provost.[82] Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen was also added to the cast as Elizabeth Sinskey.[83] See also
References
SourcesThe following are reference sources, repeated in alphabetic order:
External links
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