(detailed information about this entry from Wikipedia)
 |
This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
-
The Da Vinci Code is a feature film based on the novel by Dan Brown, scheduled for release in the United States on Friday, May 19, 2006, with an opening screening on 17 May at the Cannes Film Festival and major release on the 18th of May in 12 other countries including Australia and Belgium. It is directed by Ron Howard.
Plot
The film follows a professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, as he is called to the scene of a grisly murder in the Louvre. Along with a young French cryptographer, Langdon tries to solve the message left by the victim in order to preserve a secret, kept for thousands of years, which could revolutionise the Christian faith.
Spoilers end here.
Cast
Taglines
- Seek The Truth.
- Seek the truth, seek the codes.
- So Dark The Con of Man.
Filming
Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon
The film rights were purchased from Dan Brown for US$6,000,000. Filming had been scheduled to start in May 2005; however, some delays caused filming to begin on June 30, 2005.
Permission to film on the premises was granted to the film by the Louvre, while Westminster Abbey denied the use of its premises, as did Saint-Sulpice. Lincoln Cathedral, belonging to the Church of England, however, agreed to act as a substitute for Westminster Abbey, and reportedly received £100,000 in exchange for the right to film there. Filming at Lincoln Cathedral took place in August 2005. Filming also took place at Temple Church in London.
As well as shooting on location in France, London, and Germany, the filmmakers shot many of the internal scenes at Pinewood Studios. The film's opening sequence was filmed in the cavernous “Albert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage” at Pinewood Studios where the interior of the famous Louvre gallery was recreated, away from the priceless paintings in the actual Louvre gallery in France.
In the film's opening sequence Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks, discovers a body in the Louvre gallery. David White of Altered States FX, a prosthetics and special makeup effects company which is based at London's Shepperton Studios was tasked with creating a naked photo real silicone body for the scene.
Pinewood's state-of-the-art Underwater Stage was used to film underwater sequences. The stage opened in 2005 after four years of planning and development. The water in the tank is filtrated using an ultra violet system which creates crystal clear water and a comfortable environment to work in for both cast and crew. The tank is permanently filled and the water is maintained at 22 ℃ (72 ˚F).
Pre-release reactions
The 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 version of The Da Vinci Code, which will debut later in May; he said the movie is "full of calumnies, offenses, and historical and theological errors."[1]
Francis Cardinal Arinze urged unspecified legal action against the makers of the film. "Those who blaspheme Christ and get away with it are exploiting the Christian readiness to forgive and to love even those who insult us. There are some other religions which if you insult their founder they will not be just talking. They will make it painfully clear to you," Arinze said. He is Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Vatican. He made these remarks in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code: a Masterful Deception" The apparent reference to "other religions" is to the violent protests against the depiction of Prophet Muhammad in cartoons.[2]
Opus Dei
Stating that it does not intend to organize any boycotts, Opus Dei (The Catholic organization that is caricatured prominently in the novel) released a statement on February 14, 2006 kindly asking Sony Pictures to consider editing the soon-to-be-released film based on Dan Brown’s bestseller, so that it would not contain references that might be hurtful to Catholics. The statement also said Brown’s book offers a “deformed” image of the church and that Opus Dei will use the opportunity of the movie’s release to educate about the church.
On Easter Sunday 2006, Opus Dei published an April 6, 2006 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 the figure of Jesus Christ, the history of the Church, and the religious beliefs of viewers". The organization also encouraged the Hollywood studio to clearly label the movie as fictitious "and that any resemblance to reality is pure coincidence."
According to a statement by Manuel Sánchez Hurtado, Opus Dei Press Office Rome,[3] in striking contrast to Sony Corporation’s published “Code of Conduct” the company has announced that the film will not include a fiction disclaimer.
NOAH
The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) has expressed concern about Silas' character giving albinos a bad name. It would seem from images of Silas seen in the trailer for the film that the filmmakers have decided not to change his appearance. See also Evil Albino.
American Catholic bishops
US Catholic bishops launched a website refuting the key claims in the novel that is about to be brought to the screen. The bishops are concerned about errors and serious misstatements in the Da Vinci Code.
Faroe Islands
The biggest cinema in the Faroe Islands, Havnar Bio, decided to boycot the film, effectively blocking it from the other smaller cinemas, who rely on second hand films from this source, on the count that it seems to be blasphemic in their point of view. This was already published on April 26th on portal.fo (in Faroese), but first on May 12th known in the Danish media, due to the Faroese reviewer Kim Simonsen in the Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). On the same day, German media spread the news widely via dpa (in English), presenting the Faroes as a country with 90 % of strict Christians, where already The Life of Brian was forbidden. Faroese media, as the national radio Útvarp Føroya (in Faroese) relied on the article of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung(in German). People, in particular young people, are irritated, even angry, that they will not be able to see a movie they were looking forward to, especially since the book on which the movie is based on, has not been banned in the shops
Philippines
The Philippine movie censors (MTRCB) gave it an R-18 rating, the highest rating given by a country so far, restricting the film to adults because of “the thematic, verbal and visual content of this fictionalized drama-thriller from an over-all perspective, requires mature discernment" and that “only adults can discern what is truth and what is fiction.”
The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued guidelines to priests on how to refute the book’s plot and reminded parishioners that the book was fictitious, but that fiction "shapes the imagination, stirs emotions and forms mental associations," and this particular book shows itself as "historical fact." However, it did not ask the government to ban the film, but a high cabinet official had claimed that the movie was blasphemous and should be banned. Petitions to ban the film in this predominantly Catholic country from an anti-pornography group, various bishops and priests have emerged prior to the film's release on May 18, 2006.
Thailand
Christian 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. [2] [3]
Singapore
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) wrote to Information, Communications and the Arts Minister to register their "strongest objection" to the release of the film and requested that it be banned. The Media Development Authority, however, passed the unedited version of the movie, albeit with a NC16 rating, a restriction for children below the age of 16.
Pre-release reviews
According to Canadian press, during a May 16th preview for movie critics in Cannes, the main climax of the film when Hanks character discloses to Tatou's character that she is "without a doubt" the descendant of Jesus Christ was met with thunderous laughter. CNN reported that at the same screening, "one scene during the film, meant to be serious, elicited prolonged laughter from the audience, and when the credits rolled, there was no applause, only a few catcalls and hisses." [4]
Spoilers end here.
As of May 18th, the film has a rating of 19% on the Rotten Tomatoes website, representing 7 positive reviews out of the 36 total reviews currently available. [5]
Critical Backlash
Lead Actor Tom Hanks has publically denounced those who wish to boycott the film based on its Biblical and historical inaccuracies. While admitting to the Evening Standard that those involved with the movie "always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown," he adds that the film's story "is loaded with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense." Hanks went on to diminish the critical value of Da Vinci Code bashers by saying that if they "are going to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this, [they'd] be making a very big mistake. While not downplaying the movie itself, Hanks stated that "all it is is dialogue," adding that dialogue "never hurts."
Marketing campaign
The film's teaser trailer was released in the summer of 2005, a full year before the film's worldwide release. It was released before a single frame of the movie had been shot. It features crevices with some hidden symbols and was later revealed as an image of Da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.
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 also 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; the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop did show the message and were awarded the prize.
Press Screenings
To limit exposure in the age of blogs and constant leaks, both Sony and Imagine Entertainment, decided to forgo test screenings, a form of market research usually considered critical to fine-tuning a picture. According to the studio representative, the strategy is to preserve a climate of mystery and excitement around the movie, despite the fact that anyone who is interested probably already knows the plot. Even theater owners, who by law must be allowed to see a film before formally booking it for their movie houses, saw the film — running two hours and 29 minutes — only Friday, which by exhibition standards is as last minute as it gets.[6]. However, some speculate that the quality of the film might have been a reason for forgoing test screenings [7].
Promotional puzzles
As part of the lead up to the movie, various encrypted clues are being placed in movie 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 Davinci Dialogue (aka The Davinci Challenge), a fairly comprehensive web site which is intended to defuse Christian opposition to the movie. The site mixes some mild criticisms with movie promotional material.
Information and solutions / discussion on both the original webquests and the more recent Google-sponsored webquests can be found at the The Da Vinci Code WebQuests article on Wikipedia.
Differences between book and film
- In the movie, Langdon received the photograph of Sauniere's corpse after giving a symbology lecture in a university.
- Sophie found the hidden message in the Mona Lisa written at the bottom right of the painting. In the novel it is scrawled directly across Mona Lisa's face just like the one shown in the earlier trailers of the film.
- Langdon deciphered the code "So Dark The Con of Man" hidden in the Mona Lisa right after they found it.
- There is no second cryptex inside the first. The solution to the cryptex is the same as the second one in the book.
Spoilers end here.
Trivia
- Julie Delpy and Kate Beckinsale were two of the original actresses considered for the role of Sophie.
- Since the crew was not permitted to shine light on the Mona Lisa, a replica was used to film instead. (The film crew used the Mona Lisa's chamber as a storage room.)
- The 61-year-old Roman Catholic nun Sister Mary Michael from Our Lady's Community of Peace and Mercy in Lincoln spent 12 hours praying on her knees outside Lincoln Cathedral in protest against what she sees as the blasphemous use of a holy place to film a book which she considers to contain heresy.[8],[9],[10].
- Lincoln Cathedral's bell "Great Tom" which strikes the hour was silent for the first time since World War II while filming took place in the cathedral between 15 and 19 August 2005.
- Near the end of the trailer of the film, the word "Seek" is highlighted, along with the letters T, H, S, E, C, D, E, and O. It has been rumoured that this may be an anagram meaning "Seek The Codes". At http://www.seekthecodes.com/ there is a blog, run by Sony Pictures, which will most likely lead to another Da Vinci Code Hunt. The person allegedly running the site is called "Lisa S." This is not only a reference to the book and the Mona Lisa, but the letters can be rearranged to spell "Silas," the name of the fictitious Opus Dei Character.
- There is a problem with continuity. As Sophie and Robert enter Westminster Abbey there is scaffolding on the southern tower of the great west end. As they leave, there is no scaffolding.
Ratings
BBFC: 12A Contains flagellation and other moderate violence.
Hong Kong: IIA Not Suitable for Children
MDA Singapore NC16: Mature Content
MPAA: PG-13 for Disturbing Images, Some Nudity, Thematic Material, Brief Drug References and Sexual Content.
OFLC: M for Moderate Violence, Moderate Themes MTRCB Philippines: R-18
See also
References
- ^ "Reaffirm the Resurrection, Pope urges faithful", Catholic World News, May 1, 2006.
- ^ Pullella, Philip, "Cardinal urges legal action again Da Vinci Code", Reuters, May 7, 2006.
- ^ Sánchez Hurtado, Manuel, "The Other Code", Opus Dei Press Office, May 17, 2006.
4. http://www.topix.net/world/faroe-islands
External links
Slovenski | 
English | 
Deutsche | 
Hrvatski | 
Srpski
The Da Vinci Code (2006) 
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Allowed extensions: .jpg .png
Da Vincijeva Šifra (2006) (Slovenia)
