HI! Sorry if you find some mistakes... we're from Italy! If you read, please leave a comment, we'll ...
HI! Sorry if you find some mistakes... we're from Italy! If you read, please leave a comment, we'll try to do the same! Max & Mony
Member since:13.07.2008
Reviews:20
Members who trust:3
*** INTRO ***
I guess someone among you is already bored from this topic... People talked very much about it in tv... not to mention all the books written on it. Anyway I don't care about what's in fashion. I discovered and read Dan Brown only when everyone was talking about it for years and the scandal was almost finished. It could be I don't like neither to be "up-to-date" nor to do what everyone does: there's nothing more unpleasant to me than listen a song only because everyone says it's a "legend" or read a novel because "you have to know it!"...
*** WHY... ***
... have I read it then? Don't know, I guess my curiosity prevailed. I wanted to understand what was so shameful in this book. It's clear I'm often late: before reading Dan Brown's story, I didn't heard about this alternative version of Holy Grail, even if the first complete book in this matter dates back to 1982 (my birth year). I mean The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail , written by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln: it wasn't neither the first nor the last volume about assumed proofs in behalf of the intrigue plotted by the Church to hide the truth, but maybe it's the most known. Dan Brown took the idea from this book for his The Da Vinci Code and so he gained a plagiarism denounce from the authors. Maybe you know the trial turned into a not guilty verdict. After reading and appreciating the novel, waiting for the movie was unavoidable...
*** THE MOVIE ***
Ron Howard, director of this movie, began his career as an actor. Very famous for his role in the tv-series "Happy Days", he directed well done movies like "Apollo 13", "A Beautiful Mind" and "Cinderella Man". After reading the book, he got through Dan Brown to ask if he could shoot a movie based on the novel. In the cast we find some known names:
Tom Hanks, very credible in professor Langdon's shoes
Audrey Tautou, who plays
the role of the sweet and brave cryptographer, Sophie Neveu
Ian McKellen, that plays the British Royal Historian fond of and obsessed by the Grail, Sir Leigh Teabing
Jean Reno, very good to play the tough and obstinate captain Bezu Fache
Paul Bettany, that's able to play an unnerving Opus Dei member, Silas
The movie on DVD is the uncutted version, that is the longer one (168 minutes) where there are all the scenes cutted in the cinematic version, in order to avoid the movie was too long. I recommend you to see the DVD version: even if the omitted scenes are not fundamental, they enrich the film. In the two discs pack, special contents can be very interesting (136 minutes). You can find interviews and you can discover some "hidden messages" that surely you would have not noticed.
*** THE PLOT ***
The curator of the Louvre Museum, Jaques Saunière, is found dead inside the museum. Even if his death is already unnerving, things the man made to his body before breathing his last breathe makes the scene even more gruesome and almost incomprehensible for the French Police. Captain Bezu Fache gets through Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, so that he helps them during investigations with his knowledge, but Fache doesn't tell him he has some reason to suspect of him. The cryptographer Sophie Neveu, dead curator's granddaughter, interferes in the investigation: she knows her grandfather wanted to tell her something and the unknown professor is the key to find out what. For Robert and Sophie an adventure begins, on the run from the police and from Sauniere's murders... this adventure will force them to look for the answer in the past: the shadow of a mysterious society, the Priory of Sion, seems to wrap them. To discover and stop the murders, they will have to take part in a hunt that involved many human beings before them: the one for the Holy Grail... An adventurous movie, rarely boring, with different unexpected 'coups de théâtre' (expecially if you haven't read the book before). Actors are very credible, even if I haven't always appreciated the dubbing. Historical references can be hard to follow, expecially if you don't know the topic and you could not appreciate the film. On the other side, if you've already read the novel, there can be a lot of details you don't like. If it's true that one book and its cinematic adaptation cannot coincide and that the story is not upset, it's also true I preferred the novel. The details that have been changed, omitted or added in the movie, in my opinion, impoverish the story. They are not fundamental, but they're important.
*** REFLECTIONS ***
This movie has a message to spread: as for me, it's worth to write about it... but don't go on with the reading if you still don't know the main themes of the book: I don't want to spoil your surprise.
Dan Brown treats very delicate themes. They involve everyone, someone more and someone less, in very different ways. Considering that we are italian, we have a Catholic tradition and are maybe more involved. Who believes in God and in the Bible can feel offended from what he says in the book. On the contrary, who doesn't believe or who criticize the Church finds in it reasons in support of his point.
Briefly resuming Dan Brown's revelations, Jesus wasn't son of God. He was only a man who married a woman he loved. When he was killed, this woman, Mary Magdalene, run away pregnant with his child. Considering that they both had birth, their heir would have been the legitimate king of the Merovingian reign. The Catholic Church did everything it could to hide this uncomfortable truth and gave chase to Jesus heirs, forcing them to stay hidden. Everyone thinks the Holy Grail is a goblet, THE goblet which contained Jesus blood and which he used during the last supper... but it can be something completely different. The true Grail would be Mary Magdalene, particularly her lap which contained Jesus child, Jesus blood. So today the Holy Grail would consist of Mary Magdalene's sarcophagus and of all the documents that prove her marriage with Jesus and their descendants.
For people who first hear, these can be shocking revelations. At least, they were for me. If it would be true, if the Church lied about everything, 2000 years of history should be written again and one of the most important monotheist religion (Christianity) should be erased. Shocking, as I said. But is it true? I believe it's not possible to surely answer my question... if you gather information, as I did, you will find proofs either in a sense and in the other one. With my knowledge, I haven't means to make a selection and decide which info is right. Let's make a concrete example: let's talk about Leonardo Da Vinci, The Last Supper . In the movie, Sir Leigh Teabing says on the table there are 13 goblets and not only one: why? Because Leonardo wanted to underline the Grail wasn't a goblet. Other Historians say, on the contrary, in those days when Da Vinci lived, the mith of the Grail hasn't already spread. Who's right?
Another example: Priory of Sion. Does it esxist? All the documents found, make us puzzled. There's someone who says it was only a Pierre Plantard's idea in 1956 and it has not the roots Brown tells us in the novel. It's also true that, as far as it was a secret society, it was not supposed to leave signs... so does it exist or did it exist as a society born to protect and spread Grail secret? And here I stop. I don't want to list all the assumed historical inaccuracies of the movie: you can find them online.
Do you want to know what I believe in? I believe in God, even if I'm not churchgoer, I'm Catholic and proud to be. I read the book, saw the movie, watched several documentaries... I also put myself out to read the long The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail ... and I finally decided I don't care. I BELIEVE Jesus was the son of God and I am firm about this point. I'm not going to tell you why I believe: I can't, you have to feel, you cannot decide it. Then, if you don't believe, I wouldn't be able to change your mind giving you reasons to do it. I also BELIEVE that if Jesus had had a son, the Church wouldn't be glad and maybe would have hidden it. But I BELIEVE paternity would not make Jesus less divine... I think these are two compatible things. I also BELIEVE the Church is made by human beings who can make mistakes exactly like us, but Church past, present or future mistakes don't debase or damage the message of love Jesus left us. In the end, I BELIEVE a Catholic should not feel offended...
*** CONCLUSION ***
You can choose to watch this movie or not. If you'll watch it, you can take it for what it is, I mean a movie like many others, or think it's a revelation. You can choose to believe in what it says or to take offence for the same reason. I think everyone can find only inside the answer to the question he does sooner or later: does it exist something bigger? Considering The Da Vinci Code only like a movie, I recommend the vision. I don't suggest to read the book before, because the film could disappoint you. You can do the contrary: first the movie and then the book, as an "integration", we can say. If you like this kind of story, you'll appreciate it.
Forgive my opinion wordiness and thanks for your patience if you've read it all.
review already published on other websites
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
I read the book in a day... can't wait to see the film! a really interesting review x
JoannaPiano 17.08.2008 17:36
Enjoyed the book but haven't seen the film. jo
Mitsudan 17.08.2008 15:37
I haven't seen the film but I found the book quite compelling reading - even though it's not very well written and some of the clues are too easily solved by the reader before the characters, it's a well-paced story. Excellent review. David
Dan Brown's international bestseller comes alive in the film THE DA VINCI CODE, directed ... more
by Ron Howard. Join symbologist Robert Langdon (Academy Award Winner Tom Hanks, 1993 Best Actor, Philadelphia, and 1994 Best Actor, Forrest Gump) and cryptologist ...
Uncover The Secret. Dan Brown's international bestseller comes alive in the film The Da ... more
Vinci Code directed by Ron Howard with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman. Join symbologist Robert Langdon (Academy Award'‚ Winner Tom Hanks) and cryptologist Sophi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: A good story from the Brown Novel, great filming and good cast Disadvantages: Not outstanding acting, slightly erratic at times, lots of information in short space of time
reevo_the_great 07.11.2008 (08.11.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Da Vinci Code (DVD)
Advantages: Exciting Story, Explores many historical and religious themes Disadvantages: Lacking in Characterisation, Suspense and Plot Structure
webtoolsclient1 25.04.2009 (11.05.2009)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Da Vinci Code (DVD)
readalittlereadalot 17.06.2007 (17.06.2007)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of The Da Vinci Code (DVD)
Advantages: Good mix of drama/action/suspense and plot explanation, entertaining enough to keep you watching Disadvantages: Not for the squeamish, subject may offend or bore, may seem far-fetched, subtitles
IzzyS 21.09.2008 (21.09.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The DaVinciCode (DVD)
![The Da Vinci Code [2006] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78189413.jpg "The Da Vinci Code [2006] [DVD]")
exceptional by (11%):
very helpful by (84%):
helpful by (5%):
