THE DA VINCI CODE: CEREBRAL THRILLER

With the upcoming release of the new Ron Howard-Tom Hanks thriller INFERNO Sony has chosen to re-release their first two original outings together with the Dan Brown character of Robert Langdon. It’s a good thing to as some may have forgotten how great those two movies were. Not only that but it makes a great excuse for upgrading from the old DVD to blu-ray formats. And of those fortunate enough to have upgraded to the new 4k format it is available that way as well.

But let’s go back to the beginning with this, the first film. Hanks stars as Langdon, a professor of religious iconology and symbology, a less action prone Indiana Jones. While lecturing in Paris he is called upon by Captain Bezu Fache (Jean Reno) to help in the investigation of a murdered curator at The Louvre, Jacques Sauniere. Langdon was supposed to have met with the man but failed to do so. Now he stands over the man’s body looking at clues put in place by the man as he was dying.

As he interprets the clues for the captain another officer, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tatou) arrives with information. She loans Langdon her cell phone and tells him to call a specific number. When he does, he gets a recording made by Sophie telling him that he is about to be arrested for the murder and to go to the men’s room. She aids him in escaping and off they go with the police in pursuit.

It turns out Sophie was the granddaughter of the deceased and believes a message he left behind with Langdon’s name on it wasn’t a clue to the name of his murderer but one to lead her to seek his help. Using the clues left behind by Sauniere they discover that he was a member of a secret society known as the Priory of Sion whose duty was to protect the Holy Grail. With not only the police but a separate secret society, an outlaw sect of the Catholic Church, they must not only clear Langdon’s name but find the real murderer and save the grail at the same time. But just exactly what is the grail?

What we have here is a well thought out mystery that takes the time to offer clues to its solution from start to finish. As I said earlier the character of Langdon is a sort of Indiana Jones figure, a scholar with an overwhelming sense of wonder at all things in his field. The look of amazement on Hank’s face as Langdon when he is presented with various items, paintings, symbols and more throughout shows the love and respect the character has for each. It is a subtle display that shows why Hanks is one of the best actors in the business.

The movie progresses at an even keel combining moments with a sense of urgency beside others that show the thought process going on as Hanks and Tatou attempt to solve the puzzle with each clue moving them forward to yet another. This is author Dan Brown’s method on display, telling us not just what is happening in the here and now but how it relates to history as well. While my guess would be there is some narrative license being used at moments, much of the history told is well researched and solid. This makes the movie not only a thriller that holds you in its grip but one that fills you full of history and information at the same time.

In watching the film I was amazed at just how well it was done. Howard has pulled together some of the most talented people in the business behind the scenes as well as on screen to present a compelling story that grabs the viewer by the throat and never lets go until the final credits roll. You never want to turn from the screen for fear of missing out on something. Even ten years later and two viewings in the past I still found myself fascinated. The film remains gorgeous to look at and entertaining to the extreme.

If you’ve never seen the movie then by all means buy a copy today. You’ll find it one of the best movies made in some time as well as one of the greatest thrillers around. And if you pick this one and its sequel ANGELS & DEMONS up soon you’ll have time to get caught up in the story of Langdon before the next movie comes out. It will be time well spent.

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ANGELS & DEMONS: LANGDON RETURNS

With the upcoming release of the new Ron Howard-Tom Hanks thriller INFERNO Sony has chosen to re-release their first two original outings together with the Dan Brown character of Robert Langdon. It’s a good thing to as some may have forgotten how great those two movies were. Not only that but it makes a great excuse for upgrading from the old DVD to blu-ray formats. And of those fortunate enough to have upgraded to the new 4k format it is available that way as well.

I’ve reviewed the first film so now on to the second. This time around we begin with the passing of the Pope and a papal conclave about to begin to select his replacement. Coinciding with this is a test at the Hadron collider where a new form of antimatter has been created. One of the team responsible is found murdered with a word burned into his chest: Illuminati. In addition to that, one of the containers of anti-matter has been stolen.

Symbologist and religious iconography expert Harry Langdon (Tom Hanks) is called upon by the Catholic Church to assist in investigating the murder and helping to interpret the symbols being used, in particular the one on the dead man’s chest. As the best expert in the field he is flown to the Vatican to assist only to find disagreement among the different security teams working there. Along with Vittoria Vetra (Aylet Zurer), one of the scientists from the Hadron collider and confidant of the recently murdered man there, the pair arrive just as a video message arrives for all involved.

Four members of the church have been kidnapped and are being held in a secret location seen on camera along with the container of anti-matter. As the recording plays out clues are offered as to what is to come. Langdon deciphers them to be a warning of the deaths of each and a final blow to the church to follow in the upcoming hours. But those clues also give him an idea of where to look for each coming murder and the possibility of catching the man behind it all.

The race is on as this film focuses not just on Langdon’s knowledge but the battle against the clock as one member is to be killed each hour from 8 until midnight. Each location will provide clues to the next. All of these clues stem from an ancient secret organization known at the Illuminati, religious followers who were persecuted for thinking there could be a co-existence between science and the church who went underground. Langdon is the perfect choice, the right man in the right place to try and stop not just the murders being planned but the possible end of the Catholic Church as well.

While featuring the same main character this movie is like the first film only in the lead actor and the polished look director Ron Howard presents on screen. The rest is far removed from that film in that this one spends as much time showing the race against the clock as it does Langdon’s attempt to try and figure out just what is going on and where. He finds himself drawn into conflicts where he has to become involved physically as well as mentally this time around.

Again the movie looks gorgeous. Howard has again assembled a crew that brings forth some of the most amazing scenes to watch, even more so when you learn that most of them were not even filmed in Vatican City or in the buildings there but on sets surrounded by green screens. The extra go into detail on how this was accomplished. You’d never know it while watching the film, a statement to how fantastic a job they’ve done.

Hanks is again perfect in his performance as Langdon. That right combination of awe when confronted with things like the Vatican library and the locations each clue takes him to combined with that sense of urgency as he tries to save another life is something that would not be possible in the hands of a lesser actor. Ewan McGregor as the late Pope’s right hand man, now in charge until the conclave finally selects a new Pope, does a fantastic job as well. Zurer attempts to hold her own and does so but her part never really feels fleshed out.

As with the first film this movie stirs curiosity in the viewer making you want to learn more about the history involved and the icons on display. It pulls you in as a mystery and has you wringing your hands that the bomb is found before it goes off releasing a force as deadly as an atom bomb if not more so. And when it’s over it leaves you wanting more, which fortunately we will have when INFERNO is released. One can only hope that Howard and Hanks don’t make us wait as long for them to film author Dan Brown’s other Langdon book, THE LOST SYMBOL. And if he write another let’s hope they pick up on that one as well.

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TENEBRAE: ARGENTO? GIALLO? I’M IN!

Over the past few months I’ve come to appreciate the genre of horror films known as giallo more than I did in the past. While I’d seen several of the movies long ago I never quite got what the whole interest in them was. I get it now. It’s a style, the way a story is told, the images that combine with those to make a compelling movie. I’ve discovered movies I missed and gone back to revisit some I saw long ago. TENEBRAE falls into that latter category.

Anthony Franciosa stars as Peter Neal, an author who specializes in horror filled tomes revolving around murder. In Italy to promote his latest book he suddenly finds himself in the midst of a real life serial killing situation. It seems that the killer must be a fan as he’s murdering people similar to the styles used in Neal’s books and stuffing pages from his books in their mouths.

As the film moves forward more questions come to mind. Is the killer someone influenced by the work of Neal or is it actually Neal himself doing the killing? What tie with Neal does the killer have, a personal connection or just that of crazed fan? Who will the next victim of the killer be and do all the victims have something in common? All is revealed by the end with something most viewers won’t see coming.

First off let’s start with the acting. There isn’t an actor in the bunch here who doesn’t turn in a fine performance. Franciosa, a regular on numerous television series in the sixties and seventies, does a fantastic job as Neal, giving him that investigative edge when it comes to trying to solve the identity of the murderer while at the same time presenting himself as a likely suspect. A nice trick if you can pull it off and he does so quit well. John Saxon, a man who starred in what is considered the first giallo film, is on hand as well doing a great job as Neal’s agent. The other actors also turn in great performances though I’m honestly not as familiar with their previous work, the only exception of which is Daria Nicolodi who has starred in several giallo works and was also the longtime companion of director Dario Argento.

Dario Argento. Among the directors most noted for creating and giving life to this genre, Argento is the one who made it more mainstream than ever and who led it from simple murder mysteries into the realm of horror with supernatural touches in several films. He takes the various elements of the genre, the black gloved hands, the violent deaths, the bright colors and camera angles and makes them his own. The blood spilled in Argento’s films always flows bright red and bursts forth more so than earlier examples of the genre and yet in an artistic way that doesn’t force you to turn your head. His style is truly recognizable and puts him among the greats of film history.

As I said, I’ve watched films in this genre in the past and TENEBRAE is one of those films. I even recall having it in the video store I once owned, a new release that I was sure fans would embrace. But it never really quite caught on in my area and neither did the whole giallo genre. Even I wasn’t quick to embrace it but at least I recognized it existed. In part that might have been because the quality of the movies at the time left much to be desired. It wasn’t that they were terrible but still, the transfers were usually soft focused and dubbing was terrible. That all changed with DVD and more so now with blu-ray. When coupled with the treatment of this film by Synapse it gets even better.

Synapse has released a new version of the film on blu that is something to behold. The quality, the clarity, the crispness of the image is amazing. This new version features a supervised color correction and restoration of a 1080p scan from the original camera negative, presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. What that means is the best quality picture to watch that has ever been offered.

In addition to that there are a number of other extras worth noting. There is a commentary track by film critic and Argento expert Maitland Mcdonagh. The blu-ray version includes a feature length documentary, YELLO FEVER: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GIALLO by High Rise Productions discussing the rise in popularity of the genre from its early roots in crime fiction and on through its influence on slasher films into the world today. Also included are the original end credits sequence from the films U.S. version title UNSANE, alternate opening credits and an international trailer.

Synapse is doing a great job with the way they’re handling releases like this and it makes fans and movie lovers grow anxious to see what they have next in store. Right now they’re taking orders for another Argento film, PHEOMENA, and I for one can’t wait to see what they do with it. If nothing else I’m certain that we’ll get the best looking version of the film, another among those I once saw in low quality VHS. With the care they’re showing to the films of Argento it just makes you wish they could be responsible for handling all of his films.

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