The Da Vinci Code: film guide and movie locations

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< Up	Britain / Films / Da Vinci Code
The film "The Da Vinci Code"


Sections:	Introduction
	Characters
	Actors / actresses
	Notes about the film
	Locations
	Tours
	Further information
	Links

Related pages:	British films: Britain/Films

INTRODUCTION

The film version of The DaVinci Code is released in the UK in May 2006
It is based on the book of the same name by American author Dan Brown.
The prequel to the book is called Angels and Demons, and the sequel will be The Solomon Key.

The Da Vinci Code opens with a late-night visit by the police to Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbology from Harvard University. The curator of the Louvre (Jacques Saunière) has been found dead in the museum's Grand Gallery: his naked body has been arranged in a strange position, a sign is found marked on his body using his own blood, and a cryptic message is found next to the body. Langdon is suspected as the murderer and goes on the run. He is helped by the dead man's grand-daughter Sophie. They try to discover the secrets the curator was trying to protect, which both the Vatican and Opus Dei (a conservative Catholic group) want to keep hidden.

	The Dan Brown Illustrated Box Set (illustrated hardback boxed set edition of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) Author: Dan Brown Date: October 2005		The Da Vinci Code: The Illustrated Edition (illustrated hardback edition of The Da Vinci Code) Author: Dan Brown Date: October 2004
	Angels and Demons (paperback book) Author: Dan Brown Date: July 2003		The Da Vinci Code (paperback book) Author: Dan Brown Date: April 2004

CHARACTERS

The following are the main characters in the story:
- Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks): an American professor of religious symbolism, from Harvard University
- Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou): a French cryptologist, the grand-daughter of the murdered curator of the Louvre (Jacques Saunière)
- Sir Leigh Teabing (Sir Ian McKellen): an eccentric English historian with specialist knowledge of the Holy Grail
- Captain Bézu Fache (Jean Reno): the French police chief who hunts Langdon
- Silas (Paul Bettany): a fanatical supporter of the religious sect Opus Dei

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ACTORS / ACTRESSES

Tom Hanks, an American actor from California, plays the lead character Robert Langdon. Some of the other films in which he has starred are Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Forrest Gump (1994) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). For a list of his other performances, see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000158

Audrey Tautou is a French actress who plays Sophie Neveu. Her best-known performances in the UK are in the films Amelie (2001) and Dirty Pretty Things (2002). For a list of her performances, see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851582

Sir Ian McKellen plays Sir Leigh Teabing. His best-known as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films, and as a Shakespearean actor. For a list of his performances, see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005212

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NOTES

The following paintings by Leonardo DaVinci are featured during the film:
- The Mona Lisa: this can be seen inside the Louvre Museum in Paris (France) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa)
- Madonna of the Rocks (also known as Virgin of the Rocks): two nearly identical versions are on show at the Louvre Museum in Paris and at the National Gallery in London (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_of_the_Rocks)
- The fresco of The Last Supper: this is painted on a wall of a convent in Milan (Italy) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_by_Da_Vinci)

Detail from "The Last Supper" fresco by Leonardo da Vinci
(the book claims that sitting next to Jesus is Mary Magdalene, not Peter)

Mona Lisa

The following vocabulary may be helpful to understand the film:
brethren (brothers, especially in a religious group) ; curator (a person in charge of a museum) ; self-flagellation (hitting yourself with a whip) ; cryptologist (an expert at studying secret codes) ; fleur-de-lis (a symbol showing a flower with three parts joined at the bottom) ; keystone (the middle stone in an arch) ; papyrus (a type of paper used in ancient times by the Egyptians) ; chalice (a cup) ; riddle (a word puzzle) ; cilice (a metal chain with spikes) ; to inter (to bury) ; orb (a spherically-shaped object) ; catatonic (a body that is stiff and nearly dead) ; an effigy (a representation of someone) ; a ritual (a fixed ceremony which is repeated); "sang" is French for "blood" ; a descendant (a person who is related to someone and lives afterwards)

You can use the following links to find out more about some of the people, events, objects and organisations mentioned in the film:

Mary Magdalene (a female follower of Jesus): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene
The Last Supper (meal which Jesus had with his disciples before he was killed): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper
The Crucifixion (the killing of Jesus on a cross): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion
The Holy Grail (an mythical relic, popularly believed to be a cup from the Last Supper): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail
The Gnostic Gospels (alternative early descriptions of Jesus' life): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostic_gospels
Emperor Constantine (Roman emperor, 272-337): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Constantine
Council of Nicaea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
Merovingians: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merovingians
Crusades: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusade
The Knights Templar (protected pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar
The Spanish Inquisition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition
Leonardo da Vinci (Italian artist and scientist, 1452-1519): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Da_Vinci
Isaac Newton (famous English mathematician, 1643-1727): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
Alexander Pope (an old English poet, 1688-1744): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope
Opus Dei (a conservative Catholic sect): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_dei
Priory of Sion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priory_of_sion
Cryptex: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptex
Sénéschal (plural=sénéschaux): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneschal
Sarcophagus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcophagus

The Fibonacci series starts 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 ...
The next number in the series is the total of the previous two numbers (0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5 etc)
The numbers occur in nature and are used in computing

An anagram is a rearrangement of letters to form another word or phrase. For example, the word STUNTED is an anagram of the word STUDENT.
Two of the puzzles in the film are anagrams.

The questions asked by Sir Leigh Teabing test Langdon's knowledge of English traditions. Lemon, not milk, is usually added to Earl Grey tea.
Henley is an English town best known for its Royal Regatta, a series of rowing races: http://www.hrr.co.uk

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LOCATIONS

The film was shot mainly in the UK and France. Some of the locations in the story are listed below:

London

- The plane arrives at Biggin Hill airport in London (this is used for business jets and for air shows)
- Temple Church (nearest Tube: Temple; http://www.templechurch.com) was built by the Knights Templar in 1185. Sir Leigh Teabing, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu enter this church looking for the missing orb that might reveal the location of the Holy Grail.
- Westminster Abbey (nearest Tube: Westminster: http://www.westminster-abbey.org) contains the tomb of Isaac Newton, the famous English mathematician who is said to have been inspired to discover gravity by seeing an apple falling from a tree.

Knights Templar symbol
outside Temple Church

Westminster Abbey:
contains Isaac Newton's tomb

The National Gallery: here you can see the painting
"Virgin of the Rocks" by Leonardo DaVinci

England: Lincolnshire & Leicestershire

- Belvoir Castle (http://www.belvoircastle.com): 19th century castle, used for the exterior shots of Castel Gandolfo.
- Burghley House (http://www.burghley.co.uk): English stately home in Lincolnshire, used in the film for the interior of Castel Gandolfo.
- Lincoln Cathedral (http://www.lincolncathedral.com): the film company couldn't get permission to film inside Westminster Abbey, so the inside of Lincoln Cathedral was used instead.
[for more about these locations, see: http://www.davincicodelincs.com/davincicodelocations.html]

Scotland

- Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian (http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk): a 15th century chapel south of Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland), built by a knight, which contains many symbolic carvings. It is rumoured to have contained the Holy Grail.

France

- Chateau de Villette (http://www.chateau-de-villette.fr): Sir Leigh Teabing's home (a country estate north-west of Paris)
- In the story the flight leaves from Le Bourget airport, near Paris (this airport is now only used for business jets and for air shows). The film used the terminal building and tower at Shoreham airport in Sussex

Paris

- Louvre Museum (nearest Metro: Palais Royal Musee du Louvre, lines 1 or 7; http://www.louvre.fr): in the story Jacques Saunière is found dead in the Grand Gallery here. Da Vinci's Mona Lisa can be seen in the Denon wing. The pyramid entrances to the museum also play an important part in the story.
- Saint Sulpice church (nearest Metro: Saint-Sulpice, line 4): See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Sulpice_(Paris). The copper line across the floor in this church marks the first prime meridian (called the Rose Line in the book and film) - the international prime meridian was later chosen to be Greenwich (London).
- Ritz Hotel, Place Vendome (nearest Metro: Opera, lines 3, 7 or 8; http://www.ritzparis.com): the elegant hotel where Langdon stays
- Bois de Boulogne: park through which the taxi passes when Langdon tells Sophie about the Priory of Sion brotherhood (on the west side of Paris)

Louvre Museum, Paris

Inverted pyramid

Astronomical gnomon in Saint Sulpice

The line on the floor marked the first prime meridian.
This ellipse is where the sun's rays fell on each equinox.

	The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code: History, Legends, Locations (book) Publisher: Rough Guides Date: November 2004
	Cracking the Da Vinci Code: The Facts Behind the Fiction (book) Author: Simon Cox Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Date: April 2004		Cracking The Da Vinci Code (2 DVDs) Studio: Odeon Entertainment Date: March 2006

TOURS

Some of the tours in the UK or France which allow you to discover locations featured in the film The Da Vinci Code:

London
Premium Tours: On the trail of the Da Vinci Code
Golden Tours: http://www.goldentours.co.uk/tours.php?59
Evans Evans: http://www.evanevans.co.uk/output/walking_tours/page_163.html
Every Friday (from 1-2pm) Robin Griffith-Jones gives a talk in Temple Church, London about the Da Vinci trail:
http://www.templechurch.com/pages/church/da_vinci_code_and_the_secret.htm

Paris
Walks of Paris: http://www.classicwalksparis.com/tour/walking-tours/da-vinci-code-walking-tou.shtml
Paris Muse: http://www.parismuse.com/about/news/da-vinci-code.shtml
The Louvre museum offers a special Da Vinci Code soundwalk: http://musee.louvre.fr/audioguide/en/index_en.html

Edinburgh
Tours to Rosslyn Chapel from Edinburgh: http://www.scotlinetours.co.uk/html/rosslyn_chapel_bus_tour.html

The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple: The Master of TheTemple
Author: Robin Griffith-Jones
Publisher: Canterbury Press
Date: April 2006

FURTHER INFORMATION

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code
http://www.sonypictures.co.uk/movies/thedavincicode
http://www.thedavincicode.co.uk
http://www.visitdavincicode.co.uk

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LINKS

British films: Britain/Films
Edinburgh: Travel/Tours/Scotland/Edinburgh
Lincoln: Travel/Tours/England/Lincoln
London: Travel/Tours/London
Paris: Travel/Tours/Paris
Wordplay: Ideas/Fun/Wordplay

Home page: Home

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