Uncover the secret to Dan Brown's ANGELS & DEMONS -- Blu-ray Review by James Plath

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—> See Link to our Blu-ray Review (below)

The holiest event of our time.
Perfect for their return.
They Have Come For Their Revenge...

"ANGELS & DEMONS barrels along with a confidence - and, more fundamentally, a pulse... There's forward movement here, an energy focused by the necessity of managing two plotlines of equal urgency."
—Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly)

"A thrilling, faster-paced walk in the park... The story line is brilliantly simplified into Langdon's search for the four cardinals... Hanks fits more comfortably into the role of Langdon here."
—Deborah Young (Hollywood Reporter)

"With fabulous production values. The interiors of the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, churches, tombs and crypts are rendered dramatically."
—Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

On November 24, Sony Pictures released Ron Howard's ANGELS & DEMONS on DVD & Blu-ray. The film stars Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, and Stellan Skarsgård.

In Ron Howard's thrilling follow-up to the 2006 blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, expert symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) follows ancient clues on a heart-racing hunt through Rome to find the four Cardinals kidnapped by the deadly secret society, the Illuminati. With the Cardinals' lives on the line, and the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) desperate for help, Langdon embarks on a nonstop, action-packed race through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and the most secretive vault on Earth!

The $480 million plus worldwide box office smash is now available on two-disc Blu-ray for $39.95 SRP, two-disc Extended Edition DVD for $36.95 SRP, single-disc Theatrical Edition DVD for $28.96 SRP and UMD Theatrical Edition for $24.94 SRP.

The single-disc theatrical edition includes:
• Original Theatrical Version of the film (139 mins)
• 4 Featurettes:
• -Rome Was Not Built in a Day
• -Writing Angels & Demons
• -Characters in Search of the True Story
• -CERN: Pushing the Frontiers of Knowledge

The 2-Disc Special Extended Edition DVD includes all of the above as well as:
• Extended Version of the film (146 mins)
• 3 more Featurettes:
• -Handling Props
• -Angels & Demons: The Full Story
• -This is an Ambigram
• Hans Zimmer Music Studio (powered by Sequel 2)

The 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray includes all of the above as well as even more exclusive features including:
• Includes both the Original Theatrical Version and Extended Version of the film
• movieIQ — Fans can immediately access continuously updated information on cast and crew and explore relevant trivia such as production facts, music and soundtrack information all tied to scenes within the movie
• cinechat — Send on-screen instant messages to your friends around the world while you watch the movie together
• The Path of Illumination - Follow Robert Langdon's journey through Rome and see if you can unlock the path of illumination
• A Digital Copy of the Film for PC, PSP®, Mac or iPod
• 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (in English & French)

The Blu-ray Disc version of Angels & Demons is BD-Live enabled, allowing users to get connected and go beyond the disc via an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. Download exclusive content, register for rewards, give feedback through our survey and more!

Culver City CA — The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the box office smash ANGELS & DEMONS, available now on 2-Disc Extended Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc™ from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film is also available on 1-Disc Theatrical DVD, PSP, and for digital download.

Two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks (Best Actor: Forrest Gump-1994, Philadelphia-1993), Academy Award winner Ron Howard (Best Director and Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind-2001), and bestselling author Dan Brown team up with Ewan McGregor (Star Wars trilogy, Big Fish), Ayelet Zurer (Adam Resurrected, Vantage Point), and Stellan Skarsgård (Mamma Mia!) on a thrilling journey through Rome as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Hanks) discovers the shocking truth about the Illuminati, an ancient secret brotherhood who will stop at nothing to destroy its eternal enemy, the Catholic Church.

Bonus materials on the two-disc Blu-ray and the two-disc Extended Edition DVD include seven behind-the-scenes featurettes, including "Angels & Demons: The Full Story," a complete behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film; "Characters in Search of the True Story," where the cast share their experiences of bringing Dan Brown's characters to the screen; "Rome Was Not Built in a Day," which follows filmmakers as they share their secrets to creating the world of Angels & Demons and "CERN: Pushing the Frontiers of Knowledge" a look at one of the world´s largest and most respected scientific research centers.

The two-disc DVD and Blu-ray™ also includes the Hans Zimmer Music Studio. Powered by Sequel 2, the Hans Zimmer Music Studio is a DVD-ROM application which will give users the opportunity to create their own version of the Angels & Demons score using original Hans Zimmer tracks.

Exclusives to the two-disc Blu-ray include both the Theatrical and Extended film versions, as well as the interactive map "The Path of Illumination," in which viewers follow Robert Langdon's journey through Rome, exploring architecture, discovering new facts, seeing additional behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from each location, and discovering more about the four altars of science — all in the quest to unlock the path of illumination.

In addition, the Blu-ray Disc includes the newest BD-Live™ feature from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: "movieIQ." movieIQ allows movie fans to immediately access continuously updated information on the cast and crew and explore relevant trivia such as production facts, music and soundtrack information all tied to scenes within the movie (powered by Gracenote). The Blu-ray release also comes with a Digital Copy of the extended version of the film for the PC, PSP®, Mac or iPod.

ANGELS & DEMONS — Explore further:
—> Blu-ray Review by James Plath »
EXCERPT: Set in Rome rather than Paris, "Angels & Demons" is in some ways a better movie than "The Da Vinci Code," and the Blu-ray production values are better as well. "The Da Vinci Code" merited a low 7, but "Angels & Demons" scores a high 7 in my book, though the plot isn't as complex and the mystery isn't as multi-textured. This time there's just one secret society that surfaces: The Illuminati, who believe in science and religion in equal measure, and who were driven underground by the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century. The main narrative thrust of the film involves that secret society's reemergence and their threats to destroy the Church, apparently in belated retaliation, as well as Langdon's attempts to help the Vatican and Roman police catch them before they kill the four cardinals they've kidnapped and before a pilfered bomb can destroy the Vatican and a big chunk of Rome. This, he does by trying to figure out and retrace the "Path of Illumination" that new inductees to the society had to follow.

In many respects, "Angels & Demons" is a pretty straightforward terrorist-hostage film that has as much in common with "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" as it does "The Da Vinci Code." But when you add the mystery and pageantry of the Vatican City and set it in beautiful history-rich Rome, then throw in the curiosity of the papal selection process, you have a fascinating film that holds your interest for the whole 139 minutes--146, if you watch the extended cut that's also included in this two-disc package.

Director Ron Howard does a fine job of taking what could have been a complex mess and turning it into something readily understandable. And I'd like to think that he's responsible for toning down the professorial monologues as well. The cutaways to scenic Rome contribute symbolic or associative content rather than simply being travelogue shots, and the camera angles add interest without seeming heavy-handed or intrusive. When all is said and done, "Angels & Demons" is an entertaining film that may send audiences to their church histories to find out how much of the church history contained here is true.

"Angels & Demons" is the kind of Church mystery with historical backstories that you'd expect from author Dan Brown, but it's also a terrorist story. And director Ron Howard manages to blend both genres without losing any of the tropes from either. The result is some pretty solid entertainment.

(Click thru the Link above for the full review)

—> Visit the film's Official Site »
(from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

—> Visit another ANGELS & DEMONS website »
(Loaded with info! - a Hollywood.com fan site)

—> View the Theatrical Trailer (w/HD) »
(from Apple.com Trailers website)

—> Visit the Official DAN BROWN website »
(the author's website)

—> Tour the Path of Illumination website »
(an Angels & Demons tour of Rome)

"It's your basic ticking time bomb scenario and Howard jumps in with nimbleness... This is extremely well-mounted, runaway train filmmaking."
—Mark Keizer (Box Office)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images and thematic material

Film Synopsis:
The holiest event of our time.
Perfect for their return.
They Have Come For Their Revenge...
The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the highly anticipated ANGELS & DEMONS, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard returns to direct the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley. The screenplay is by David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman.

What terrifying discovery would make the Vatican turn to Robert Langdon, the man who cracked history's most controversial code? When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati – the most powerful underground organization in history – he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. Upon learning that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, Langdon travels to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow the 400-year-old Path of Illumination that marks the Vatican's only hope for survival.

Dan Brown's novels are packed with fascinating historical tidbits which he ingeniously twists into plots that are so intricate and complex that there is a constant need to inform the reader with exposition, often leaving little room for character development. There is a bit of this stilted quality to ANGELS AND DEMONS, the second of Brown's novels to be brought to the big screen by the tandem of Ron Howard and Tom Hanks, but more than enough intense action to keep the eyes of the audience as busy as their minds.

The details of the plot are as diabolical as any in Hollywood history: after the pope's death, a nefarious organization stashes an antimatter bomb somewhere in the Vatican, threatening to annihilate the conclave of cardinals who are meeting to elect the papal successor. To pass the time until the bomb will detonate, the enemy begins to torture and kill a few of the individual cardinals, but there is a pattern to the grotesque executions, involving hidden sculptural symbols and secret architectural clues. Unfortunately for the church, the man most capable of deciphering the code is the American "symbologist" Robert Langdon (Hanks), who happens to be an affirmed atheist.

The script is filled with amazing details about the centuries-old conflict between the church and the Illuminati (whose members included Galileo, Michelangelo, and Bernini), which Hanks uncovers as he breathlessly races between various landmarks in Rome, always a step behind the sinister assassin. The secondary cast consists almost entirely of European actors, including Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Armin Mueller-Stahl, who betray so little emotion that it is impossible to tell who is a part of the conspiracy until long after the explosive climax.

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