Da vinci code
Da vinci code
The Da Vinci Code (Film)
In the film, the primary protagonist, Robert Langdon, a professor of religious iconography and symbology from Harvard University is the prime suspect in the grisly and unusual murder of Louvre curator Jacques Saunière. He escapes with the assistance of a police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and they are embroiled in a quest for the legendary Holy Grail. He is pursued by a dogged French police captain, Bezu Fache. A noted British Grail historian, Sir Leigh Teabing, tells them the actual Holy Grail is explicitly encoded in Leonardo Da Vinci’s wall painting, the Last Supper. Also searching for the Grail is a secret cabal within Opus Dei, an actual prelature of the Holy See, who wishes to keep the true Grail a secret; the revelation of this secret would certainly destroy Christianity.
The Da Vinci Code film, like the book, was considered controversial. It was met with especially harsh criticism by the Roman Catholic Church for the accusation that it is behind a two-thousand-year-old coverup concerning what the Holy Grail really is and the concept that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and that the union produced a daughter. Many members urged the laity to boycott the film. Two secret organizations, the Priory of Sion and the Council of Shadows, whose existence is a polarizing issue, figure prominently in the story. In the book, Dan Brown insists that the Priory of Sion and «. all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate».
Contents
A man revealed to be Jacques Saunière is being pursued by a mysterious hooded character known as Silas (Paul Bettany) through the Grand Gallery in the Louvre in Paris. Silas demands the location of the Priory’s clef de voûte or «keystone.» Under threat of death, Saunière finally confesses the keystone is kept in the sacristy of Church of Saint-Sulpice, «beneath the Rose.» Silas thanks him, and then shoots him in the stomach.
Meanwhile, American symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), who is in Paris as an AUP guest lecturer on symbols and the sacred feminine, is contacted by the French police, and summoned to the Louvre to view the crime scene. He discovers the dying Saunière has created an intricate display using black light ink and his own body and blood. Captain Bezu Fache (Jean Reno) asks him for his interpretation of the puzzling scene.
Silas calls a mysterious man known as “The Teacher ”, revealing that he has killed all four protectors of the keystone and that all confirmed the same location. He dons a metal cilice on his thigh and proceeds to flagellate himself with a whip for the sins of murder. Facilitated by Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas then travels to Saint-Sulpice and is admitted by an elderly nun; left alone, he excavates beneath the floor of the church to find a stone saying only JOB 38:11. He confronts the nun, who quotes the passage: «Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.» Realizing that he has been deceived, Silas is enraged and kills the nun.
Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a cryptologist with the French police, enters the Louvre as well and slips Langdon a message which leads him to the bathroom. There, Sophie meets him and tells him that he is being tracked, a GPS tracking dot has been (unknown by him) slipped into his jacket and that he is a primary suspect in the murder case because of a line of text found by the corpse («P.S. find Robert Langdon»). Sophie however, believes that Saunière, who is revealed to be her grandfather, wanted to pass a hidden message on to her (Princesse Sophie, P.S., was the nickname he used for her), and that he had wanted to bring Langdon into the equation so that he could help her crack the code.
Buying some time by throwing the tracking device into the back of a truck, the pair begin exploring the Louvre, finding more anagram messages that Saunière had left behind. Many of these relate to Leonardo da Vinci’s art, and the pair find a key with a Fleur-de-lis behind Madonna of the Rocks. Langdon deduces from this that Saunière was a member of the Priory of Sion, a secret society associated with the Knights Templar.
In the bank, they find Saunière’s deposit box and open it using the 10 digit Fibonacci numbers in order (1123581321). Inside the box, they find a rosewood container, which contains a cryptex: a cylindrical container with five alphabetical dials which must be arranged in the correct sequence to spell out a 5-letter code word, in order to open and access the papyrus message inside. Using force to open the cryptex would break a vial of vinegar inside, which would dissolve the papyrus and destroy the message.
Unfortunately, the police are called by a security guard and they are forced to leave. The bank manager, Andre Vernet, assists them in escaping by taking them as passengers in an armoured van to escape the routine checks of the police. In the back of the truck Langdon and Neveu have a lengthy discussion about the cryptex and Neveu says that her grandfather often played games with her involving cryptexes. Langdon says that the cryptex might hold valuable information or another clue about what they are trying to discover. Eventually, they come to a sudden stop and Vernet forces them at gunpoint to give him the cryptex. Langdon tricks Vernet and disarms him and he and Sophie escape with the cryptex in their hands.
Langdon suggests that they visit his friend, Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), for assistance to opening the cryptex. Leigh Teabing turns out to be an enthusiastic seeker of the Holy Grail, which he believes is not actually a cup but instead Mary Magdalene. Mary was pregnant at the time of Christ’s crucifixion, and Teabing tells Sophie that the Priory of Sion was formed to protect the descendants of Jesus. Jacques Saunière was believed to be a part of this society and Teabing suspects that he was training Sophie to join it also. Silas, meanwhile, breaks into Teabing’s mansion and attempts to steal the cryptex. Teabing uses his cane to knock Silas out and they escape again, taking the butler, Remy Jean, and Silas with them. The group escapes in Teabing’s plane, following the next clue to London. Fache learns of their destination, and alerts the London Metropolitan Police to apprehend them at the airport. But Teabing manages to slip the party past the police with a trick of misdirection.
Langdon is betrayed by Teabing, who is revealed to be the true Teacher. He escapes with the Cryptex, and attempts to find the next clue at Isaac Newton’s tomb in Westminster Abbey, as Newton was another member of the Priory. Langdon and Neveau catch up with him, and chase him into the nearby chapter house. Teabing explained that he wanted to find Mary Magdalene’s remains to prove he was correct about the Holy Grail and threatens to shoot Sophie if Langdon does not open the cryptex. Langdon responds by throwing the cryptex into the air. Teabing catches, but fumbles it, and it hits the ground, shattering the internal vial of vinegar. Teabing becomes distraught, as he believes the vinegar has destroyed the papyrus within the still intact cryptex.
After Teabing is arrested, it is revealed that Langdon had cracked the code (‘Apple’, a reference to Newton) and removed the clue from the cryptex before throwing it. Using the clue, they travel to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland where Magdalene’s remains had previously been hidden. The remains had since been moved, but they meet other members of the secret organization that protected her. It is revealed that Sophie is actually Magdalene’s descendant and therefore is the current living descendant of Jesus Christ. They vow to keep her safe. Langdon and Sophie part ways shortly after.
Back in Paris, Langdon accidentally cuts himself while shaving and the line of blood on the sink reminds him of the Rose Line. He follows the Rose Line and finds the location of the Holy Grail, buried under the pyramid in the Louvre. Langdon then kneels above Mary Magdalene’s tomb as the Knights Templar did before him.
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Individual posters were made of the most important characters.
Top (The Lost Symbol)
Author
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is the author of numerous #1 bestselling novels, including The Da Vinci Code, which has become one of the best selling novels of all time as well as the subject of intellectual debate among readers and scholars. Brown’s novels are published in 56 languages around the world with over 200 million copies in print.
In 2005, Brown was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine, whose editors credited him with “keeping the publishing industry afloat; renewed interest in Leonardo da Vinci and early Christian history; spiking tourism to Paris and Rome; a growing membership in secret societies; the ire of Cardinals in Rome; eight books denying the claims of the novel and seven guides to read along with it; a flood of historical thrillers; and a major motion picture franchise.”
The son of a mathematics teacher and a church organist, Brown was raised on a prep school campus where he developed a fascination with the paradoxical interplay between science and religion. These themes eventually formed the backdrop for his books. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he later returned to teach English before focusing his attention full time to writing. He lives in New England with his yellow lab, Winston.
Brown’s latest novel, Origin, explores two of the fundamental questions of humankind: Where do we come from? Where are we going?
The Greatest Conspiracy of the Past 2000
Years is About to Unravel
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. Solving the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of da Vinci…clues visible for all to see…and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.
Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and da Vinci, among others. The Louvre curator has sacrificed his life to protect the Priory’s most sacred trust: the location of a vastly important religious relic, hidden for centuries.
In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who appears to work for Opus Dei—a clandestine, Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect believed to have long plotted to seize the Priory’s secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory’s secret—and a stunning historical truth—will be lost forever.
In an exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit, symbologist Robert Langdon (first introduced in Dan Brown’s bestselling Angels & Demons) is the most original character to appear in years. The Da Vinci Code heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller…surprising at every twist, absorbing at every turn, and in the end, utterly unpredictable…right up to its astonishing conclusion.
Reviews
WOW…Blockbuster perfection. An exhilaratingly brainy thriller. Not since the advent of Harry Potter has an author so flagrantly delighted in leading readers on a breathless chase and coaxing them through hoops.
– Janet Maslin, The New York Times
A new master of smart thrills. A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.
– People Magazine
This is pure genius. Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest, and most accomplished writers in the country.
– Nelson Demille
Thriller writing doesn’t get any better than this.
– The Denver Post
This masterpiece should be mandatory reading. Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet with his best book yet, a compelling blend of history and page-turning suspense. Highly recommended.
– Library Journal
A heart-racing thriller. This story has so many twists — all satisfying, most unexpected — that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let’s just say that if this novel doesn’t get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds.
– The San Francisco Chronicle
BIZARRE FACTS
The Secret Life of Leonardo da Vinci
A prankster and genius, Leonardo da Vinci is widely believed to have hidden secret messages within much of his artwork. Most scholars agree that even da Vinci’s most famous pieces – works like The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna of the Rocks – contain startling anomalies that all seem to be whispering the same cryptic message…a message that hints at a shocking historical secret that allegedly has been guarded since 1099 by a European secret society known as the Priory of Sion. In 1975, Paris’s Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci. French president François Mitterrand, is rumored to have been a member, although there exists no proof of this.
An Unbroken Code
There exists a chapel in Great Britain that contains a ceiling from which hundreds of stone blocks protrude, jutting down to form a bizarre multi-faceted surface. Each block is carved with a symbol, seemingly at random, creating a cipher of unfathomable proportion. Modern cryptographers have never been able to break this code, and a generous reward is offered to anyone who can decipher the baffling message. In recent years, geological ultrasounds have revealed the startling presence of an enormous subterranean vault hidden beneath the chapel. To this day, the curators of the chapel have permitted no excavation.
Someone is watching you… or are they?
The Louvre Museum in Paris is one of the longest buildings on Earth. Walking around the entire perimeter of this horseshoe-shaped edifice is a three-mile journey. Even so, the Louvre’s collection of art is so vast that only a fraction of its works can be displayed on the walls. Inside the galleries, a multitude of security cameras watch over visitors. The number of cameras is so great that a staff of several hundred wardens would be required to monitor all of them. In fact, most of the cameras are fake.
Da Vinci’s slap on the wrist
Da Vinci’s original commission for his famous Madonna of the Rocks came from an organization knock as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, which needed a painting for the centerpiece of an altar triptych in their church of San Francesco Grand in Milan. The nuns gave a Leonardo specific dimensions and a desired theme – the Virgin Mary, baby John the Baptist, Uriel, and Baby Jesus sheltering in a cave. Although da Vinci did as they requested, when he delivered the work, the group reacted with horror. The painting contained several disturbing “un-Christian” anomalies, that seemed to convey a hidden message and alternative meaning. Da Vinci eventually mollified the confraternity by painting a second version of Madonna of the Rocks, which now hangs in London’s National Gallery under the name Virgin of the Rocks. Da Vinci’s original hangs at the Louvre in Paris.
The Da Vinci Code: Прохождение
Гарвардский профессор Роберт Лэнгдон и полицейский эксперт в области криптологии Софи Невью столкнулись с вековой загадкой касающейся чаши Святого Грааля. В картинах Да Винчи спрятан секретный код открывающий местоположение Чаши и путь к ней.
Глава 1 – Лувр
После общения с инспектором Фаше приступайте к осмотру трупа лежащего на полу музея. Это Жак Сонье – куратор Лувра. Исследуйте магическую фигуру на животе жертвы, правую ногу, левую руку и одежду жертвы.
После осмотра тела в зал войдет Софи и отдаст вам свою визитную карточку. Войдите в свой инвентарь и рассмотрите визитку с обеих сторон. На обратной стороне визитки внизу вы обнаружите три цифры «454». Достаньте сотовый телефон, который вам дал инспектор Фаше и наберите 454. Прослушайте сообщение.
Теперь вы и Софи находитесь в туалете музея. Возьмите мыло лежащее рядом с раковиной. Войдите в инвентарь и соедините мыло с устройством слежения, которое вам незаметно подбросили полицейские. Откройте окно и выбросьте мыло с сюрпризом на проезжую часть.
Когда все полицейские из музея бросятся на ваши поиски, вы с Софи сможете выйти из туалета и вернуться в зал, в котором произошло убийство. Здесь вы должны решить первую криптограмму. На экране вверху появится словосочетание «Oh Lame Saint». Жмите на соответствующие буквы, чтобы внизу появилось надпись «The Mona Lisa».
Посмотрите внутрь шкафа. Сдвиньте в сторону емкость с реагентом на верхней полке и возьмите специальный лампу, излучающую ультрафиолетовый свет.
Далее игра продолжится в зале, в котором выставлена картина с изображением Моны Лизы. Теперь вы опять будете продолжать расследование вместе с Лэнгдоном. Посвятите на Мону Лизу УФ-светом. На переднем плане проступят непонятные символы. Освятите УФ лучом каждый символ, чтобы переключить экран на уменьшенное отображение этих же символов. Вы должны заменить все символы на обычные латинские буквы так, чтобы получилось понятное словосочетание.
DA VINCI
PAINTED THOSE
THAT KNEW
BETWEEN BACCHUS
AND URIEL LIES
THE CLUE
Когда вы закончите решение этой загадки, возьмите артефакт Сферу Сатурна из рук статуи в центре зала.
Выходите в центральную галерею. Исследуйте верхнюю область живописи висящей над картиной Джон Баптист. Поднимите Софи, чтобы она смогла взять с рамы опоясывающую картину кольцо монастыря. Теперь заходите в коридор, который ведет в офис Сонье. Услышав голоса полицейских, выйдите в главный зал и спрячьтесь за близстоящим постаментом. Когда полицейские рассредоточатся по залу, осторожно прокрадитесь мимо них и заходите в офис.
Исследуйте все объекты лежащие на столе. Если есть необходимость поправить свое здоровье, то для этого возьмите из правого верхнего ящика лейкопластырь. Теперь подойдите к карте висящей на стене и исследуйте ее с помощью УФ света. Найдите на карте область обведенной кружком. Вы обнаружили очередной секрет. Приблизьтесь к вентиляционной решетке расположенной под потолком слева от карты. Помогите Софи дотянуться до решетки, чтобы открыть ее. Софи проползет по вентиляционному каналу в соседнее помещение и откроет для вас дверь.
Подойдите к столу в дальней части комнаты и прочитайте инструкцию, касающуюся смешивания различных химических веществ. Позади вас на коробке лежит изобретение Да Винчи «Воздушный винт Да Винчи». Возьмите артефакт, уже второй в вашей коллекции.
Теперь вернитесь к выходу и взгляните на стол, уставленный колбами с различными химическими веществами.
Наберите в мензурку жидкости из колб 1, 2 и 4.
Возьмите полотенце с ящика напротив стола. Войдите в инвентарь и соедините полотенце с мензуркой. Теперь полотенцем, пропитанным специальным составом протрите грязную живопись. После скриптового ролика возьмите аптечку, спрятанную за высокими картинами. Возвращайтесь в зал, в котором выставлена Мона Лиза.
Пройдите в левую часть зала. Справа от себя вы увидите охранника совершающего очередной обход по территории музея. Незаметно для охранника проскользните в соседний зал. Направляйтесь в зал справа от вас. Остановитесь в правом проеме и ждите пока охранников не вызовут по рации. Теперь, когда путь свободен, бегите вместе с Софи в следующий зал. Спуститесь по правой лестнице. Поднимите с пола подставку. Поднимитесь на площадку, где на постаменте установлена скульптура. Тихонько подкрадитесь к охраннику со спиной и ударьте его подставкой по голове. Затем поднимитесь наверх по левой лестнице и приблизьтесь к экспонату под стеклянным колпаком. Посмотрите на бронзовую табличку с описанием экспоната. Найдите на табличке углубление в форме кольца. Вставьте в углубление кольцо монастыря и возьмите из тайника диск геральдической лилии.
Спуститесь на площадку, на которой вы обнаружили прут. Укройтесь за правой колонной, чтобы не быть обнаруженным охранниками, поднимающимися по лестнице в вашу сторону. Как только охранники отвернутся в противоположную от вас сторону, быстро спуститесь по лестнице. Исследуйте перила справа от вас. Найдите монету – последний артефакт в этой главе. Заходите в зал, в котором выставлены скульптуры. Осторожно крадитесь по проходу за статуями слева от вас. Если вы не привлекли внимание охранников, то без проблем сможете покинуть Лувр.
Глава 2 – Монастырь Saint Sulpice
После общения с сестрой Маргаритой посмотрите на монаха неподвижно лежащего на полу спальни. Возьмите из тумбочки стоящей между кроватями маленькую аптечку. Следуйте в спальню, в которой лежит тело сестры Сандрин. Найдите рядом с телом листок бумаги с телефонами. Исследуйте руку сестры. Она вытянута в сторону кровати. Подойдите к столу. Взгляните на листок с цифрами «7:14». Исследуйте шкаф справа от стола. Нужен ключ, чтобы открыть дверцы. Выйдите из спальни и проходите через дверь справа от вас.
Перейдите на другую сторону балкона, откройте дверь и заходите в кладовку. Возьмите с нижней полки кусачки, а сверхней масленку. Возвращайтесь в жилую область монастыря.
Заходите в альков с двумя дверьми. Проходите через дверь прямо напротив вас.
Возвращайтесь в жилую зону монастыря. Заходите в комнату сестры Сандрин. Сдвиньте в сторону кровать рядом с телом сестры Сандрин. Под кроватью обнаружится запертый сейф.
Посмотрите с близкого расстояния на плитки с буквами. Выставите «Sion» в центре пластины, чтобы отпереть сейф. Заберите из сейфа бронзовую пластину с символами JRU.
Возвращайтесь на крышу монастыря. Заходите в проход слева от вас и спускайтесь по лестнице к запертой двери. Отоприте дверь, спуститесь по лестнице и отпорите еще одну дверь, чтобы выйти в главный зал монастыря.
Не привлекая внимания монаховб, пройдите в правый дальний угол зала. Найдите колонну, обозначенную римской цифрой VII. Напротив нее есть емкость в виде ракушки наполненная целебной водой. На дне емкости лежит декоративный ключ, возьмите его. Зайдите в темный альков между колоннами IX и X. Найдите в глубине алькова оловянную монету – первый артефакт в этой главе.
Возвращайтесь в комнату сестры Сандрин. Используйте ключ на запертом шкафу. Возьмите из шкафа маленькую гравюру с изображением Иисуса Христа. Возвращайтесь в большой зал.
Зайдите в темный альков между колоннами III и IV. Прочитайте книгу лежащую на алтаре. Затем посмотрите на две плиты рядом с алтарем. Здесь вы должны применить информацию, почерпнутую из книги. Выставите в окошке левой плиты «Aprilis», а правой «XI». Теперь выйдите из алькова и возьмите с постамента статуэтку Иисуса несущего крест.
Подойдите к запертой двери рядом с колонной VII. Перекусите кусачками дужку висячего замка, откройте дверь и поднимайтесь по лестнице на балкон, на котором установлен орган.
Слева от вас на полу возле ограждения лежит большая аптечка. С правой стороны органа есть
большая ручка. Исследуйте ручку, чтобы получить возможность регулировки времени звучания органа. Выставите часы на 7:14. Перед органом откроется секретная ниша, в которой лежит медная пластина с инициалами АЕМ. Возьмите пластину и спускайтесь обратно в зал.
Исследуйте колонну VII. Положите статуэтку Иисуса с крестом на выступ в колонне. Теперь найдите колонну X IV и положите на выступ этой колонны гравюру с изображением Иисуса.
Откройте люк в полу между колоннами X и XI и спускайтесь в подвал.
Подойдите к нагромождению коробок справа от вас. Найдите на одной из коробок древний артефакт – изобретение Да Винчи. Повернитесь налево и идите к каменному постаменту, на котором установлены три фонаря. Влейте масло из масленки в стол через отверстие перед тремя фонарями. Откройте фонари и поместите бронзовую пластину в бронзовый фонарь, а медную пластину в медный фонарь. С помощью спичек зажгите фитили на всех трех фонарях.
На стене напротив фонарей проступит слово Jerusalem.
Сдвиньте в сторону каменный саркофаг слева от надписи на стене. Позади саркофага на стене вы обнаружите ряд из девяти символов. Все эти символы были на диаграмме, которую вы видели на крыше монастыря. Вы должны нажать на символы в таком порядке, чтобы у вас сложилось слово Jerusalem.
Алфавитное значение каждого символа:
Так как в слове Jerusalem присутствует две буквы Е, то сначала жмите на символ соответствующий этой букве с одной точкой, затем, когда нужно будет вставить вторую букву E, жмите на символ с двумя точками.
Правильно разгадав загадку, вы откроете тайник, в котором будет лежать список членов монастыря Saint Sulpice. Прочитайте список членов монастыря.
Осторожно проберитесь мимо монахов к лестнице и поднимайтесь наверх в зал. Здесь также, не привлекая внимания монахов, доберитесь до выхода и по лестнице поднимайтесь на крышу монастыря. Заходите в жилую зону монастыря. Постучите в дверь слева от вас в комнату сестры Маргариты.
Глава 3 – Особняк в Нормандии
На всем протяжении этой главы вы будете играть за Софи. Пройдите мимо собаки охраняющей подход к механизму поворота моста и сверните направо в сторону пристройки. Заберитесь внутрь пристройки через окно. Как только вы начнете двигаться внутри пристройки, через это же окно к вам залезет главарь монахов Сайлас. Убейте его, прежде чем он успеет нанести значительный урон вашему здоровью. Затем подойдите к запертому ящику лежащему на полке рядом с доской с цифрами. Комбинация к замку: 132134. Возьмите из ящика ключ от особняка. Выходите через дверь на прежнюю локацию перед мостом.
Бегите к противоположному крылу пристройки. Выбейте дверь. Найдите внутри морозильную камеру и возьмите из него большой кусок мяса. Выходите из помещения и идите к открытой клетке, в которой содержат собак. Положите мясо в обе миски. Выйдите из клетки и идите налево в сторону арки. Потяните за веревку, чтобы вызвать колокольный звон. Собаки, услышав знакомый звук, побегут на кормежку. Следуйте к механизму передвижения моста. Разверните мост перпендикулярно обрыву и переходите по мосту на другую сторону. Подойдите к двери и используйте ключ на замке.
Пройдите в альков слева от вас. Откройте шкаф, в котором возьмите снизу статуэтку Энея. Проходите в комнату напротив шкафа. Встаньте лицом к камину. Установите последний недостающий диск на каминную полку. Подойдите к туалетному столику с зеркалом и возьмите с него статуэтку Купидона. Выходите из комнаты и поднимайтесь по лестнице на второй этаж. Отоприте дверь с помощью кольца монастыря.
Зайдя в комнату, первым делом исследуйте кровать, чтобы обнаружить второй артефакт. Возьмите изобретение Да Винчи в левом дальнем углу кровати. Теперь подойдите к комоду рядом с кроватью. Прочитайте поэму на листке лежащем в главном верхнем ящике. В словах поэмы есть ключ, касающийся того, как вы должны вращать диски внизу. Из среднего правого ящика возьмите аптечку. Отоприте нижний левый ящик с помощью кольца и возьмите из него статуэтку Вулкана.
Спускайтесь в комнату с камином. Выставите диски слева направо так, чтобы пики были направлены в следующие стороны:
вниз, направо, вверх, налево
Возьмите из пасти льва статуэтку Венеры.
Возвращайтесь в спальню. Пройдите через всю комнаты и выходите в библиотеку. Подойдите к столу слева от вас. Откройте коробку и возьмите из нее статуэтку Юпитера.
Da vinci code
FOR BLYTHE… AGAIN. MORE THAN EVER.
First and foremost, to my friend and editor, Jason Kaufman, for working so hard on this project and for truly understanding what this book is all about. And to the incomparable Heide Lange – tireless champion of The Da Vinci Code, agent extraordinaire, and trusted friend.
I cannot fully express my gratitude to the exceptional team at Doubleday, for their generosity, faith, and superb guidance. Thank you especially to Bill Thomas and Steve Rubin, who believed in this book from the start. My thanks also to the initial core of early in-house supporters, headed by Michael Palgon, Suzanne Herz, Janelle Moburg, Jackie Everly, and Adrienne Sparks, as well as to the talented people of Doubleday’s sales force.
For their generous assistance in the research of the book, I would like to acknowledge the Louvre Museum, the French Ministry of Culture, Project Gutenberg, Bibliothèque Nationale, the Gnostic Society Library, the Department of Paintings Study and Documentation Service at the Louvre, Catholic World News, Royal Observatory Greenwich, London Record Society, the Muniment Collection at Westminster Abbey, John Pike and the Federation of American Scientists, and the five members of Opus Dei (three active, two former) who recounted their stories, both positive and negative, regarding their experiences inside Opus Dei.
My gratitude also to Water Street Bookstore for tracking down so many of my research books, my father Richard Brown – mathematics teacher and author – for his assistance with the Divine Proportion and the Fibonacci Sequence, Stan Planton, Sylvie Baudeloque, Peter McGuigan, Francis McInerney, Margie Wachtel, André Vernet, Ken Kelleher at Anchorball Web Media, Cara Sottak, Karyn Popham, Esther Sung, Miriam Abramowitz, William Tunstall-Pedoe, and Griffin Wooden Brown.
And finally, in a novel drawing so heavily on the sacred feminine, I would be remiss if I did not mention the two extraordinary women who have touched my life. First, my mother, Connie Brown – fellow scribe, nurturer, musician, and role model. And my wife, Blythe – art historian, painter, front-line editor, and without a doubt the most astonishingly talented woman I have ever known.
The Priory of Sion – a European secret society founded in 1099 – is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliothèque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo Da Vinci.
All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.
Louvre Museum, Paris 10:46 P. M.
Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame, the seventy-six-year-old man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas.
As he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. The parquet floor shook. Far off, an alarm began to ring.
The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. I am still alive.He crawled out from under the canvas and scanned the cavernous space for someplace to hide.
A voice spoke, chillingly close. «Do not move.»
On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.
Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His irises were pink with dark red pupils. The albino drew a pistol from his coat and aimed the barrel through the bars, directly at the curator. «You should not have run.» His accent was not easy to place. «Now tell me where it is.»
«I told you already,» the curator stammered, kneeling defenseless on the floor of the gallery. «I have no idea what you are talking about!»
«You are lying.» The man stared at him, perfectly immobile except for the glint in his ghostly eyes. «You and your brethren possess something that is not yours.»
The curator felt a surge of adrenaline. How could he possibly know this?
«Tonight the rightful guardians will be restored. Tell me where it is hidden, and you will live.» The man leveled his gun at the curator’s head. «Is it a secret you will die for?»
Saunière could not breathe.
The man tilted his head, peering down the barrel of his gun.
Saunière held up his hands in defense. «Wait,» he said slowly. «I will tell you what you need to know.» The curator spoke his next words carefully. The lie he told was one he had rehearsed many times… each time praying he would never have to use it.
When the curator had finished speaking, his assailant smiled smugly. «Yes. This is exactly what the others told me.»
Saunière recoiled. The others?
«I found them, too,» the huge man taunted. «All three of them. They confirmed what you have just said.»
It cannot be! The curator’s true identity, along with the identities of his three sénéchaux, was almost as sacred as the ancient secret they protected. Saunière now realized his sénéchaux, following strict procedure, had told the same lie before their own deaths. It was part of the protocol.
The attacker aimed his gun again. «When you are gone, I will be the only one who knows the truth.»
The truth.In an instant, the curator grasped the true horror of the situation. If I die, the truth will be lost forever.Instinctively, he tried to scramble for cover.
The gun roared, and the curator felt a searing heat as the bullet lodged in his stomach. He fell forward… struggling against the pain. Slowly, Saunière rolled over and stared back through the bars at his attacker.
The man was now taking dead aim at Saunière’s head.
Saunière closed his eyes, his thoughts a swirling tempest of fear and regret. The click of an empty chamber echoed through the corridor. The curator’s eyes flew open.
The man glanced down at his weapon, looking almost amused. He reached for a second clip, but then seemed to reconsider, smirking calmly at Saunière’s gut. «My work here is done.»
The curator looked down and saw the bullet hole in his white linen shirt. It was framed by a small circle of blood a few inches below his breastbone. My stomach.Almost cruelly, the bullet had missed his heart. As a veteran of la Guerre d’Algérie, the curator had witnessed this horribly drawn-out death before. For fifteen minutes, he would survive as his stomach acids seeped into his chest cavity, slowly poisoning him from within.
«Pain is good, monsieur,» the man said. Then he was gone. Alone now, Jacques Saunière turned his gaze again to the iron gate. He was trapped, and the doors could not be reopened for at least twenty minutes. By the time anyone got to him, he would be dead. Even so, the fear that now gripped him was a fear far greater than that of his own death.
I must pass on the secret.
Staggering to his feet, he pictured his three murdered brethren. He thought of the generations who had come before them… of the mission with which they had all been entrusted.
An unbroken chain of knowledge.
Suddenly, now, despite all the precautions… despite all the fail-safes… Jacques Saunière was the only remaining link, the sol
e guardian of one of the most powerful secrets ever kept.
Shivering, he pulled himself to his feet.
He was trapped inside the Grand Gallery, and there existed only one person on earth to whom he could pass the torch. Saunière gazed up at the walls of his opulent prison. A collection of the world’s most famous paintings seemed to smile down on him like old friends.
Wincing in pain, he summoned all of his faculties and strength. The desperate task before him, he knew, would require every remaining second of his life.
Robert Langdon awoke slowly.
A telephone was ringing in the darkness – a tinny, unfamiliar ring. He fumbled for the bedside lamp and turned it on. Squinting at his surroundings he saw a plush Renaissance bedroom with Louis XVI furniture, hand-frescoed walls, and a colossal mahogany four-poster bed.
Where the hell am I?
The jacquard bathrobe hanging on his bedpost bore the monogram: HOTEL RITZ PARIS.
Slowly, the fog began to lift.
Langdon picked up the receiver. «Hello?»
«Monsieur Langdon?» a man’s voice said. «I hope I have not awoken you?»
Dazed, Langdon looked at the bedside clock. It was 12:32 A. M. He had been asleep only an hour, but he felt like the dead.
«This is the concierge, monsieur. I apologize for this intrusion, but you have a visitor. He insists it is urgent.»
Langdon still felt fuzzy. A visitor? His eyes focused now on a crumpled flyer on his bedside table.
THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS
AN EVENING WITH ROBERT LANGDON
PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Langdon groaned. Tonight’s lecture – a slide show about pagan symbolism hidden in the stones of Chartres Cathedral – had probably ruffled some conservative feathers in the audience. Most likely, some religious scholar had trailed him home to pick a fight. «I’m sorry,» Langdon said, «but I’m very tired and –» «Mais, monsieur,»the concierge pressed, lowering his voice to an urgent whisper. «Your guest is an important man.»
Langdon had little doubt. His books on religious paintings and cult symbology had made him a reluctant celebrity in the art world, and last year Langdon’s visibility had increased a hundred fold after his involvement in a widely publicized incident at the Vatican. Since then, the stream of self- important historians and art buffs arriving at his door had seemed never-ending.
«If you would be so kind,» Langdon said, doing his best to remain polite,» could you take the man’s name and number, and tell him I’ll try to call him before I leave Paris on Tuesday? Thank you.» He hung up before the concierge could protest.
Sitting up now, Langdon frowned at his bedside Guest Relations Handbook, whose cover boasted: SLEEP LIKE A BABY IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS. SLUMBER AT THE PARIS RITZ. He turned and gazed tiredly into the full-length mirror across the room. The man staring back at him was a stranger – tousled and weary.
You need a vacation, Robert.
The past year had taken a heavy toll on him, but he didn’t appreciate seeing proof in the mirror. His usually sharp blue eyes looked hazy and drawn tonight. A dark stubble was shrouding his strong jaw and dimpled chin. Around his temples, the gray highlights were advancing, making their way deeper into his thicket of coarse black hair. Although his female colleagues insisted the gray only accentuated his bookish appeal, Langdon knew better.
If Boston Magazine could see me now.
Last month, much to Langdon’s embarrassment, Boston Magazine had listed him as one of that city’s top ten most intriguing people – a dubious honor that made him the brunt of endless ribbing by his Harvard colleagues. Tonight, three thousand miles from home, the accolade had resurfaced to haunt him at the lecture he had given.
«Ladies and gentlemen…» the hostess had announced to a full house at the American University of Paris’s Pavilion Dauphine,» Our guest tonight needs no introduction. He is the author of numerous books: The Symbology of Secret Sects, The An of the Illuminati, The Lost Language of Ideograms, and when I say he wrote the book on Religious Iconology, I mean that quite literally. Many of you use his textbooks in class.»
The students in the crowd nodded enthusiastically.
«I had planned to introduce him tonight by sharing his impressive curriculum vitae. However…» She glanced playfully at Langdon, who was seated onstage. «An audience member has just handed me a far more, shall we say… intriguing introduction.» She held up a copy of Boston Magazine. Langdon cringed. Where the hell did she get that?
The hostess began reading choice excerpts from the inane article, and Langdon felt himself sinking lower and lower in his chair. Thirty seconds later, the crowd was grinning, and the woman showed no signs of letting up. «And Mr. Langdon’s refusal to speak publicly about his unusual role in last year’s Vatican conclave certainly wins him points on our intrigue-o-meter.» The hostess goaded the crowd. «Would you like to hear more?»
The crowd applauded.
«Although Professor Langdon might not be considered hunk-handsome like some of our younger awardees, this forty-something academic has more than his share of scholarly allure. His captivating presence is punctuated by an unusually low, baritone speaking voice, which his female students describe as ‘chocolate for the ears.’
The hall erupted in laughter.
Langdon forced an awkward smile. He knew what came next – some ridiculous line about» Harrison Ford in Harris tweed» – and because this evening he had figured it was finally safe again to wear his Harris tweed and Burberry turtleneck, he decided to take action.
«Thank you, Monique,» Langdon said, standing prematurely and edging her away from the podium. «Boston Magazine clearly has a gift for fiction.» He turned to the audience with an embarrassed sigh. «And if I find which one of you provided that article, I’ll have the consulate deport you.»
The ringing of Langdon’s hotel phone once again broke the silence.
Groaning in disbelief, he picked up. «Yes?»
As expected, it was the concierge. «Mr. Langdon, again my apologies. I am calling to inform you that your guest is now en route to your room. I thought I should alert you.»
Langdon was wide awake now. «You sent someone to my room?»
«I apologize, monsieur, but a man like this… I cannot presume the authority to stop him.» «Who exactly is he?» But the concierge was gone.
Almost immediately, a heavy fist pounded on Langdon’s door.
Uncertain, Langdon slid off the bed, feeling his toes sink deep into the savonniere carpet. He donned the hotel bathrobe and moved toward the door. «Who is it?»
«Mr. Langdon? I need to speak with you.» The man’s English was accented – a sharp, authoritative bark. «My name is Lieutenant Jerome Collet. Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire.»
Langdon paused. The Judicial Police? The DCPJ was the rough equivalent of the U. S. FBI.
Leaving the security chain in place, Langdon opened the door a few inches. The face staring back at him was thin and washed out. The man was exceptionally lean, dressed in an official-looking blue uniform.
«May I come in?» the agent asked.
Langdon hesitated, feeling uncertain as the stranger’s sallow eyes studied him. «What is this all about?»
«My capitaine requires your expertise in a private matter.» «Now?» Langdon managed. «It’s after midnight.» «Am I correct that you were scheduled to meet with the curator of the Louvre this evening?»
Langdon felt a sudden surge of uneasiness. He and the revered curator Jacques Saunière had been slated to meet for drinks after Langdon’s lecture tonight, but Saunière had never shown up. «Yes. How did you know that?»
/> «We found your name in his daily planner.»
«I trust nothing is wrong?»
The agent gave a dire sigh and slid a Polaroid snapshot through the narrow opening in the door. When Langdon saw the photo, his entire body went rigid.» This photo was taken less than an hour ago. Inside the Louvre.»
As Langdon stared at the bizarre image, his initial revulsion and shock gave way to a sudden upwelling of anger. «Who would do this!»
«We had hoped that you might help us answer that very question, considering your knowledge in symbology and your plans to meet with him.»
Langdon stared at the picture, his horror now laced with fear. The image was gruesome and profoundly strange, bringing with it an unsettling sense of déjà vu. A little over a year ago, Langdon had received a photograph of a corpse and a similar request for help. Twenty-four hours later, he had almost lost his life inside Vatican City. This photo was entirely different, and yet something about the scenario felt disquietingly familiar.
The agent checked his watch. «My capitaine is waiting, sir.»
Langdon barely heard him. His eyes were still riveted on the picture. «This symbol here, and the way his body is so oddly…»
«Positioned?» the agent offered.
Langdon nodded, feeling a chill as he looked up. «I can’t imagine who would do this to someone.»
The agent looked grim. «You don’t understand, Mr. Langdon. What you see in this photograph…» He paused. «Monsieur Saunière did that to himself.»
One mile away, the hulking albino named Silas limped through the front gate of the luxurious brownstone residence on Rue La Bruyère. The spiked cilice belt that he wore around his thigh cut into his flesh, and yet his soul sang with satisfaction of service to the Lord.
His red eyes scanned the lobby as he entered the residence. Empty. He climbed the stairs quietly, not wanting to awaken any of his fellow numeraries. His bedroom door was open; locks were forbidden here. He entered, closing the door behind him.
The Da Vinci Code
«Код да Ви́нчи» (англ. The Da Vinci Code ) — роман, написанный американским писателем и журналистом Дэном Брауном и изданный в 2003 году издательством «Random House» (русское издание издательства «АСТ», Москва, 2004, ISBN 5-17-022457-5). «Код да Винчи» стал продолжением другого популярного романа Брауна 2000 года «Ангелы и демоны». Книга стала международным бестселлером: она переведена на 44 языка и издана общим тиражом более чем 60 миллионов копий. «Код да Винчи» возглавляет список бестселлеров журнала «Нью-Йорк Таймс», многие считают роман лучшей книгой десятилетия. Роман, написанный в жанре интеллектуального детективного триллера, смог пробудить широкий интерес к легенде о Святом Граале и месте Марии Магдалины в истории христианства.
Содержание
Сюжет
Главному герою романа предстоит решить две главные загадки:
В романе есть несколько параллельных сюжетных линий, в которых участвуют различные персонажи. В конце книги все сюжетные линии собираются вместе в Рослинской часовне и разрешаются.
Распутывание загадки требует решения серии головоломок. Секрет заключается в местонахождении Святого Грааля, в тайном обществе, так называемом Приорате Сиона, и в ордене Тамплиеров. Католическая организация Опус Деи также играет важную роль в сюжете.
Предшественники
В свою очередь книга «Священная кровь и Святой Грааль» основана на исследованиях и гипотезах немецкого историка и археолога Отто Рана, изложенных в его книге «Крестовый поход против Грааля» («Kreuzzug gegen den Gral»,1933)
Плоды успеха
С момента выпуска в 2003 по май 2006 года «Код да Винчи» и четыре другие книги Брауна, также вошедшие в список 15 прошлогодних американских бестселлеров, принесли автору более 260 миллионов долларов. Можно отметить, что за тот же период вместе взятые первые пять книг о Гарри Поттере принесли Джоан К. Роулинг лишь около 59 миллионов долларов. В мае 2006 года состоялась премьера крупнобюджетной экранизации романа — см. Код да Винчи (фильм).
Религиозная критика
Роман мог бы остаться незамеченным различными христианскими религиозными деятелями, если бы он не имел такого успеха, и если бы на первой странице книги не утверждалось об истинности описываемых событий. В критике обращается внимание на большое количество неточностей в изложении истории, толковании исторических фактов и использование разного рода неподтверждённых легенд.
Наиболее активным из критиков в России был о. Андрей Кураев, собравший многие факты в отдельном материале [5] на своем миссионерском портале.
Критика русского перевода
Русский перевод романа, выпущенный издательством АСТ в 2004 г., был подвергнут критическому анализу российским лингвистом, теоретиком перевода Д.И. Ермоловичем. В своей статье «Хоть довинчивай» [6] он привел значительное число примеров логических, лексико-фразеологических и терминологических неточностей, искажений и пропусков, допущенных переводчиком романа в таких областях знаний, как религия, история, искусство, география, математика, информатика и др.
The Da Vinci Code (Book)
First U.S. edition cover
489 (U.S. paperback) 359 (UK hardback) 583 (UK paperback)
The Da Vinci Code is the 2003 novel written by Dan Brown. It follows Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon and the gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris’ Louvre Museum. They are stunned to discover bizarre riddles that lead them to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, seemingly left by the museum’s late curator, Jacques Saunière minutes before his death. Their race to discover the closely guarded secret held by Saunière uncovers a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to Mary Magdalene.
The title of the novel refers to, among other things, the fact that the Saunière is found in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a pentacle drawn on his chest in his own blood.
The novel explores the theory that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The book has markedly provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Magdalene’s role in the history of Christianity. Critics often point to the fact that these ideas are derived from Clive Prince’s The Templar Revelation (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) though Dan Brown has stated that it was not used as research material.
Contents
Plot summary [ ]
After murdering Saunière, Silas calls the “Teacher” and tells him that, according to Saunière, the keystone is in the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The Teacher sends Silas there.
As Langdon arrives at the crime scene, Police Captain Bezu Fache tells him that he was summoned to help the police decode the cryptic message Saunière left during the final minutes of his life. The code that Saunière left written, is the Fibonacci sequence, apparently out of order. Langdon explains to Fache that Saunière was a leading authority in the subject of goddess artwork and that the pentacle Saunière drew in his own blood represents an allusion to the goddess and not «devil worship», as Fache believes.
As Langdon and Fache are discussing this, Sophie Neveu, an agent of the department of cryptology, arrives at the crime scene and tells Fache that she had worked out the code and also tells Langdon that he must call the U.S Embassy. When Langdon calls the number Sophie gave him, he reaches her answering service. The message warns Langdon that he is in danger, should not react to the message and should meet Sophie in the bathroom at the Louvre.
In the bathroom, Sophie tells Langdon that she is Saunière’s estranged granddaughter and that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer, because of the note her grandfather left saying to «find Robert Langdon,» which she says Fache had erased prior to Langdon’s arrival. She also believes that the last line in the secret message, “P.S. Find Robert Langdon,” was her grandfather’s way of alerting her: P.S. are the initials of her grandfather’s nickname for her, Princesse Sophie. She throws a tracking device planted in Langdon’s jacket out the window onto a passing truck in bar of soap, tricking the police into thinking that Langdon has escaped from the Louvre. However, Langdon thinks that P.S. might stand for Priory of Sion, an ancient brotherhood devoted to the preservation of the pagan goddess worship tradition, and to the maintenance of the secret that Saunière died protecting.
As the police are busy chasing the travelling tracking device away from the Louvre, Langdon decodes the second and third lines in Saunière’s message from «O draconian devil! Oh lame saint!» to “Leonardo Da Vinci, The Mona Lisa”. Sophie returns to the paintings to look for another clue and finds a key behind the Madonna of the Rocks. The police have returned to the Louvre as well, intent on arresting Langdon. An alerted museum guard prevents their escape, but Sophie, by using the painting as a hostage, manages to disarm the police officer and get herself and Langdon out of the building.
Meanwhile, Silas has followed Saunière’s clues to the keystone’s location and discovers that he has been tricked. In a fit of rage, he kills Sister Sandrine Bieil, the church’s keeper and a sentry for the Priory of Sion.
As Sophie and Langdon drive toward the Swiss bank identified on the back of the key, Langdon explains the history of the Priory of Sion and their armed force, the Knights Templar. He reveals that the Priory protects secret documents known as the Sangreal, or the Holy Grail. Langdon’s latest manuscript is about this very subject and something which Saunière wished to talk to him about, but did not have the chance to.
When Sophie and Langdon enter the bank, they realize that the number left near Saunière’s body must be the account number that will open the vault. Doing so successfully, the safe deposit box reveals a cryptex: a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five concentric, rotating dials labeled with letters that when lined up properly form the correct password, unlocking the device. If the cryptex is forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar ruptures and dissolves the message, written on papyrus. As they are in the vault, an unnamed security guard realizes that Langdon and Sophie are fugitives that appear on the evening’s news and calls the police, but André Vernet, the bank’s manager and a friend of Saunière’s, recognizes Sophie and helps her and Langdon escape.
Vernet successfully smuggles Sophie and Langdon past Collet in the back of a locked armored car. However, once safely away from the bank, Vernet turns on them, intent on keeping the contents of the safe deposit box back in the bank and thus, keeping his role as the bank’s manager intact. But Langdon and Sophie manage to get away with the cryptex, which Langdon realizes is actually the Priory’s keystone — that is, the key to all of the secrets the Priory holds about the location of the Holy Grail.
Langdon and Sophie go to the house of Sir Leigh Teabing, a historian and friend of Langdon’s, to ask for his help opening the box. Teabing tells them the legend of the Grail, starting with the historical evidence that the Bible didn’t come straight from God but was compiled by Emperor Constantine. He also cites evidence that Jesus’ divinity was decided by a vote at Nicaea, and that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, who was of royal blood, and had children by her. Teabing shows them the hidden symbols in The Last Supper and the painted representation of the Magdalene. He tells them that the Holy Grail is not a cup but is actually Mary Magdalene’s remains and that it proves Mary’s blood line is related to Jesus. He also says that he thinks Saunière and the others may have been killed because the Church suspected that the Priory was about to unveil this secret.
As Langdon is showing off the cryptex, Silas appears and hits him over the head. Silas holds Sophie and Teabing at gunpoint and demands the keystone, but Teabing attacks Silas, hitting him on the thigh where his punishment belt is located, and Sophie finishes him off by kicking him in the face and bind him before he escapes.
Meanwhile Collet arrives at the castle, but Sophie, Langdon, the bound Silas, Teabing, and his personal servant, Rémy, escape and board Teabing’s private plane to England. Sophie reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather, ten years earlier. Arriving home unexpectedly from university, Sophie clandestinely witnesses a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather’s country estate. From her hiding place, she is shocked to see her grandfather making love to a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who are wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She flees the house and breaks off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as Hieros gamos or «sacred marriage».
Sophie also realizes that the writing on the cryptex is decipherable if viewed in a mirror. They come to understand the poem, which refers to “a headstone praised by Templars” and the “Atbash cipher,” which will help them arrive at the password. Langdon remembers that the Knights Templar supposedly worshipped the god Baphomet, who is sometimes represented by a large stone head. The word, unscrambled by the Atbash Cipher, is Sofia. When they open the cryptex, however, they find only another cryptex, this one with a clue about a tomb where a knight was buried by a pope. They must find the orb that should have been on the knight’s tomb.
Fache realizes that Teabing and the rest of them are on a jet. He calls the British police and asks them to surround the airfield, but Teabing tricks the police into believing that there is nobody inside the plane but himself. Then he goes with Sophie, Langdon, Rémy, and Silas to the Temple Church in London, the burial site of knights that the Pope had killed.
As Sophie, Langdon and Teabing are in the church, Rémy frees Silas and reveals that he, too, follows the Teacher. Silas goes to the church to get the keystone, but when he tries to force Langdon to give it up, Langdon threatens to break it. Rémy intervenes, taking Teabing hostage and thus forcing Langdon to give up the cryptex.
Meanwhile, Collet and his men look through Teabing’s house and become suspicious when they find that he has been monitoring Saunière. Over the phone, the Teacher instructs Silas to let Rémy deliver the cryptex.
Sophie’s and Langdon’s research leads them to the discovery that Sir Isaac Newton is the knight they are looking for, the one buried by a Pope, because they learn he was buried by Alexander Pope. They go to Westminster Abbey, where Newton is buried. There, the Teacher lures them to the garden with a note saying he has Teabing. They go there only to discover that Teabing himself is the Teacher. Teabing suspected that Saunière had decided not to release the secret of the Priory of Sion, because the Church threatened to kill Sophie if the secret was released. Wanting the secret to be public knowledge, he had decided to find the Grail himself.
Teabing gives Langdon the cryptex and asks Langdon and Sophie to help him open it. Langdon figures out that the password is apple — the orb missing from Newton’s tomb. He opens the cryptex and secretly takes out the papyrus. Then he throws the empty cryptex in the air, causing Teabing to drop his pistol as he attempts to catch it and prevent the map inside from being destroyed. Suddenly, Fache bursts into the room and arrests Teabing.
Bishop Aringarosa, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an Opus Dei Center, he assumes that they are there to kill him, and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a bullet wound. In the hospital the next day, Aringarosa bitterly reflects that the Teacher tricked him into helping with his murderous plan by claiming that if the Bishop delivered the Grail to him, he would help the Opus Dei regain favor with the Church.
The papyrus inside the second cryptex directs Sophie and Langdon to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, whose docent turns out to be Sophie’s long-lost brother, whom Sophie had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Sophie’s long-lost grandmother, and the widow of Jacques Saunière. It is revealed that Sophie is a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. Sophie and Langdon part, promising to meet in Florence in a month.
Back in Paris, Langdon comprehends the real meaning of the poem, which leads him back to the Louvre, where he is sure that the Grail is buried beneath the small pyramid directly below the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre. It also lies beneath the «Rose Line,» an allusion to «Roslyn.» Langdon figures out this final piece to the puzzle in the last pages of the book, but he does not appear inclined to tell anyone about this.
Characters [ ]
Secret of the Holy Grail [ ]
According to the novel, the secrets of the Holy Grail, as kept by the Priory of Sion are as follows:
The secrets of the Grail are connected, according to the novel, to Leonardo Da Vinci’s work as follows:
Reaction [ ]
Sales [ ]
Brown’s novel was a major success in 2004 and was outsold only by J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. [2] The book appeared on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers. [3]
Criticism [ ]
The book was not generally well received by critics, and it has been the subject of numerous negative appraisals concerning its literary value and its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed scathingly by The New Yorker, [4] The New York Times, [5] and Salon.com, [6] among others.
Historical inaccuracies [ ]
Main article: Inaccuracies in The Da Vinci CodeThe book generated criticism when it was first published for inaccurate description of core aspects of Christianity, the history of the Catholic Church, and descriptions of European art, history, and architecture. The book has received mostly negative reviews from Catholic and other Christian communities.
Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. New York Times writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as «based on a notorious hoax», «rank nonsense», and «bogus», saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of Pierre Plantard, who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956.
Dan Brown himself addresses the idea of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his web site, stating that the «FACT» page at the beginning of the novel mentions only «documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture», but not any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters, stating that «Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader». Brown also says, «It is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit.» and «the secret behind The Da Vinci Code was too well documented and significant for me to dismiss.» [9]
According to The Da Vinci Code, the Roman Emperor Constantine I suppressed Gnosticism because it portrayed Jesus as purely human. The novel’s argument is as follows. [11] Constantine wanted Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the Roman Empire. He thought Christianity would appeal to pagans only if it featured a demigod similar to pagan heroes. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus was merely a human prophet, not a demigod. Therefore, to change Jesus’ image, Constantine destroyed the Gnostic Gospels and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which portray Jesus as divine or semidivine.
According to Tim O’Neill, Gnosticism did not portray Jesus as merely human. [12] All Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (see Docetism). [13] Some Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body. [12] The Da Vinci Code also portrays the Council of Nicaea’s decision to recognize the fully human and divine aspects of Christ as being a close vote, but O’Neill says this is not reflected in any of the sources. [14] [15]
Literary criticism [ ]
The novel has also attracted criticism in literary circles regarding artistic and literary merit, and its representation of British and French characters.
Salman Rushdie claimed during a lecture, «Do not start me on ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name.» [16]
In an interview in The Paris Review, Umberto Eco, whose novel Foucault’s Pendulum has been compared favourably to The Da Vinci Code, remarked, «Dan Brown is a character from Foucault’s Pendulum! I invented him. He shares my characters’ fascinations—the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and Jesuits. The role of the Knights Templar. The hermetic secret. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist.» [17]
Stephen Fry has referred to Brown’s writings as «complete loose stool-water» and «arse gravy of the worst kind.» [18] In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, «I just loathe all those book[s] about the Holy Grail and Masons and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there’s so much more that’s interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way.» [19]
Stephen King likened Dan Brown’s work to «Jokes for the John,» calling such literature the «intellectual equivalent of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.» [20] The New York Times, while reviewing the movie based on the book, called the book «Dan Brown’s best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence». [21] The New Yorker reviewer Anthony Lane refers to it as «unmitigated junk» and decries «the crumbling coarseness of the style.» [4] Linguist Geoffrey Pullum and others posted several entries critical of Dan Brown’s writing, at Language Log, calling Brown one of the «worst prose stylists in the history of literature» and saying Brown’s «writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad.» [22] Roger Ebert described it as a «potboiler written with little grace and style,» although he did say it did «supply an intriguing plot.» [23] In his review of the film National Treasure, whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: «I should read a potboiler like The Da Vinci Code every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like The Da Vinci Code.» [24]
Lawsuits [ ]
Author Lewis Perdue alleged that Brown plagiarized from two of his novels, The Da Vinci Legacy, originally published in 1983, and Daughter of God, originally published in 2000. He sought to block distribution of the book and film. However, Judge George Daniels of the US District Court in New York ruled against Perdue in 2005, saying that «A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that The Da Vinci Code is substantially similar to Daughter of God» and that «Any slightly similar elements are on the level of generalized or otherwise unprotectable ideas.» [25] Perdue appealed, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, saying Mr. Perdue’s arguments were «without merit». [26]
In early 2006, Baigent and Leigh filed suit against Brown’s publishers, Random House. They alleged that significant portions of The Da Vinci Code were plagiarized from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, violating their copyright. [27] Brown confirmed during the court case that he named the principle Grail expert of his story «Leigh Teabing», an anagram of «Baigent Leigh», after the two plaintiffs. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln’s illness and the correspondence was a coincidence. [28]
Because Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, Justice Peter Smith, who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid his own secret code in his written judgement, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it. [29] Baigent and Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal. [28]
In April 2006, Mikhail Anakin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Dan Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book’s title, and one of the ideas regarding the Mona Lisa used in its plot. Anakin interprets the Mona Lisa to be an Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image’s right half, one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anakin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 René Magritte exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend, Anakin granted the request, on the condition that he be referenced in any book using his interpretation. Anakin eventually compiled his research into Leonardo Da Vinci or Theology on Canvas, a book published in 2000, but The Da Vinci Code, published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin, and instead asserts that the idea in question is a «well-known opinion of a number of scientists.» [30] [31]
Parodies [ ]
Release details [ ]
The book has been translated into over 40 languages, primarily hardcover. [32]
In reference to Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, two of the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Brown named the principal Grail expert of his story «Leigh Teabing», an anagram of «Baigent Leigh». Brown confirmed this during the court case. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln’s illness and the correspondence was a coincidence. After losing before the High Court on July 12, 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal. [33] [34]
Following the trial, it was found that the publicity had actually significantly boosted UK sales of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. [35]
Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:
Puzzles [ ]
Book jacket [ ]
Part of the advertising campaign for the novel was that the artwork in the American version of the bookjacket held various codes, and that the reader who solved them via the author’s website would be given a prize. Several thousand people actually solved the codes, and one name was randomly chosen to be the winner, with the name announced on live television, Good Morning America, in early 2004. The prize was a trip to Paris.
The five hidden puzzles reveal:
Brown, both via his website and in person, has stated that the puzzles in the bookjacket give hints about the subject of his next novel, The Lost Symbol. This repeats a theme from his earlier novels. For example, Deception Point had an encrypted message that, when solved, said, «The Da Vinci Code will surface«.
In the simplified Chinese version of The Da Vinci Code, the cover has a secret text; however, this text can be easily seen. It reads: «13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian devil! Oh, Lame Saint! P.S. Find Robert Langdon.» This is the multiply encrypted clue written in invisible ink next to the dead body in the museum, which kicks off the plot of the entire novel.
Pages [ ]
All of the puzzles listed below can be found within the page headers in the Mass Market US Paperback edition of The Da Vinci Code.
The Da Vinci Code
Это, наверное, одна из самых сложных рецензий, что мне довелось написать за последние полгода. По накалу внутренних противоречий The Da Vinci Code может сравниться разве что с недавним The Godfather. У нас тут с ответственными лицами даже вышел спор — сколько полос отводить под рецензию? Бережливые редакторы в лице товарищей Кузьменко и Александрова отказывались выдавать под игру с оценкой в семь баллов аж три полосы, я же активно требовал именно столько и не страницей меньше. После получасового размахивания руками и обстоятельного рассказа о том, как изнасилованные неморгающие манекены умудряются разыграть действительно интересную историю, редакция обессилено сдалась, выписав требуемые журнальные площади.
Кино против домино
О чем сейчас думает Софи, цензура умалчивает.
Для начала — пара слов о лицензионной путанице. Интерактивный «Код да Винчи» находится где-то между известно-какой-книгой и соответствующим кинофильмом. Правда, Тома Хэнкса, Одри Тоту, Жана Рено и прочих известных актеров нам с вами не завезли — за них крайне неубедительно трудятся низкополигональные инвалиды. С другой стороны, прямого переложения литературного первоисточника тоже не вышло — The Da Vinci Code вольно обращается с книжкой Брауна и предлагает ряд событий, о которых в оригинале не сообщалось. Вряд ли это, конечно, волнует самого писателя — он сейчас, должно быть, придирчиво обставляет Веласкесом свой третий загородный особняк.
В общем, про сюжет, как бы это странно ни звучало, поговорить все-таки придется. Для тех, кто последние два года провел в информационной изоляции, сообщаем: «Код да Винчи» посвящен противостоянию двух религиозных культов. С одной стороны — Приорат Сиона, бывшие тамплиеры, вот уже много лет охраняющие местонахождение Священного Грааля. С другой — Опус Деи. Это такой тайный католический спецназ, который стоит на страже христианства. Вот уже много лет вторые пытаются отобрать у первых пресловутый Грааль, который якобы может перевернуть наши с вами представления о вере, боге и Иисусе Христе в частности. В мясорубку этого увлекательного религиозного разбирательства попадают Роберт Лэнгдон, специалист по знакам, и прекрасной наружности шифровальщица Софи, которую в экранизации как раз изображает Тоту.
Над этой загадкой вы наверняка проведете добрый час своего драгоценного времени.
Так вот, в неожиданно популярном бестселлере Брауна (и, соответственно, в кинофильме) действие несется на сорванных тормозах. В одну минуту Роберт-Хэнкс, набычив лоб, изображает мыслительный процесс над последовательностью Фибоначчи, в другую — оказывается в Цюрихском банке, а в третью — летит в Лондон смотреть на могилу Исаака Ньютона. Игра развивается приблизительно в три раза медленнее, предлагая свою интерпретацию брауновской истории. Прежде чем Лэнгдон отправился в банк, он, оказывается, посетил церковь, откуда звонила невинно убиенная камнем монахиня, и провел там добрых два часа. И так везде. Где у Брауна скупой абзац, у игры — полновесный уровень и пять паззлов. Это, конечно, удивительно — мы уже было привыкли, что игроприложения с легкостью проходятся за уикенд и выветриваются из головы на следующий день. Но The Da Vinci Code честно отрабатывает обещанные 10 часов геймплея и, чувствуется, могла бы предложить еще — жалко, оригинальная брошюрка закончилась.
Товарищ криптолог, как неожиданно выяснилось, знает кунг-фу.
И вот здесь выясняется главная ахиллесова пята всего этого интерактивного мероприятия. По непонятным причинам в бюджет элементарно недоложили денег. Бог с ним, с Томом Хэнксом, все равно смотреть на его доброе, но напрочь лишенное приписываемой сценарием эрудиции лицо — сомнительное развлечение. Когда широкоэкранный Лэнгдон пучит глаза и тужит шею, пытаясь изобразить сложносочиненные размышления, это вызывает в лучшем случае смех. К тому же эта его идиотская прическа.
С игрой ситуация еще хуже. Вместо хорошего артиста Хэнкса не на своем месте мы имеем плохо оструганное низкополигональное бревно в сером турецком костюме. Бревно скверно движется, обладает рудиментарными намеками на лицевую анимацию и регулярно вещает голосом уставшего музейного гида. То же самое с Софи. Вместо ушастой Тоту нам предлагается десять часов смотреть на пучеглазое недоразумение с трехполигональным рыжим париком. Озвучка соответствующая. И все бы еще ничего, но в игре, как и в книжке, очень много диалогов. А слушать получасовую лекцию по конспирологии от безэмоционального обрубка — развлечение предельно гнусное. В итоге местные разговорчики приходится мучительно терпеть. Промотать их можно, но не стоит — в тексте часто содержатся подсказки к грядущим паззлам.
Талант не пропьешь
Это вот трогательное объятье двух низкополигональных обрубков призвано вызвать у нас с вами эмоции. Не работает, увы.
Ну и, наконец, главная причина, по которой мы отводим три дорогостоящих журнальных полосы на The Da Vinci Code, — это, собственно, геймплей. Авторами интерактивного «Кода» значатся The Collective, которые буквально несколько месяцев назад сработали Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. «Коллектив» вообще большие мастера работы с чужими лицензиями — они умудрились создать интересные игры про Индиану Джонса, сериал про Баффи и, представьте, Star Trek (см. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — The Fallen 2000 года выпуска). В общем, с Голливудом люди знакомые.
Совершенно очевидно, что работа над The Da Vinci Code велась в режиме «сделать нужно было вчера». Об этом говорит все — невменяемая графика, анимация, сбацанные на коленке заставки и множественные баги, о которых мы еще расскажем ниже. Но что удивительно — находясь в состоянии непрерывного цейтнота, The Collective снабдили игру небанальным и разнообразным геймплеем. Как за считанные месяцы можно было придумать и сделать такое — категорически непонятно. Вот вам факты: The Da Vinci Code — это такая удивительная помесь Fahrenheit (!) и Broken Sword (!!). Чувствуете размах? Вместо того чтобы собрать из имеющихся полуфабрикатов очередное шестичасовое мордобитие в интерьерах фильма, The Collective сделали действительно оригинальный продукт. За это им, конечно, поклон и другие почести.
Геймплей условно делится на две части: квест и экшен. С квестом все, казалось бы, обстоит более-менее стандартно: инвентарь, занимательная комбинаторика предметов и множественные паззлы. Но вот какое дело — местные головоломки интересно разгадывать. Более того, есть подозрение, что они вышли даже лучше, чем у Дэна Брауна. Если вы вдруг читали книгу или смотрели фильм — не извольте волноваться, разгадки здесь не совпадают. The Collective заботливо сочинили новые анаграммы, новые детективные ходы — короче, новое все. Пересечения с первоисточником минимальны.
Стелс-этапы делятся на хождение вприсядку и такие вот театральные припадания к стенам.
Мало того, паззлы предельно разнообразны. Здесь есть практически все: традиционные пятнашки, зашифрованные послания, химические формулы, выявление последовательностей, задачи на сообразительность, на анализ текста, на знание истории и даже на память. За исключением уже упомянутых анаграмм, головоломки практически не повторяются. На одном уровне легко уживается сложносочиненное расставление фигур на доске и методичное поджигание факелов по определенной закономерности. Здесь же — некоторые намеки на полицейский квест. Приготовьтесь к обследованию картин при помощи ультрафиолета и натуральному ползанию с лупой по трупам.
Удивительно, но когда из кадра исчезают персонажи, а игра полностью посвящает себя трехмерному паззлу, на экран становится неожиданно приятно смотреть. В конце концов, нам регулярно демонстрируются знаменитые шедевры да Винчи, скульптуры античных богов и прочая культурология.
Секрет успеха квестовой составляющей оказался неожиданно прост. Как выяснилось, на помощь The Collective был призван Чарльз Сесил — автор, на минуточку, серии Broken Sword. Так что квестовая составляющая фактически оказалась в руках отдельно взятого гения — директора нежно любимой всей редакцией Revolution Studios.
Далее следует, собственно, экшен, который подозрительно напоминает нашего прошлогоднего фаворита — Fahrenheit. Любое действие в игре, будь то открытие туалетного окна или перемещение могильной плиты, потребует от вас синхронных действий мыши и клавиатуры. Процесс выглядит примерно следующим образом: сначала вы отчаянно лупите по специальной клавише — это у нас символизирует физическое напряжение, а затем должны быстро выполнить загоревшуюся на экране комбинацию. Например, «D» плюс «мышь вправо». И так везде. Перекусывание замков, нажатие рычагов, подсаживание напарницы на плечо — все это выполняется путем небанальных комбинаций.
Некоторые паззлы выглядят очень даже красиво. Жаль, что про саму игру это сказать сложно…
С драками все еще интереснее. Как только вы вступаете в открытую конфронтацию, игра подключает к процессу специальное action-меню, которое предлагает на выбор три действия: «нанести удар» (левая клавиша мыши), «толкнуть» (обе клавиши одновременно) или «бросить» (соответственно, правая клавиша). Решать надо в течение одной секунды, иначе получите кулаком в челюсть, и все придется повторять сначала. Если вы хотите провести серию ударов, то игра предложит без ошибок выполнить нехитрое комбо (например, левая кнопка мыши, правая, правая, левая, обе одновременно). Как и в случае с «Фаренгейтом», все внимание сосредотачивается на предлагаемых комбинациях, в то время как на экране творится абсолютно голливудское действие. Герои неожиданно обнаруживают в себе глубокие знания кунг-фу — скачут козлом, что ваш Киану Ривз, бьют наотмашь и периодически уходят в глубокое slo-mo. С бросками все еще интереснее. Тут нужно сначала лихорадочно лупить по левой клавише мыши — это у нас силовая борьба такая. После того как вы победите, необходимо, опять же, выполнить комбинацию вроде «W» + «мышь вверх».
Тут бы нам возмутиться по поводу непринужденного заимствования идей у Fahrenheit и нечестивости The Collective. Но почему-то не хочется. Потому что очевидно — авторы хотели как лучше. И привнести в насквозь коммерческий продукт инновационные геймплей-идеи (пусть даже придуманные в недрах Quantic Dream) — поступок весьма себе мужественный.
К сожалению, все вышеозначенные похвалы аккуратно перечеркиваются чудовищным исполнением. Персонажи проваливаются по колено в унитаз, застревают в трех ящиках, буксуют, тормозят, проходят через объекты и вообще ведут себя как герои ранней бета-версии. Под стать им и сама игра — она регулярно виснет или выпадает в Windows без объяснения причин. Консольная система чекпойнтов в сочетании с систематическими «падениями» дают потрясающие результаты — желание в истерике разнести монитор возникает в среднем один раз в пятнадцать минут.
Что со всем этим делать — категорически непонятно. Очевидно одно: из всей троицы (книга, фильм, игра) интерактивный The Da Vinci Code — самый интересный. Брауновская брошюрка — давайте признаем это — оказалась просто ловким тасованием занятных фактов. Фильм оскароносного режиссера Ховарда — прилежным переложением этих самых фактов на широкий экран. Игра, очевидно, идет дальше. Благодаря ей хочется узнать о самом да Винчи больше. Здесь, среди прочего, имеется внушительный набор бонусов, среди которых особенно хочется отметить галерею изобретений Леонардо. Глядя на его вертолеты и танки, придуманные страшно сказать когда, с трудом борешься с желанием поступить на какое-нибудь искусствоведение и провести всю жизнь в библиотеке МГУ.
Помимо культурно-образовательной функции, The Da Vinci Code обладает действительно интересным и где-то даже уникальным геймплеем. Талант, что называется, не пропьешь — даже в условиях кратчайших сроков и явной недостачи денег The Collective сработали предельно качественный игропроцесс. Увы, к нему приходится продираться через невменяемый порноцирк, который разыгрывается на экране силами дурно играющих обрубков. Здесь же баги, имя которым — легион.
Так сейчас игры, конечно, не делают. Подобный уровень тестирования прощается разработчикам только тогда, когда они называются BethesdaSoftworks или Digital Illusions. Какую всему этому выводить в итоге оценку — непонятно. По-хорошему надо, наверное, ставить 6,5 баллов и признать, что хамское отношение к игрокам — смертный грех. Но когда вспоминаются особо выдающиеся паззлы, за которыми сидел чуть ли не всю ночь, понимаешь, что игра по-настоящему увлекает. В такие минуты рука замахивается чуть ли не на «восьмерку». Итогом рецензионных мучений стали достойные семь баллов. За доблесть, мужество, отвагу и образовательную функцию.
Классный сюжет — нет
Оправданность ожиданий: 70%
Интерфейс и управление: 7.0
Дождались? Удивительная помесь инновационного геймплея, гнуснейшего сюжета, интересных паззлов и чудовищной графики. Тем не менее The Da Vinci Code увлекательнее и книги, и фильма, так что если вы вдруг поклонник сомнительного творчества Дэна Брауна — советуем ознакомиться.
The Da Vinci Code
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown’s second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel Angels & Demons. The Da Vinci Code follows symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu after a murder in the Louvre Museum in Paris causes them to become involved in a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene having had a child together.
The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the Merovingian kings of France were descended from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, ideas derived from Clive Prince’s The Templar Revelation (1997) and books by Margaret Starbird. The book also refers to The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (1982) though Dan Brown has stated that it was not used as research material.
The Da Vinci Code provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of Christianity. The book has, however, been extensively denounced by many Christian denominations as an attack on the Catholic Church, and consistently criticized for its historical and scientific inaccuracies. The novel nonetheless became a massive worldwide bestseller [1] that sold 80 million copies as of 2009 [update] [2] and has been translated into 44 languages. In November 2004, Random House published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, a film adaptation was released by Columbia Pictures.
