Everyone comments on how fastidious Howard is, Bettany revealing that Howard would often call him in the middle of the night with notes on the next day's scene. (Apparently this footwear just didn't convey the menace the director wanted.) The second half shows us a little of the day-to-day business of shooting. Howard assures us the ladies love it, but wasn't so enamoured with the sight of Paul Bettany in sandals. This time we hear about the physical metamorphosis that for Hanks involved growing his hair. Similarly, we get a flattering close up of Audrey Tautou (and just a glimpse of her audition) in Who Is Sophie Neveau? Then Howard waxes lyrical on supporting players like Jean Reno, Paul Bettany and Ian McKellen in the Unusual Suspects.Ī Filmmakers Journey is presented in two parts (around 40 mins), but again the focus is largely on casting. Hanks admits to being "flummoxed" on his initial reading of the book, but the featurette A Portrait Of Langdon is mostly a chance for Howard to explain why he thought Hanks was a good fit for the role of the inquisitive professor.
In a five-minute Discussion With Dan Brown, he says only that he was "fascinated with the idea of hidden history." But there is no in-depth discussion about the theories at the heart of Brown's book and certainly no one wants to make a plain statement on the veracity of his findings - least of all the author. By way of introduction, Howard invites us into the Louvre on the first day of filming and chats briefly about his aims and intentions. For critics though, it was the " po-faced" storytelling that warranted a public lashing.īetween clips of behind-the-scenes footage, there is an ungodly amount of waffle on the bonus disc. However the controversial story, which sees Tom Hanks unravel an alleged conspiracy perpetrated by the Vatican, sparked demonstrations in some countries. After phenomenal sales of Dan Brown's novel, it was no surprise that Ron Howard's take on The Da Vinci Code was an instant blockbuster.