Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition) |  | Director: Ron Howard
Actors: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, Pierfrancesco Favino
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $28.96
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Rating:  175 reviews
Sales Rank: 402
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 138 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 24370
UPC: 043396243705
EAN: 0043396243705
ASIN: B002O5M4TE
Theatrical Release Date: 2009
Release Date: November 24, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
HARVARD SYMBOLOGIST ROBERT LANGDON WORKS TO SOLVE A MURDER AND PREVENT A TERRORIST ACT AGAINST THE VATICAN.
Amazon.com
If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley
Stills from Angels & Demons (click for larger image)
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 175
 Brown knows symbols, Sony knows Blu, Hanks knows Langdon [reviewing the Blu-Ray edition] November 24, 2009
A. Dent (Minas Anor, GD)
24 out of 29 found this review helpful
Very briefly, I would like to begin by addressing some of the criticism concerning this movie.
Some are unhappy because the movie does not closely follow the book. This happens to be true but how many book-based movies do? For the sake of movie-making, Dan Brown's book was not followed to the letter or even closely. However, it may be worth knowing that Dan Brown was the movie's executive producer and he absolutely approved all the major plot changes. If fact, he confesses to actually suggesting some of the major changes. Perhaps those who read the book should treat the movie as work 'related' to the book but not THE book illustrated. It's still Dan Brown's work but this is cinematography that was inspired by his book, to be appreciated and enjoyed as a movie.
I heard statements that the book was somehow anti-Christian or anti-Catholic. I disagree. I will not reveal the plot by providing substantial details but the movie concludes in a way that suggests respect for religious faith and the Catholic church, in fact, comes out looking pretty good.
Angels & Demons besides being a feast to the eyes, it succeeds in arousing the viewer's curiosity in more than one area: contemporary physics, Rome's landmarks, the Vatican. And those who watched the movie and may find themselves in Rome and at the Vatican are more likely than not to actually look for some of the landmarks featured in Angels & Demons. In fairness, Angels & Demons does not come close to The DaVinci Code's Earth-shattering scope, depth of research and sophistication but it's still unmistakenly Dan Brown and those who enjoyed the Code will probably love A&D. Those who hated the Code are likely to hate A&D more. To me, Dan Brown's works are not art and they aren't science but they are great, well researched entertainment that often challenge the reader's/viewer's preconceived opinions and stimulate further research and investigation - and this is a good thing.
When it comes to acting Tom Hanks does not disappoint as Robert Langdon but Ewan McGregor lacks the gravitas we would expect from an acting Pope. All others are up to the job but I didn't see any Oscar-quality performances and didn't expect to.
The special effects - when it comes to the recreation of St. Peter Square and parts of the Vatican - are nothing short of amazing. Like I said, the movie is a feast to the eyes and, for all intents and purposes, what you see is always Rome and the Vatican, even when the cameras were filming some California parking lot.
PACKAGING AND PRESENTATION
Sony is totally throwing the kitchen sink at us with this Blu edition. As the Blu standard bearer and main promoter, they want to show us what Blu can do to make our lives a little more interesting. Everything that you can think of when you think Blu-ray and more 'is in there'.
Everything is good quality, starting with the Blu case which is not the cheap, perforated, almost falling apart kind that some of the lesser editions are using these days.
The decision to include both the theatrical version AND the extended cut on the same disc is responsible for this being a 3-disc set with a second disk carrying the special features and a third dedicated to the digital copies.
Technically speaking, the picture is, of course, a sharp 1080p and the two available sound tracks are both DTS-HD Master Audio in English and French. Surprisingly, the bonus features are shot in high-def as well with 2.0 stereo for the soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES - BLU-RAY
Besides BD-Live, a number of interesting Blu-specific features are available with this release.
The Path of Illumination emulates a trail through Rome, following Robert Langdon's through 5 Roman landmarks. It has high visuals, interviews, footage from each location, even a dictionary where dozens of terms are explained. Anyone passing through Rome could walk the path with the Path of Illumination feature serving as a travel guide.
CineChat is another Sony attempt to promote more interactivity. It allows those watching the movie to organize themselves into a viewing party and actually have their chats displayed on-screen as the movie is playing.
The movieIQ option is a BD-Live powered option. It logs into and checks some online database and provides up-to-date information about the movie and specific chapters while watching the movie. Pretty cool actually and not over-distracting, especially considering that this is not information 'burned' into the disc and it is updated, at least in theory if not in practice.
The digital copy, if this can go under Blu-ray specific features, is available for the PC, PSP (via PS3), Mac and iPod. Expires on 2/12/2010.
THE OTHER EXTRAS
Not as interactive as the BD-specific ones, they are also shot in hi-def for the Blu version, there are lots of shorts about the 'making of', actors, special effects, as expected. The featurette titled 'Writing Angels & Demons' should be of special interest because it's there where Dan Brown confesses to his specific agreement and cooperation on altering the story. Another interesting extra is on the CERN. Finally, we actually get to see and hear the real-life John Langdon, the person who served as the inspiration for the Robert Langdon character - he specializes in 'ambiagrams', of course.
MY RATING
I found this movie to be entertaining and to carry sufficient 'substance' to merit watching maybe more than once. The quality of the Blu rendition is nothing short of exquisite and the extras, both Blu-specific and the regular ones are worth watching and interacting with.
Angels & Demons is a keeper and, as a work of entertainment, it's a 5-star in my book.
Great Movie September 15, 2009
John Ciriello
54 out of 71 found this review helpful
This is one of those movies that was truly better than its predecessor. The good thing is you don't need to see Davinci Code to understand this movie. Its like Ron Howard took it to heart what people were saying regarding the DaVinci code, it was good but needed some more action to keep you interested.
Angels and Demons does this perfectly. Still a great story line, but tons of action, and a great score.
I left the theater after seeing this with a huge smile on my face. In plain words...
It was awesome!
-Jack
Buy the DVD, you won't regret it!!! October 8, 2009
jaesah sixx (Midwest, USA)
44 out of 58 found this review helpful
I rememeber when I first saw The DaVinchi Code in the theatre. I thought the movie was good but it didn't do the book justice. I thought the book was far better. Then Angels and Demons came out in theatres and was leary about going to seeing it because of the first movie. But I did go to see Angels and Demons and I loved it. The movie had my full and complete attention for the entire two and a half hours. In fact, I loved the movie so much, I walked with a smile on my face and bought another ticket and walked right back and in and saw it again!
This movie has it all. It follows the book but strays when necessary, but not to the point of where it ruins the movie. It is chalk full of action and suspence, a total on the edge of your seat movie. The choice of music complements the movie beautifully. I could go on and on.. but one of the things that really made me catch my breath was the portrayal of the passion and history of catholicism. The cardinals in conclave, climbing the stairs to enter the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, St Peter's tomb, exc.
I highly recommend this movie. No movie since had captivated me in a way such as this one. Enjoy!
Angels and Demons November 24, 2009
Carlos E. Velasquez
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Angels and Demons - Columbia Pictures
Dan Brown is flying high these days. His novels are hot property in Hollywood, even before they are written. But, the fact is that the man can indeed produce great suspense literature - if it qualifies for that --, the one that can translate well into films, such as his incredibly popular "The Da Vinci Code." "Angels and Demons," I am happy to say, follows that tradition. It delivers great, smart entertainment, the one that you go to the movies for.
The film starts at the Vatican, just when it is announced that the Pope has just died. Simultaneously, we are transported to a laboratory known as the Large Hadron Collider, in Geneva, Switzerland, where scientists are about to successfully launch an important experiment which will generate antimatter. Unfortunately, once the antimatter is produced, one of the scientists handling this valuable product is assassinated and the antimatter is stolen. Enter Harvard's Prof. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a renowned authority of symbols. He is informed by a Vatican cop that four priests - the apparent finalists to replace the Pope -- were kidnapped and that the Vatican's police was requesting his help, because the kidnapper(s) left a symbol of the Illuminati at the scenes of the crimes. Once in the Vatican, Langdom teams up with Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), an Italian physicist who was working with the antimatter experiments at the time it was stolen. They will try to put the puzzle that ties the antimatter and the Illuminati together. By doing so, they will realize, the hard way, that this is a dangerous game, in which science collides with religion and the Vatican's internal politics..
Some fans of Dan Brown's novels have criticized the adaptations of his work to the big screen -- "Angels and Demons" not being the exception --, and they may have a point. That's the danger of reading a book and expecting too much from Hollywood. However, having not read the book, I found this film to be highly provocative and intriguing, and I truly enjoyed it. In fact, I can't wait to see the installment of Brown's next book, "The Lost Symbol." I just hope that Hanks returns as Langdon and Ron Howard as its director. The formidable cast includes Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The DVD is loaded with extras, such as the mini documentaries "Rome was not built in a day," "Writing Angles and Demons," "Characters in search of the True Story," and more. (USA, 2009, color, 138 min plus additional material).
Reviewed by Eric Gonzalez on November 23, 2009 for [...]
Angels & Demons is Superb November 27, 2009
Loren C. Gruber (Marshall, MO United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After viewing Angels & Demons, and reading other reviews, I want to read the book. Movie goers are often disappointed that the film does not follow the page, but I would hate to endure a movie that followed War and Peace to the last period. Having said that, Angels and Demons addresses a centuries-old issue that continues to vex the faithful and the sceptics alike. As Cardinal Strauss said, "Religion is flawed because men are flawed." But then, so is science. Angels & Demons addresses the on-going conflict between "faith" and "fact" and comes to a satisfactory, though temporary, solution because even those of us who hope the two will meld are also flawed. Despite the necessary chase scenes, the story line to the climactic surprises and denoument provides the viewer something to ponder.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 175
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