Product Details

• Actors: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgĺrd, Pierfrancesco Favino
• Directors: Ron Howard
• Writers: Dan Brown, Akiva Goldsman, David Koepp
• Producers: Anna Culp, Brian Grazer, Dan Brown, John Calley
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 24, 2009
• Run Time: 138 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (312 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002O5M4TE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,529 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Angels & Demons (Single-Disc Theatrical Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

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)

Product Description

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 144 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy Two-Disc Extended Edition December 8, 2009

By A. M. Earman

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Other reviewers have adequately commented on the motion picture itself. This review pertains to the so-called Two-Disc Extended Edition. While most two-disc editions provide the viewer with hours of additional features on the making the motion picture and the cast and crew, this edition provides the viewer with only three ten-minute featurettes, that easily could have been included on the feature disc, and about 20 "previews" for other motion pictures. At typically a 50% premium in price over the single-disc version, the three featurettes are not worth the price. Buy the single-disc version instead and enjoy the movie.

61 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brown knows symbols, Sony knows Blu, Hanks knows Langdon [reviewing the Blu-Ray edition] November 24, 2009

By A. Dent #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

59 of 78 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie September 15, 2009

By Vanquished

Format:DVD

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

48 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the DVD, you won't regret it!!! October 8, 2009

By sundance

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

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!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Much Ado About Nothing November 28, 2009

By Edmonson

Format:Blu-ray

Ron Howard's new film is set mainly in Rome. However, the movie starts off at CERN, which is the largest particle accelerator in the world located in the suburbs of Geneva on the Franco-Swiss boarder. Anti-matter is stolen from facility which will supposedly blow up once the batteries of its container die out. In real life, over ten years, the facility has only made enough anti-matter to light a light bulb for about three minutes. So as long as we remain ignorant of this little detail we're in for a bit of a heart pumping ride, sort of. This film looks great, but it becomes a bit tiresome as the cops, and Tom Hank's character (Robert Langdon), are always just a little late in the pursuit of the killer. And unfortunately, the danger doesn't seem so much for them, as for the Cardinals, who we are never made to empathize with anyhow. This may be the real flaw of the movie. If there was more inherent danger to Robert, or those close to him, then this film might actually be suspenseful. When the killer does meet Robert head on, in a basement, the killer simply says that his business is not with Robert, as long as Robert doesn't pursue him. That's a sure way to deflate any suspense from a movie! If it wasn't for the great scenery and wonderful direction it doesn't seem like there would actually be too much here to rave about. The movie feels contrived, and silly, with its treasure chest like chase around Rome after an anonymous killer.