The Da Vinci Code

Anna:  Hello I'm Anna Jones and this is Entertainment.
　　And today we're going hear what some people are saying about the recentlyreleased film of the bestselling novel 'The Da Vinci Code.' Now the film hascaused quite a lot of controversy 1 – if something causes 'controversy' or is'controversial then it means that there is public discussion and argument aboutsomething that some people feel strongly about. The Da Vinci code has causedcontroversy because of its plot  - A murder inside the Louvre and clues inLeonardo Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mysteryprotected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake thefoundations of Christianity.  The film is directed by Ron Howard  and starsTom Hanks as the professor who  gets drawn 2 into trying to solve the Da Vincicode.  Well, as I said earlier the film has caused controversy and some Churchleaders want it to be censored 4 because it suggests that Mary Magdalen had achild whose father was Jesus Christ. If you 'censor 3' something then youremove the parts that are considered offensive or politically dangerous.
　　Now the film has met with mixed reviews. The film critic Jason Solomon sawit at the recent Cannes Film Festival and he explained how the audience reactedto it. Listen out for several expressions he uses to describe this reaction. Doyou think the audience liked the film?
　　Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first nightaudiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don't.
　　There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding 5 – I think in the end it has tohave gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
　　Anna:  Well according to Jason Solomon the audience at Cannes did not like the film.
　　He uses the following expressions to describe their reaction:  'flat' whichmeans to lack interest or enthusiasm. He says that the film was met with 'noapplause.' – they did not applaud or clap their hands together at the end of thefilm. Instead there was a kind of 'hushed silence'   - throughout the film theaudience was very quiet  and said nothing.  Jason says that the film was 'abit of a failure' in Cannes –He uses the noun 'failure' which means that thefilm did not succeed or was not popular in Cannes.  Listen out for thoseexpressions again.
　　Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first nightaudiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don't.
　　There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding – I think in the end it has tohave gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
　　Anna:  And that was film critic, Jason Solomon.
　　The historical novelist, Sarah Dunant, has also seen the film – does she thinkthe film is similar to the book?
　　It's a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not thefirst half of this book is indeed a page turner – Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keepsyou going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd butthe speed at which he throws them at you means you don't notice it.
　　Anna:  She says the film is ”slavishly faithful“ – it's a very true and accurate reflectionof the book. If something is dscribed as doing something ”slavishly then itmeans it follows or copies someone or something exactly. Sarah  uses theword “slavishly” to emphasise 6 how closely the film resembles the book .
　　She says that 'like it or not' – whether you like the book or not – it is a 'pageturner,'  it's a very exciting read and makes you want to carry on reading it.
　　She says that the author 'hooks you on adrenalin'   he keeps the readersinterest by getting their 'adrenalin' going – the plot is designed to keep thereader's interest and excitement.  Does Sarah think that the devices that theauthor uses to do this work? Listen againIt's a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not thefirst half of this book is indeed a page turner – Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keepsyou going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd butthe speed at which he throws them at you means you don't notice it.
　　Anna:  Sarah says Dan Brown uses devices that are quite 'cliched' – they have beenused so often that they are no longer interesting.  Now let's take a look atsome of the language that we heard today:
　　Controversy  -  the book caused quite a controversyCensor – the theatre director tried to reverse the decision to censor her playFlat –  the lecture sounded very flat and uninterestingFailure – he felt a failure because he could not pass his examslike it or not -  like it or not you will have to work harder if you want to get abetter 7 jobAnna:  That's all from entertainment this week.