Da Vinci: Tracking the Code [DVD]

One of the more curious if entertaining videos among the many released since the publication of Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, about the master painter and his alleged participation in a centuries-old cover-up is Da Vinci: Tracking the Code. With no apparent, official relationship to the Ron Howard film of Brown's work, Tracking the Code nevertheless acts as an introduction to the movie, linking its stars to the characters they play and working backward from there to a light overview of Brown's research. Tracking the Code provides video tour highlights of the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Chateau de Villette in the French countryside, London's Westminster Abbey and Temple Church, and Edinburgh's Rosslyn Chapel--all important sites in the book, though some of what's discussed (the Louvre's other treasures besides the Mona Lisa, for example) have nothing to do with the Code. Historical touchstones, too, will be familiar to Code fans: the links between Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Holy Grail, the fascinating story of the Knights Templar. But there's also general, interesting discussion about an underlay of paganism beneath official and unofficial Christian symbols and lore. The result is a video production that sprawls and occasionally feels padded, but which will appeal to The Da Vinci Code enthusiasts all the same. --Tom Keogh