Few men have ever reached the heights of forward-thinking genius reached by Leonardo Da Vinci, a man of many talents who stood at the pinnacle of Italian Renaissance thought. Born in 1452, Da Vinci was a brilliant architect, a musician, an accomplished anatomist who gave us a better understanding of the human body, a talented sculptor, a visionary engineer, and one of the world’s most renown painters, crafting legendary works like the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Always curious, always inventive, always pushing his own personal boundaries, Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the great figures of genius in history.

In Da Vinci And The Code He Lived By, the History Channel brings viewers a broad look at Da Vinci’s life, from childhood to death, offering an examination of who Leonardo Da Vinci was that will enlighten the layman but leave the scholar wishing there was more.

Before getting into the meat of this documentary, a word on what this release is. This is not a feature film or a documentary made for the theater. This is not an arty, challenging work. This is a documentary produced for broadcast on The History Channel and, like many similar releases before it, later issued on DVD. By and large, if you’ve watched The History Channel, you know what to expect as far as style and presentation goes because, high production values aside, this doesn’t stray far from the mold. A few talking heads offering surface commentary and a narrator speaking over reenactment, it’s the usual History Channel fare. Not that this is a bad thing.

So, the documentary. As mentioned, it’s your typical History Channel production – good subject matter, layman’s depth, reenactments, voiceovers – but it sure looks shiny and new. The production values here are excellent; the reenactments look better than most “big budget” made for TV films, which doesn’t sound like I’m saying much, but believe me, it’s a compliment. Actors, sets, costumes, cinematography, all top notch and very impressive.

Documentaries, of course, are about presenting insight and information, not about putting on a snazzy show. So does Da Vinci And The Code He Lived By rise to the challenge? That depends on your expectations. If you have only a passing familiarity with Leonardo Da Vinci, knowing that he painted the Mona Lisa or knowing his name from that popular “Code” book, you’ll find yourself walking away from this presentation better informed and likely impressed by the scope of Da Vinci’s work. Presented in an interesting way with enough information to satisfy most viewers, this is solid mainstream stuff that isn’t likely to disappoint. But if you’re already versed in the man’s mind and work, this documentary has nothing new to offer you. If you walk into this expecting a scholarly, insightful, in-depth documentary on Leonardo Da Vinci that will give you a greater understanding of his work, his mind and his influence, you won’t find it here. There’s nothing wrong with what’s presented here, it’s simply a well-produced version of the usual the History Channel has to offer; not quite up to the level of the best PBS documentaries, but far better than most of the mindless rubbish on TV. Adjust your expectations accordingly and you should know what to expect.

A quick word on this feature’s title, as well as the repeated theme of the voiceover narration: I found the attempt to piggyback on the success of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code to be grating and shameless. From the title – “…And The Code He Lived By” – to the constant use of the word “code,” it seems the writers were willing to go to any lengths to get the words “Da Vinci” and “Code” next to one another. The transparent marketing effort was distracting and unnecessary.

With that said, this is your typical History Channel documentary – which is to say that it boasts great production values, offers little depth beneath the surface but will surely inform the layman, and makes for a good 90 minutes of entertaining, sometimes informative viewing.

Presentation 
This disc looks great. Presented in 16:9 widescreen (sadly not anamorphic), the production values are really stellar; vivid colors, excellent clarity and an overall sharp look. Much better looking than your typical documentary, this DVD is better than any non-HD TV broadcast you’ll see. The sound, too, is very good. The narration is always clear, the talking heads are easily understandable, and the whole production is rich with nice little audio touches. The History Channel put some money into this and it shows.

Extras
A sole bonus feature, History In The Making: Da Vinci, graces this disc. Running a bit over 20 minutes, it’s a fairly typical fluff piece. You get some behind the scenes footage, you’re shown just how extensive the production on the reenactments was (it truly was very impressive; too bad they didn’t shoot a period film at the same time, because it would have looked great), and some talking heads hype the main feature. Not essential viewing, but a nice enough extra for your money.

Final Word
Hitching a ride on The Da Vinci Code’s coattails? Maybe. But The History Channel’s production of Da Vinci And The Code He Lived By is a solid overview on the life of a immeasurably brilliant man that may lack in depth but doesn’t lack in strong production values. A good pick if you ever wanted to know more about Leonardo Da Vinci or would like a refresher course on this brilliant man, but likely to disappoint if you’re already well-versed on his life.