Carved on a brick. Hidden on the Declaration of Independence. Hidden on the Declaration of Independence. In a crypt. On a grave marker On a medallion. Carved on a pipe stem. A ring. National Treasure (2004) Benjamin Franklin Gates, played by Nicolas Cage, descends from a family of treasure-seekers who've all hunted for the same thing: a treasure hidden by the American founding fathers. This movie is yet another fictional attempt to link the freemasons, the Knights Templar and the founding of the USA. Both the all-seeing eye and the masonic square and compasses can be seen on the theatre poster. References in the script include: "It was 1832. Charles Carroll was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was also a member of a secret society known as the masons." [00:02:13] In fact he was not a freemason, but a Catholic. "You see, the knights who found the vaults believed that the treasure was too great for any one man—not even a king. They brought the treasure back to Europe and took the name "the Knights Templar". Over the next century they smuggled it out of Europe and they formed a new brotherhood called the Freemasons, in honour of the builders of the great temple." [00:03:59] "...by then the Masons included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere." [00:04:17] "...unfinished pyramid, all-seeing eye... symbols of the Knights Templer." [00:05:03] "...duty of the Templars, the freemasons and the family Gates...."[00:06:16] "...several masons signed it, you said." "Nine, for sure." [00:16:47] In fact, eight freemasons signed the Declaration, while nine signed the Constitution "Parkington Lane, 33rd degree Master Mason of the blue lodge." [01:22:31] "The lantern. Its part of Freemason teachings. In King Solomon's Temple there was a winding staircase. It signified the journey [to be] made to find the light of truth." [01:29:48] "You know, the Templars and the Freemasons believed that the treasure was too great for any one man." [02:03:26] An eye and incomplete pyramid is shown at least five times; the all-seeing eye—including one noteworthy scene transition where the narrator's eye is positioned above a pyramid in a lap dissolve [00:03:04]—four times; and the square and compasses, nine times including once on a ring worn by FBI agent Sadusky, played by Harvey Keitel. Images from the movie trailer can be found at freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/national_treasure/index.html. Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Plummer, Jon Voight. Directed by Jon Turteltaub, written by Ted Elliott, E. Max Frye. USA, English. Colour, Stereo. 131 min (Adventure). * FILM TRAILER INDEX | CINEMA INDEX

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