... The setting is an abbey, whose name according to the narrator, 'it seems pious and prudent to omit'. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Umberto Eco, a semiologist and intellectual I had the pleasure of meeting twice - once at my university in America, and then again a few ... Read review
Jean-Jacques Annaud'sThe Name of the Roseis a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly ... more
convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's left is a riveting whod...
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A killer stalks a medieval stalks a medieval monastery and Sean Connery is on his trial. ... more
It's the work of the Devil. That's what some say when a bizarre series of deaths strikes a 14th-century monastery. Others find links between the deaths and the boo...
Jean-Jacques Annaud'sThe Name of the Roseis a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly ... more
convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's leftis a riveting whodu...
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An easy-to-use growing guide helps even the most novice gardener to plant their rose ... more
successfully. Once the seeds are planted, the recipient follows the simple rose naming instructions, providing us with their details and their chosen rose name.This information is then entered into the International Rose Naming Registry and is periodically submitted to the British Library.
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Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of ... more
Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night.
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy and ... more
Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night. A spectacular popular and critical success "The Name of the Rose" is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Fascinating, a good mystery, lots of little touches Disadvantages: -
...modern and medieval elements. The setting is an abbey, whose name according to the narrator, 'it seems pious and prudent to omit'. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Umberto Eco, a semiologist and intellectual I had the pleasure of meeting twice - once at my university in America, and then again a few years later in London. Semiotics is a study of signs - in many ways, my theological training parallels, and it is this kind of parallel ... ...about to be had at the high, inaccessible abbey. This debate, according to the leading Franciscan participant, is one that can determine the theology of the church for generations to come. So pivotal was this issue that papal envoys and monastics from around Christendom have gathered to determine the answer to the question - did Christ, or did he not, own the clothes he wore.
This is a play on the kind of theological musings that, ... more
This film is a fascinating combination of modern and medieval elements. The setting is an abbey, whose name according to the narrator, 'it seems pious and prudent to omit'. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Umberto Eco, a semiologist and intellectual I had the pleasure of meeting twice - once at my university in America, and then again a few years later in London. Semiotics is a study of signs - in many ways, my theological training parallels, and it is this kind of parallel that is at the heart of the novel.
There is a debate about to be had at the high, inaccessible abbey. This debate, according to the leading Franciscan participant, is one that can determine the theology of the church for generations to come. So pivotal was this issue that papal envoys and monastics from around Christendom have gathered to determine the answer to the question - did Christ, or did he not, own the clothes he wore.
This is a play on the kind of theological musings that, then and now, distract the church from its proper functions of being a witness to the world. One could imagine the question of how many angels dancing on the head of a pin being used by Eco, except that that would be far too obvious a silliness.
However 'pivotal' this conference may be to the future of Christendom, it is in fact incidental to the storyline of the film. The real story revolves around the happenings at the hosting abbey, a Benedictine community whose vocation involves the preservation and transcription of a major library (libraries being full of books, written in language, full of signs and symbols). However, two things become immediately apparent - there don't seem to be any books around, and the transcriptionists are dying one by one.
Enter William of Baskerville (the name an obvious homage, a sign of respect, to Sherlock Holmes). William is a Franciscan journeying to the abbey with his novice, Adso, to take part in the upcoming conference. The Abbot enlists William's assistance in discovering how the monks are dying, which he does with Holmesian technique and precision. Analysing data such as footprints, fall-patterns from hillsides, and other such observational information, he comes to a few conclusions, but these distress the head librarian, who has seen it as his task to protect the world from blashphemous books (ironically, while maintaining their existence within the confines of the great library's labyrinth).
While William and Adso do their Holmes and Watson in a scientific manner, one of the other Franciscan visitors decides to apply a different interpretation to the happenings, preferring to see in the murderous environment of the abbey the signs of the apocalypse, particularly worrisome given the nature of the pivotal conference soon to take place.
Unfortunately for William, just as he is getting close to the truth, the Inquisition is called (no one expects the Spanish Inquistition), and in the figure of Bernardo Gui, the Inquisition descends upon the abbey with full force and terror. Gui accepts neither William's rational explanations nor Ubertino's end-times interpretations, preferring a more common staple of Inquisition deciphering - it must be the work of the devil. Finding a black cat and a woman smuggled into the abbey only help confirm this, particularly in an environment that sees little value in either.
Ultimately, however, the interpretation is wrong. William and Adso finally discover a way into the library, and make the further discovery that the key text the librarian is trying to hide is one by Aristotle, his work on Comedy, for he fears that in the Scholastic environment of the church, in which Aristotle is seen as the rational side of God's wisdom, that a book by Aristotle that permits laughter would be the undoing to the world.
In the end, the library burns with few books saved, the conference ends without a resolution, the Inquisition gets a judgement leveled against itself in a very 'just-desserts' fashion, and William and Adso depart.
But what of the name of the rose? We never learn the name of the rose; indeed, the rose is yet one more sign, a symbol for the love of Adso's life, the woman accused of being a witch. As the final credits fall, we learn that in the midst of all the tumult, Adso never learned her name.
The performances here are solid and gripping. Sean Connery plays William of Baskerville with aplomb. A young Christian Slater is a good novice, with still enough innocence to his performance to be believable. The abbot is played by Michael Lonsdale (not too many years off of playing a James Bond villain). Special mention goes to Helmut Qualtinger, who played the librarian Brother Remigio, who died just hours after filming his last scene, and was frequently in pain from the illness he was suffering during filming. William Hickey plays Franciscan Ubertino with an air of strangeness and mystery. Finally, F. Murray Abraham plays the dreaded Bernardo Gui, in every way as psychologically beguiling as in his starring role in 'Amadeus', but unfortunately with a much smaller role in this film.
Despite not making an Oscar bid, this film won numerous awards throughout Europe, including the BAFTA best actor award for Connery. It also was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe award for mystery film.
The sets are dramatic, the costumes are perfect (particularly the contrast between the simplicity of the Franciscans, the durability of the Benedictines, the opulence of the papal envoys, the flair of the Inquisitors, and the rags of the peasants - all signs of a stratified society). The film is done in a cinematographic style that gives an overall feel of isolation; the abbey is isolated from the world, and the people are detached from each other for the most part.
This is a remarkable film in many ways, and one that I frequently turn to again to see what new signs I missed the last time through.
-------------------- Cast and Crew --------------------
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud ('Two Brothers', 'Enemy at the Gates')
Written by Umberto Eco
Sean Connery....William of Baskerville Christian Slater....Adso of Melk Helmut Qualtinger....Remigio da Varagine Elya Baskin....Severinus Michael Lonsdale....The Abbot Volker Prechtel....Malachia Feodor Chaliapin Jr.....Jorge de Burgos William Hickey....Ubertino da Casale Michael Habeck....Berenger Valentina Vargas....The Girl Ron Perlman....Salvatore F. Murray Abraham....Bernardo Gui Dwight Weist...Narrator/Voice of Adso as an Old Man
The DVD features several extras, including commentary by the director, Jean-Jacques Annaud, a 'making-of' featurette, and a photo album journey with director Jean-Jacques Annaud.
The Name of The Rose is a mediaeval murder mystery based on the novel of the same name by Italian journalist and semiotician Umberto Eco. It is based in the 14th century, in an italian monastery where dark deeds are afoot, and despite its rather slow pace, is an truly excellent movie. Sean Connery as the main star complained that only 5 people saw the movie when interviewed once and it is true that it was hardly a success on its release. Perhaps ... ...go, this is one of the more impressive of its kind and is one which any fan of the genre ought to be rushing out to check out right away - although obviously its not going to be everyone's cup of tea for a number of reasons outlined below.
The plot behind the movie is somewhat complicated and to be fair to you, the viewer(hopefully), I am not going to give the game away by saying to much. It a murder mystery after all, so if I go rambling on about ...
wampyrii 12.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Name Of The Rose (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: a fantastic story and a great role for Connery Disadvantages: a bit dark and gloomy in places
...thorn, they say and indeed The Name of the Rose possesses a spiky subject matter at the heart of its plot. Based on Unberto Eco's award winning novel this medieval murder mystery is a roller coaster ride of dark deeds and conspiracies in the cold cloisters and corridors of a monastery with a dreaded secret to hide. For those who like the Cadfael mystery series that became so popular a few years ago this will certainly hit the mark and although it ... ...has the advantage of some heavyweight names and a splendid directorial touch. Jean Jacques Annaud directs Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham and even a young Christian Slater to great affect and the cinematography is majestic in creating a paranoid and chilling frame for the actors to work within.
The film is set against the power struggles of the various religious orders that made up the Catholic Church, a time of the power of the Inquisitions when ...
steerpyke 27.03.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Name Of The Rose (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Good Story, creepy atmosphere, Connery's excellent acting, able support, score, camerawork Disadvantages: uneven directing, reminds you of a Sherlock Holmes story
I have yet to read the much respected Umberto Eco novel from where this film was adapted; and even though a lot of critics prefer the book to the film I'm just a little scared to do so.
The reason - well I loved the movie, even more so for Sean Connery temporarily moving away from the boring Hollywood glitz & his popular but sterile movie roles.
Yes I suppose the book is superior, but then most books usually are. Books are relatively cheap to publish; ... ...making it very understandable to the reader.
Trying to adapt such a book in its full glory would mean a film lasting about 7 or 8 hours at a cost of several million dollars. But who would honestly want to sit and watch that in one session?
So what we have instead is a watered-down sanitised version that I presume tries to keep key points from the book into sharp focus on film.
Connery is a 14th century monk, turned detective, called in to investigate ...
dreamstar70 26.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Name Of The Rose (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Beautifully shot, atmospheric and intelligent Disadvantages: Perhaps too intelligent for its own good
...adaption of his novel to the big screen captures all of the medieval mystery that shrouds an Italian Monastery on a wonderful canvas of atmospheric sets. Not much to say about the acting, other than fine preformances from Connery as William of Baskerville, the 'Sherlock Holmesian' sleuth who unravels the devilish goings on. Christian Slater is excellent as Baskerville's pupil, capturing that magical wonder and naievity separating adolesence from ... ...erie soundtrack that echoes the fear and mystery gripping the monastery. The Name of the Rose is an intelligent, well acted and beautifully shot movie, capturing the medieval fear of the unknown that existed at the time. But more than that, as a film, it get's Eco's message across: that the darkness of the unknown can ultimately be banished by the light of logic.
On a deeper level, Eco is trying to snapshot that moment in history when rationalism ...
cyrano 09.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Name Of The Rose (Special Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Sean Connery, creepy atmosphere, good plot Disadvantages: A bit slow at times.
...sight for sore eyes - the photography's fine, sometimes excellent - it's those ugly monks. They're everywhere. Mind you it adds to the uneasy atmosphere whipped up for this medieval whodunnit set in a huge Italian monastery. Sean Connery adds his much needed screen presence to the film and there is a fairly explicit sex scene involving Christian Bale which is at odds with the quietly disturbing atmosphere but should guarantee a female audience! If ...
JSpencer 14.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Name Of The Rose (Special Edition) (DVD)
Based on the bestseller by Umberto Eco and set in Italy in 1927, in which the brilliant English monk William of Baskerville must solve a series of bizarre murders at a medieval monastery.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
01/07/2006
No of Discs
2
Catalogue No
D 034476
Barcode
7321900344760
Composer
James Horner
Author
Umberto Eco
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Commentary - 1. Jean-Jacques Annaud - Director, Featurette - 1. PHOTO JOURNEY WITH JEAN-JACQUES ANNAUD (17 mins), Documentary - 1. THE ABBEY OF CRIME (German Documentary, Theatrical Trailer
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround English
DVD Description
Based on Umberto Eco's best-selling novel, THE NAME OF THE ROSE is a medieval whodunnit set in a 14th-century Italian monastery. Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and a young novice (Christian Slater) arrive for a conference to find that several monks have been brutally murdered. In his attempt to solve the crimes, bizarre murders attributed to the devil--he risks being burned for heresy by the holy inquisition. William must challenge the authority of the Catholic Church by eschewing religious fervor in favour of rational thought. Renowned for the performance of the young, virginal Slater in a graphic love scene.
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