The Name of the Rose (1986)

An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers:

Umberto Eco (novel), Andrew Birkin (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 15 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	William von Baskerville
Christian Slater	...	Adso von Melk
Helmut Qualtinger	...	Remigio de Varagine
Elya Baskin	...	Severinus
Michael Lonsdale	...	Der Abt
Volker Prechtel	...	Malachia
Feodor Chaliapin Jr.	...	Jorge de Burgos
William Hickey	...	Ubertino de Casale
Michael Habeck	...	Berengar
Urs Althaus	...	Venantius
Valentina Vargas	...	Das Mädchen
Ron Perlman	...	Salvatore
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Michele da Cesena
Franco Valobra	...	Jerome of Kaffa
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Hugh of Newcastle

Storyline

1327. After a mysterious death in a Benedictine Abbey, the monks are convinced that the apocalypse is coming. With the Abbey to play host to a council on the Franciscan's Order's belief that the Church should rid itself of wealth, William of Baskerville, a respected Franciscan friar, is asked to assist in determining the cause of the untimely death. Alas, more deaths occur as the investigation draws closer to uncovering the secret the Abbey wants hidden, and there is finally no stopping the Holy Inquisition from taking an active hand in the process. William and his young novice must race against time to prove the innocence of the unjustly accused and avoid the wrath of Holy Inquisitor Bernardo Gui.

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Plot Keywords:

middle ages | abbey | monk | franciscan | death | 

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Taglines:

They believed in God, but traded with the Devil.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany Italy France

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

24 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Name of the Rose

Filming Locations:

Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL 30,000,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$494,571, 28 September 1986, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,153,487

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, Cristaldifilm, Les Films Ariane

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The aged Adso narrates that this event took place in the year 1327. During the debate, the name Pope John was mentioned. Pope John XXII was the religious leader then.

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Goofs

At 1 hour, 48 minutes and 13 seconds, when brother Jorge de Burgos is speaking in the chapel, the "preservation, I say, not search for" shot shows his right eye a clear. The contact lens to make his eye like a blind man is missing. It is back with the next closeup shot of his face and missing again at the next shot showing his face when he speaks "that the bloody-eyed and cloven-hoofed Antichrist".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Voice of Adso as an Old Man: Having reached the end of my poor sinner's life, my hair now white, I prepare to leave on this parchment my testimony as to the wondrous and terrible events that I witnessed in my youth, towards the end of the year of our Lord 1327. May God grant me the wisdom and grace to be the faithful chronicler of the happenings that took place in a remote abbey in the dark north of Italy. An abbey whose name it seems, even now, pious and prudent to omit.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits read - A palimpsest of Umberto Eco's Novel The Name of the Rose

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Alternate Versions

Certain prints of the movie have the sex scene between Adso and The Girl removed in order to comply with local laws.

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Connections

Referenced in Finding Forrester (2000)

User Reviews

Great film based on a great book

I remember this film made a huge impression on me when I first saw it in the cinema almost 20 years ago. I think I watched it three times in a couple of months. Recently, I purchased the DVD and my memory did not prove me wrong, the film is still great. It is a quite free adaption of Umberto Eco's novel, and if you have just recently read it, you may be irritated by all the deviations from the story of the book. But it is important to remember that to fit a 600-page, quite academic novel into a two-hour movie one just have to make adjustments. In fact, I have to admit that I think the movie is superior to the book. The book is very good indeed, but to my taste slightly too dry. The movie is perhaps more "shallow", but it has a totally unique atmosphere and an exciting plot. Sean Connery does one of his best, if not the best, role as a combination of Sherlock Holmes and a medieval philosopher. Very entertaining indeed! If you buy the DVD, the extra material is almost as interesting as the movie itself. The almost two-hour interview with the director Annaud is very inspiring, and he really comes over as almost a renaissance man. Very thoughtful, yet energetic and with a real purpose to his work. I remember when I first saw the movie, that I felt I had never seen any movie which so convincingly pictured life in the middle ages. When we hear about all the painstaking work that went into making the movie historically correct, this is no surprise.