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 von 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 Italian

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:

ITL30,000,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$494,571, 28 September 1986

Gross USA:

$7,153,487

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,153,487

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

According to the DVD commentary by Director Jean-Jacques Annaud, F. Murray Abraham, who had recently won an Academy Award for his performance in Amadeus (1984), was extremely difficult with whom to work. The actor was apparently keen to remark that he was an Academy Award winner, while Sir Sean Connery was not. Ironically, Connery won an Academy Award the following year for his performance in The Untouchables (1987).

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Goofs

As Brother William first enters the abbey he passes a blacksmith beating a piece of obviously cold metal. Such an action would be useless. The metal must be hot to be malleable.

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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

Featured in Sean Connery: A BAFTA Tribute (1990)

User Reviews

The Name of The Rose is a superb film but requires thinking.

A murder mystery set in a monastery in the late middle ages, at a time when the Franciscan order and the Holy Inquisition were at odds, mostly over the extravagances of the Papacy, is a dark and moody film, which matches the period of the story well. Once again Sean Connery takes a difficult role and makes it uniquely his. Fifteen year old Christian Slater is seen in his breakout role. But the real star of the film is the library of the monastery, a labyrinthine building that is many floors high and created with stairways that seem to always lead away from where you want to go. I found the book, frankly tedious. Umberto Eco writes in a style that is very pedantic at times, and just plain confusing at others. But the story translated well to the screen, but you must be willing to exhaust a little brain sweat to get anything out of the story. Be well rested before you watch this one.