The Name of the Rose (film)
| The Name of the Rose | |
|---|---|
 original film poster | |
| Directed by | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Written by | Umberto Eco |
| Produced by | Bernd Eichinger |
| Starring | Sean Connery Christian Slater Michael Lonsdale Ron Perlman F. Murray Abraham |
| Cinematography | Tonino Delli Colli |
| Edited by | Jane Seitz |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox (later sold to Warner Brothers) |
Release dates | September 24, 1986 |
Running time | 126 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler William of Baskerville and his apprentice Adso of Melk (narrating as an old man, it later transpires) arrive at an abbey where a mysterious death has occurred ahead of an important Church conference. William, known for his deductive and analytic mind, confronts the worried Abbot and gains permission to investigate the death – a young translator appears to have committed suicide. Over the next few days, several other bizarre deaths occur, and the two discover that not everything is what it seems in the abbey.
Investigating and keen to head off accusations of demonic possession (which nevertheless eventually leads to the burning of two innocent men at the stake) the protagonists discover and explore a labyrinthine medieval library, constructed on multiple levels in the abbey's forbidden principal tower. It becomes clear that the only remaining copy of Aristotle's Second Book of Poetics is somehow related to the deaths. William deduces, thanks to a scrap of parchment with hastily written notes, that all of those who died under mysterious circumstances had read the book. His investigations are curtailed by the arrival of Bernard Gui of the Inquisition, summoned for the conference and keen to investigate the deaths. The two men have clashed in the past and the zealous inquisitor has no time for theories outside his own: that The Devil is responsible – and torture will reveal the truth.
Ascending the forbidden library, William and Adso come face to face with the Venerable Jorge, the most ancient denizen of the abbey, who reveals the book, which contains a description of comedy and how it may be used to teach. Being afraid of laughter and comedy – the traditionalist firmly asserts that Christ never laughed and jocularity is a blasphemous sin – Jorge has poisoned the pages to avoid the spread of what he considers dangerous ideas. (A common method of reading books at the time was to lick one's finger to moisten it in order to turn the pages; when the page corners were poisoned, the reader licking his poisoned finger died soon thereafter.)
Realising that William knows of the poisoned pages and will not fall for the same trick, Jorge throws over a candle, starting a blaze that spreads quickly in the tower, the internal structure of which is completely made of wood. As it contains innumerable rare and unique books of infinite value, this devastates William, who insists Adso flee while he desperately tries to save as many tomes as possible. The fire destroys both Jorge and the Second Book of the Poetics, but miraculously William does make it out with a few precious books. Facing a local rebellion due to his harsh methods, Bernard Gui is fortunately denied his revenge on William and forced to flee – but dies horribly at the hands of the mob. Later, William and Adso take their leave – the latter having lost his heart and virginity to a semi-feral local girl (possibly the rose) whom he nevertheless turns his back on in favour of remaining with William and his calling.
Cast
(in credits order)
- Sean Connery - William of Baskerville
- Christian Slater - Adso of Melk
- Michael Lonsdale - The Abbot
- Helmut Qualtinger - Remigio da Varagine
- Elya Baskin - Severinus
- Volker Prechtel - Malachia
- Feodor Chaliapin, Jr.- Jorge de Burgos
- Mark Bellinghaus Jorge's Novice
- William Hickey - Ubertino da Casale
- Michael Habeck - Berenger
- Urs Althaus - Venantius
- Valentina Vargas - The Girl
- Ron Perlman - Salvatore
- Leopoldo Trieste - Michele da Cesena
- Franco Valobra - Jerome of Kaffa
- Vernon Dobtcheff - Hugh of Newcastle
- Donald O'Brien - Pietro d'Assisi (as Donal O'Brian)
- Andrew Birkin - Cuthbert of Winchester
- F. Murray Abraham - Bernardo Gui
- Lucien Bodard - Cardinal Bertrand
- Peter Berling - Jean d'Anneaux
- Pete Lancaster - Bishop of Alborea
- Dwight Weist - Voice of Adso as an Old Man (voice)
Awards
- The film was awarded the César for best foreign film.
- The film was awarded two BAFTAs. Sean Connery for best actor, and Hasso von Hugo won Best Make Up Artist.
Trivia
- The film has a controversial scene in which Christian Slater, as Adso, has an explicit sexual encounter with a peasant girl played by Valentina Vargas. We cannot be sure whether Slater was 15 or 16 years old when this scene was filmed, but he once claimed that he lost his virginity in this scene, although some have raised doubts that he and Vargas actually had sex.
- Though there were scattered Inquisition-like activities in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in northern Italy, the film's description of a centralized Inquisition structure is anachronistic, as such an organization only began to exist in Spain approximately one hundred years after the film's setting.
- Helmut Qualtinger was seriously ill during the filming and in fact died only a few hours after shooting his last scene. He frequently had to interrupt his dialogue because of the pain he was in.
See also
External links
