Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #943 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English, Latin
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly 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 whodunit set in a grimly and grimily realistic 14th-century Benedictine monastery populated by a parade of grotesque characters, all of whom spend their time lurking in dark places or scuttling, half-unseen, in the omnipresent gloom. A series of mysterious and gruesome deaths are somehow tied up with the unwelcome attention of the Inquisition, sent to root out suspected heretical behavior among the monastic scribes whose lives are dedicated to transcribing ancient manuscripts for their famous library, access to which is prevented by an ingenious maze-like layout.

Enter Sean Connery as investigator-monk William of Baskerville (the Sherlock Holmes connection made explicit in his name) and his naive young assistant Adso (a youthful Christian Slater). The Grand Inquisitor Bernado Gui (F. Murray Abraham) suspects devilry; but William and Adso, using Holmesian forensic techniques, uncover a much more human cause: the secrets of the library are being protected at a terrible cost. A fine international cast and the splendidly evocative location compensate for a screenplay that struggles to present Eco's multifaceted story even partially intact; Annaud's idiosyncratic direction complements the sinister, unsettling aura of the tale ideally. --Mark Walker

Synopsis
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.

Customer Reviews

In the name of the bad film
I was being lazy when I chose to rent this DVD. I've decided to make a short cut and not to read the source novel (because anyone who's read Umberto Eco's wordy work will appreciate that it is a full time job in itself) but to watch the adaptation instead, and what a bitter disappointment it was. It's just a complete parody on "the Medieval" , Connery who is not one of my favourite actors in any event is just plain hideous and proves the point that he is not cut out for roles of this calibre. So, now I'd have to read the book after all just to see what I've missed. Moral: never make the short cuts!

A good adaptation
The source novel being perhaps my favourite of all time, I'm glad to report that this is a film adaptation that is faithful to the essence and the key elements of Eco's book. The cinematography and casting are spot-on (Hellboy as Salvatore!). Jean-Jacques Annaud does a fine job in balancing the intertwined plot strands of the murder mystery and the theological debate, and - dare I say it - ties it all together in a more satisfying conclusion than in the book.

Kind of slow, always interesting, very atmospheric
The atmosphere in Name of the Rose is brilliant. A murky palette of greys and browns dominate the landscape, perfectly echoing the barron natures of the corrupt and morally vacuous monks.

It's a slow build, but this doesn't matter. It draws you in and doesn't disappoint or fall back on nonsensical plot twists. Pretty powerful cinema.

One gripe is Christian Slater's accent, which isn't always consistent, but he was 15 when he made this, so I'll let him off!

On a more shallow note, this film has to have the widest selection of weird looking faces in a movie ever! They must have done a global search for 'faces with character' for this movie.