The Name of the Rose (original title, Der Name der Rose) is a German-French-Italian 1986 film, directed 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, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a Medieval abbey.
Synopsis
Synopsis
William of Baskerville and his apprentice Adso of Melk (narrating as an old man, it later transpires) arrive at a Benedictine 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 illuminator 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.
The two also make the acquaintance of Salvatore (played by Ron Perlman), a demented hunchback who spews forth gibberish in various languages, and his handler and protector, Remigio da Varagine (Helmut Qualtinger) who, as events prove, also has a shady past. William quickly deduces that Salvatore had once been a member of a heretical sect and infers that Remigio likewise had been involved. He suspects that they may have been involved in the killings.
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 Bernardo Gui of the Inquisition, summoned for the conference and keen to investigate the deaths. The two men 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.
To their great misfortune, Salvatore and a semi-feral local girl are found fighting over meat while in the presence of candles and a black cat. Bernardo Gui sees this as irrefutable proof that they are in league with Satan and, along with Remigio, he has them manacled and subjected to "questioning". Grisly scenes ensue showing Salvatore being branded and his arms and hands mangled by the inquisitors. He is then dragged into a kangaroo court tribunal and unsuccessfully prompted by Gui to implicate his partner and the girl who is lying unconscious on the floor.
It is obvious that Salvatore has been driven insane as a result of Gui's torture, prompting Remigio to later scream, "The devil I renounce is you, Bernardo Gui!" At first Remigio shows nothing but contempt for his tormentors and brags about spending most of his life shaking down the poor in the name of the Church and its corrupt officials. But then he is "shown the instruments of Inquisition" and he begins to wildly confess to every insane suggestion that Gui throws his way. It is soon clear that Gui also seeks to implicate and destroy Brother William.
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.)
William of Baskerville and his apprentice Adso of Melk 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, Bernardo 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 the wild 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 exterior of the monastery seen in the film was constructed on a hilltop outside Rome, and ended up being the biggest exterior set built in Europe since “Cleopatra”.
The interiors were shot at Eberbach Abbey, Germany.
The director of the movie, Jean-Jacques Annaud spent four years preparing the film, traveling throughout the United States as well as Europe, searching for the perfect cast and film set locations.
Annaud once told Umberto Eco that he was convinced the book was written for only one person to direct, that is to say himself. He felt personally intrigued by the project, among other things because of a life-long fascination with medieval churches and a great familiarity with Latin and Greek.
Major changes from the book
The film has a much more simplified plot, with far more action in it.
A lengthy dream sequence near the end (Terce of the sixth day) dreamt by Adso is non-existent in the film. It is mostly based, William tells Adso, on the Coena Cypriani, which illustrates a comedic assembly of many biblical characters. There are several versions, one of which is found bound together with Aristotle's Poetics, and its popularity shows how comedy attracts the attention of the young. Adso was very familiar with this text; Jorge was disgusted by it.
In the book, the Abbot explicitly assigns William as an investigator and orders everyone to help him if he requests something. He also explicitly tells that entering the aedificium is forbidden in the evenings.
A major character (and suspect) from the book is omitted in the film adaptation: Benno of Uppsala, who even joins William and Adso for a short period of their investigation. He runs into the library as the abbey burns, presumably dying when the floor collapses.
The Abbot is the sixth victim in the book, whereas in the film he just stops appearing.
A lot of dialogue regarding religion and comedy, as well as much discussion by the main characters about the current time period and the heretics is cut drastically down.
Jorge's motivation is reduced by cutting out the history of the Abbey librarians, who traditionally later become the Abbots. This takes with it the history of Jorge being passed over for that position, and his subsequently setting up the current Abbot, Librarian, and Assistant as puppets. The sermon that Jorge gives on the apocalypse and the ruin of the Abby because of its pursuit for knowledge is reduced to an exclamation during the panic following Malachi's death.
The most notable of changes is the ending: the film has Remigio and Salvatore being burnt at the stake by Bernardo Gui, who is killed by peasants before being able to burn The Girl. In the book, Gui does not die, and he takes Remigio, The Girl and Salvatore with him and his escorts. Remigio is taken to Avignon, the seat of the pope, for a final trial before he is burnt. William tells Adso that Gui will burn The Girl on the way, and that Salvatore, who is supposedly forgiven, may or may not be burnt as well.
See also
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Umberto Eco
The Name of the Rose at the Internet Movie Database
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