The Name of the Rose
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Movie Reviews of The Name of the Rose
Movie Review: Brilliantly Forceful Cinematic Experience...
Summary: 5 Stars
Name of the Rose is set in a Benedictine Abbey located in the Italian Alps in the early 14th century, the Dark Ages. The Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) arrives together with his apprentice, Adso von Melk (Christian Slater) as he was summoned by the Catholic Church to help defend the Franciscan order's religious philosophy. The Franciscan order believes that when Christ was born and lived he did not live a life of wealth and thus the Catholic Church should show an example by not living a life of wealth. The Catholic Church resists this notion as they insist that the Catholic Church does not have to be poor and it can be seen in the status among the monks and other Catholic leaders as they wear fancy clothing, eat well, and have gold in an abundance. The different Catholic leaders gathered gold through praying for farmers crops, collecting taxes, and much more while the people are living in fear of going to hell. Baskerville arrives a couple of days early to study some of the well-known literary treasures that are hidden within the walls of the Abbey. Shortly after Baskerville and his apprentice have arrived rumors spread as Baskerville's presence is well-known since he is a man of wisdom who has also read the forbidden books. To Baskerville's dismay he finds out that a few selected people are only allowed into the library, which seems highly peculiar to the well-read Franciscan monk. In addition, it also appears as if the forces of evil are in the works within the Abbey as a man seems to have died from an unexplainable fall, which is followed by another mysterious death.
Name of the Rose is a powerful film with strong political themes of how to get the commoners to pay for their faith or to stay with the faith in god as their savior. Annaud does a brilliant job of piecing the story together as there is a multitude of strong messages that he conveys in a straight forward manner, yet he offers more for those who want more underneath the surface through cerebral participation. An interesting notion is the muffled participation of the female characters, which brings about a strong patriarchal environment where wrong said words could mean certain death. When the end credits have rolled through, the audience has experienced a suspenseful drama of high caliber that will offer much thought for those who seek further enlightenment in subsequent discussions.
Movie Review: Great treatment of the novel and novel notes
Summary: 5 Stars
Watched this with a History of Philosophy class after finishing the Medieval Period on the suggestion of one of the students. It was a great choice to end the semester although one of the things I had been trying to suggest was that things were not quite as bad all of the time during the so called Dark Ages as people make out only to have this very dark film make all of that a lost cause. But seeing it was a great stimulus to use some of the Holiday Break to read the book which was much better than the movie - of course. Still, I will always imagine William as Sean.
Was inspired to read the book after seeing the movie (and Amazon wouldn't let me make a seperate review for the book added this here) and hearing that the book was better than the movie. Since the movie was great - and I will always think of William as Sean Connery - I enjoyed the book more. But the puzzles and the embedded history of the monasteries is terrific. Of course that inspired various Internet explorations especially of the monastery of Melk. Being familiar with Aquinas, Occam, and Abelard also helped. But there were lots of questions raised by the book that another commentator suggested are answered in Foucault's Pendulum so finishing the book sent me in that direction. This left me with an Eco in my head the whole holiday break. But it was well worth it. Two more Eco novels are in the mail for me thanks to Amazon. But one issue was interesting: plagiarism in fiction. An example from the book "Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus." (There are lots of interesting things back and forth on the meaning of this since it seems to imply something meaningful regarding the point of the book "The Name of the Rose" including Umberto's response to inquiries about it.) But the phrase almost in toto comes from Bernard of Cluny except "Roma" vice "rosa". Is this common knowledge as a phrase? It seems so. But to be sure, footnotes do not seem required in fiction. At what point should there be references to works used in writing a novel?
Movie Review: Great Movie based on a great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most unusual stories that I have ever read and was surprised that they made it into a movie. Its not what you would call pop literature and The movie follows the book rather closely. The story take place in northern Italy around the year 1200. The story is about a senior monk and scholar who has been entrusted with the rearing and education of a novice and takes him to a monastery where he has been summoned to investigate the strange goings on there. The matter becomes very complicated and many people have much to hide.
The movie has everything going for it. The locations and the filming are excellent. The soundtrack fits perfectly with the locations and the historical times and sets the mood to fit. Such a great story and production should have a great cast.....and it does. Sean Connery, Christian Slater,
Michael lonsdale, Ron Perlman, F. Murray Abraham. The acting reflects the quality of the actors here and it is first rate. There have been critics who did not like F. Murray Abrahams acting because they said he was over acting. Those people just did not get it. He was playing a man who was a politically motivated inquisitor and was constantly acting in an insincere fashion. He got that point across to me perfectly. His acting here is brilliant its like a window to the mind and the motivation of the man he is playing.
This is one of the greatest fims ever made but its not casual viewing by any means and is not good if your looking for sheer entertainment. I would add that this not for the whole family. There is a sexual scene in here. Its actually Love with a capitol L, and its passionate but its in there and you may want to consider that before you sit the whole family down to watch.
I would add That The film Transfer was excellent and so was the sound. If You read and liked the book you cant go wrong here or if you like arthouse or historical flicks.
Movie Review: The Middle Ages come alive!
Summary: 5 Stars
Definitely a great mystery and one of my personal favorites, The Name of the Rose, brings to the screen the adaptation of Umberto Eco's book about a series of crimes that are committed in a remote Benedictine monastery in Italy during the fourteenth century, at a time when Western Europe is making the transition from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance Era.
The movie does a GREAT job of presenting us with the eerie feeling of being isolated in a dreary Catholic medieval monastery. The viewer actually feels that they have been transported to medieval Italy and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense.
The director successfully conveys the sense of hopelessness at the hands of the clergy and especially the Holly Inquisition. Moreover, one clearly sees the firm grasp that the Catholic Church had on the local population telling them what to do, when to do it, and how to it. All knowledge censored in an effort to prevent people from questioning and challenging the authority and the teachings of the Church. Ancient Greek philosophy, even drama, and in this case comedy were kept under lock and key.
Sean Connery, Christian Slater as well as the rest of the cast's performances are outstanding, making this movie one of the best of its kind. The actors' incredible talent and chemistry clearly shows, thus providing a film that can be watched over and over again.
The setting, the plot, the acting, the dialogues, and the costumes are all wonderful!
A great movie indeed!
As for the previous "bashful" reviewer's comments, who is offended by human nudity, they are not even worth elaborating on... A shame really...
Movie Review: Unforgettably wrenching
Summary: 5 Stars
It takes a special film to draw a modern viewer into a story about a monastery in the Dark Ages. Well, this is a very, very special film, in my mind the highlight of Sean Connery's spotty post-Bond film career.
Connery stars as an investigator who has fallen into disrepute, and who is now mentoring a young monk played by Christian Slater. They have been summoned to a monastery to solve a series of murders. We find this isolated place populated by the castoffs of society, faces whom we would find ugly by modern standards and who seem to all be hiding something.
As the story unfolds we are struck by the pecking order in this odd hierarchy and the unblinking exposure of how these sometimes pious, sometimes lost souls eke out an existence in a male-only closed society. The secrets and the revelations are equally chilling and fascinating.
Ultimately the Inquisition gets involved, with the icy F. Murray Abraham heading the way. Wouldn't you know, FMA has a personal vendetta against Connery, and we see first-hand why the Inquisition earned such a bad name for itself. Wrapping a witch hunt inside political motives with personal agendas, well, somewhere God got lost in that little venture.
Somewhere along the way is an incomprehensible romance, and that's the way romance should be for these men who have sworn to shun romance forever, favoring instead a life of cloistered prayer, study, work, obedience, and obeisance. I too will never forget she who was known as The Rose.