Rating: 
Summary: Name Of the Rose had me longing for Cadfael
Review: Name Of The Rose had me feeling left in the dark in more ways then one. First is the setting, the movie was actually shot in a old medieval monastary, a big mistake on thier part. The lighting was not well done and had me feeling like I was in the dark ages, rather then the middle ages. Another draw back to this movie is that it moves much to slow for a typical murder mystery, by the middle of the movie I don't really care any longer "Whodunit". There is one person who I particualy enjoyed in this movie. This was acadamy award winning F. Murray Abraham who plays the fanatical inquisitor, Bernardo Gui. he is very convincing ( as always) in this role, almost to the point of being downright scary. Young Christian Slater is also very good in his role as the young novice, but I felt no connection at all to Sean Connery who played William Of Baskerville, the detective monk. He is far too cold and distant to be a good detective character. I feel like in this movie they are trying to take on more then they can handle, in addition to the murder mystery ( which alone, should be enough in itself), there is a whole section of the movie devoted to a inquisition trial and another devoted to debate on various medieval church issues, ones that will have someone whom is not up on he history of the middle ages questioning what is going on. Even as a history buff, I found myself bored and uninterested. My recommendation is skip Name of The Rose and watch Derek Jacobi as Cadfael instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A mystery to keep you in suspense
Review: I am not a Sean Connery fan nor do I like James Bond movies. But Connery was fabulous in this movie. He was so perfect for this part and carried it off without a hitch. I can't imagine any actor having done a better job!The storyline is riveting. I am a mystery buff and do a lot of mystery/murder reviews. This is as good as they get. I can recommend it to anyone that likes mystery and suspense. The scenery and sets were especially commendable. I really got into their interpretation of the dark, dreary monastery.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, but Great
Review: The Name of the Rose is a great film, though some may think it slow. One of its best attributes is its realism. Its' characters really seem like they stepped out of the middle ages. These characters look, speak, and act as one might expect from this age. It is an excellent production as well. The plot and dialogue are thoughtful. The visual scenery helps much to set a proper mood. It is graphic enough to have the kind of impact it needs as a mystery/suspense movie. Its' plot evolves nicely as the mystery of the Abbey unfolds. Every actor, particularly Connery and Slater, delivers a sound performance. Each character displays the seriousness one would expect from members of medieval religious orders, yet their emotions do show through at times, revealing the feelings that reside behind their clerical exteriors. This film is outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing true classic!
Review: Those who have read the amazing novel of Umberto Eco's The name of the rose should watch this screen adaptation. In my opinion the director Jean-Jacques Annaud has done a very good job here. I... Sean Connery lived upto my expectations as William. Connery has done a wonderful job here & F. Murray Abraham too has given a wonderful performance as the wicked Bernardo Gui. The original musical score by James Horner is terrific! It's very addictive. Those people who loves to watch Sean Connery's movies should watch this one. It's worth paying money for.
Rating:
Summary: This movie stands on its own
Review: First of all, I never compare a movie to the book it's based on. If you compare any movie to a book you thoroughly enjoyed, then you are generally disappointed because of the deviations. A movie can't encompass a complete book without becoming a series of movies. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable. Sean Connery, who's acting as matured and improved with age, manages to strike a balance between wit and piety. Christian Slater's performance is quite believable as well as a young man becoming aware of himself and the world. The background is sombre as it would have been in an abby of the time and the mystery keeps you interested. I do agree that the sceen between Christian Slater and the peasant girl was not presented in a tender fashion at all, but almost as an asault. The ending might have been better, but the narrative does indicate some feeling of remorse at at least not knowing her name. All-in-all, it is an enjoyable movie you should view on it's own merrits, not comparing it with the book that inspired it.
Rating:
Summary: This was the Church in the Middle Ages
Review: The performances were great. However, this film ( I did not read the book ) adheres to all my research on the corruption of the Roman Church which is actually the continuation of the Roman Empire. These types of events went on for hundreds of years as the actual words of the apostles were kept from the people. Thanks to the Greeks, the actual manuscripts of the life and teachings of Jesus were saved. This film is a remarkable recount of the evils of the church prior to the Reformation. When I was a child this type of film, book, or similar description of the truth of the behavior of the clergy would have been banned by every Roman Church. Thanks to Sean Connery, a Christian from the Reformation faith, we all can get a glimse of reality.
Rating:
Summary: Moody and well-directed, but too much hollywood gloss
Review: The dark abbeys and cloisters of Jean-Jacques Annaud's "The Name of the Rose" are fairly adept at inspiring the feelings of dread and antiquity that Eco's masterpiece builds. Unfortunately Annaud and his screenwriters squander any chance at making a truly superior movie by pandering to cheap hollywood product. The original novel, set in the 14th century, was ostensibly about a young monk-in-training Adso who is sent to mentor under wise Fransican monk who turns out to be a Sherlock Holmes in robes (named William de Baskerville, wink wink). They end up in a remote convent which happens to have the greatest library in the Christian world, including many books full of heresies. Before they have time to blow the dust off a handwritten Baghavad-Gita, Baskerville's renowned cleverness is soon applied to a series of gruesome murders. In his original novel, Eco takes us on many diverting intellectual side pursuits, from the more pedantic debates regarding the nature of the trinity, to the principal "papacy vs. the people" debates. In between the debates and quoted latin, the book is really about Adso's touching growth into manhood intermingled with an above-average murder mystery. In general Sean Connery's performance is well-rounded, whimsical and with the right touch of humility. He makes a great William, and its truly with him that we trust we are seeing the character Eco wrote about. A young Christian Slater lays the foundation for his future acting technique here in this movie, which is to look wild-eyed and surprised when any emotions are required of him, but he's a tolerable Adso. Besides Connery, the best things this movie has going for it are its atmosphere and visual style, and the fantastic supporting performance of Ron Perlman, who creates an appropriately revolting and pathetic Remigio. One of my biggest obstacles to comparing this movie to the book is the love scene between an almost embryonic Christian Slater (body doubles must have been used) and the unnamed, but appropriately ... peasant girl. In Eco's novel the scene is handled with such tenderness and beauty it moves one almost to tears. We feel Adso's plight and the weight of his humanity as his world come crashing down all around him, and his world changes forever. Its one of the most important things to happen to that character, and one of the most moving passages Eco has ever written. The ...explicit titillation offered by this movie does not compare in the slightest. The text should be a starting point for anyone who is proclaiming this movie to be truly great. As reviewer JSapp above rightfully points out, the ending is horribly deviated from the book, more "Die Hard" than "Citizen Kane." But much worse, the movie fails utterly at capturing the rapturous intellectual ... that Eco's prose engages us in. While reading the book it may be too much history at points, it lends the conclusion the dramatic impact it needs to be successful. It makes Adso's actions at the end palpable. In a cloistered world that hoarded and thrived upon knowledge to extremes, atmosphere is a helpful, but only a secondary concern.
Rating:
Summary: A View from Afar
Review: The seduction of history for me is to be drawn through a window into the past or future and be immersed in a "real" experience, whether it be A.D. 1327, 1984 or 2010. Umberto Eco's first novel, The Name of the Rose (1980, Italian), certainly accomplishes this seduction. The movie (1986) is visual and intellectual chocolate for us adicts. Sean Connery is our medieval Sherlock Holmes. Christian Slater's apprentice fleshes out our own visceral involvement, and the abominable blind cleric embodies an iron-willed caricature of the medieval church. A rare book dealer of acquaintance loved the film and suffered through the destruction of the library. Did this film ever make it at the movies? Or did the TIME magazine/Catholic church cartel ensure losses at the box office? The film and the book are pearls of fair price among rhinestones. Bring on the DVD, and entice us with background data.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie for adult history course
Review: For several years I have used this movie in an introductory, graduate level course for church history and theology. The historical details are correct and all the main characters well-known medieval figures. [William, played by Sean Connery, is actually William of Ockham, a late medieval thinker much disliked by those who subscribe to a traditional school of medieval interpretation.] The movie conveys the people, movements, and church politics of the era. Even more, it conveys the atmosphere of the late medieval period and the personalities of the various religious orders.
Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes Meets the Inquisition
Review: An outstanding & thought-provoking piece of work with one of the few really great actors in the main role.
Its not your father's Oldsmobile, nor movie. Sherlock Holmes meets the Inquisition.
A breath of fresh air. I can't fathom why it is rated R.
I guess it questions & explores the periphery of religion just enough to upset bible-belt fantasies. Gives a fairly accurate assessment of what the middle ages were like from all my detail reading. Too many movies feel like they are paced by people that do television shows -
gotta be in 10 minute segments & have that unresolved hook that leads to the commercials & entices you to stay tuned.
Pretty soon people can't live without that bounding box. This movie is for those that can. Its one of the few movies I can see adding to my DVD library.
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