The Name of the Rose

Umberto Eco certainly wrote a great template - and I will definitely get to it one day - but this movie is also great. One would not believe that this detective story will actually be entertaining, thrilling, frightening, and on top of it all, it will have a deeper meaning in how it leans on faith and on the individual. A great genre blend that works perfectly. (03/09/2015)

Annaud does not present us, like most other filmmakers, with a slick medievalism, but with a dirty era, dirty and ugly people, his vision of the Middle Ages is flawless. Connery's scholarly demeanor exudes respect and wisdom, I'd go to hell and back with him. The book is supposedly much better, but those who haven't read it may not care, the film is excellent. (05/08/2003)

Annaud's vision of the Middle Ages as dirty and harsh is remarkable and captivates the viewer right from the start. The portrayal of the characters is also solid – I haven't read the book, which obviously affects my objectivity. However, the brilliant first half is followed by a noticeably boring part. Although the mysteries and puzzles around the murders are revealed, I still occasionally couldn't help but feel bored. I don't have much to say about the ending and it fits the film quite well. And even though The Name of the Rose is undoubtedly a quality piece of filmmaking, one viewing is enough for me in this case. Annaud is one of the few filmmakers who shows us the Middle Ages with a maximum dose of brutality and reality, but personally, it didn't appeal to me as much as I would have expected from a director of his caliber. (11/15/2005)

There’s no comparison with Eco's amazing novel – if some foolish filmmaker decided to quote the famous book in all its plot levels, from the epic one embracing the detective plot and the investigation of the murders in the abbey to the philosophical one, where the characters talk at length about the basic theological issues of the time, and retain the overall structure, atmosphere and historical value of the story, the project would have to be stretched into at least a seven-part series, with each episode easily exceeding 90 minutes. Instead of that, Annaud very cleverly forged his own path through the dirty, unwelcoming and fog-shrouded abbey, highlighting the importance of the detective storyline, which was just one of many in the novel, and cleverly amplifying the significance of the character of the fanatical inquisitor Bernard Gui, who becomes the most sinister villain and poses a tangible, physical danger to the "medieval Sherlock" William of Baskerville. The narrative is gripping and the script fulfils its purpose within its stated aim: to present the audience with an image of a typical medieval abbey, to trap the villain using the intellect of the central duo, to highlight the role of love in the midst of religious fanaticism and to punish and show the monstrosity and inhumanity of the church tyrants of the time. The story retains its compactness and atmosphere, and is also favourable to the proponents of the book's premise, as it is not literal in its secondary motifs and relies precisely on the familiarity and insight of the viewer. There is no need to talk about the brilliant cinematography, capable of inducing vertigo with circular raids on the abbey or, on the contrary, claustrophobic feelings just by creeping movement inside the labyrinth, as well as about the absolutely fabulous cast, from the charismatic Connery to the truly diabolical Abraham to the delectable and funny creation of Ron Perlman... I greatly respect and admire Umberto Eco's book, but I absolutely love this film... 100% (09/26/2012)

I remember almost nothing of the book, which I once read in high school and now understandably want to reread, and maybe that's for the best. I didn't have to compare what was different in the film and what didn't get into it, and I just watched it tensely and had fun for two hours. The film is an excellent medieval detective story with an overlap for a slightly more knowledgeable viewer, has a million-dollar atmosphere and a first-class cast with Sean Connery in the main super role. (11/06/2016)