The Name Of The Rose / Der Name der Rose

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 24, 1986

DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004

Plot 411: Unexplained deaths at an abbey create an interesting whodunit for a Franciscan monk and his apprentice.

Review: Almost a decade after I first saw a portion of this film in a college history class I have finally watched it all the way through. Depsite the passage of time, this movie still holds a sort of fascination for me. It mixes religious and historical references with a modern-day murder mystery that surely makes it more reachable to a larger segment of the viewing audience. Sean Connery is William, a Franciscan monk who travels to a remote abbey for a religious conference. Accompanying him is a very young Christian Slater, who plays William's apprentice Adso. When they arrive, William discovers from the abbot that there has been a mysterious death of one of the monks. This death has caused an upheaval among his ranks, and he asks William to uncover the truth of the mystery before the rest of the conference attendees arrive. With each passing day, another brother is found dead and the frenzy among the monks increases. The movie is a thrilling adaption of a book by Umberto Eco with the same name. It highlights the hypocricy, fanaticism and downright sinful behavior that can plague Christianity (and any other religion) when ideals become warped to fit ulterior motives. It also portrays the sheer power of the Church over the people, the poverty faced by the lower strata of society and the vastly differing beliefs found within Christianity.

Watch It: For Connery in all of his accented greatness if you consider yourself to be one of those highbrow moviegoers. For the rest of us, watch it for Slater's hot (albeit very white) ass . . . . Oh, and a cool religious murder mystery pre-Da Vinci Code.

Skip It: If your TV sucsk because a lot of the scenes are dimly lit and difficult to see.