Plot Summary
After
a mysterious death in a Dominican Abbey, 1347, the monks are convinced that
the apocalypse is coming. With the Abbey to play host to a council on the
Franciscan's Order's belief that the Church should rid itself of wealth,
William of Baskerville, a respected Franciscan monk, is asked to assist
in determining the cause of the untimely death. Alas, more deaths occur
as the investigation draws closer to uncovering the secret the Abbey wants
hidden, and there is finally no stopping the Holy Inquisition from taking
an active hand in the process. William and his young novice must race against
time to prove the innocence of the unjustly accused, and avoid the wrath
of Holy Inquisitor Bernardo Gui.
Summary
written by Rick Munoz
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Trivia
•
In early November 1985, Ron received a phone-call at seven in the morning,
offering him the role of Salvatore in The Name of the Rose on one
condition - he had to be on the plane to Frankfurt at three pm the same
day. He caught the plane.
•
Ron had previously worked with the distinguished stage actor F. Murray
Abraham in the production of Teibele and her Demon on Broadway in
1979.
•
William the Baskerville amazes himself when discovering a book in
a version commented by a certain "Umberto of Bologna" - a reference to Umberto
Eco, who teaches at the University of Bologna and is the author of the book
the movie is based on.
• Michael Caine was the first choice to play William of Baskerville.
• Christian Slater was only 15 years
old when he did his nude scene in this film with actress Valentina Vargas
who was 22 at the time.
• "The Girl" (Valentina Vargas) is the only female character
in the film, and she does not speak.
•
Jean Jacques Annaud could not find an existing monastery to satisfy his
vision for the film. The monastery in the film was a set built just for
the movie.
•
Sean Connery's career was at such a low point when he read for the role
that Columbia pictures refused to finance the film when director Jean Jacques
Annaud cast him as William of Baskerville.
