The Name of the Rose

French director Jean-Jacques Annaud (and four screenwriters) labored mightily on this 1986 adaptation of Umberto Eco's international bestseller, a murder mystery that unfolds in an Italian abbey during the dark days of the Inquisition. While their efforts weren't totally successful--at the time many critics and moviegoers found the film confusing and occasionally ponderous--the intervening two decades have been kind to The Name of the Rose, and today it can be appreciated as something of a genre-bending landmark. Sean Connery delivers one of his most charismatic performances as the English Franciscan monk William of Baskerville, who arrives with his novice (a nearly unrecognizable Christian Slater) on the eve of a conclave at the abbey only to become caught up in the intrigue surrounding a series of murders. William brings an intellectual rigor to his investigation that doesn't sit well with an Inquisitor (F. Murray Abraham), who sees Satan as the instigator of the vile crimes, and the clashes between Connery and Abraham alone are worth the price of the DVD (and the monk's elaborate ratiocination makes him a medieval Sherlock Holmes whose periodic chiding of his young “Watson” is an ongoing delight). Granted, the film's pace, like its setting, is stately; nonetheless, this Rose, by any other name, is a complex whodunit that will engage mystery-loving viewers from the first reel. Boasting a decent widescreen transfer, the DVD extras on this disc include audio commentary by Annaud and a vintage "making-of" documentary. Recommended. (E. Hulse)