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The Name of the Rose - General Discussion


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The Name of the Rose is based on Umberto Eco's highly acclaimed novel which has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1980. The limited series is led by an all-star cast including Emmy(R) Award-winner John Turturro (The Night Of), Emmy Award-winner Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest), Golden Globe(R) nominee Rupert Everett (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), Damian Hardung (Red Band Society), Sebastian Koch (Homeland), James Cosmo (Game of Thrones), Richard Sammel (Inglourious Basterds), Fabrizio Bentivoglio (Human Capital) and Greta Scarano (In Treatment).

Set in Italy in 1327, The Name of the Rose follows the Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Turturro) and his novice Adso von Melk (Hardung) as they arrive at a secluded monastery in the Alps. There they become witnesses to a series of mysterious murders. While Baskerville and Melk investigate and search for the killer, they are hunted themselves by the merciless inquisitor Bernard Gui (Everett), who prosecutes those who criticize the pope.

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S1.E1

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In the series premiere episode, Adso, a young soldier and son of a German general befriends William of Baskerville, a learned and intelligent English Franciscan friar. The two journey to a remote monastery where an important conference will be held between the Pope's delegation and that of the Emperor. They arrive just as the body of one of the monks is found -- initially dismissed as a suicide, suspicions arise when a second body is discovered shortly after.

S1.E2

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The abbot receives a message from the Pope informing him that the delegation led by Bernard Gui is on its way. Increasingly worried, he presses for William to find the murderer before their arrival. William works with Severinus, the abbey's herbalist and scientist, to analyze the monk's body, concluding he was poisoned before thrown in the vat. They soon realize that a highly lethal poison from the herbalist's collection has been taken.

When their trail leads them to the infamous library, William and Adso devise a plan to enter the labyrinth but quickly realize not everything is as it seems once inside.

Original air date: 5/23/19

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Eight episodes may be too many. I don't think this will appeal to many who aren't already fans of the book and/or movie, but I can hope. I'm in for now, but will probably watch On Demand. We only get standard resolution for Sundance live, but OD is HD! Go figure. Plus, over two hours starting at 10 pm is a lot to ask for. I found the commercials beyond jarring! More than usual, not sure why. There seems to be a ton of them that just rudely rip you right out of the story.

OK, acting is decent. Sets/production values are good. Cinematography, nice. Not crazy about all the extra characters and battles they've thrown in to possibly keep it "interesting." Timelines and flashbacks are all over the place. Will continue to give it a chance even though there will probably be few, if any, surprises for me.

5 hours ago, scrb said:

Not many reviews yet.  Wondering if it's worth the investment in time ... 

LA Times had the best one. Generally, the reviews are not that great. Not bad, but not great. The movie didn't get good reviews either and was a box office bust. Still it's a favorite of mine. Think I'll go watch that again. Or maybe just reread the book.

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2 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Eight episodes may be too many. I don't think this will appeal to many who aren't already fans of the book and/or movie, but I can hope.

I like historical fiction and so I taped it to give it a go.  This genre heavily involving religion is more my DH interest but I kept an open mind.   I will say there are elements of episode 1 I enjoyed and I will continue to watch, but it was very confusing to follow IMO.  I paid close attention and enjoy mysteries that do not spoon feed every clue, but feel perhaps not having read the book was a disadvantage.  I found it very hard to follow.  Now I am wondering if I need to read about Franciscan history and if the pope of the day found them a threat... I feel rather lacking in historical knowledge.  I just don't see success of this because I am above average in patience (I enjoy foreign films that have a slower pace than US films) and intelligence, and if I am having difficulty following I think a fair amount of other casual viewers are as well.

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My heart sunk a bit when I saw the opening credits and that this was an RAI production with a massively international cast. In my experience, this means a series (or movie) that will really plod along plotwise and dramatically. I don’t know why this is, but I thought this was true in this series also. Maybe something about how they approach a series to be shown in multiple countries. I’ve made it through about an hour and a half and can’t say I find it engrossing.

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S1.E3

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A monk goes missing, William looks for a new pair of glasses to inspect the library's books, Adso falls for a free-spirited peasant girl, huntress Anna goes on a mission to avenge her family and kill Gui.

S1.E4

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William studies further the mysteries of the library, Adso helps the peasant girl he fell for after she's caught in a hunting trap, a conflict between the heretics and the lords is revealed, tensions in the convent rise as Gui arrives.

Original air date: 5/30/19

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well, I keep trying but it falls flat for me.  My DH will actually watch it with me so we are in for the long haul but I can not see success in this.  I think the different monks are hard to keep straight.  I am interested in Adso and where he ends up since he is narrating.... but so far I have had zero interest in the love scenes with this ferral girl.  My DH who read the book says it is important, but I just can't see it as anything other than male dominated scenes -"insert girl here".  Maybe developing the other monks characters a little more would help.  

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S1.E5

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The peasant girl finds wounded Anna, Gui looks for allies and foes in the abbey, Adso breaks his vows, William debates comedy, the main debate about apostolic poverty turns violent, perverted monk Salvatore captures the peasant girl.

S1.E6

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Anna infiltrates the abbey to find her old ally Remigio, William takes part in the main debate but another murder interrupts it, Gui arrests Remigio for the crime despite William's doubts, Adso tries to rescue the peasant girl.

Original air date: 6/6/19

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SEASON FINALE!

S1.E7

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Gui uses Salvatore to get to Remigio and put him on trial, William gives his thoughts on both the show trial and the poverty debate between the Franciscans and the Church, Anna tries to rescue her friends, another mysterious death occurs.

S1.E8

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With the debate over, Gui condemns Remigio and the girl to be burnt at the stake, William and Adso try to solve the library's puzzle and catch the killer before it's too late, and Anna makes her final desperate move.

Original air date: 6/13/19

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I finally managed to struggle through the last two episodes. I'm guessing I'm not alone. Such a disappointment overall. I'm not even sure why I didn't care for it. I love the book and the movie. The cast was good, the production values were good. I think it was just too long and dragged out. The book was long, so why did they feel the need to add extra characters and side battles that weren't in it? Will be my nominee for next year's Primetimer awards for biggest disappointment. 

What did I miss the most? The theme music from the original movie.

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I didn't even realise a TV show of the film/book had even seen the light of day; it was only through scanning the TV index here that I found it purely by chance.

Looking at some of the posts here, most of them fairly non-committal veering on the negative in terms of how good the show is, I am wondering if its worth bothering with? Moreover given the length and complexity of the book, and the level of patience required for the slow-paced film, I am surprised the TV version saw the light of day!

So am guessing the show probably isn't worth investing in? Not a great loss to be honest, but such a pointless waste of effort by the producers to even think this would be a success!

And now I am in the such a vexed mood I might just give the film another look later this evening - despite being slow and meandering, I thought it was one of Connery's finest efforts; and the cinematography and of course the score were exceptionally good!  

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