The Name of the Rose; Movie vs Essay
Amanda Trombley
English 102
Professor Coletta
The Name of the Rose Essay
May 13, 2010
The Name of the Rose: Novel vs. Movie Often times when a novel becomes a movie, critics judge the movie on a more difficult scale than they would if the movie did not have a book to be compared too. When a situation like this occurs, the audience tends to lean one way or the other, towards the novel or towards the movie. From my experiences, I have liked the books either more or just equally as much as the movie, but never the movie more than the book. Differences from the movie to the book can make a huge difference in a person’s outlook toward it; if the plot has drastic changes then the movie is rarely better than the book. Set in 1327, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco will grab your attention from the first sentence and keep you entertained throughout the novel. The movie, which is introduced as a “palimpsest” of Umberto Eco’s novel has many drawbacks from making it as spectacular as the novel itself. The Name of the Rose has two main characters, William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk. Adso is the first character to be introduced, but it is Adso in the future recalling the events of William and his six days spent at the Abbey. William and Adso are brought to the Abbey to participate in a debate with a papal legation over the poverty of Christ as well as the status of the Franciscan order. However, upon their arrival, Adelmo, a young illustrator of the manuscripts, had been murdered and they are asked to help investigate the crime. During prayer the next morning, another body is discovered; Venantius, a young translator of the manuscripts, was found in a vat of pig’s blood. William and Adso begin looking for a book that they believe both Adelmo and Venantius were reading. The only people allowed in the library are the librarian and his assistant, which makes the investigation even harder. Berengar, the librarian’s assistant, goes missing on the
English 102
Professor Coletta
The Name of the Rose Essay
May 13, 2010
The Name of the Rose: Novel vs. Movie Often times when a novel becomes a movie, critics judge the movie on a more difficult scale than they would if the movie did not have a book to be compared too. When a situation like this occurs, the audience tends to lean one way or the other, towards the novel or towards the movie. From my experiences, I have liked the books either more or just equally as much as the movie, but never the movie more than the book. Differences from the movie to the book can make a huge difference in a person’s outlook toward it; if the plot has drastic changes then the movie is rarely better than the book. Set in 1327, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco will grab your attention from the first sentence and keep you entertained throughout the novel. The movie, which is introduced as a “palimpsest” of Umberto Eco’s novel has many drawbacks from making it as spectacular as the novel itself. The Name of the Rose has two main characters, William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk. Adso is the first character to be introduced, but it is Adso in the future recalling the events of William and his six days spent at the Abbey. William and Adso are brought to the Abbey to participate in a debate with a papal legation over the poverty of Christ as well as the status of the Franciscan order. However, upon their arrival, Adelmo, a young illustrator of the manuscripts, had been murdered and they are asked to help investigate the crime. During prayer the next morning, another body is discovered; Venantius, a young translator of the manuscripts, was found in a vat of pig’s blood. William and Adso begin looking for a book that they believe both Adelmo and Venantius were reading. The only people allowed in the library are the librarian and his assistant, which makes the investigation even harder. Berengar, the librarian’s assistant, goes missing on the
Cited: 1. AMac. “The Name of the rose.” Time Out New York. Time Out Group Ltd, 2006. Web. 30 April 2010. 2. Benson, Sheila. “The Name Of The Rose’ Not A Sweet Success”. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 24 September 1986. Web. 29 April 2010. 3. Burke, Peter. "The Name of the Rose (Book Review)." History Today 34.5 (1984): 56. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 May 2010. 4. Canby, Vincent. “Film: Medieval Mystery In ‘The Name of the Rose’.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 24 September 1986. Web. 29 April 2010. 5. "The Name of the Rose." Notes on Novels. Answers Corporation, 2006. Answers.com 26 April. 2010. http://www.answers.com/topic/the-name-of-the-rose-novel 6. Wisehart, David. “The Name of the Rose.” Ezine articles. Ezine Articles, 1986. Web. 30 April 2010.