Disc Reviews
The Name of the Rose 4K Review
If there is a list of top cinematic WHODUNNIT murder mysteries, then The Name of the Rose deserves to be on it, not just for the mystery but for the world created in this look back at 14th-century religion in northern Italy.
Sean Connery and a very young Christian Slater are monks called to a remote monastery only to find that they are having trouble with the recent death of one of their number. William of Baskerville (Connery, on impressive form), yes, that is a deliberate nod to Doyle, takes on the task of investigating, and very soon after exploring the grounds and talking to the locals, finds a lot of secrets that are being covered, and a division amongst the ranks of what is and what is not acceptable under God’s rule.
Like Sergio Leone before him, Jean-Jacques Annaud casts his film with very striking-looking people. Every character stands out for their look, which is quite the feat to accomplish considering most characters are running around with the same outfit on.
Ron Perlman in his second screen role makes an undeniably strong impression as one of the more loony monks on site. But there are also veteran actors in the faces of Michael Lonsdale and William Hickey, and of course, entering the picture later on is F. Murray Abraham on villain duties as part of the inquisition that arrives to cast torment.
Annaud has put a beautiful film together with some truly astounding sets (Yes, that monastery is not real!) in a film that has aged beautifully over its 40-year life. James Horner is also noteworthy for a score very much unlike anything he had composed before or after, that remains on the outskirts of the visuals, never interrupting or directing the narrative like some of his more bombastic work. He would deliver something more of that nature for Annaud when they reunited for Enemy At The Gates in 2001.
This was at the start of Connery’s triumphant return to the big time with this and Highlander the same year. The following year he would score The Untouchables, which also led him to Oscar glory. Christian Slater would also hit the big time very soon after as he hit his latter teenage years, and director Annaud has continued a worthy directorial career.
Now the even better news! Second Sight have outdone themselves once again with an absolutely beautiful 4K transfer. When it comes to 4K remasters in the UK – there is Second Sight, and then there is everyone else far behind them.
The extras are also in-depth and plentiful. A word of warning though: the first extra on the menu is a new commentary track from reviewer and scholar James Marsh. Now the commentary is just fine and has many items of note in it that are worth listening to, I just recommend that you leave this one until last, as he does repeat a few beats from the other extras – and it’s way more satisfying to hear those tidbits from the horse’s mouth first. The director’s commentary in particular is one of the best I’ve heard in years. Annaud goes into so much detail about every aspect of the filmmaking of this one. There is also a very lengthy and NEW interview with the director on the disc as well. And surprisingly, we also get decent insight from actors Christian Slater – who at first seems like he’s gonna be done and out of there in 5 minutes (probably used to saying quick sound bites and then buggering off), but soon settles into more in-depth stories about his experiences – and then the very fond thoughts from Ron Perlman remembering one of his early on-screen performances.
There is also a good interview with the main screenwriter Andrew Birkin, who also had fun working on set as a part-time actor as well – almost against his will.
This is a must-get release from Second Sight – one of their best in an already impressive year – SO FAR!
Steven Hurst
Special Features
- Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
- UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
- New audio commentary by James Marsh
- Audio commentary with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud
- Charm of Humanity: a new interview with Jean-Jacques Annaud
- A Boy and His Dog: a new interview with Actor Christian Slater
- Bringing the Mustard: a new interview with Actor Ron Perlman
- Liquidating the Disk: a new interview with Writer Andrew Birkin
- The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose
Limited Edition Content
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Liza Shumskaya
- 120-page book with new essays by Eugenio Ercolani and Gian Giacomo Petrone, Francesco Massaccesi, Sam Moore, Gregory Mucci, Dan Schindel and Nadine Whitney
- 6 collectors’ art cards
The Name of the Rose is out on 4K on 10th August.