The Name of the Rose (film) The Name of the Rose (film) The Name of the Rose is a 1986 Italian-French-German mystery historical drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery stars as the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk; they are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval abbey. As an old man, Adso of Melk recounts how, in 1327, as a young Franciscan novice (a Benedictine one in the novel), he and his mentor, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, traveled to a
Sean Connery was offered a role in "The Lord of the Rings" series, declining it owing to his "not understanding the script". CNN reported that the actor was offered up to 15% of the worldwide box office receipts to play Gandalf, which—had he accepted—could have earned him as much as $400 million for the trilogy. Connery's disillusionment with the "idiots now making films in Hollywood" was cited as a reason for his eventual decision to retire from film-making. When Connery received the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on 8 June 2006, he confirmed his retirement from acting. On 7 June 2007,