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The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'

Name: The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'
Director: Wolfgang Würker, Sylvia Strasser
Released: 1986
Duration: 39 min

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Representation Score

4.9/10

Fair

1986

Director

Wolfgang Würker, Sylvia Strasser

Runtime

39 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Abbey of Crime serves as a technical and artistic chronicle of a major film production. Its value lies in documenting the complexities of recreating a medieval world and the intellectual depth of the source material. However, as a behind-the-scenes documentary, it lacks the character-driven ability to act found in narrative cinema. The focus remains on the logistical and creative processes of the filmmakers rather than diverse representation. Ultimately, the film is an intellectually sophisticated record of a production, but it does not prioritize explicit social or identity-based representation.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The documentary does not explicitly depict LGBTQ+ characters or stories. Instead, it focuses on the production process and does not explore non-straight or non-cisgender identities through rehearsal footage.

How does The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' portray gender?

Fair

The film captures various crew members and actors involved in a large-scale 1980s production. It maintains a neutral stance, documenting professional labor without actively challenging or reinforcing gendered power dynamics.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'?

Fair

While the production involves a diverse cast and crew, the visual focus remains on a European historical aesthetic. This reflects the limitations of the medieval period-piece genre.

How does The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' represent religion and culture?

Good

The work engages with themes of institutional critique by recreating a medieval abbey. It highlights the tension between religious authority and intellectual inquiry through its focus on investigative skepticism.

Does The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose' include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no discernible evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within this documentary.

Present on Screen

Provides a sophisticated look at the deconstruction of traditional religious institutions and historical power structures.
Captures the multicultural nature of a high-budget, international film production set.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit, multi-layered character-driven representation or non-straight/cisgender narratives.
The visual palette is heavily restricted by the European historical aesthetic of the medieval setting.

Official Synopsis

A German TV documentary that chronicles the daily rehearsals, the filming and all the behind the scenes of Jean-Jacques Annaud's classic "The Name of the Rose". From actors perspectives to the ideas used by the director to produce an impeccable international epic adaptation of Umberto Eco's best selling novel, the film presents the obstacles behind the creation of a production of such large scale and also the making of the many difficult scenes, most of the ones presented here are the characters' murders inside the mysterious abbey.

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