MovieChat Forums > The Name of the Rose (1986) Discussion > Any other characters like William of Bas...

Any other characters like William of Baskerville?

posted 10 years ago by Gonsaro
8 replies | jump to latest

Maybe I've been picking the wrong films, but William of Baskerville is unlike any other character that I've seen. I want to see more characters like these. Do you know any other characters like him? He's an erudite intellectual of high scholastic learning and almost every sentence he says can be quoted. He is philosophical, all logic and encourages you to look critically at the world, like scholars should do. In most films I've seen, the protagonists aren't deep thinkers. It's their actions that make the film interesting. Most times when movie stars play intellectuals I don't find them very convincing.

[–] teal123 10 years ago

He is a great character! Trying to think of similar ones...

V in V For Vendetta!

Obi-Wan Kenobi played by Sir Alec Guinness.

Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.

Jean Valjean in Les Mis?

[–] puirt-a-beul 10 years ago

I agree, William is a great character, and Connery plays him well. He always reminds me of Brother Cadfael, a medieval English monk in a series of TV movie mysteries (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108717/reference), and books before that. They may not be what you're searching for, but you might want to check them out.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] pigabar 10 years ago

You might be interested in G.K. Chesterton's character, Father Brown. He's a priest/detective and has been adapted a few times throughout the century.

[–] Miarse 10 years ago

He's based on Sherlock Holmes of course, the "William of Baskerville" name being a nod to the most famous Holmes novel.

[–] billnich-1 9 years ago

In the Novel, Umberto Eco translated into Itallian (the novel's original language) the EXACT description of Sherlock Holmes given by Arthur Conan Doyle in Watson's description of him in "A Study in Scarlet", the first Sherlock Holmes novel. The reference to "Baskerville" is also a nod to arguably the greatest mystery of the Sherlock Holmes canon. So Brother William of Baskerville (Sean Connery's brilliant portrayal and looks for the movie notwithstanding) is not only a tribute to Sherlock Holmes, but is, in fact, Sherlock Holmes' IDENTICAL TWIN, in a monk's rob.

[–] MadSimian 8 years ago

Not to mention that, if you add a W and N to the beginning and end of Adso's name, you get Wadson. ;)

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see

[–] vilafire 9 years ago

Well, you're in luck because William of Baskerville is Sherlock Holmes and no other character reoccurs in popular fiction than Sherlock types: genius detectives who keep their sidekicks and the audience guessing. The world is your oyster.

[–] Melton (5618) 7 months ago

Actually Connery played a very similar character a few years later in Rising Sun, except it’s set in ‘present day’ (the 90’s) Japanese culture in America, with Wesley Snipes in the Slater mentee role.

It’s based on a Michael Crichton novel and well worth seeing.