Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a
1990 film written and directed by
Tom Stoppard based on his
play of the same name. Like the play, the film depicts two minor characters from
William Shakespeare's play
Hamlet,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who find themselves on the road to
Elsinore Castle at the behest of the
King of Denmark. They encounter a band of
players before arriving to find that they are needed to try to discern what troubles the prince Hamlet. Meanwhile, they ponder the meaning of their existence.
The film stars
Gary Oldman as Rosencrantz and
Tim Roth as Guildenstern, although a running theme throughout has many characters, themselves included, uncertain as to which is which. It also features
Richard Dreyfuss as the leading player,
Iain Glen as
Prince Hamlet,
Ian Richardson as
Polonius,
Joanna Miles as
Gertrude and
Donald Sumpter as
King Claudius. The film was shot in various locations around
Yugoslavia. This was Stoppard's debut as a film director, and to date it remains his only film directorial credit.
Plot
The film, like
the play, focuses on Rosencrantz (
Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (
Tim Roth) and their actions (or lack thereof) within the play of
Hamlet. The film begins as they travel on horseback to
Elsinore, contemplating fate, memory and language. Rosencrantz finds and continually flips a coin which always comes up heads, causing Guildenstern to conclude that something is wrong with reality. They meet a travelling troupe of tragedians on the...
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