Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (film)
| Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | |
|---|---|
DVD cover
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| Directed by | Tom Stoppard |
| Produced by |
Emanuel Azenberg Michael Brandman |
| Written by | Tom Stoppard |
| Based on |
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou |
| Edited by | Nicolas Gaster |
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Production
company |
Brandenberg
WNET Channel 13 New York |
| Distributed by |
Cinecom Pictures (US) Hobo Film Enterprises (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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118 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $739,104 (North America) |
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a 1990 comedy-drama 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 movie won the Golden Lion at the 47th Venice International Film Festival.
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 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 first and to date only film as a director.
The film, like the play, focuses on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 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 way, and during their conversation with the lead Player, they are mysteriously transported into the action of Hamlet at Elsinore. They wander around the castle, trying to catch up to the action and understand what is going on by listening to other parts of the play. They are asked by the Danish royal couple to stay awhile in order to help find out the cause of, and hopefully cure, Prince Hamlet's gloomy state. They spend their time outside the scenes in Hamlet trying to figure out what is wrong with the prince and what is required of them.
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