Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)

Two minor characters from the play 'Hamlet' stumble around unaware of their scripted lives and unable to deviate from them.

Director:

Tom Stoppard

Writer:

Tom Stoppard

Stars:

Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Rosencrantz
Tim Roth	...	Guildenstern
Richard Dreyfuss	...	The Player
Livio Badurina	...	Tragedian
Tomislav Maretic	...	Tragedian
Mare Mlacnik	...	Tragedian
Serge Soric	...	Tragedian (as Srdjan Soric)
Mladen Vasary	...	Tragedian
Zeljko Vukmirica	...	Tragedian
Branko Zavrsan	...	Tragedian
Joanna Roth	...	Ophelia
Iain Glen	...	Hamlet
Donald Sumpter	...	Claudius
Joanna Miles	...	Gertrude
Ljubo Zecevic	...	Osric

Storyline

Showing events from the point of view of two minor characters from Hamlet, men who have no control over their destiny, this film examines fate and asks if we can ever really know what's going on? Are answers as important as the questions? Will Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (or Guildenstern and Rosencrantz) manage to discover the source of Hamlet's malaise as requested by the new king? Will the mysterious players who are strolling around the castle reveal the secrets they evidently know? And whose serve is it?

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Plot Keywords:

destiny | dialogue driven | title based on shakespeare | shakespeare's hamlet | based on play | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eles Morreram

Filming Locations:

Slovenia

Box Office

Gross USA:

$739,104

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brandenberg, WNET Channel 13 New York

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

MGM bought the rights for $200,000 and planned for John Boorman, a good friend of Tom Stoppard, to direct. He planned for Michael Caine and Terence Stamp to play the leads, Laurence Olivier as the Player King, Albert Finney as Claudius, and Maggie Smith as Gertrude. Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould also wanted to star but MGM never greenlit the movie.

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Goofs

At a given point, Guildenstern says something on the lines of Hamlet being a king and a friend with a good memory. Hamlet never becomes a king and in fact he is a prince.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are riding horses down a path - they pause]
Rosencrantz: [to Guildenstern] Umm, uh...
[Guildenstern rides away, and Rosencrantz follows. Rosencrantz spots a gold coin on the ground]
Rosencrantz: [to horse] Whoa - whoa, whoa.
[Gets off horse and starts flipping the coin]
Rosencrantz: Hmmm. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads. Heads.
[Guildenstern grabs the coin, checks both sides, then tosses it back to Rosencrantz]
Rosencrantz: ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #26.157 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Seamus
Performed by Pink Floyd
Courtesy of EMI Records UK Ltd.

User Reviews

Interesting idea, indifferent execution

Written and directed by Tom Stoppard, and just possibly a tad too much of both. A bit brilliant but long. If you don't know your Shakespeare, you'll be as much at a loss as R & G. If you know him and his Hamlet, you'll find stuff to intrigue you. But why is it G, or is it R, almost eurekas Archimedes principle, discovers gravity, the equal and opposite reaction, the conservation of energy, mechanical dynamics, invents the steam engine and the biplane? What has this to do with Hamlet, or anything else ? Fantastic settings, lovely costumes. A bit like Bergman's Magician. Great acting. But life gets tedious, don't it? Even when there's a puppet play within a play within a play within a play. Almost overkill. A lot of ins and a lot of outs, but not quite as funny as TBL. Johnson thought Shakespeare's wordplay went on a bit; maybe the same applies here. Tom's a mind to amaze, but he was only learning film direction. Death is a ship, that's true enough. This may not be helpful, but why should a film review be helpful ?