Customer Reviews

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Query: what are the minor characters in Hamlet doing when they are not actively engaged in carrying the plot forward? Answer: floundering around, not entirely clear as to who they are, and absolutely clueless about what is going on. I remember being electrified by the play's genius when I first read it six million years ago, and only stumbled on the film adaptation by chance while channel surfing in San Diego. The film is a gem. Gary Oldman is a treasure as Rosencrantz, a follower if ever there was one, innocently and accidentally discovering the laws of physics then shrugging them off. Rosencrantz is a trifle slow at times, and he doesn't seem to know- or care- whether he is Rosencrantz or Guildenstern. Mostly, he just wants to go home. Tim Roth is brilliant as Guildenstern, who does know who he is but doesn't know what he can do about it. The interactions and wordplay between these two are dazzling. Richard Dreyfuss is perfect as the slightly sinister Player. Dreyfuss tends to chew scenery which is entirely apt for this character. The production values are wonderful and you get a real feel for the ambience- cold Denmark, even in cold castles, where actors saying their lines can see their own breath. If you love drollery and wordplay and fine acting, this is your kind of movie.

I'm sure I'll be regurgitating what many of the other reviews have said, but this film is so darn good... I can't help myself.

Take two minor characters from Hamlet, and give them the existential philosophical foundation of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" - and you have a masterpiece. The allusions, the ironies, the cultural references, the wordplay... brilliant. It all seems so very absurd - these two characters who don't know who or why they're really here - but we feel for them, because we see a hint of the universal human condition in them.

No matter what they do, the viewer KNOWS how Shakespeare's play unfolds, so we know their fate is sealed. They're destined to die very soon, and all they can do is try to make some sense of their existence before it happens. That's the human condition. That's us, even if we don't want to admit it.

The melancholy of Hamlet, the bleakness of Godot, and yet the play is still funny as hell! Stoppard's film does a wonderful job of using visual metaphor to accent the themes of his play, while still keeping the pace fast and the superb humor at the forefront.

Please give the film a try. If you like challenging, thought-provoking movies that still have you laughing... you'll dig this!

This title got recommended to me by a female friend, who knew of my Gary Oldman fetish. I ordered it on VHS from the UK version of Amazon, and watched it the instant it arrived. Never before had I been so caught by a movie.

Partially because of both Oldman and Roth delivering awesome performances as Rosencrantz and Gildenstern respectively. (Or was it the other way around?), partially because of the amazing plot, and the great humour implemented in the movie.

So, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, both minor characters in Shakespear's Hamlet now star in their very own movie. They don't know what their purpose is, or who is who exactly. All they know is they were sent for.

It turns out the king of Denmark wants them to try and find out what happened to Hamlet, who doesn't seem to quite have it all together anymore. The plot thickens as Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are being drawn into a web of treason and politics, which they themselves, of course, never see coming.

The performance by Roth and Oldman is simply stunning. Both very convincingly draw attention to each other. Oldman as the slightly more naieve one discovering all kinds of scientific wonders, only to find them unappreciated by the more clever Roth, or being denied international scientific recognition by nature itself. (Some of these scenes are just hilarious, and those alone are worth buying the DVD).

The dialogue in the movie is truly amazing, although at times tough to understand (cause of the old English), so I'm kinda hoping the DVD will sport subtitles.

This is one of the two movies my collection has been patiently waiting for for a few years (Swing Kids being the other one). A definite 5 out of 5.

This has got to be one of the smartest, most brilliantly written, most hillarious movies I've ever seen. Roth and Oldman have an incredible chemistry and create the most realistic friendship I've seen in quite some time. Stoppard's writing is amazingly funny and also steeped deeply in Shakespearian knowledge. If you know Shakespeare well, or Hamlet well, this movie is a special treat becasue it examines two of the seemingly most insignificant characters in an entirely new way. Of course, if you have never seen Hamlet or you don't know a lot about Shakespeare, this film also works on completely different levels, no less funny or entertaining. Rozencrantz & Guildenstern have their own story here, and it is told with incredible wit and preciseness. The game of questions and the continual destuction of all of Oldman's discoveries/inventions are alone worth seeing the movie for, but there is so much more here that will entertain ALL types of viewers (from the Shakespearians on down to the ShakeWHO?ians). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! I only wish it were out on DVD! or more readily avaliable on VHS :P

This brilliant play has finally been released on DVD. I watched it with a certain trepidation after it received a poor score on technical grounds in a prior review. However, the DVD I received from Image Entertainment is perfectly fine. I didn't encounter any of the defects described earlier. The picture quality is not perfect but taking into account it's low budget origin, it's quite acceptable. There are very occasional dust specks, some film nicks and a missing/skipped frame or two (I paused and rewound that segment several times to be sure). There is fine grain throughout, although it's hardly distracting. The one major fault is that black levels bottom out to a dark grey so that the transfer loses out on a sense of depth. Otherwise colors are accurately rendered. As far as I can tell, it looks like the original 1.85:1 widescreen (anamorphic). It didn't look mis-composed to me and I do look out for such stuff. I thought the DTS soundtrack was a bit of an overkill but I'm not complaining. Both the DTS and the Dolby 5.1 sound pretty good with the DTS having the edge. Unfortunately, no subtitles for those unable to get round the British accents. If you do get a faulty DVD it's probably just a problem with that single copy. I'd exchange it or get a refund.

If you're a fan, there's a whole 3 plus hours of interviews, 1 hour each with Tom Stoppard and Gary Oldman, 45 mins with Richard Dreyfuss and half an hour with Tim Roth. Aside from a slideshow, there are no other featurettes, not even a trailer. Taken as a whole however, it was well worth the asking price. No regrets buying this.

This movie is only 11 years old but it is harder to find than some even older and more obscure films. This is due in part to it being originally released by Buena Vista Films (Disney's main production company), and as we all know Disney is fond of putting movies on moratorium and effectively wiping out any chance of new viewers seeing those films. With that said, if you can get your hands on a copy prepare to be delighted. This movie has moments of brilliance in writing, acting and moviemaking. It is funny, touching and thought-provoking, and features 3 actors, Oldman, Roth and Dreyfuss, who hadn't quite reached their peaks of stardom yet which makes their performances genuine and facinating. It must be said that this film is NOT a recreation of "Hamlet". It is an interpretation of "Hamlet" using Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as main, not incidental, characters. If you are looking for a re-hash of "Hamlet", this is NOT the movie to watch. From that angle, the movie will seem disjointed and confusing. If you are looking for an intelligent, humerous twist on this famous tragedy, you have found it here. I was shown this movie as a freshman in college as a sidecar to studying "Hamlet". Special thanks to my English 102 teacher, Mrs. Avery! Without her, I may never have found this gem.

I love this movie/play. I've seen it live a half-dozen times and have been eagerly awaiting the dvd for years. I have to say I couldn't be much more disappointed.

First thing that hits you is that the menus are screwed. Highlighting doesn't appear where it should, making it difficult - if not impossible - to tell which option you have selected.

When you get the movie playing, the compression has MAJOR PROBLEMS. My DVD player is only 2 years old, but there isn't a 10-second section of the entire movie that doesn't have several seconds at a time of completely garbled video - characters appearing and disappearing at random, multiple instances of a single character on screen at a time, the works.

To top it off, the whole this is a rip-off job. They obviously took a pan-and-scan of the movie and slapped black bars on it. This is made very clear in a number of scenes where you get pan-and-scan jumping as characters move around.

I would have thought that after the MGM lawsuit (they lost) that this sort of thing would have ended. I guess where there's a customer to be ripped off there's a corporation more than happy to do it.

Don't support this behaviour. Don't buy this DVD.

I saw this for the first time right after I finished a class in Renaissance drama at Cal State Hayward. It is full of inside jokes for any one who has studied drama or Shakespeare. Garry Oldman, Tim Roth, and Richard Dryfus perform with such energy and passion, that this surreal study of Hamlet takes on a wonderful life of its own.

This is the story of two of the smallest characters in Shakespeare. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are the two friends of Hamlet who are summoned by the king to find out what is wrong with the prince. This film tells the entire story of Hamlet from their point of view. With amazing writing, this story is full of surprises for even the most jaded fan of Shakespeare. I'll never forget the `conspiracy of cartographers' or the game they play on the tennis court. I hope this tape becomes available again, because I need to own it.

I only gave it four stars ONLY based on the actual film quality of the video. Not being a big budget movie the film stock and lighting techniques weren't first class, but very adequate for the film. That said, the rest of the film is first rate! Stoppard makes the transition from stage to film easily. Brilliant script. Oldman and Roth are fantastic together and I have been a fan of both in all their other work since. Dreyfus does an O.k. job. (Why is he so... the same in all his roles?) The inside jokes about Shakespear made the forced study of his works appreciate my english teachers a bit more. This is one of my all time favorite films. I once turned down the opportunity to buy this at a retail price of 89 dollars. After it went out of print I kicked myself for not doing so. However... I found a used copy on Ebay and I was able to buy it and it was well worth it. It's too bad that rare gems in film like this are not usually popular. (Drivel like Independance Day and others like it being popular choices!)
It's a film that makes you think. It's troubling that I can't share this with most of the people I know without getting the "dog cocking it's head at the funny noises" look from them while they watch it! "You can bring a horticulture..."
See this movie and enjoy it if you're smart enough!! You might even laugh a time or two.

I can't believe that this hasn't been reviewed by anyone yet. Of course, the fact that it's not available for purchase on video could be the reason. Tom Stoppard (Screenplay/Director) has a passion for words and a passion for Shakespeare. His witty re-examination of the underlting themes of Shakespeare's Hamlet breathes new life into the genre of Shakespearian adaptations. Also both Tim Roth (Four Rooms; Reservoir Dogs) and Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy; Dracula {93}) present deep and believable performances as the ill-fated pair of the title. This film consistently falls in any top twnty-five favorite movies list that I compile. Consider it heavily recommended.