Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1991)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

It's not as Shakespearean as Branagh, but close enough to be wittingly entertaining. The concept of two minor characters from 'Hamlet' questioning their own circumstances and destiny while events of a more consequential nature swirl around them is a pretty clever idea. Gary Oldman and Tim Roth play off each other well as the movie's title characters, ably supported by Richard Dreyfuss in a role suitably positioned as 'The Player'. It's not necessary to be all that familiar with Shakespeare's most well renowned play to enjoy this, and the lack of the famous bard's dialog is not a detriment to the story. The mugging and sight gags are cleverly rendered, all adding up to the idea that in this film, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have a lot to do with putting the 'ham' in "Hamlet".

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a great movie with a well written plot and a stellar cast that balance out the drama and comedic elements quite well. It is quite a tricky set up to try and get right, as it puts the two comic relief characters from a very dramatic play, and puts them in the lead role, so we now have funny characters as the leads of an intense situation, and I found that it managed to pull this off successfully. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are very underdeveloped characters in Hamlet, and the freedom to come up with a lot of new traits for them is both a convenience and a burden, as you would want to honour Shakespeare's work, but also add new layers to the two that has never been seen before, once again, I think it did so quite well. There are several moments that fall flat as a result of how faithful it stays to the original play. There are some parts that would probably be great on stage, but it simply does not work in film form, it could have done with changing some scenes to make more sense for the camera. Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are the highlights of this film, and the whole thing could have flopped if it was not for their immense chemistry. They bounce off one another extremely well and suit the parts perfectly. Richard Dreyfuss is also very funny, with a great presence, as The Player. It is a complicated movie that is both very funny and a challenge to follow. Humorous and very well acted, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is worth the watch for anyone looking for a good comedy, and to any fans of Hamlet. Best Performance: Gary Oldman

Saw the play a bunch of times and got to play Rosen or Guil twice. The problem with putting its action into a realistic quasi-Elizabethan setting is you're doing the equivalent of setting Waiting for Godot at a Times Square bus stop. You simultaneously drown and dilute the characters and their words (which are after all the only things R&G have to depend on) in reality. And the ending is ruined by being literalized. The other serious problem is Richard Dreyfuss--sorry, he just ain't The Player. They needed John Rhys Davies, who has the power and presence and weight to do the role justice, especially in The Player's final doom-laden speech. On the other hand, Roth and Oldman are the quintessential R&G, ain't nobody could do 'em better. They crystallize the Laurel-and-Hardyness of the two, with Oldman as Stan and Roth as Ollie. This was both written and directed by Tom Stoppard so one has to take it as his final word, but Dreyfuss impresses me as a last-minute choice. Personally, I'd rather have seen a filmed stage presentation, where (if done right) the ending is truly heartbreaking.

I produced the play version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in 1971 for the Poor Yorick Players in Laramie, WY. We did it as a bit of a lark following our production of Hamlet, which I directed with several of the same actors. Thereafter I stayed clear of it, as I'm not partial to absurdist or existential theatre. So I came to the film version recently with a bit of resistance. On screening the DVD my resistance was somewhat allayed when the opening credits showed Tom Stoppard adapted his play for the screen and directed. The jury was out because Stoppard adapted Anna Karenina for the screen in 2012 directed by Joe Wright, which I consider a masterwork alongside the films of Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Iciar Bollarin. R & G starts out with the now iconic coin-flipping scene in which a coin is tossed and lands on heads some 150 times. Absurd, isn't it. However, my existential prejudices were laid to rest with the arrival of the Player King (Richard Dreyfus).On seeing R & G on a forest road less taken, the Player King calls to halt the horses drawing an overlarge caravan filled with a gypsy band of actors and all the claptrap associated with medieval theatre. With many a trick up his sleeve (and the sleeves of all the actors), his troop unfolds the wagon into a veritable moveable feast of theatrical history and machinery. And it is unfolded on this road at this particular time for the benefit of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet.So there we are in a forest – possibly in Denmark – the ragtag gypsies ready to perform anything these two amnesiacs desire. Actors need an audience, and these two will do for the time being. With tremendous inventiveness and sleight of hand, the troupe previews every possible permutation in the history of drama. In a terrific demonstration of stagecraft interfacing with film production, a coin is tossed, a bet is made and lost (the coin landing on tails for the first and only time), and we find ourselves in the Great Hall of Elsinore Castle, while Ophelia and Hamlet tentatively grope toward a relationship, which is immediately overshadowed and burdened by court intrigue. This transition is nothing short of pure "theatre magic."I won't go into detail of the many magical moments in this film, except to say that casting is impeccable to such a degree I wanted to see a full production of Hamlet with just this cast. The production values are spot on. Gary Oldman (Rosencrantz) and Tim Roth (Guildenstern) are sturdy, well matched, Oldman giving – in my opinion – his best career performance. I did find some of the existential banter of R & G a let down both in script and execution – particularly the tennis match on a medieval tennis court. It is serviceable, but disappointing.The Crème de la Crème of this film comes with the exceptional variations of the Hamlet story performed by the Players with puppets, masks, and pantomime. These sequences are the most intelligent, compelling interpretations of Shakespeare's masterpiece on screen. And the most daring. I don't know as anyone then or now could have directed his Chinese puzzle-box script as well as Stoppard. Not that we shouldn't continue to try. He not only mastered theatre of the absurd inside the frame of a major English classic, he turned both on their heads. All who view this masterwork are blessed because he did. (Thanks to my beloved for coaxing me into watching it.)