Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1991)

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.)

Sadly, I haven't seen the original play of "R&G are Dead". Sadly, because if it's any good as this movie is, then surely it's a masterpiece. This is "Absurd Theater" at its best: I find it a better premise than "Waiting for Godot", which is just, two guys waiting for something which is not clear. In this case, the characters are lost in midst of a play we all know what it is about, so, the mood is more tongue-in-cheek: the feel is much more Kafkaesque this time, when the invisible strings lead these characters to their demises, and also, it's incredible fun and witty.As a film, the only issue I can think of is sometimes the action moves rather slowly, but I think that was the idea: a surreal and dream like state, in which the characters are constantly in doubt. The scenarios, scenes, script, etc. are just brilliant.About the performances, there is really not much to say except: excellent. Roth, Oldman and Dreyfus are brilliant in their roles, and A+ performance.Perfect score for one of my favorite movies of all time.10/10

Based upon Tom Stoppard's novel, the comedy Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are dead delivers great performances from its three leads, a funny and witty screenplay, and a lot of fun. Gary Oldman is fantastic as Rosencrantz, and Tim Roth is equally as great as Guilderstern. Richard Dreyfuss plays The Player, the fellow they meet while stumbling around. The script is clever because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor characters from Hamlet so as they stumble around, they do not know about how they are scripted. The movie starts off in a clever scene in which Rosencrantz keeps flipping a coin and always gets heads. This is somehow clever. Yes, it's the old I always get heads coin trick. But they somehow cleverly do it. On top of all this, Richard Dreyfuss is great in all his over-the-topness. If you like smart and sharp dialogue, you'll love it. If you watch it expecting a stupid comedy, or a comedy where you don't have to think, however, don't expect to like it. However, if you can get into a sharp, smart, funny, and witty comedy, you should definitely seek it out. A true classic.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are on the road to somewhere, although they are not entirely sure where to. They feel like they are in some sort of limbo, a feeling only encouraged by the fact that a tossed coin has just come up heads consecutively over a hundred times. A travelling theatre troop offers them entertainment for money but no sooner have they stepped on the stage than they find themselves in a ballroom of a palace. While they try to work out what is happening they find that they are ever more being drawn into the middle of events that are bigger than them.A mixed curiosity this film, that has some great moments but doesn't work that well as a total product. The narrative throws up some interesting ideas of fate and the roles of minor characters but unfortunately the scenes where it has to overlap with Hamlet that it is not so good and doesn't work. I'm sure he was not making a point but it is hard to ignore that the scenes that are all Stoppard are the best while those that are lifted or adapted from the Hamlet text are weak and appear to be there just because they have to be. It is a shame that the interweaving with the Hamlet narrative doesn't work better because the original scenes have a delicious playful tone to them in regards language and the nature of minor characters; I found these specific scenes to be fun and engaging and only wished the film could have maintained this energy and approach.A big part of these scenes working is down to the delivery and both Oldman and Roth are really good not only with the fast pace of the dialogue but with the "out of it" attitude and sense of detached bewilderment that they need to carry for the majority. It is telling that their scenes are by far the strongest and the supporting cast are not as good in Glen, Roth, Sumpter etc, although I did enjoy Dreyfuss' turn in it.An interesting movie with some great dialogue driven scenes that gives the viewer a lot of fun with language and character. Unfortunately these scenes do not make up the whole film and it has many scenes that are wooden and drag. Still quite fun but not as good as the strongest bits made me think.