- Actors: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Iain Glen, Ian Richardson
- Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound, Colour
- Language English
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Second Sight
- VHS Release Date: 24 Jan 2000
- Run Time: 117 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004D2ZD
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,780 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Tom Stoppard's modern stage classic finds a pair of film actors worthy of its verbal japery and existential bewilderment: Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are deliciously locked in as the title characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. And yet it remains difficult to tell which one is Rosencrantz and which Guildenstern--even they seem unsure--a clever part of Stoppard's ingenious design. Focusing on a pair of unremarkable characters from Hamlet, Stoppard sees the great play from their confused perspective. Now and again the action of Hamlet sweeps them up, but most of the time R&G are left wondering where they are, what they have been sent for, and why they can't remember anything that happened before the beginning of the play. Richard Dreyfuss (fittingly grandiloquent) is the Player King, who seems to know more about the ominous workings of fiction and tragedy than the heroes do. Stoppard's first outing as a film director is handsomely shot but uncertainly paced--although any time Oldman and Roth go into one of their tennis-match debates on probability, identity, or death, the movie crackles. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern may be the "indifferent children of the earth," but for this brief moment they deserve center stage. --Robert Horton
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Let's get one thing out of the way first: You'll appreciate this film more if you're familiar with Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor characters in the Shakespeare play and the film is largely a retelling of Hamlet from R&C's perspective (though that fails to do the film any sort of justice). Part of the joy of Tom Stoppards telling is watching the characters realise just how poorly they have been sketched and their attempts to discover the truth about their existance - and ultimately their final fate - is a wonder to behold.
The two leads, Gary Oldman and Tim Roth make a great pairing, with Oldman expressing a rarely seen gift for comedy - his performance here is almost reminscinent of Stan Laurel. Both cope admirably with Stoppard's dialogue, which incorporates some dizzying verbal sparring. The tennis match alone is nearly worth the price of entry.
This is a film that succeeds largely on the strength of its premise and on it's finely honed sense of wit. It's definitely a film that makes intellectual rather than emotional appeals, but I find no reason to fault it because of that. It's a unique journey that I rate most highly.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I last saw this on TV in 1994 so I decided to buy the DVD. And I'm glad I did because this film is not be overlooked!
Gary Oldman and Tim Roth make a superb comedy double-act. Oldman in particular shows a great talent for comedy acting.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bemusedly exist in a world constructed by Shakespeare, not knowing why they are here or how they got here. Throughout the film they struggle to make sense of their existence and the things that go on around them. But there is no real meaning to their being, they've merely been plonked into the world to speak a few lines in Hamlet at the appropriate times.
Oldman's playful idiot and Roth's questioning mind will keep you entertained from start to finish. You'll be sorry if you miss this!
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
First the bad news: There are NO extras on this DVD. Nothing. Not even a trailer. Nothing.
Okay, now I've got that off my chest, I'll concentrate on the good stuff. There is no way you've come to this page by accident. I used to rent this movie from the video place. Repeatedly. That copy is not very good anymore, since it's the only copy they've got. Now I've got it on DVD, so someone can rent the one at the video place for a change.
I don't know how many times I've seen this. It remains as fascinating and as clever as the first time I saw it. It stays the same masterpiece it was when it was released the first time.
But if you've come to this page by accident, this is the best movie ever made. Funniest, cleverest, most unpredictable, most intriguing. It is well acted, well written, totally immersive. Pure genius. If you're not convinced, rent it. You will want to see it again and again. Even more so than "The Usual Suspects".
If you buy only one movie on DVD, this should be it. It gets five stars, even without any extras on the disk.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Brilliant
Shakespeare was never better than this behind-the-scenes look at Hamlet.
Two minor characters from Hamlet, turned main characters as the viewer follows
everything... Read more
Two minor characters from Hamlet, turned main characters as the viewer follows
everything... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bagheera
A deceit too far?
Rosencrantz And Guidernstern Are Dead, the movie, is everything you would expect from Tom Stoppard, writer and director: dazzling in its wit, knowing in its cleverness, acted with... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Andy Millward
Technically non-functional
The DVD itself was corrupt or damaged; the frames did not stream like a normal film, but were subject to regular interruptions. The voice and action were not synched. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Pen name
Brilliantly Witty
This was first a stage play and then became a film, all inspired by two minor characters from a play by Shakespeare. So lets bring some order to this story. Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. Howard
Behind the Scenes...
Who are Rosencratz and Guildenstern? If you have read or attended Shakespeare's "Hamlet", this question will bother you. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Spin
That was a cult play but times have changed
This play is a myth in Shakespearean theater, maybe even a cult. When the play came out in 1967 it was acclaimed as a postmodern rewriting of our vision of the world. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2007 by Jacques COULARDEAU
Rosencrantz and Guidenstern Are Dead
Shakespeare fun? You bet it is. Tom Stoppard is here at his best. Sly, witty, full of double entendres, he built an engrossing story from two minor characters in Shakespeare's best... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2006 by K. M. Cavuoti
In a tragedy even minor characters die
The scene closes in on Rosencrantz & Guildenstern or is it Guildenstern & Rosencrantz discussing the odds of a flipped coin coming up heads. Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2005 by bernie
riveting word play
What an incredibly sublime working of the classic tom stoppard play. Tim roth and Gary oldman combine in creating a fast moving and ingenious portayal of two minor chracters from... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2005
The Film of the play!
Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead is Tom Stoppard Play, on film directed by Tom Stoppard. Although it's a highly regarded script in it's own right, the film provided a very... Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2003
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