Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)

Regisseur:

Tom Stoppard

Drehbuchautor:

Tom Stoppard (written by)

Premierendatum:

8. Februar 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Komödie | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Boat | Title Based On Shakespeare | Paper Airplane | Bathing Scene | Underwear

Filmpreise:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, victims of circumstance...

Besetzung

Gary Oldman	...	Rosencrantz
Tim Roth	...	Guildenstern
Richard Dreyfuss	...	The Player
Livio Badurina	...	Tragedian
Tomislav Maretic	...	Tragedian
Mare Mlacnik	...	Tragedian
Srdjan Soric	...	Tragedian
Mladen Vasary	...	Tragedian
Zeljko Vukmirica	...	Tragedian
Branko Zavrsan	...	Tragedian
Joanna Roth	...	Ophelia
Iain Glen	...	Hamlet
Donald Sumpter	...	Claudius
Joanna Miles	...	Gertrude
Ljubo Zecevic	...	Osric

Alternativ:

Rosencrantz und Güldenstern sind tot (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]
Rosenkranz & Güldenstern (Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

117 Min

Produktionsland:

UK | USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

1.85 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby Digital

Altersfreigabe:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #30638)

Drehorte:

Brezice, Slovenia

Firma:

Brandenberg

Dies und das:

Richard Dreyfuss' part was to be played by Sean Connery, who abandoned the film for a bigger paycheck in The Hunt for Red October (1990).

Pannen:

Filmfehler: When the boat scene starts, at the end of the movie, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves in a darkened room. Here Rosencrantz lights a match, which is obviously the only source of light in the room, but yet we can see the shadow cast on the wall by his hand holding the match.

Dialogzitate:

[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: Heads.
[Guildenstern pulls a coin out of his own pocket and flips it]
[...]

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Soundtrack:

Seamus

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, victims of circumstance...

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was one of my favourite films whilst growing up. The movie follows two irrelevant characters (irrelevant in that although they served a significant purpose, their characters were not developed in any depth... Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as individuals, were relatively unimportant) through one of the most renowned stories ever told (Hamlet). It is a film about two characters that are completely unaware of the magnitude of the events taking place around them. This carries on throughout the entire film, and is also evidenced in their accidental discoveries of significant historical scientific findings (such as the steam engine or the concept of gravity). The characters stumble their way through the film, unaware of the consequences to their actions or their significance or importance.

The characters spend the entire film coming to terms with their existence. Shakespeare didn't provide any detailed character development of either Rosencrantz or Guildenstern, and as such, they are left confused as to the purpose of their own existence.

The film also looks at the concept of a predetermined destiny. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's fate is already determined before the film begins. And although they play an important role in one of the greatest stories ever told, they are completely unaware of their destiny; they are merely victims of circumstance.

I should also note that the constant banter between the two characters (specifically in their 'Game of Questions') is pure quality.