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.


It makes no difference who you are...   August 30, 2004
 50 out of 52 found this review helpful

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.


Worst DVD conversion of all time?   April 5, 2005
 28 out of 32 found this review helpful

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.


-- Waiting for Hamlet --   February 18, 2005
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

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!


If you can find it...   April 20, 2001
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

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.