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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Comedy · Drama · 1991

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, minor characters from the play 'Hamlet', find themselves on the road to Elsinore Castle at the behest of the King of Denmark. The duo encounter a band of players before arriving to find that they are needed to try to discern what troubles the prince Hamlet. Meanwhile, they ponder the meaning of their existence.

Movie details

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

“A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself.”

1991 Comedy · Drama 1h 57m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, minor characters from the play 'Hamlet', find themselves on the road to Elsinore Castle at the behest of the King of Denmark. The duo encounter a band of players before arriving to find that they are needed to try to discern what troubles the prince Hamlet. Meanwhile, they ponder the meaning of their existence.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Tom Stoppard

Written by

Tom Stoppard

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman

Rosencrantz

Tim Roth

Tim Roth

Guildenstern

Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss

The Player

Iain Glen

Iain Glen

Hamlet

Ian Richardson

Ian Richardson

Polonius

Donald Sumpter

Donald Sumpter

Claudius

Joanna Miles

Joanna Miles

Gertrude

Court is in session

Put Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.