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Two men are riding horses through a winding mountain path. Abuptly, one of them reigns his
horse having spotted something on the ground. It is a shiny coin, and he dismounts to pick it up while
his companion watches. Caught by a moment of whimsy, he spins it in the air, catches it and slaps it on
the back of his fist. Heads. He spins it again. Heads. And again. Heads. His companion checks the coin,
This is the beginning of the brilliantly absurd comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
The story is playwright, author, and now screenwriter Tom Stoppard's retelling of William
Shakespeare's legendary tragedy Hamlet, but with a strange twist. While the main character of the story
is still Hamlet, the story does not follow him, but rather the story follows the two minor characters of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern thorough their actions in the background. For those who are unfamiliar
with the story of Hamlet, it may be summed up as follows: Hamlet is a prince who is visited by the
ghost of his dead father. The ghost claims to have been murdered by his brother, Hamlet's uncle, who
has crowned himself king after marrying the queen. Hamlet is of course upset by the whole affair and
the story is a masterpiece of tension, drama, and powerful emotions. In the original story of Hamlet,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were supposed to be Hamlet's friends, but are enlisted to spy on Hamlet
to find out what is his problem. Hamlet distrusts them, and eventually tricks them to their deaths at the
In essence, Tom Stoppard has not changed the plot of the original Hamlet, but everything else in
the story is different. The focus of the story is on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern instead of on Hamlet.
The movie is absurdist comedy with elements of slapstick instead of tragedy. The characters question
the nature of existence as a sort of confusing puzzle rather than a philosophical challenge. However,
while Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is much lighter in its presentation, it has just as much
depth as its source of inspiration.
The style of the movie is drawn from the theatre of the absurd which explores the powerlessness
of men. In general, characters in these plays are not fighting great conflicts, but simply struggling to
make sense out of the circumstances they find themselves in and trying to gain some sense of control
over their own lives. In this film, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are called into the whirling political
conflicts of Hamlet and his family, but have no idea what is going on. They are fools of fate, and
throughout the entire movie struggle to make sense of their own existence. Unfortunately, they are
given orders, instead of information, and so must attempt to deduce meaning from whatever they come
across. This leaves them struggling with a sort of ever-changing existential crisis, whose only
resolution can only be realized by understanding how unimportant they really are. They are not central
to the action; Hamlet is. Sadly for our confused heroes, he isn't around very often, so they spend a great
deal of time unable to act. In the end, they are brought to their completely unsurprising demise, without
It must be understood that the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are caricatures. They
satirize instead of representing. This is expressed with their predominant characteristics of curiosity,
ambiguity, and confusion. While the characters are driven by the action of the story that is going on
around them, they seem to have no idea of the importance of the situation. Their primary motive when
they have the liberty to act by themselves is the simple curiosity of understanding the world around
them. As characters, they are contrasted by how they express this curiosity; one becoming excitedly
fascinated by the complications of the social dynamics around him while his counterpart seems to
explore his surroundings with a benign childlike innocence. Strangely enough, while the characters are
in some ways different, it is never clarified which one is Rosencrantz and which one is Guildenstern.
This brings us the deep ambiguity of the characters, which plays an important role in the film.
Not only do the characters know virtually nothing about the world around them, they know virtually
nothing about themselves and each other. In fact, in a number of different scenes Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are showed debating who is who. Their lack of ability to create a clear identity is one of
the elements that has caused this film to be seen as existentialist. At the same time, their ambiguous
natures allows the film to function. If they had been decided characters with strong personalities, it
wouldn't makes sense for them to be constantly bumbling along, trying to make sense of the world.
The characters confusion is probably their most realistic trait, since they are constantly being
presented with enigmatic orders and prophetic commentaries. It seems that everyone in the situation
understands what is happening, save for our heroes. As they are rapidly passed from one person to
another, they struggle to form a coherent picture of what is going on. Their efforts are extremely comic,
made much more so if the viewer is familiar with the story of Hamlet, and so has a deeper
This may pose the question whether or not someone who is unfamiliar with Hamlet will be able
to appreciate the movie. Since the film focuses on the interactions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and
not on the intricacies of Hamlet, the answer is definitely yes. The way the movie is presented, we
follow the story of the two title characters with the various characters of Hamlet popping in and out of
the scenes. Tom Stoppard expands the story a good deal by inventing events that would be going on in
the background of Hamlet. The film starts off with the previously mentioned scene where Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are travelling to Elsinor, the castle where Hamlet resides. On while travelling they
become engrossed with a phenomenon where they find that whenever they flip a coin, it comes up
heads. Unable to solve the mystery, they end up encountering a troupe of travelling players (actors)
who are also on their way to Elsinor to play for the court. Rosencrantz and Guldenstern fall to
discussion with the leader of the troupe who mysteriously vanish after some conversation.
Here the scene shifts to the castle Elsinor, where the two find themselves suddenly transported.
While utterly confused by this turn of events, they set about doing what they have been requested
which is to “find the head and source of Hamlet's distemper”. While trying to do so, they find
themselves repeatedly stumbling upon scenes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. This is further upset by the
arrival of the troupe of players that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern had encountered on the road, the
leader of whom seems to know far more than seems natural of the situation. Unfortunately the pair can
do nothing but helplessly watch while events spiral out of control, and our sort-of heroes are eventually
Again the scene shifts, and both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves on a boat
heading to England. They debate the nature of their task, but unable to comprehend, go to sleep. During
the night, Hamlet escapes the ship during a pirate attack, and the two are left without any idea of what
they are supposed to do now. This is further confused by the inexplicable arrival of the players, the
leader of whom takes charge of the situation and apologetically puts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to
death.
If this seems anticlimactic, it is. Considering the existential nature of the movie, this should not
come as a surprise though. The essence of the movie revolves around the main characters trying to
make sense of a nonsensical world and failing. It has been argued that the climax of the movie is in the
few moments before hanging, where the pair stand with nooses around their necks calmly resigned to
their fate, since this is the moment where they give up trying to understand the world around them. It
has also been argued that the climax of the story is retroactive and takes place with the first flipping of
the coins. This is seen as the trigger of the whole improbable series of events, but can only be truly
This sort of ambiguity is normal for works in this style. Absurdist works advocate that life does
not have an inherent logic. The idea inherent in this philosophy is that things happen without any sort
of overreaching sense. It contradicts not just the idea that good must triumph, but also the very idea of
the existence of good and evil exist in any real sense. The characters in absurdist works are simple
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is the way
that language is played with. In a syllogism presented by one of the two in response to his friends
confusion, we are presented with, “He has never known anything like it, but he has never known
anything to write home about. Therefore this is nothing to write home about.” Something to write home
about is an expression that usually refers to something interesting or out of the ordinary, so in this
passage the speaker is subtly mocking his companion. Another example includes when the two discuss
the meaning of “the king's remembrance” which they have been offered as a reward for their future
services. This is used ambiguously to imply both a simple remembering a sort of valuable gift.
This use of idiomatic expression is especially present when the scenes cross over with Hamlet
who is royalty after all. The language becomes more poetic and the speakers use more hyperbole.
Hamlet remarks that he considers Denmark a prison. This is his way of saying he feels trapped and he
elaborates by saying, that he could be “bounded in a nutshell and could consider himself the king of
infinite space”. This sort of comment should obviously not be taken literally.
Of course, some of the expressions are just made up and can only be understood by context.
When hoping to confound everyone who seems to control Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's lives, one of
them says that he'll kill himself and that “that'll put a spoke in their wheel”. This is a confused
corruption of “that will put a stick in their wheel” meaning that will stop them. Another example is
where the leader of the players says, “For some it is performance, for others patronage, they are two
sides of the same coin [meaning that both sides take place in the creation of art], or being as there are
so many of us, the same side of two coins [meaning that he wants to be paid]”.
This movie is a masterpiece of clever dialogue and amusing antics. While it is not a movie to
watch with your brain on idle, the complex interplay of ideas on interpretations mean that views are
rewarded for watching the movie more than once. It was never destined for mainstream success, but it