Rating of
3/4
Shakesperian Absurdity
cacb3995 - wrote on 07/28/18
William Shakespeare’s writings have always been a great source of inspiration for many artists. From poems to stage plays to movie adaptations, the world has seen many worthy (and some unworthy) works influenced by the legend of the Bard. One of those came in the form of Tom Stoppard’s 1966 play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”, which took two minor characters of Hamlet and proceeded to tell the story from their point of view. The play was adapted into a Golden Lion winning film in 1990, directed by Stoppard himself and starring Tim Roth and Gary Oldman as the titular characters. The result is a tragicomedy of absurdist depth that tackles one of the greatest literary works in world history.
As the title suggests (beyond its obvious spoiler), the film focuses on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two old friends of prince Hamlet (Ian Glen), as they are called upon by the treacherous King Claudius (Donald Sumpter) to check on the young prince, for he’s been acting strange as of late. Like in the classic play, Claudius is responsible for Hamlet’s father’s murder, something that the prince is slowly figuring out. Of course, all of this is unbeknownst to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two lovable fools who only want to get their assignment done and go back home. The two engage in ruminations about life, death, freedom and destiny throughout, and even meet a troupe of actors lead by the mysterious Player (Richard Dreyfuss), who seem to have some sort of supernatural knowledge of the events yet to unfold. And even if the two main characters are just pawns of larger schemes, there’s nothing that can ultimately save them from their doomed fate.
https://breakingthefourthwallsite.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead-shakespearian-absurdity/
