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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead “An off-beat, clever and weirdly
  enticing film based on two lesser-known
  characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet
  marked Tom Stoppard’s directorial
  debut in 1990 — this award-winning big
  screen adaptation of his renowned play
  Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
  is out now on DVD...”

WINNER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS Venice Film Festival Golden Lion award, Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead comes to DVD in a stunning special edition two-disc set in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary. The play was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1966.

Hailed as a hugely inventive, thoroughly entertaining story of Hamlet — but not as we know it; the film reflects the viewpoint of two of the play's more outrageous supporting characters.

“Creative and inspired,
Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern Are Dead
is offbeat, clever
and weirdly enticing,
constructing a feast of
wit and wisdom that sits
somewhere between
fantasy and reality.
Or is it all an illusion?”
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (acting legends Gary Oldman and Tim Roth) exchange banter and a war of words as they ride through a desolate, white-rocked landscape until they reach a forest, where they receive a Royal summons and meet the band of travelling entertainers who are to lure them into their play.

The show wagon's stage is transformed into the King of Denmark's castle where Hamlet is acted out as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern pass through each room, taking the lead roles in an amusing vignette where fantasy and reality merge in a story woven by The Player (Hollywood great Richard Dreyfuss).

Eavesdropping on conversations, observing and interacting with Shakespearean characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern discuss the plot of Hamlet. But they have yet to know what fate has in store for them; or if indeed they do have a future.

Creative and inspired, the film constructs a feast of wit and wisdom that sits somewhere between fantasy and reality. Or is it all an illusion?

The critically-acclaimed Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead features the outstanding and sharp-witted performances one would expect from Oldman and Roth as a 'Shakespearean Laurel and Hardy' and the always-remarkable Richard Dreyfuss, who guides the players through their roles while telling them to: "…look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else".

Offbeat, clever and weirdly enticing, the creative and inspirational Rosencrantz & Guildenstern takes you on a journey towards their already pre-ordained fate, from which it seems they cannot escape.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is filmed on location in Yugoslavia and also features: Iain Glen as Hamlet; Ian Richardson as Polonius; Donald Sumpter as Claudius; Joanna Miles as Gertrude; Joanna Roth as Ophelia; and John Burgess as Ambassador for England.

Costumes are Designed by Andreane Neofitou; Music is by Stanley Myers; Director of Photographer is Peter Biziou, BSC; Co-Producers are Iris Merlis and Patrick Whitley; Produced by Michael Brandman and Emanuel Azenberg; and Written and Directed by Tom Stoppard. Seamus is taken from the album Meddle by Pink Floyd.

* Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is released in the UK in a brand new remastered version, courtesy of RLJ Entertainment, on DVD on 8 February 2016.

Certificate: PG | Running Time: 113 Minutes Approximately | 3+ Hours of Bonus Features | Catalogue Number: RLJ4026 | RRP: £19.99. Bonus Features: 25th Anniversary Interview with Tom Stoppard | Interviews with Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Richard Dreyfuss, etc (2004).

"Creative and inspired, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is offbeat, clever and weirdly enticing, constructing a feast of wit and wisdom that sits somewhere between fantasy and reality. Or is it all an illusion?" — Maggie Woods

"A house of fun for the art house" — Empire

"Shamelessly theatrical… Tom Stoppard's direction is handsome and stylish" — Sunday Telegraph