How well do you need to know Hamlet?
Does this film suffer badly (or at all) if the viewer's not familiar with Hamlet? I want to see this, but my knowledge of Shakespeare is vague at best.
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MovieChat Forums > Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1991) Discussion > How well do you need to know Hamlet?
I knew very little of Hamlet the first time I saw this film and I loved it. It made me want to study Hamlet and now I appreciate the genius that is R&GaD even more!
"Sir, let those laugh that win."
All you really need to know about Hamlet (basic plot and character relationships) is explained, but if you're more familiar, you'll get some of the subtler jokes.
"Facts are stupid things." ~ Ronald Reagan, 1988.
Can't you just watch/tread the play or watch one of the many filmatic versions of Hamlet? Anyways it's not neccesary to know too much, however it gets better if you do.
Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyleshare
R&G speak in Shakespearian English when they are performing parts of the play and complicated yet modern-ish English when the text is Stoppard's.
This dramatic technique allows a viewer who has not seen Hamlet to tell the two apart and so enjoy the film without reading Shakespear first, or at least it did for me.
Hope that helps!
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I had not read Hamlet before I watched this film and could understand what was going on well. However to understand it better of course, I read Hamlet's plot, made the film even more enjoyable.
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