Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet".
 They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of it.
 The characters were revived in W. S. Gilbert's satire, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern", and as the alienated heroes of Tom Stoppard's absurdist play, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead", which was adapted into a film.
Hamlet, also known as Hamlet 2000, is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name.
 Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet as a film student, Kyle MacLachlan co-stars as Uncle Claudius, with Diane Venora as Gertrude, Liev Schreiber as Laertes, Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz, Bill Murray as Polonius, and Sam Shepard as Hamlet's father.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, A Tragic Episode, in Three Tabloids is a short comic play by W. S. Gilbert, a parody of "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare.
 The main characters in Gilbert's play are King Claudius and Queen Gertrude of Denmark, their son Prince Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Ophelia.
Hamlet is a 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", adapted for the screen and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the titular role as Prince Hamlet.
 The film also features Derek Jacobi as King Claudius, Julie Christie as Queen Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Michael Maloney as Laertes, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Nicholas Farrell as Horatio.
 Other notable appearances include Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewell, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Judi Dench, John Gielgud and Ken Dodd.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Stoppard based on his play of the same name.
 Like the play, the film depicts two minor characters from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who find themselves on the road to Elsinore Castle at the behest of the King of Denmark.
 They 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.
 The movie won the Golden Lion at the 47th Venice International Film Festival.
King Claudius is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet".
 He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Hamlet.
 He obtained the throne of Denmark by murdering his own brother with poison and then marrying the late king's widow.
 He is loosely based on the Jutish chieftain Feng who appears in "Chronicon Lethrense" and in Saxo Grammaticus' "Gesta Danorum".
 There had never been an actual Danish King of that name.
Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet".
 He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark.
 At the beginning of the play, he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and struggles with his own sanity along the way.
 By the end of the tragedy, Hamlet has caused the deaths of Polonius, Laertes, Claudius, and two acquaintances of his from the University of Wittenberg Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
 He is also indirectly involved in the deaths of his love Ophelia (drowning) and of his mother Gertrude (poisoned by Claudius by mistake).
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a tragedy, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601.
 It tells the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark—who takes revenge on the current king (Hamlet's uncle) for killing the previous king (Hamlet's father) and for marrying his father's widow (Hamlet's mother)—and it charts the course of his real or feigned madness.
 "Hamlet" is the longest play—and Hamlet is the largest part—in the entire Shakespeare canon.
 Critics say that "Hamlet" "offers the greatest exhibition of Shakespeare's powers".
Over fifty films of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" have been made since 1900.
 Seven post-war "Hamlet" films have had a theatrical release: Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet" of 1948; Grigori Kozintsev's 1964 Russian adaptation; a film of the John Gielgud-directed 1964 Broadway production, "Richard Burton's Hamlet", which played limited engagements that same year; Tony Richardson's 1969 version (the first in colour) featuring Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius; Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version starring Mel Gibson; Kenneth Branagh's full-text 1996 version; and Michael Almereyda's 2000 modernisation, starring Ethan Hawke.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet ( ), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602.
 Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet.
 Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.

Question: Hamlet, also known as Hamlet 2000, is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, Steve Zahn acted as Rosencrantz, which are two characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy "Hamlet", childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of it?
Answer: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern