Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Princess Bride. This is another movie that was on one of the lists that claim, "you must watch before you die," or something similar. Enjoy!
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Peter Falk, Fred Savage, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane. Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his kidnapped true love, Princess Buttercup, from the evil Prince Humperdinck. The film narrative style by presenting the story as a book being ready by a grandfather to his sick grandson.
The film was first released by 20th Century Fox in the United States and by Interaccess Film Distribution in international markets on September 25, 1987, and received widespread critical acclaim. After having only modest initial box office success, it has over time become a cult film and gained recognition as one of the greatest films of the 1980s as well as one of Reiner's best works. The film is number 50 on the Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies", number 88 on The American Film Institute's (AFI) "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions" list of the 100 greatest film love stories, and 46 in Channel 4's 50 Greatest Comedy Films list. The film also won the 1988 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the People's Choice Award at the 12th Toronto International Film Festival. In 2016, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
Plot: A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other. Based on the William Goldman novel The Princess Bride which earned its own loyal audience.
Acting: Unless otherwise stated, The Princess Bride is my favorite movie for the actors.
Cary Elwes as Westley/the Dread Pirate Roberts. Reiner had quickly decided on Cary Elwes for Westley, based on his performance in Lady Jane; however, during the casting period in Los Angeles, Elwes was in West Germany on set for Maschenka. Reiner flew out to West Berlin to meet with Elwes, confirming his appropriateness for the role. While Reiner and casting director Jane Jenkins auditioned other actors for Westley, they knew Elwes was perfect for the part. His four most notable titles so far are Saw, The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Kiss the Girls.
Robin Wright played Princess Buttercup. Robin Wright was cast late in the process, about a week before filming. Uma Thurman, Meg Ryan, Sean Young, Suzy Amis, Courteney Cox, Alexandra Paul and Whoopi Goldberg all auditioned for the role. Though initially shy, Wright impressed Jenkins, and later Reiner. Her four most notable titles so far include Forrest Gump, Beowulf, The Princess Bride and Unbreakable.
Mandy Patinkin played Inigo Montoya. Mandy Patinkin and Wallace Shawn were early choices for the cast; Shawn in particular was chosen as Vizzini due to his diminutive size to contrast that of the giant Fezzik. His four most notable titles so far are Alien Nation, The Princess Bride, Dick Tracy, and the Homeland television series. Other than The Princess Bride, my favorite role of his is Jason Gideon on Criminal Minds.
André the Giant played Fezzik. When Goldman originally shopped his novel in the early 1970s, his first choice for Fezzik was André the Giant, whose wrestling schedule left him unavailable for filming. Goldman's second choice was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who at that time was almost unknown as an actor. By the time The Princess Bride was greenlit, Schwarzenegger was a major film star and the studio could not afford him. Jenkins auditioned other tall men, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lou Ferrigno and Carel Struycken, but these did not pan out. André was hesitant to take the part on the account of the fact that the film's dialogue was in English while he was French and because he was a wrestler, not an actor. Liam Neeson also auditioned for the role, but he was turned down due to height. Near the end of casting, the World Wrestling Federation told Jenkins that André's match in Tokyo had been cancelled, clearing him to play the role of Fezzik.
Chris Sarandon played Prince Humperdinck. His four most notable titles currently are Fright Night, The Princess Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Dog Day Afternoon. The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite!
Christopher Guest played Count Tyrone Rugen. His four most notable titles so far include This is Spinal Tap, Wiating for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show.
Minor roles included: Wallace Shawn as Vizzini; Fred Savage as the grandson; Peter Falk as the grandfather; Peter Cook as the Impressive Clergyman; Mel Smith as the Albino; Carol Kane as Valerie; Billy Crystal as Miracle Max; Betsy Brantley as the mother; Margery Mason as the Ancient Booer; Willoughby Gray and Anne Dyson as the King and Queen of Florin; Malcolm Story as chief enforcer Yellin; Paul Badger as an assistant brute; and Anthony Georghiou and Danny Blackner as the Rodents of Unusual Size.
Technical Aspects: Rob Reiner, who had been enamored of Goldman's book over since he was given it as a gift from his father, realized he wanted to make the film adaptation after successfully demonstrating his filmmaking skill with the release of This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. During production of Stand by Me, released in 1986, Reiner had spoken to an executive at Paramount Pictures regarding what his next film would be, and suggested the adaptation of The Princess Bride. He was told they could not, leading Reiner to discover that several studios had previously attempted to bring Goldman's book to the big screen without success.
Those previous attempts included 20th Century Fox, which paid Goldman $500,000 for the film rights and to do a screenplay in 1973. Richard Lester was signed to direct and the movie was almost made, but the head of production at Fox was fired and the project was put on hiatus. Goldman subsequently bought back the film rights to the novel. Other directors had also attempted to adapt the book, including François Truffaut, Robert Redford and Norman Jewison, and at one point, Christopher Reeve was interested in playing Westley in one planned adaptation. Reiner found success by gaining financial support from Norman Lear, whom Reiner knew from All in the Family and who had funded production of This Is Spinal Tap, with the production to be distributed by 20th Century Fox. Reiner worked closely with Goldman to adapt the book for the screenplay.
In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reiner acknowledged that then-20th Century Fox head Barry Diller also had a prominent role in the film's production, instructing him to make it a film which, like The Wizard of Oz, could instead find greater success over time rather than immediately after its initial release. (I'd say they succeeded in that endeavor.)
Final Thoughts: The Princess Bride is a great movie. One that every single person should certainly watch before they die. It's romantic, funny, serious at times. It really is the perfect family movie. Everyone can enjoy it.
There's so many memorable quotes and scenes that it's hard to pick favorites.
My favorite scenes were the fight scenes between the Dread Pirate Roberts (aka Westley) and Inigo Montoya, Fezzik and Vizzini. Not only were they all fun to watch, but also respectful. The outcomes of said fights are also somewhat surprising. Honorable mentions include Westley saying "As you wish!" as he rolls down the hill after Buttercup pushed him, and then her following after him; and while Westley is paralyzed and being handled by Fezzik.
My favorite quote is "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." —Inigo Montoya.
Honorable mentions include:
"Jesus grandpa, what did you read this thing to me for?" —Son
"Well, who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair." —Grandpa.
"There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change." —Miracle Max
"Inconceivable!" —Vizzini
"Gently!" —Westley
Rated: PG
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Princess Bride is currently available on Disney+ and Philo with subscriptions. But, you can also purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. There is also a DVD of the film available at the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark.
