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The Princess Bride

4/29/2016

29 Comments

 

A-
3.62

While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride.

Directed by Rob Reiner
Starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright
Initial Review by Drew Landry

Picture
The Princess Bride cleverly told an old story.  It was the classic tale of a damsel in distress but also reminded us of the difficult relationship between the grandfather and grandson.  It told two continual, yet competing stories, one with the book by "S Morganstern" and the other played by Fred Savage and Peter Falk.  Doing that is a recipe for disaster because it takes a careful hand to guide a story through such precision and Rob Reiner pulled it off masterfully.  In the end, viewers learned the power of love but not in a gooey way.  The Princess Bride showed loves influence through comedy, sport, adventure, and suspense. Its ability to successfully achieve these aspects made it an instant classic for all generations.

Reiner was really the perfect director for this film.  He is, by no means, a serious drama kind of director but rather one who tells a good story.  His influence with Seinfeld and direction over This is Spinal Tap and not to mention this film speak to that ability.  He was exactly the director William Goldman needed to tell this fantastic tale.  His cast of Savage, Falk, Elwes, Wright, Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Shawn, Guest, and Sarandon beautifully acted out Goldman's tale through Reiner's direction.  No other director could have done it this way and been successful.

There were unforgettable scenes through The Princess Bride and one that comes to mind first was the sword fight between The Man in Black (TMiB) and Inigo Montoya.  The choreography and swordplay mixed with well timed dialogue can be held against any fight scene, let alone any sword (or lightsaber) fight, in modern film.  What was more impressive than their sheer athleticism was the way Inigo and TMiB were able to display their knowledge of the sword.  They exhibited this through their nomenclature discussion.  Their dialogue about the rocky terrain and Bonetti's defense, Capo Ferro, Thibault, and Agrippa adds to the amazement of this magnificent scene.

Another memorable scene was the "Battle of Wits."  To see Vizzini, the brains of the operation, go toe - to - toe against TMiB and eventually "lose" put the masked man over with the viewer in terms of brains.  We saw how he can out last a giant and out play a Spaniard but we also saw how he can outwit a Sicilian when death is on the line(!).

The quotes were and are significant.  How many times is a meme with Inigo's face with some words about not knowing what that word is posted somewhere on social media?  There are people who have the words "As you wish"  tattooed somewhere on their body.  I have said "anybody want a peanut?" like a million times to people.  I even tell students their upcoming exam will be "to the pain!"  Naturally, they have no idea as to what was referenced. Sad.  The most important quote came from Inigo Montoya and his revenge to the "Six Fingered Man."

Who could not be impressed with some of the minor characters? Miracle Max and Valerie, The Albino, The Impressive Clergyman, and The Booing Lady all held small but significant and hilarious roles.

Harsh critics of The Princess Bride may point to the inconsistency of Buttercup.  She was a smart mouth before Westley, completely useless in the Fire Swamp, and then smart mouth again, only to return to being useless. I understand that but she was in distress and upset when Westley was away.  He returns, she was butter.  He goes away, she becomes the smart mouth again.  Personally, her behavior is understood.  When I am around a woman I am all about, I become the biggest doofus on the face of the earth.  When I am alone, I perfectly fine.  It is, undoubtedly, weird but criticizing the character on that is too harsh.

The Princess Bride is consistently in my top ten of great films.  Funny, fun, cute, complex, engaging, and memorable.  Those characteristics make it, arguably, the best movie of the 1980s and is easily in the A range.  Its floor is A- and ceiling A+.  MMC Member Jon says no 1980 film is an A+.  Well Jon, you met your match.  This is an A+ film and I stand by that message.  Think he can convince me it is not?  It will take a miracle!

Grade: A+
29 Comments
Bryan
4/29/2016 11:10:11 pm

The Princess Bride's greatest accomplishment is that unlike most comedies, the second half keeps up with the first.

The dialogue is good and the humor occasional. Each scene is like a mini-play unto itself where characters happen to appear in different mini-plays.

I'm not sure how I feel about the grandpa reading to grandson part. It's not bad/good enough to help/hurt the grade.

Cute is an apt descriptor, but I wouldn't go with great. I'm good with my B.

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Admin
4/29/2016 11:10:35 pm

Replies to initial review.

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Bryan
4/29/2016 11:10:59 pm

Did Princess Bride hijack "As you wish." from Star Wars?

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Drew
4/30/2016 10:13:29 am

It came from the book, which was written in the early 1970s so probably not. But why do you ask?

Bryan
4/30/2016 11:17:37 pm

It seems like a reasonable question if it's a quotable quote.

Drew
5/1/2016 01:07:49 am

Only Star Wars has memorable quotes?

Bryan
5/1/2016 08:19:19 pm

I don't know. Why do you ask?

Drew
5/1/2016 11:00:53 pm

I am just trying to understand your initial question.

Bryan
5/1/2016 11:59:05 pm

I just want to know where the quote started.

Jon
5/2/2016 12:40:16 am

I know I wanted more comments, but I feel like I could've added an asterisk to that request.

Jon
5/3/2016 02:24:28 am

Is this movie about anything other than 'fairy tales are silly?' Is there some deeper meaning? If it's just a series of cool characters and witty lines, that's fine, but my personal definition of movie greatness means there has to be something truly powerful or profound in it. Just because I didn't get anything like that doesn't mean it's not there, but I'd like to hear from the hardcore fans if I'm missing something.

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Drew
5/3/2016 03:51:01 am

Yeah. I wrote about it in my review.

Shane
5/3/2016 01:30:35 pm

The story alone would be purely mocking fairy tales, but I think adding the layer of a grandfather and his grandson adds additional depth. It's saying, "Yeah, these stories are silly. But they're still a part of who we are as beings. We're story-tellers. We use these stories to relate the past to the present and the future. It's a way to connect. So go ahead and feel free to be a little whimsical and dream even silly things because that's a part of who we are."

Drew
5/8/2016 05:46:29 pm

If the only aspect taken away from The Princess Bride is that it makes fun of other fairy tales, the point of the film was missed. Did it have fun with characters? Yes, but it did not deflect from the film's plot or its meaning.

The point of the film was to tell an old story but in a clever way. This method allowed the grandson to know one, life is unfair, and two, love is powerful (I will only focus on this part because it was more prevalent and the former was mentioned in passing). He saw them through two paths; the story in and of itself and the story told by his grandfather. Remember, the grandson had no intention of seeing his grandfather, let alone allowing him to tell a story from a "kissing book." As the story progressed, however, the grandson's attitude changed not only towards the story but also his grandfather.

Furthermore, it did not dawn on the grandson about the story's influence until he asked his grandfather to return the next day and reread the story. Then we have one of the best responses, and we can chalk it up to Reiner for having the presence of mind for it, when the grandfather quoted the story when he responded with "As you wish."

Here is another interesting point about that scene. In its short window, the difficulty of expressing love in a male - to - male familial relationship was perfectly displayed. Much like Field of Dreams when Costner's character plays catch with his father to show love and respect, the grandson and grandfather codified their love by repeating the story.

When the aforementioned is mixed with the great acting and story, The Princess Bride becomes something more than simply a fairy tale at the expense of other fairy tales.

Tom
5/1/2016 01:16:59 am

The Princess bride is a classic in my book. Funny in a campy (a third place opening weekend for this film i believe puts this in "camp" status), self abasing tone which works because it mirrors Fred Savage's sentiment of such stories as the listener of the tale. I don't however believe the film enjoys its status today due to a deft hand in the director. The writting is pretty good albeit obviously reflecting the changing views of the listener to the tale the ominous man in black becomes or hero as the views of our de facto protagonist change in his budding adolescence. This i believe is the reason for the for the films status today with 25-35 year old males in particular. (god damn i am at the top end of my own fucking age scale) The movie is often if not entirely ham fisted. Which is ok because that is what this movie offers. But a nuked ham steak tastes nearly as good and a pan seared ham steak. I like the film for it's camp, one liners, and feel. B

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Jon
5/2/2016 02:23:51 am

I like this trend of a treasured 80's movie every round. It helps me knock out some holes in my movie-watching history, and it reduces the number of times in my future when someone around my age gawps in surprise that I haven't seen some cinematic staple of their childhood. Of the several 80's comedies we've done, The Princess Bride is the best, but in fairness, its competition is that douchebag Ferris Bueller and the off-brand Muppets in Explorers. I've been hearing effusive love for The Princess Bride from some of you guys for a long time, and I can imagine a person having strong feelings for it. My feelings are just generally positive.

I'm going to get the negative out of the way first, because I want this review to waft in the thumbs-up direction. I went back and read Phil's old Princess Bride review buried in Side Pieces, and because he already did it, I don't want to nitpick the plot. A big part of this film is that it's making fun of fairy-tale tropes, so any frustrating detail can be chalked up to that. This is a narrative that doesn't take logic and organic plot seriously, so I'm not going to force it do just that.

That's not to say I don't have complaints. I am not a fan of the framing device, first and foremost. The beginning and end are fine and even pretty good, but the interstitials don't add anything. As naturalistic as Savage was in his mannerisms, it wasn't worth the loss of momentum that all the interruptions caused. Something I will reiterate from Phil's review is that Buttercup pretty much sucks. She doesn't actually do anything besides ineffectually and meekly stand up to Humperdinck and threaten to kill herself. I also think the movie doesn't treat her fairly, as it seemed like she was being judged for trusting Humperdinck to honor his word to Westley when she had no better option in the moment. I don't think Wright and Elwes even had a good amount of chemistry, which should have been the primary focus in casting both actors. Their relationship is the stakes of the film, and if I'm not invested in it, something's missing. Smaller issues like the general awfulness of Billy Crystal (who I am rarely a fan of, and definitely not when he's making hacky jokes like asking for a mutton-lettuce-tomato sandwich) and the ultimate fate of Inigo, who I absolutely felt should have died from his wounds after getting revenge, made an otherwise pleasant experience slightly vexing in the aggregate.

Those complaints sting, because there is a lot to like in The Princess Bride. I'll agree that the film contains a very impressive sword fight. Desperate for clicks, the AV Club's been doing a Game of Thrones story a day, and one was an interview with the fight choreographer. The headline praised the show's 'thrilling' sword fights, but they've never approached the level on display here, both in the technique and the editing. Inigo getting his revenge is a thrilling sequence that worked on me, giving me that internal twinge that signifies any successful and well-executed cathartic scene. Andre the Giant gradually won me over, though he's a much better physical comedian than a deliverer of snappy dialogue, and Wallace Shawn successfully portrayed the kind of nerd that everyone wants to beat up. The real success is the dialogue, justly quoted in perpetuity despite the film's cult status. Several of the main characters are fun to listen to, as this is a film where the script is better than the direction. It's easy to see why The Princess Bride was adapted from a book to a movie, as its better lines are too clever to only be on the page.

Riley referred to The Princess Bride as a cute movie, and he hit the nail on the head. Cute isn't too far from corny, and the film also gets uncomfortably close to that line. In the aggregate, this is a totally fine, enjoyable film, but I wouldn't call the entire endeavor great. I think in the Princess Bride's attempt to deconstruct fairy tales, it sacrificed any emotional or profound oomph on the satirical altar. I need that oomph in my A-level movies. Treasured comedies from the 80's are getting better, as our latest one gets a B. At this rate, I should finally slap an A+ onto one by round 4.3.

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Sean
5/2/2016 03:25:14 pm

For the record, Drew is the biggest doofus on the earth with or without females present.

While watching the Princess Bride I began to think and came to the realization that I have seen this movie more times than everything but probably Big Lebowski, Fear and Loathing, and Pulp Fiction. Watching for the first time though was Mindy.

As with all our movies Mindy barely pays attention. She did ask 4-5 times if this was a Mel Brooks movie. I think the booing lady and the impressive clergyman were 2 times in particular. This waffling from fantasy to fantasy parody/spoof is what made her only give the movie a B.

I agree with what's been said by Jon and Phil in his previous review of Buttercup being useless. Robin Wright played a very good model at the beginning of the movie in that she utilized her facial expressions/super hotness to show that she and Westley were falling in love but she was wooden for the rest of the movie up until she fell into Fezziks arms.

Mandy Patinkin is the winner in this movie as he got to deliver great lines and do so with flair. He shines from start to finish. Honorable mention to Chris Sarandon who did his job well. Funny enough he looks today like Christopher Guest looked in this movie as the 6 fingered man.

Otherwise the performances were neither here nor there. Nothing amazing nothing terrible. I agree with Jon that Miracle Max's time on screen could've been cut and not hurt anything.

Nostalgia and rewatchability keep it in the A's but it's not a perfect movie. A-.

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Drew
5/2/2016 04:55:31 pm

If Miracle Max had been cut, Westley would not have "saved" Buttercup and the film's whole message would have been moot.

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Sean
5/2/2016 05:05:06 pm

Miracle Max could've been shorter and less annoying. Cut in that sense of the word.

Drew
5/2/2016 05:24:57 pm

Ah. The Miracle Max scene was a little under 4:30 minutes. How shorter can it get?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9tAKLTktY0

Jon
5/3/2016 02:27:59 am

If Westley comes out of the torture chamber more or less dead, then yes, they need to go to Miracle Max. However, there's nothing that says he has to be dead. He could've just been injured when Fezzik and Inigo break in and rescue him, and then there's no need for any miracle cures and the bad makeup/hacky jokes that went with them.

Drew
5/3/2016 04:17:10 am

Did you see the part where Count Rugen yelled "not up the fifty!"? Westley, as the story told, died. Andre took his "pulse" - so to speak - and diagnosed him as dead. No breathing, no heart beat in Fezzik's mind equated to death. That's when the grandson interrupted his grandfather with the idea that Westley was faking and the grandfather fires back with "You want me to read this or not?" After that interchange, Inigo comes up with the idea to visit Miracle Max so yes, Westley was dead. I am unsure how he could be alive when fifty years was sucked out of his life.

Sean
5/3/2016 10:06:58 am

Drew, you asked for ways we could cut out a character we found to be superfluous and unentertaining, he didn't have to push it to 50 and mostly kill him, he could have simply been extrememly tortured and injured and not substantially changed the story.

Drew
5/3/2016 10:53:43 am

I understand that but without the pill that is received from Miracle Max, how would Westley be revived? I can see cutting down the Miracle Max scene by not having the squabble between him and Valerie but Max is necessary. Unless, Inigo and Fezzik just mention his name when on the wall and about to revive Westley but then we would complain how we do not know Miracle Max. Seems like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" argument.

John R. Peters, Jr.
5/5/2016 09:42:22 am

If they didn't kill him, but instead hurt him that would have just been normal. Instead they took it a step further and killed him so he had to overcome actual death to get his love back.

Shane
5/3/2016 01:08:03 pm

Princess Bride is a modern classic that carefully toes the line between parody and action/adventure. The movie knowingly embraces cliches and and exploits them to move the story along to the amusement of the viewer. If this movie was made in the 2000's, it would have resulted in a trilogy like Pirates of the Caribbean.

A+

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John R. Peters, Jr.
5/4/2016 05:39:17 pm

The Princess Bride is one of the most fun and quotable movies I can think of. From the beginning to the end this movie you will find yourself laughing or at least having a little smirk.

The premise of The Princess Bride is to takes movie tropes and flips them on their heads or just takes them to the limit. The best of the movie being suicidally overconfident swordsman. Inigo Montoya is so confident in his abilities that instead of letting the man in the black mask die he lowers a rope to him and then lets him catch his breath. This also leads to one of the better non kung-fu sword fights on film as well as some of the best dialogue in the movie.

Throughout the movie the dialogue is witty and any of the physical comedy works. The one thing I wish they would have done was give more talking time Fezzik (Andre The Giant). The rest of the main characters walk away with quotes that have made their way into the lexicon of America except Fezzik and I feel like he was almost there. Maybe I'll start saying "Anybody want a peanut?" or "It’s not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don’t even exercise."

The onscreen chemistry of Westley and Buttercup was just not there, but then again I think this was on purpose as a nod to the fact they were making fun of fairytales. The storyline is ridiculous and the fact that the insurmountable thing he has to overcome to get his girl is literal death makes it even better. There are some parts sprinkled through that I didn't feel needed to be there, but that doesn't hurt the movie too much. Also Inigo getting his revenge was beautiful.

My final thoughts are what does it take for a movie to go from a cult classic to just a classic? Because If there is any movie that has made that switch it would be The Princess Bride or Fight Club. Because they can no longer be counted in the same category as Donnie Dark, The Big Lebowski or Big Trouble In Little China. This movie has gone from only the people who know about it love it to having Buzzfeed articles written about it, memes all of social media with Inigo face on them, and at about every other wedding I go to the Reverend starts by saying " Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us togevah today. Mawwage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dweam." It may not be a Titan, but The Princess Bride's impact is definitely measurable. B+

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John R. Peters Jr.
5/4/2016 05:41:30 pm

I also really like the fact that the dialogue during the swordfight was possibly more important to the fighters than the actual fighting.

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Cooker
5/21/2016 10:50:23 am

The idea of me writing a thorough review of the Princess Bride is INCONCEIVABLE! It’s a great movie. I first saw it at a church function back in the day. Last year, I read the William Goldman adapted version of the classic story for the first time. I was pleased by how much dialogue in the movie came directly from the text. I think I gave this movie an A-

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