Retrospective: Princess Bride, The (1987)

THE PRINCESS BRIDE
****  (out of ****)
a film review by
Richard A. Zwelling

I have been waiting for the right time to review this film.  I did not
feel until today that I was truly ready to say all I had to say about
director Rob Reiner's unforgettable staple of 1980s pop culture.  When
I first saw The Princess Bride, I was only 7 years old, and hardly
cognizant of film as anything but a pastime.  While I remember the
movie as being enjoyable, I did not have anywhere near as strong a
liking or appreciation for it as I do now.  I certainly did not
remember the film as a theater-going experience, and recently, I got
the chance to view it, on the big screen, with at least fifty others
in attendance at a midnight screening.

Personally, I am one of those people who, by nature, absorbs memorable
quotes, and by that token, the entirety of The Princess Bride is fair
game.  As I sat there watching, I could always hear somebody, if not
more than one person, at least whispering along with the movie under
his or her breath.  Meanwhile, I noticed that there was a wide
disparity of age groups.  There were pre-teens, teens, people in their
twenties, thirties, and some that looked well past forty.  If the
showing had not been at midnight, I do not doubt that there would have
been pre-pre-teens as well.

With a screenplay written by William Goldman (based on his book), The
Princess Bride is a classic, familiar story of a princess, her true
love, and the forces that come between them.  As is evidenced by those
in attendance, this is a story for all ages.  The manner in which this
fairytale part of the story is executed by Goldman and Reiner is
memorable enough to make this a great film.  As any fan of the movie
will tell you, however, it is the film's whimsical, irreverent,
pervasive tongue-in-cheek antics that make it an unqualified
masterpiece.

If you hang around people who love this film, do not be surprised if
they react to unbelievable situations with the exclamation,
"Inconceivable!"  Likewise, if you tell them to just wait a minute,
don't be thrown aback when they suddenly sport a Spanish accent in
saying, "I hate waiting."  And if you suddenly, from out of nowhere,
hear, "Hello…my name is Inigo Montoya…you killed my father…prepare to
die," don't worry.  It's not your fault, and you're not going to die.

While The Princess Bride has the sort of satirical edge more geared
towards adults, the film is equally effective as a pure fairytale, and
for this reason, there is a little something for everyone.  In
addition, the film enacts a self-referential tribute to the power and
beauty of fairytale stories, even in the current age in which many
consider them archaic and obsolete.

A sick grandson (Fred Savage), who is spending his time mindlessly
playing video games (of the nostalgic Atari 8-bit type), gets a visit
from his grandfather (portrayed through a wonderful performance from
Peter Falk).  To the grandson's dismay, his elder has brought a book
to read to him.  When he expresses disapproval at his grandfather's
old-fashioned ways, the grandfather's response is, "When I was your
age, television was called books."  Even this quote stands out as
resonant and memorable.

The grandson starts out expressing skepticism and boredom, but of
course, as the reading of the story progresses, this gradually gives
way to captivation and praise.  Buttercup (Robin Wright, in her
breakthrough role) is a fair-haired, stunningly gorgeous maiden who
has been engaged to the smug, cowardly Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon),
the prince who rules over the land of Florin.  She of course does not
love him, and she has been without joy since her true love, a farm boy
named Wesley (Cary Elwes), was reportedly murdered on the seas.

Of course, without Wesley, there is no story of true love, and we know
that he must miraculously return to her someday.  This happens through
an extraordinary, and increasingly hilarious, set of circumstances.  A
group of three bandits kidnap Buttercup with the intent of killing her
to precipitate a war between Florin and its enemy, Guilder.  These
three are (in order of increasing stature) the intellectually pompous
Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), the Spanish swordsman Inigo (Mandy Patinkin),
and the big-hearted slow-witted giant Fezzik (the late Andre the
Giant, in one of the most no-brainer casting decisions in all of film
history).

During the kidnapping, however, a mysterious man in black closes in on
the trail of the three abductors, and it is this man who takes on each
of the three one by one in battles of skill, strength, smarts, and of
course, deliciously witty repartee.  There is something unusually
extraordinary about these battles, however.

With the exception of Vezzini, the abductors are not villains as we
might initially perceive them to be.  The marvelously choreographed
swordplay between the man in black and Inigo, and the hilarious
absurdity of the handfight with Fezzik, are not at all about winning
or losing.  They embody a sense of honor, sportsmanship, and nobility
that is rarely exemplified in competition (both fictional and real).

Inigo, Fezzik, and the man in black do not display their skills
pretentiously or flauntingly.  Instead, they take a strong sense of
inner pride in the subtle mastery of their arts.  As a result, when we
see them engage in competition, there is not a sense of enmity, but a
wonderful air of camaraderie.

Also included in the mix are a sadistic count (Christopher Guest) with
an odd physical characteristic and a penchant for pain, an albino (Mel
Smith) with a stuffy throat, the deadly wrath of an R.O.U.S., and a
clergyman (Peter Cook) who makes Elmer Fudd seem eloquently spoken. 
Most memorable, perhaps, is the appearance of Billy Crystal and Carol
Kane as the miracle-man Max and his wife.  It has been reported that
in the middle of filming this scene, Reiner was forced to leave the
set, because Crystal's improvisations were causing him to laugh to the
point of being sick.

Regarding the film's casting, every single choice, without exception,
is absolute perfection.  Cary Elwes not only easily looks the part of
a daring, ingenious hero, but as an actor, he has an incredible gift
for a subtle mixture of drama and comedy, one that easily coincides
with the film's sensibilities.  Robin Wright easily essays the role of
the headstrong princess, endlessly devoted to her love (with a
convincing British accent, despite her American origins).

For the scene of swordplay, Elwes and Patinkin had to study fencing
for months, which is impressive, but on-screen, I had no trouble
believing that they were characters who had studied for at least
several years.  Despite his limited acting ability, wrestler Andre the
Giant is perfect for the role of Fezzik, and something would be lost
with any other actor in his place.  And of course, Wallace Shawn is
endlessly amusing to watch as the diminutive, perpetually exasperated
Vezzini.

We also don't have to hear Christopher Guest and Chris Sarandon speak
any lines to know they are portraying villains.  The arrogance,
callousness, and sliminess are readily apparent in their facial and
bodily expressions.

When all is said and done, we have witnessed a wide variety of
hilarity, captivating acts of love and heroism, and of course, one of
the most satisfying acts of retribution ever put on film (one that
immortalizes the film's most famous quote and chooses just the right
time and placement for the film's sole swear word).

For someone who watches this film for the first time, and quickly
catches on to the film's capricious mix of reverence and satire, the
film is a marvel to watch simply for the knowledge that you do not
know what will come next.  Will there be a touching moment?  A
reflective one?  An act of bravado?  Or will our expectations be
subverted in an act of comical subterfuge?  The answer:  any of them
will do, as the film has a delectable variety of all of them.

>From start to finish, The Princess Bride is a transcendent, magical
experience that constantly elicits uproarious laughter and
simultaneously immerses the audience in a rich, magnificent, and
almost nostalgic world of folklore that, after the end credits roll,
seems timeless and undying.  In the years since its release in 1987,
it has grown into a cult film of legendary status, and judging by the
wide variety of ages I witnessed at the screening (as well as the
endless barrage of quoting), it seems perfectly reasonable to assume
that the film will endure for many years to come.

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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1195329
X-RT-TitleID: 1016744
X-RT-AuthorID: 7583
X-RT-RatingText: 4/4