The Princess Bride

A boy (Fred Savage) is home sick, and to his dismay, his grandfather (Peter Falk) has come to read him a fairy tale. It's the story of the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright) who falls for farmboy "As you wish" Westley (Cary Elwes). He goes off to make his fortune, but after news of his death, Buttercup is being married off to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Then the princess bride gets kidnapped by three rogues (Wallace Shawn, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant).

This is possibly the best fairy tale reimagining ever. Peter Falk's feign indifference narration sets off the great adventure, and Fred Savage has just the best balance. Director Rob Reiner has put together all the fairy tale snippets and create something even better. The characters are memorable. And who could forget the fun that Wallace Shawn has choosing the poison drink. Mandy Patinkin is absolutely amazing as the swordsman seeking revenge from the six finger man. And there will never be another André the Giant.

A romance, a comedy, an adventure & a fantasy, The Princess Bride is an amalgamation of all of these and is a fairy tale that has been passed from fathers to sons for generations and here is presented in the form of a novel that is being read by a grandfather to his grandson, thus making sure that the book's narrative style & structure is kept entirely preserved.

The Princess Bride tells the story of Buttercup who falls in love with a farm guy but loses him and is at last engaged to the Prince of the region. One day, she is kidnapped & held against her will by three hired helpers; a Sicilian boss, a Spanish swordsman & a giant. But they soon find themselves being pursued by a mysterious masked man who's gaining on their trail.

Rob Reiner has directed some well-known classics (A Few Good Men, Stand by Me & When Harry Met Sally...) but most people are still not familiar with his name because unlike other filmmakers, he has no unique style of shooting a film or possesses a trademark. And this is another one of his films that's pretty different in style & approach when compared to his other works. And Reiner does a good job at it.

The screenplay is adapted from the book of the same name in a manner that preserves its narrative style, camera-work & editing nicely compliment each other, visuals effects never aims for a realistic portrayal of the world depicted in the story plus it benefits very much from its sweet, tender & pleasant performances from its cast, including Andre the Giant.

On an overall scale, there isn't much wrong with The Princess Bride & carries out most of its elements the way it's meant to be. More entertaining than what I was expecting from it, definitely showing a lot of heart, warmth & charm and yet it didn't click enough with me for I'm not really a fan of fairy tales. But for those who've read the book or heard the story or even many newcomers, this will be a delightful experience.

Not much to add to other reviews - a delightful, warm story with some hilarious sections. Rob Reiner had to leave the set while Billy Crystal did his scenes because he became nauseated from laughing so hard. Mandy Patinkin bruised a rib trying to keep from laughing during his scene with Crystal.

Robin Wright was a perfect, sweet ingenue just as now she's an amazing President on "House of Cards" and was everyone's image of the ideal First Lady.

The entire cast was great. I loved Peter Falk reading the story to Fred Savage.

The simplest pleasures in life are the best, and this film is one of them. Combining a rather basic storyline of love and adventure this movie transcends the usual weekend fair with wit and unmitigated charm. Every character is a delight and you just want to see more of them. "The Princess Bride" is based on the unsurpassed novel by William Goldman, who also penned the screenplay. While this is a movie review, I cannot recommend the book on which it is based more highly. It is quite simply the most humorous, enthralling fable ever written and will fill in many details that were impossible to include on the screen. The only other movie of this type that I can think of that is this much fun was Danny Kaye's "The Court Jester," another costumed comedy/adventure/romance that I also highly recommend.

This film is an intelligent, sardonic send up of several genres that pokes fun (affectionately) at fairy tales, swashbucklers, love stories and basic conventions of film. One of my favorite scenes is where Inigo Montoya first confronts his quarry after years of searching. His adversary does the unexpected-and what most villains in real life WOULD do under the same circumstances, with hilarious results in the scene. Basil Rathbone probably whirled in his grave!

Not by any means Citizen Kane (we already have one of those, anyway) but a champ in its weight class, with a perfect score, a fine script and good performances. Far more true to the flavor of the original fairy tales that it spoofs than even the best of Disney's takes. I loved it the first time I saw it and love it more now. Well worth watching. Recommended.