Plot Summary and a Look at Theme

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2011)

The Princess Bride begins with a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a story to his young grandson (Peter Savage) in modern time (presumably 1987, when the movie was released). A young woman, Buttercup (Robin Wright) and the farm-hand, Wesley (Cary Elwes) are in love, although they deny it. Wesley sets off on a journey and Buttercup is afraid she will never see him again. News reaches her later that he died on his journey, after which she becomes engaged to Prince Humpledink (Chris Sarandon). While horseback-riding, a group of bandits kidnap her. This group includes Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzik (Andre the Giant). A masked man pursues them on boat, up a cliff, and across a plain. He defeats each of the three separately and kills Vizzini in a match of wits. He rescues the Princess and soon reveals himself to be Wesley who actually took over for the pirate that presumably killed him. They cross the fire swamp successfully but are soon caught up to by the prince and his tracking party. They take the princess home and, unknown to Buttercup, take Wesley to the Pit of Despair where he is tortured to near-death. The princess is deceived, believing Wesley to be safe. Meanwhile, Fezzik and Inigo reunite and decide that they must locate Wesley. They find him in the Pit of Despair and take him to Mircale Max (Billy Crystal) who revives him. Inigo exacts his revenge on Humpledink's right-hand man (Christopher Guest) and Wesley ties up Humpledink. The four of them ride off on horseback to safety. The grandfather tells his grandson that the kiss between Wesley and Buttercup was the truest and passionate kiss the world has known.
The film's main focus is on emotion. Comedy, romance, and action are all genres that focus heavily on manipulating the audience's emotions. The sword fight between Inigo and Wesley, the most impressive in the film, utilizes suspense throughout. Wesley reveals himself to be right handed, as does Inigo, both at separate times. Inigo is disarmed twice and, even though he is a villain at this point, it is hard not to cheer him on. The passionate goodbye from Buttercup to Wesley increases her depression and regret upon hearing of his death and later strengthens the joy of their reunion. Even the grandfather helps by manipulating the emotions of his grandson, first by telling him that Buttercup wed Humpledink (much to the grandson's frustration) and later that Wesley was tortured to death. These scenes are done comically by foreshadowing that this is not "how it is supposed to be" and that these ridiculous although fitting twists will not be long-lasting. Comical elements include Vizzini's repeated "unconscionable!" line and the cowardice of Humpledink and the Duke (his right-hand man mentioned earlier). The film is very close in theme to Robin Hood, Men in Tights (1993) (also staring Cary Elwes, which also features a very similar scene where a damsel in distress jumps out of a window onto a horse).
Camera angles were used in close-ups to emphasize comedic looks on the actor's faces. Vizzini's face is almost always zoomed in on when he repeats his line, the gate-keepers face is zoomed in on when he lies about the key, and the albino, an all-around comic character, is zoomed in on in his introduction. Costumes also lend themselves greatly to comedy when it comes to Miracle Max and his wife, Valerie (Carol Kane) who were wearing heavy make-up, wigs, and, for lack of a better term, old people clothes. They seem to be an old married couple who love each other but feel stuck with one another, constantly teasing and contradicting one another.
Overall, the film is very successful at taking romance and action tales and spicing them up with a bit of comedy, even while taking shots of the very genres themselves. The film, although ridiculous, is easy to get involved in, largely due to the narrating of the grandfather. The comedic parts of funny, the action is suspenseful (particularly scenes involving Inigo), and the romance is one that the audience will find themselves rooting for.