The Princess Bride:The 25th Anniversary.

Rating: 10/10 (18 March 2013)

Despite being a fan of director/producer Rob Reiner's classic Comedy This Is Spinal Tap,and also being mesmerise by his elegant adaptation of Stephen King's short story The Body with Stand By Me,I have oddly found myself intensionally staying away from seeing his Comedy Adventure Fantasy film The Princess Bride for a number of years,due to having seen a clip of the movie years ago on TV,that didn't connect with me at all.
Checking four days ago to see what was coming out at my local cinema this week,I was shocked to discover that they were holding a one-off screening to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Princess Bride.Shortly after reading about the screening,I began to get a sudden feeling that something about this film might be pretty special,which led to me running down to the cinema,to pre-book a ticket so that I could at last pay my long,overdue visit to what sounded to be a very special princess.
The plot:
Paying a visit to his ill grandson,the grandfather is sad to discover that his ill in bed grandson is not resting,but instead playing Video Games.Grabbing his grandson's attention for one moment as he enters the bedroom,the grandfather decides to make the most of his opportunity by turning off the TV,and taking a book off the bedroom shelf called The Princess Bride that he used to have read to him when he was his grandson's age.Hearing objections from his grandson,the grandfather tells him to give the novel a chance,as he begins to read The Princess Bride to him.
The Princess Bride:
Spending all of her life on a farm,Buttercup enjoys passing the time by riding the horses that she owns,and also lightly teasing a farm boy called Westley,who replies to Buttercup's teasing with a smile and the words "As you wish".Warming to Westley, thanks to him always taking her teasing with good grace,Buttercup begins to feel that Westley's words of "As you wish",actually mean "I love you",which leads to Buttercup and Westley finally opening up,and falling in love with each other.
With neither of them having enough money to afford a wedding,Westley makes the painful decision to leave Buttercup temporally behind,and go to work on a ship,so that he can gather enough money which will allow him and Buttercup to have the marriage of their dreams.Promising that he will return to his beloved soon,Westley's promise soon becomes a fading memory,when Buttercup receives news that Westly's ship has been attacked,and that there are no sign of any survivors.
5 years later:
Gathering the pilgrims of Florin,Prince Humperdinck announces that on the upcoming 500th anniversary of the city's creation,he has decided to mark the day by choosing a pilgrim who he can get married to:Buttercup.Despite Humperdinck's happiness over the choice of his future wife,Buttercup finds the memories of her first love Westley to have a strong grip on her,which leads to Buttercup feeling completely empty over her future marriage.
Riding around the woodland area of Florin,Buttercup is stopped in her tracks by three men called Vizzini,Fezzik and Inigo Montoya,who quickly grab,and kidnap Buttercup.Dragging the still-alive Buttercup's body up the Cliffs of Insanity,due to them wanting to start a war between Florin and a near by city,by placing Buttercup's dead body in the other city.The kidnappers suddenly see a strange image which leaves them completely in shock,due to the image being of a masked wearing man climbing the Cliffs of Insanity and quickly catching up to them,with the strange man looking as if he is willing to do everything possible to get Buttercup out of the kidnappers hands and off the Cliffs of Insanity.
View on the film:
Adapting from his own 1974 novel,William Goldman's amazingly lean screenplay allows the grandfather and grandson (played by a very good Peter Falk and Ben Savage) to "interrupt" the unfolding Princess Bride story taking place,which allows for any moments when the film could possibly fall into the clichés of the Fantasy genre,to instead be paunched by Goldman's subtle comedic hand,which led to everyone in the cinema awing and laughing none stop for this brilliant movie.
Bending the worn out and tied roads that have been taken with a "damsel in distress" Fairy tale,Goldman superbly shows the enthralling missions that the characters face with a perfect seriousness that makes sure the viewer laughs with the characters,and not at them.Along with the Fantasy parts to the tale,Goldman also jam-packs the movie with sharp,hilarious Comedy that offers something for all ages.
This is thanks to the Comedy going from delightfully silly slap-stick (which wine is poisoned?) and perfectly delivered one-liner's , ("Hello,my name is Inigo Montoya.You killed my father.Prepare to die!.") to even some surprisingly satirical moments (the late Peter Cook playing The Impressive Clergyman,and the great line "I've hired you to start a war,It's a prestigious line of work,with a long and glorious tradition!.)
Revealing an epic eye for scope that he had never shown before,with the Ireland and England locations being shown at their full beauty,co- producer/director Rob Reiner strikes the perfect balance of allowing the locations to create an enchanting,unforgettable atmosphere,whilst also keeping the movie from flying away by placing all of the characters feet firmly on the ground,which allows for the hilarious Comedy moments to hit their target every time.
Brilliantly complementing the astonishing locations,Reiner never allows any of the characters to fade into the corner of the screen,but to instead shine the movie on each of the characters,which helps to make each of the characters feel that they are at the very centre of this truly magical tale.