Classic Eighties Film: The Princess Bride

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2007)

The Princess Bride (1987): Starring Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Billy Crystal, Peter Cook, Mel Smith, Carol Kane, Anne Dyson, Willoughby Gray, Malcolm Storry, Margery Mason, Betsy Brantley, Sallie McLaughlin, Paul Badger...Director Rob Reiner, Screenplay William Goldman.
Based on William Goldman's novel, this is the film adaptation (that he himself wrote) from director Rob Reiner. Released in 1987, it became a fantasy romance cult classic from the 80's. It was the film debut of actress Robin Wright Penn (Jenny from Forest Gump), a wonderful beginning to a lengthy career. She plays the eponymous "Princess" Buttercup a country girl in the fictional land of Florin, who falls for the stable boy/field hand, Westley (Cary Elwes). It's a match made in heaven, but when Westley goes off to seek fortune and fame, he is kidnapped by the dread Pirate Roberts and his crew. Buttercup believes he died and is obligated to marry Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) who wants only to use her as a political pawn, unbeknownst to her, so that he may declare war on the rival country of Guilder. While out riding her horse, Buttercup is kidnapped by bandits. They are Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and Fezzik (WWF wrestler Andre the Giant). The bandits are in turn pursued by a masked stranger in black, who turns up to be none other than Westley. But after the lovers are reunited, Prince Humperdinck intervenes, forcing Buttercup to give up her true love in order to save his life. Through a series of "miracles", such as the supposed resurrection of the "almost dead" Westley by Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), and through the help of reformed bandits Fezzik and Inigo, the princess is saved from the clutches of the villain. And all of this is a story within another story- that of a young boy (child star Fred Savage who was beginning work on the TV series "The Wonder Years") who, bored of playing sports and Nintendo video games, gets a visit from his grandfather (Peter Falk) who reads him the Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern. Gradually, the boy is hooked into reading. Much of the film contains witty, tongue-in-cheek satirical humor, as if the whole plot is a parody of a traditional fairy tale romance or romantic adventure, and indeed this film contains elements of both. We have the "miracle" performed by Max, the daring escapes by Westley, the Fire Swamp full of Rodents of Unusual Size and the classic plot of a brave hero rescuing the princess from the villain. The cinematography by Adrian Biddle is remarkable, but only in the shots of outdoor locations such as forests, mountains, ocean and countryside. The interior of homes and castles are clearly bad studio sets. The music by Mark Knopfler is neither impressive nor memorable, often sounding electronic, but the love song "Storybook Love" sung by Willy De Ville during the closing credits was a major hit at the time. The costumes by Phyllis Dalton are lovely and accurate to this Late Medieval/Renaissance Europe world. There is much to like and dislike about this film, but generally audiences have enjoyed it, simply because it's a feel good romance adventure film. William Goldman and Rob Reiner remain faithful to the original novel, which is a rarity and a good thing when it comes to novel-to-film adaptations. However, the downside includes not only the bad musical score but the abundantly cheesy dialog (in the novel it works, but not in the film) most of this being one-liners and clichéd, common remarks. Also, although the acting by Mandy Patinkin and Andre the Giant is good, their heavy accents make it hard to understand what they are saying. Robin Wright Penn is a superb actress but she is doing nothing worthy of even a Golden Globe in this film, as she is simply portraying a nearly Disney-like princess heroine, which means she is uninteresting, flat and passive, never doing a thing to help herself and instead waiting on Westley her knight in shining armor. But don't get me wrong, this is a great film and a classic from a decade (the 80's) that saw many fine films.