Princess Bride

One tradition held in many families is a parent reading to their child. My wife and I use to do this with our daughter and it resulted in our love for books continuing to the next generation. One popular type of story used in this setting is the fairy tale. These stories can run the gamut from sweet and innocent to subjects that rival modern horror flick. If you doubt the latter part of that statement just look up some of the original works of the aptly named Brothers Grimm. Many movies have tried to capture this familiar fairy tale feel but none have managed to capture the spirit as well as one film; ‘The Princess Bride’. This film has been a favorite of mine since it was first released in 1987 but Twentieth Century Fox has provided it on Blu-ray so the many fans can enjoy this masterpiece looking and sounding better than ever. I usually don’t care for overly cute affectations in DVD and Blu-ray editions but this one managed to set the stage for the whimsy to follow in a rather creative way. The menu depicts the dreaded ‘Cliffs of Insanity’ with the figure of a young man, maiden clutching his back, climbing the precipice by rope. As this animation goes on you hear a couple of voices from the film describe the event. This is the main menu and your remote controls the figure to make your selection listed along the length of the rope. Okay, it’s not the best menu ever but there was just something about it that seemed to capture the mood of the coming movie. Of course the purpose of any home release is the movie and no amount of cute features can make for a film lacking in imagination but fortunately this is definitely not the case here. ‘The Princess Bride’ is one of the great classics of the fantasy genre and this presentation is a must have even if you already own a copy in a prior format. If you are not already s fan that indicates that you have never seen this film so take advantage of this high definition edition and watch it already.

A great film naturally starts with a great story and in this instance it was derived from the creative mind of playwright, novelist and innovative story teller William Goldman. He has a lengthy list of awards and accolades including Academy Awards honoring his scripts for ‘All the President’s Men’ and his original screenplay for ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’. Not only did he write the novel the film used as its basis Goldman took on the translation of that work to this tightly structured fairy tale. The director may be a surprise to some; Rob Reiner. Perhaps television audiences best know him for his part on ‘All in the Family as Michael 'Meathead' Stivic but is has become quite an impressive director. Being so m multitalented should not be a surprise considering he is the son of one of the pioneers of television, Carl Reiner. The combination of Goldman and Reiner creates a synergy that has become a film that will continue to hold up through the years as timeless. A major part of this is how the story is related in the film. It starts off with a familiar setting; a child’s cough in the dark. A young boy (Fred Savage) is in his bedroom, sick. He is playing a baseball video game, primitive by today’s standards when his mother (Betsy Brantley) enters, checking his temperature with that special maternal kiss on the forehead. The story is told through the narrative voice of the Grandfather (Peter Falk) passing the time reading this story to the boy. Providing a setting we all have firsthand experience with instantly pull us in, returning our minds to the open acceptance of fantasy we once had as children.

The story proper opens in a rustic, far off land with a beautiful young woman, Buttercup (Robin Wright) and her farmhand Westley (Cary Elwes). Initially their relationship is her ordering him to certain chores and his inevitable response of ‘as you wish’. Eventually they come to the mutual realization that they are deeply in love with each other. The scene at sunset where they share a kiss comes across amazingly well in 1080p video. There is a richness and depth to the hues and a texture that never came across in previous releases. Before they can marry Westley feels he has to prove himself worthy of Buttercup and sails off to seek his fortune with the intention of returning to her worthy and well able to provide for her. He is captured by ‘The Dread Pirate Roberts’ and since his reputation is an unmerciful death to all captives the young man is written off as gone for good. Buttercup in deep despair reluctantly agrees to wed Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) but before the nuptials she is kidnapped by a trio of criminal; a Sicilian boss named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), his main henchman Fezzik (Andre the Giant), a man of far great height than wits, the suave Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) a Spaniard master fencer with his own agenda; he is searching for the six fingered murderer of his father. They are being pursued not only by the Humperdinck’s men but also a mysterious masked man in black. This film has everything traditionally required for a great piece of cinema. There is romance, adventure, undeserved misfortune, plot twists galore and incredibly well defined characters. The story is episodic in its presentation with the young woman traveling through life encountering one quirky character after another. In the hands of a less able director a scene might linger too long with one bit but Reiner demonstrated what it means to be a second generation comic genius and he paces the film perfectly; moving on to a new humorous turn before the laughter from the current situation has had time to fade. Of course it also helps a lot that the casting of this movie exhibits sheer genius. Robin Wright and Cary Elwes are just right as the genetically flawless storybook couple. In high def you can actually discern the smoothness of her skin right down to little freckles. Every hair on his scalp is placed at the perfect spot giving the image directly out of a fairy tale romance. For some thirty years Wallace Shawn has been hard at work as a character actor popping up in many films and television series frequent in odd little roles with his slight build, balding pate and lisp he adds a certain unmistakable oddball flavor to the proceedings. This is juxtaposed to the dashing figure cut by Patinkin with his rich staged trained tenor voice intoning a phrase that quickly became part of the popular lexicon; "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.". No thought is required here just add this disc to your collection and enjoy.

Disc One: Blu-ray
Audio Commentary by Director Rob Reiner And Screenwriter William Goldman
Featurettes:
- As you Wish: The Story Of The Princess Bride
- Miraculous Makeup
- The Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Pirate Of The Seven Seas
- Love Is Like A Storybook
- The Princess Bride The Untold Tales
- The Art of Fencing
- Fairytales and Folklore
Video Diary From Cary Elwes

Disc Two: Standard DVD
Full-Length Feature Film
The Princess Bride: The Untold Tales
The Art of Fencing
Fairytales and Folklore

Posted 06/04/2010