THE PRINCESS BRIDE
A film review by Clark Quinn
Copyright 1987 Clark Quinn
"Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity
Battling the Rodents of Unusual Size
Cast into the Pit of Despair
True love has never been a snap."
I admit it, I was skeptical. I also was hopeful. This paradox came about by having read the wonderful book THE PRINCESS BRIDE by William Goldman and being unable to imagine that it could be turned into a successful movie, capturing the humor, wonder, the *magic* of that book. Why, then, was I hopeful? Well, the screenplay was written by the same William Goldman who also wrote the screenplay for one of my all-time favorite movies, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. And the director was Rob Reiner, who has an apparently flawless record with THIS IS SPINAL TAP, THE SURE THING, and STAND BY ME. With mixed feelings, I went to see a sneak preview of the movie THE PRINCESS BRIDE.
For once, my optimism was richly rewarded and my cynicism was sent snivelling back under its rock; this is a near-perfect movie. The movie captures, as did the book, an unabashed affection for heroic fantasy, touched with a soft spot for True Love, and retaining a deft appreciation for humor. Witty, warm, and still exciting, this movie captures the magic that seems so elusive in today's bottom-line oriented movie making. Of course, there is more than just a good screenwriter and director behind this success. As I have gleaned from an interview with Norman Lear and Rob Reiner in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times, and an excerpt, published on the net, from a cinema magazine, this is definitely a labor of love by the principals. Rob Reiner fell in love with the book and has been trying to make it for many years. William Goldman wrote the screenplay for the book and fought to regain control of it so that it could get made. Norman Lear produced the money for the movie when Rob Reiner was having trouble obtaining it, with no strings attached.
Enough about the history, how about the movie? Well, most of the casting is nearly perfect. As the mysterious and heroic protaganist of the story, newcomer Cary Elwes is perfect. Capturing the necessary secure confidence, self-effacing humility, and romantic fervor, Elwes *is* Wesley. I didn't recognize Mandy Patinkin as the murdered swordmaker's son, Inigo Montoya, until part way through the movie. He just about stole every scene he was in. In fact, my favorite scene in the movie is the duel between these two on the brink of the Cliffs of Insanity. Similarly well cast was Andre the Giant as the strongman, Vizzini (?); Chris Sarandon as the wicked Prince; and Christopher Guest as the evil advisor to the prince. From there the casting was only a little less effective. I wish I could be more enthused about the heroine. Another newcomer, Robin Wright is beautiful enough as the milkmaid-turned- princess, Buttercup, but she seemed to lack some magic sparkle. I may be picking at nits, but I confess that I thought her a tad wooden. Another niggling problem was the casting of some of the bit parts. For reasons I can only guess at, a number of cameos were filled by (to greater or lesser extent) well-known characters. By and large, these failed (for me) to capture the requisite gentle, subtle humor that characterized the rest of the movie. Wallace Shawn, as the Sicilian, was particularly strident and unconvincing as a masterful schemer. Peter Cook, as the Bishop, added a jarring note to the wedding scene. Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, as the semi-retired miracle worker and his wife, added a less distracting note, but their scene still retained a touch of schtick. To end on a cheery note, Peter Falk as the grandfather and the boy who played the sick grandson, in the story surrounding the story of the Princess Bride, were both excellent. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at the understated job Falk turned in as the grandfather slowly arousing the interest of the originally sceptical child.
The rest of the movie stood out, too. The scenery and cinematography were not noticeably awkward, a frequent problem in fantasy movies. While you had to be aware that some of the settings (such as the infamous Cliffs) were not real, there was none of the usual artificial look about places like the Swamp of Fire. If I do not notice the scenery too much, if the scenery is an integral part of the movie, I consider it a success. The same holds true for the music. With my tin ear, the only time I notice the soundtrack is when the music strongly contrasts with what I would expect in a scene. In one recent movie I kept wondering, "Why are they playing this creepy, somethings-gonna-happen music in the middle of the denouement?" While this may be damning with faint praise, Mark Knopfler's score certainly didn't intrude on the scenes at all. You'll have to read another review to find out more about how effective the score was.
The screenplay, as I should have expected, was wonderful. As was noted in the excerpt on the net, large amounts of the dialogue were lifted from the book. The rest of the dialogue seemed to aptly mesh with the atmosphere that I waxed so enthusiastic about at the beginning of this review. My only hesitation is that I saw this at a sneak preview in our large auditorium, which has a murky sound system, so that I missed some of the dialogue, particularly of Andre the Giant (who had some good lines). Similarly, the pacing of the direction was superb. There were no flat spots, no rushed action.
All in all, I think that THE PRINCESS BRIDE is a must see. While I will have to see it again before I confer upon it the status of a classic, I will give it a strong 3 on the -4 to +4 scale. I may well give it a 4 after a second viewing. -- Clark
Starring: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant Screenplay: William Goldman Music: Mark Knopfler Director of Photography: Adrian Biddle Editor: Robert Leighton Executive Producer: Norman Lear Producers: Rob Reiner and Alexander Scheinman Director: Rob Reiner
Clark N. Quinn clark%ics@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu OR {ucbvax,decvax,akgua,dcdwest}!sdcsvax!sdics!clark.uucp
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