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Summary: Have to love it
Review: The perfect story of revenge, adventure, laughter, and of course love-- this movie is one you can never grow tired of watching.
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Summary: My favorite movie, although it does have flaws...
Review: I first saw "The Princess Bride" ten years ago, and immediately fell in love with it. As other reviewers have pointed out, it has all of the elements of a great sword & sorcery flick: engaging characters, witty dialogue, amazing swordplay, heroes and villains, etc. I will let the other reviews speak to the great qualities of this film, which is my all-time favorite, even ranking ahead of my other faves (so that the reader may see where my biases lie, here they are in no particular order, and differing completely from each other: Casablanca, The Sting, Shakespeare in Love, Chariots of Fire, The Matrix, The Maltese Falcon, Chushingura, The Sound of Music, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Amadeus).However, this movie is not perfect. The primary criticism I have is the usual portrayal of woman-as-victim, man-as-hero. This type of caricature was outdated decades ago, yet still finds its way into modern films (I find this same fault with one of my favorites, "The Sound of Music," in which the screenplay is cloying in its portrayal of female characters). I would have preferred seeing Buttercup as a stronger woman character (think Trinity in "The Matrix," although TPB pre-dates it, or go back in history 2000 years to Boadicea in Roman-occupied Britain). My second complaint may draw ire from other fans, but I think that Billy Crystal and Carol Kane were superfluous to the film. I am not that familiar with Carol Kane, and usually enjoy Crystal's performances, but in this case they were simply ancestors of Jar Jar Binks. Cute for a moment, then just annoying. Finally, Andre the Giant just cannot enunciate, and it is almost painful trying to listen to him speak. However, I did enjoy the character he played. Despite my criticisms, "The Princess Bride" is an incredibly enjoyable film, and is suitable for almost all ages and audiences. It is the one film that I recommend to almost everyone I know.
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Summary: And don't forget Andre!
Review: I agree wholeheartedly with all the positive reviews above. This is, perhaps, my favorite film. One name that has not been mentioned in the reviews is Andre. Until this film, Andre the Giant was known to the world as a brutish wrestler. This film allows you to see the depth of this man, and it's truly touching. In spite of his heavy accent and the limited number of lines his character has, you can see how beautiful the soul of this person was. If you haven't seen this movie... SEE THE MOVIE!
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Summary: Brilliant
Review: There are probably a million and a half people out there who know this movie, but don't know they do. In most cases, they are familiar with little bits of pieces of it, but are unable to put their finger on the name. Hopefully the new DVD version will be a kind of revival for it. It's one of those movies where every single line is quotable. The best of the 80s.
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Summary: This is the Best Movie Ever Made!
Review: I have watched this movie since the time I was three years old. I can recite every line that was said. My friends have a game they give me a scene and I tell them everything that was said. This is the first Carey Elwes movie I have ever saw and I fell in love with him and his acting. This movie is a combo. of (to best put it I will say a line from the movie) "Are you kidding! Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, escapes, rescues, true love." This movie has everything you want in it. It is action, adventure, romance, and comedy all rolled into one. I love this movie. It was really hard for me to put all that together just now this movie is so undescribable.
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Summary: This is how fairy tales should have always been.
Review: I don't know about elsewhere in the world but 'The Princess Bride' was barely promoted when it opened in Australia. To my mind, that was a crime. It saddens me every time I meet someone who is a normal cinemaphile but has never heard of this film. I guess considering that it has no big name stars, (at least not in major roles), this situation may be understandable.
Some might see it as a satire on fairy tales but I see the film more as worship. This is the way all fairy tales should be. To quote Peter Falk at the beginning of the film, "(it has) fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." What more could you want from a movie?
The story is a simple one. Two lovers, Wesley and Buttercup, separated for five years, (one presumed dead), are reunited despite the opposition of evil forces. No, it's not the story that makes this movie great, it is the script, acting and direction. The characters are ALL eccentric and they have been given wonderfully witty dialogue. Superbly choreographed action sequences and a sense of fun also help to round out the film. Watch out for the best fencing scene in the history of film.
Outside of some of Monty Python's films, The Princess Bride would have to be the most quotable. In fact there is a subculture of fans of this film who communicate almost solely through the use of quotes. Their recognition signal is not a handshake but a password. You just have to say 'Inconceivable' in the right way, and your in.
For the maximum fun, this film should be watched in the company of a group of friends. And it doesn't matter what age spread the group has, because it will be appreciated by all. So go ahead and schedule that movie night you have been putting off.
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Summary: The Man Knows How To Tell A Story
Review: Absolutely hilarious. Quirky characters, quirky plotline, quirky narration... It's a pretty quirky story. But beyond that -- everyone has their own favorite thing(s) that they take away from this great movie. I thought the scene where Westley turns out to have (with perhaps unprecedented foresight) spent the last ten years developing an immunity to a certain poison, just in case it might come in handy. I guess one never knows! Robin Wright must have a heck of a sense of humor to play the Princess, because she was PERFECT, totally understated, always playing the dumb blonde but with the feeling that she was laughing at the role inside herself, a la Loni Anderson in WKRP. I thought Inigo Montoya was very cool. You can't go wrong with Mandy Patinkin, I guess. Anyway -- this movie is at once a totally over-the-top parody of a fairy tale, and a totally successful fairy tale itself. The plot twists are great; the villains are either funny in a villainous way, or, well, just plain villainous; the Cliffs of Insanity were both cliffs and insane... what more could anyone ask? Basically, in reviewing this, one gets the urge to try to imitate the movie's sense of humor, because it is simply so infectious. Definitely worth picking up, you will not regret it.
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Summary: The Princess Bride Review
Review: I have seen the DVD of the Princess Bride and let me tell you, if you liked the movie, then you will love the DVD. The DVD contians the movie and then, after the movie, there are interviews with the cast including the famous wrestler Andre the Giant before his death. Then they have cut scenes that apparently have never been seen before. They also have outakes. (One such example is when the Albino is coming down the stairs to clean the wounds, he trips and falls) I love this DVD!!!
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Summary: Great wholesome fun, even for the jaded like me
Review: This movie is great. It's one of those rare movies that is equally engrossing and enjoyable for both adults and kids of all ages--even for a person like me, who has seen so many movies, and who is generally cynical about any sort of "family" entertainment. I get cynical about it because "family" and "wholesome" and PG rated far too often means that it's also going to be homogenized vanilla garbage. Not the case here. This movie proves that you can make a thoroughly entertaining movie with near universal appeal. Only the most sensitive and unreasonable people could be offended by anything in this movie, or feel that this movie was not appropriate for their children. As far as the content of the movie, it's a fairy tale type of a story, but made fresh because the movie continually pokes fun at the fact that it is a fairy tale. There is an endless parade of funny situations and characters. Good vs. Evil is played out to a satisfying end, and of course, love conquers all. :)
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Summary: Completely enchanting, best family movie in ages
Review: Saw this first in college and was stuck by how completely it returned me to a world of fantasy and wonder not experienced since a young child. Simply wonderful storytelling with both humor and romance but more importantly a pace that allows dozens of disconnected episodes to weave into a less than 2hr epic. One of the few movies I'd consider buying on video (The Producers would be another) because it can watched with pleasure again and again. Great acting by a cast of genius.
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