DVD Shop: Buy The Princess Bride (Special Edition) Online

Average Rating:

It fun, it's funny and has adventure and romance, monsters and villains. It also has some of the best performances of an ensemble cast in a fairy tale ever. Robin Write-Penn (Then Robin Write at 19 years old) (Forrest Gump, Unbreakable) starring as Princess Buttercup who has fallen in love with a farm boy-turned Pirate, Cary Elwes (Twister, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Quest For Camelot) and is seeking the kidnapped Princess from three renegades played by Wallace Shawn (Toy Story, Star Trek Deep Space Nine). The late Andre The Giant (Trading Mom) and an astounding performance by Mandy Patikin (Yentel, Alien Nation, Chicago Hope-TV ). Christopher Sarandon (Nightmare Before Christmas, Fright Night, Just Cause) and Christopher Guest (This Is Spinal Tap, Best In Show) head up the evil King and sidekick roles. The chemistry between Cary and Mandy is phenomenal. They are seriously funny in a sarcastic and monotoned way. The swordplay is the best I have seen since Errol Flynn.

What makes this movie special and energetic is the magic of fantasy with a splash of you have to believe in True Love for all this to work and for your happiness to be real. Shot entirely on location and with a minimum of a budget the movie is wonderful to watch and look at. A GEM for all the family - literally.

The DVD extras include three behind the scenes documentaries and lots of production photos. Very well put together and filled with interesting comments and antique dotes from all the cast and crew. There's even a behind the scenes home movie view of the production thanks to Carry Elwis himself. Of the trailers and production posters show you more of movie making and what it takes. The audio commentary by Rob Reiner is comical and very interesting. There is also a commentary by William Goldwin which gives you a lot of insighjt to the production. This is a great addition to the family film collection. (10-27-02)

Excellent choice of casting makes the characters firm and believable: Cary Elwes is Westley, the farm boy and swashbuckling hero. Robin Wright is Princess Buttercup, brave, rebellious, never afraid to die for her lover. Chris Sarandon is Prince Humperdinck, usurping, bold, evil to the bone, loves watching people tortured, and at the same time charming. Mandy Patinkin is Inigo Montoya, a Spanish Swordsman who seeks the Murderer of his Father. Christopher Guest is the 6-fingered Count Rugen, silent, sinister, and gives an excellent impersonation of Henry Daniell from THE SEA HAWK. Andre the Giant is Fezzik, fearsome and funny with some good rhymes to spare. Wallace Shawn is Vizzini, witty, volatile, and in many wasy "Inconceivable!"

Fred Savage is home sick with the flu, and Peter Falk as Grandfather reads the tale throughout. Film gets more exciting as voracious sea eels, gigantic cliffs, sword fights, quicksand, large rodents, and witches and warlocks, are only to name a few of the many obstacles throughout the quest. Special Edition DVD has great special features, commentary by Rob Reiner and cast members, and the color contrast is splendid and looks great in widescreen.

Relentless adventure and excitement. You're all going to love this one!

At times it gets a little bit too silly and goes right into Monty Python territory-though amusingly so. The film is well cast, well paced, a bit modestly produced, and is deserving of the strong cult following it has.

While for me it will never be on the level of entertainments like Wizard of Oz, I can understand how this film can be almost as endearingly embraced-particularly if the first time you saw Bride was when were 9 or 10.

It's framing device of a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading the story to his grandson (Wonder Years and Working 's Fred Savage) is shot like a t.v. movie, but works wonderfully, keeping the film's perspective sharp and in focus. And because it is Peter Falk immediately the film has a tongue in cheek-campy edge to it. William Goldman created the novel as a bed-time story for his children and the film beautifully retains that feeling throughout.

This was Rob Reiner's fourth movie as a director ( "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Sure Thing" and "Stand by Me") and the critical and box office success of "The Princess Bride" made it seem as if ol' Meathead (All in the Family) could direct almost any movie he wanted and do a great job at it. Eventually he fell onto his face with NORTH and recently of course made something even worse called STORY OF US. But not so very long ago, Reiner made very good films indeed.

As the story begins we meet Princess Buttercup (Robin- Mrs. Sean Penn- Wright in her film debut) who over a brief period of time realizes she really likes the farm boy (Cary Elwes) and realizes although he never says more than : "As you Wish" to her, the way in which he says it, says so very much. They fall in love. . ..

We are suddenly back in Fred Savage's bedroom. "Oh no... does this story have a lot of kissing in it?" He complains to Grandpa Peter Falk.

And so it begins. The farm boy goes off to seek his fortune promising he will return for her and their love will never die, but Buttercup receives word that her love has been killed by Pirate Robert.

A few years go by and Buttercup is about to be married to the Prince, a slimy arrogant coward played by Chris Sarandon. She doesn't love him, but she had agreed to marry him. Then she is kidnapped by a trio of dastardly rogues. "Inconceivable" lisps the trio's supposed ring-leader and brainiac played by the turtle like Wallace Shawn. Mandy Pantinkin plays the master swordsman who hopes someday to meet the six fingered man who killed his father and nearly killed him as a child. Wrestler Andre the Giant plays...Fezzik the Giant, a not-so-scary brute of a man.

These would be kidnappers aren't very good at their task, and in fact when they are distracted by a boat they notice is following them, Buttercup leaps from their boat and into the water. None of them are good swimmers. But not to fear, the scary screaming Eels, force Buttercup to quickly return to the boat.

I will tell you that Buttercup is rescued from her kidnappers and she and her rescuer are pursued by the Prince Chris Sarandon and his head henchman Christopher Guest. As they try to avoid the Prince, and the would be kidnappers (who wind up being their allies) they meet a variety of interesting folks which include ostracized Sorcerer and Witch played by Billy Crystal and Carol Kane.

For the rest of the twists and turns the delightful tale takes you'll just have to watch the film.

Please note there is a planned special edition DVD that will be coming out (supposedly later this year). You may want to wait for it as this DVD has no extras and only a good, not excellent transfer of the film.

Chris Jarmick Author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder - A steamy cyber thriller available January 2001. Please order it today. Thank You