Review
The Princess Bride (Family/Adventure) [Based on a Novel] (1987)
Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman (Screenplay) (Based on Novel by)
Stars: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, André René Roussimoff (as André the Giant)
While recovering from being sick in bed, a young grandson is read a fantasy book called "The Princess Bride" by his grandfather. It's a thrilling tale of a farm boy turning to adventure, encountering obstacles, enemies and allies along the way.
Releasing in 1987, "The Princess Bride" is the filmised version of William Goldman's novel of the same name. With the popularity of Rob Reiner's debut film in rock music mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap", he felt confident enough to produce and direct this film after. Also stating he's been a fan of the novel ever since receiving it as a gift from his father.
Being released years before I was born, "The Princess Bride" has always been regarded as a classic. In shame, I must admit never taking the chance to see for myself, believing people's opinions on it. Yet seldomly do I get the opportunity to go back to some of these classic films and franchises that passed me by, and thus here goes this review of the Hollywood classic.
Often the first subject coming up when approaching older films and certainly those before the 1990s, if not the 2000s, is the quality and translation to what we're used to in the modern day. In certain ways, films like Buster Keaton's hold on to their charm since we regard them as classics, and their style is a piece in history. The further we move to our current years, the more the novelty is lost, and even true art and masterful performances get underappreciated. "The Princess Bride", however, still works almost like the day it was created. One of the things attributing to that is the lack of computer-generated effects that only became more popular a few years later, solidifying themselves in most future films. The practicality of every effect still used for this project only adds to the charm, from hand-painted landscapes to using an actual giant in professional wrestler André René Roussimoff better known under his stage name: André the Giant.
It's not just the effects and history behind them, though, as even in the script, Reiner and Goldman created a near-masterpiece. The intention behind the film was to create a satirical approach to the fantasy and adventure movies of old. Standing out as a hilarious movie in a slapstick kind of way while retaining great adventure moments and a tension arc that works. Despite being a relatively simple piece, it's relatively intelligent, just like "This is Spinal Tap" was. It capitalises on simplicity and becomes even more remarkable because of it.
Looking back at such an iconic film, you're transported to the days of yore. Filmmaking has changed so much even in the past few years, but comparing some newer cinematic showcases to something like "The Princess Bride", you realise that some things are gone for good, which is for better or for worse in some cases.
Verdict:
A marriage of comedy, adventure and brilliant filmmaking.
8,4
