Written By: Reed Buck
The Princess Bride, by Rob Reiner is a 1987 fantasy/adventure classic grossing over $30 million in America. Based on the novel by William Goldman, The Princess Bride blends romance, comedy, and kinda pokes fun at fairy tales. The settings feel classic and storybookish, with green fields, castles, and cliffs. The lighting in this scenery is extremely bright and warm, especially in outdoor scenes. The movie uses all different kinds of shots to emphasize things. For example, Prince Humperdinck, the main antagonist, is pretty much always filmed from a low angle. I think the most used shot, the neutral shot at eye level, is used to get the viewer immersed, and it’s more personal focusing on the characters actions, dialogue, and costume. None of the sets are special, green fields, fairgrounds, castles, they’re nothing extravagant. It’s hard to explain, but they all go together in a very immersing, whimsical (but still serious) fairy tale way.
My favorite aspect of this movie is the characters. For starters, Westley (the main character) represents the ideal hero. Not because he is the strongest, smartest, sneakiest, but he is pretty good at all 3. He consistently avoids unnecessary violence, defeats enemies through wit, and he’s just a good guy with the sole motive of finding his lost love Buttercup. My favorite character, Inigo Montoya; he starts off as one of the antagonists in the movie, stealing the princess, but we quickly learn his motives to avenge his father’s killer, the six-fingered man. Inigo has more emotional depth than anyone else throughout the movie, and it all ends in a suspenseful swordfight with his fathers killer. Inigo’s friend, Fezzik, better known as Andre the Giant, isn’t nearly as deep as these other two characters, but he’s one hell of a cast member and makes many of the scenes he’s in more interesting.
In conclusion, The Princess Bride is a fantastic movie. It has amazing camera work, lighting, costumes, sets and setting, and it’s a parody of the fairy tale genre. This movie also has phenomenal characters and cast. It’s clear that this movie can be enjoyed at any age, and it’s timeless. Even though this is one of my favorites, I don’t think I’m being that bias. This movie does what many others can’t with a much smaller budget. For all of the reasons listed and more, I think this movie deserves to be watched and enjoyed by everyone.