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THE PRINCESS BRIDE

Upon completion of the novel, 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the book, but because they were uncertain about the possible financial success of a movie they let Mr. Goldman retain rights to the screenplay. This film took approximately 14 years to make it to the screen. Fox was set to make it and then the studio chief changed and the project was shelved. Norman Jewison was attached to direct at one point, but they couldn't raise the financing. The film was almost made four or five times before Rob Reiner came along.

William Goldman had written a book called THE SEASON. This book was about one season of Broadway and all of the plays performed. Carl Reiner, Rob's father, had a play performing that was mentioned in Goldman's book. Mr. Goldman gave Carl Reiner a copy of THE PRINCESS BRIDE and Carl gave it to his son, Rob. Rob Reiner's first film was THIS IS SPINAL TAP and as he was finishing up his second film, THE SURE THING, he thought about THE PRINCESS BRIDE and asked William Goldman if he could direct it. By this time Mr. Goldman had bought back all of the rights from 20th Century Fox. Mr. Goldman saw THIS IS SPINAL TAP and an advance screening of THE SURE THING and loved them and told Rob Reiner that he would get the opportunity to bring his beloved novel to the screen.

The story of the film follows two young lovers, Buttercup (Robin Wright), a peasant girl, and Westley (Cary Elwes), her farm-boy. When they decide to get married, Westley leaves on a ship in order to raise money for their wedding. Shortly after he leaves, Buttercup learns that The Dread Pirate Roberts has attacked Westley's ship and that's one rogue who never leaves any survivors. Sometime later, Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) chooses Buttercup to be his bride, even though she does not love him. Buttercup's only time of joy is when she is riding on her horse. One day three travelers kidnap Princess Buttercup and plan to kill her and have her death blamed on a nearby country in order to start a war. This bizarre trio is headed by the "brilliant" Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), with the giant Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and the revenge-seeking Spaniard Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) rounding out the group.

As I think about how I am going to write this review I am quickly realizing that to try to explain all that happens in the film, or to even sum it up, is quite impossible. This movie is an incredible mixture of multiple genres. It has action, it has romance, it has comedy, it has revenge, it has amazing swordplay, it has torture, it has a battle of wits (to the death), it has love, and it has Peter Falk who plays the grandfather reading the story to his sick grandson, played by a pre-WONDER YEARS Fred Savage. Many aspects have become a part of our cultural references, from Miracle Max (played by Billy Crystal) to The Six Fingered Man (Christopher Guest) to the most famous line: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

What I can tell you is that this new Special Edition DVD is incredible. There was an earlier DVD, but you can throw that one away. The transfer is beautiful. The sound is rich and dynamic. And the extras are incredible. The biggest extra is a brand new documentary about the history and creation of THE PRINCESS BRIDE. This 30-minute film contains new interviews with the cast and crew as well as footage from earlier documentaries, while also covering William Goldman's quest to see his novel made into a movie. The very small budget they had to work with and how it affected their filmmaking are also addressed, as are their interpersonal relationships on the set, and an incredibly moving tribute to the late Andre Rousimoff (Andre the Giant) is also presented. This was the only film Andre made and through the various interviews he is able to express the joy he had making it.

Other fantastic extras include two running commentary tracks. One is by Rob Reiner and the other is by William Goldman. Sometimes the talk is a little dry, but most of the time there are nice stories that they tell. One interesting story from Mr. Reiner is that Mark Knopfler only agreed to compose the music for the film if the baseball cap that Rob Reiner wore in THIS IS SPINAL TAP appeared somewhere in the movie. It obviously would need to appear in the modern-day scenes between the grandson and the grandfather, and every time one of those scenes appears Mr. Reiner starts looking for it. It finally does appear... in one shot... at the end of the film. One of William Goldman's more interesting comments is that when Norman Jewison was going to direct the film the contemporary scenes were going to take place between a grandfather and his granddaughter during the Great Depression.

A pleasant surprise in the extras is the foreign trailer, which is far superior to the domestic trailer. The studio could not figure out how to market the film. They liked it, but no one could agree on how to get the film to find its audience. There is also an "Easter Egg" section. If you move your arrow buttons around while on the main menu you will eventually get something to highlight that you wouldn't expect to. Press the "enter" button on your remote and it will bring you to a page of cutouts of the cast and when you click on them they play quotes from the film. There are also two hidden quotes on this page as well, so you kind of get an "Easter Egg" inside of an "Easter Egg."

In his commentary, Rob Reiner recalls a conversation with the studio that he didn't want THE PRINCESS BRIDE to become another WIZARD OF OZ. By this, he meant that he didn't want the film to be unsuccessful at the box office and then a success after television and home video presentations. I'm sorry Rob. THE PRICESS BRIDE is the new WIZARD OF OZ. It was not very successful in the theaters, but it is truly a beloved film for every succeeding generation. And that's not such a bad thing.