johnlinkmovies

What better way to celebrate my 200th ranking than with the film that may be my favorite and most watched of all time. There’s plenty to say about this movie. I hadn’t watched it in a couple of years, and was worried when someone recently told me that it hadn’t aged well. They were wrong. It’s aged beautifully, especially as the digital transfers continue to improve the in-home picture and sound. So… YEAH #200! Let’s do this!

I watched THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) on 11.8.10. It was, appropriately, somewhere around my 200th viewing of the film, which is fitting. TRAILER HERE

So much to say about this movie on a personal level. It is the reason I seek out every Cary Elwes film (I’d even watch that last SAW sequel). It’s the reason I got interested in being a fight choreographer. It’s a big part of the reason I went into acting. It’s where my sense of romance and adventure comes from. I watched this movie daily (along with GHOSTBUSTERS) from the time I was about 6 years old and all through my early developmental years. It was my first favorite film.

Several lines from this film have made its way into my everyday conversational lexicon. They include:

1. As you wish.

2. Anybody want a peanut.

3. Inconceivable!

4. You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.

5. You ARE the brute squad!

6. I only dog paddle.

7. You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you (and the response: You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.)

8. Wait til I get started!

9. I am not left handed

10. There’s a big difference between all-dead and mostly-dead.

11. We are men of action. Lies do not become us.

12. I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using.

13 (OF COURSE!) Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

And what is amazing about this movie, is that someone who is familiar with it will say “Wait! You forgot…” and spout of another half dozen of their own. It is that quotable.

I don’t have many knocks on this film at all. Sure it looks cheaply set in some places. Sure the costumes are often silly. But that all works for it, in my completely biased opinion. There’s nothing I would change.

As for the acting, in addition to Elwes doing an amazing modern Errol Flynn, we get iconic performances from Andre the Giant, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon,  Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn and Billy Crystal (in one of the best cameos of all time). As well as an amazing debut by pre-Penn Robin Wright.

All of this is directed with a wonderful sense of humor by Rob Reiner from a script by William Goldman (based on his novel) and with music by the Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler. Whew. That’s a lot of links. But if you aren’t familiar with any of those individuals, you should be!

Favorite scenes? They have to be the three challenges as Westley fights Inigo, Fezzik, and then has his battle of wits with Vizzini. Then the pit of despair stuff is awesome, and the Miracle Max scene is perfect, the ‘Drop. Your. Sword.’ scene is goose-bump inducing. Ahhhh… I love it all. I can’t stop sounding like a little girl fawning over this film I just love it so much.

Movie ranking is, obviously, subjective by nature. I can’t in good conscious give this thing a perfect Film score, as much as I’d love to. Though its themes help elevate the basic filming, it’s still not a 10 film by any stretch. But the other stuff? Pretty darn close. I’m sure someone coming to this film having never seen it before might disagree with how heavily I weight it. But that’s why these are my gosh-darn rankings and not that idiot’s!

SCORES

FILM: 6; MOVIE: 10; ACTING: 9; WRITING: 10; BONUS: 2

One bonus for the fight choreography which is as near perfect as fight choreography can be. The Inigo/Westley fight is epic! A second bonus point for Mark Knopfler’s unforgettable score. I get the tune in my head all the time, and it always makes me smile.

6+10+9+10+2=37

FINAL SCORE: 9.25 (and that somehow still feels too low!)

~ by johnlink00 on November 9, 2010.

Posted in johnlink favorite flicks, ~ P ~, ~~~ 1987 ~~~
Tags: action, comedy