While fantasy geeks dig The
Dark Crystal, hopeless romantics worship Say Anything, and comedy junkies never stop howling at Airplane!, The Princess Bride is an eighties picture with massive cross-over
appeal because it does so many different things so successfully. Rob Reiner’s
deceptively complex picture built on the simple premise of young lovers
separated and reunited is like the best of all genres—genuinely witty comedy,
genuinely swoon-worthy romance, genuinely imaginative fantasy, genuinely
thrilling swashbuckling. It is also the very, very rare eighties movie that
still feels utterly timeless.
The plot (adapted from William Goldman’s novel) winds in
ways that make a summary pretty difficult to crack, and running down its
tropes—the pretty princess (Robin Wright), the dashing hero (Cary Elwes), the
giant with a heart of gold (Andre the Giant), the gnomish conjurer (Billy
Crystal), the tortured soul bent on revenge (Mandy Patinkin), the craven
villain (Chris Sarandon), the villain’s heartless right-hand man (Christopher
Guest)—is pointless too when so much of this story subverts our expectations of
such a stock cast of characters. One disappointing exception is the title
character, who is denied much to do aside from playing the standard damsel in
distress, which particularly sucks since she is the movie’s sole significant
female character.
Because of its intelligence, charm, style, and uniformly
winning performances, The Princess Bride
has built up an overwhelming cult following, so fans certainly cheered when
news arrived that the Criterion Collection would be bringing it to blu-ray.
This is not the film’s first blu-ray release, but even without seeing the
previous edition, I’m pretty confident that Criterion’s disc is the definitive
one. The image is clear and rich yet it retains the dreamy softness integral to
the picture’s atmosphere. An abundance of extras should please fans too, though
most of this stuff is not new. Exclusive to this release are video essays about
William Goldman’s book and a gorgeous Princess
Bride tapestry the author had commissioned, as well as an interview with
the film’s art director, Richard Holland. However, the older documentaries and
featurettes are where the fun is at because most of them allow us to spend a
little extra time with that delightful cast and their equaling charming
director. Much like re-watching The Princess
Bride for the 100th time, viewing these extras is like catching up with old
friends and falling in love with them all over again.
