The Princess Bride by Jack Moryto

Background Info

morytoj — 2016-01-15 01:34:56 UTC

Trailer

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:01:57 UTC

Fezzik

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:02:46 UTC

Fezzik, was a kind giant in the books who loved rhyming and had a dreadful fear of being alone. In the film he was played by Andre the Giant, a professional wrestler. Fezzik still keeps his core attributes though we don't see his backstory.

Differences and Similarities

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:03:41 UTC

(This pertains only to the apparent visual and auditory differences and not the overall themes of the book) In the movie the opening scene is that of a sick young boy who is visited by his grandfather. His grandfather then proceeds to tell us the story of The Princess Bride with the young boy's interjections. The film's double narrative directly relates to the book's. William Goldman intertwines the captivating tale of the Princess bride with another story that provides much of the book's comedy. He explains to the reader that this is in fact not his book, but an abridged version he has comprised of "the good bits' or what his father used to read to him when he was a sick child. There is a great overarching narrative giving themes of unfairness and satirizing Hollywood culture and that of critics, intellectuals and the publishing world. The movie is basically what, in the fake narrative, Goldman's father would have read to him. In general the film is an almost exact mirror of the book, disregarding a few changes for the sake of time and pacing. All the famous quotes and character motivation is still there. The first major difference is in the first chapter of the book, The Bride. Count Rugen and his wife come to the farm. Rugen's wife, who is left out of the film eyes Westley enviously sparking a jealousy and love for Westley that Buttercup didn't Know she had. the next change is of course the massive amount of exposition Goldman gives us on the fake abridging he had to do, but one important feature that is left out is that, while courting the princess of Guilder, to eventually be his bride and seal a peace treaty between the two country's prince Humperdink discovers she is bald and this repels him.This Furthers his hatred of Guilder and adds more reason for him to attempt to invade. After that not much changes until the kidnapping, where we see the extensive back story's of both Fezzik and Inigo are cut down to two short lines of dialogue by Vizzini. Then when Buttercup try's to escape into the shark infested waters near the Cliffs of Insanity and Vizzini cuts his hand to attract the sharks, this scene is changed to eels. After this scene everything else basically mirrors the book exactly. Many of the more quoted lines and famous scenes are in the section from the Cliffs of Insanity to the Fire Swamp. The sword fight and the "I am not left handed" quote, along with Vizzini's "Inconceivable!" followed by Inigo's classic "I dont' think that word means what you think it means". This section also has the famous battle of wits between Vizzini and the dread pirate Roberts. Finally this section has the R.O.U.S. ( Rodents Of Unusual Size) and the dreaded fire swamp. After this the only really big changes are that of The Zoo of Death and Inigo's and Fezzik's descent into it. In the book Inigo and Fezzik take the trick staircase in The Zoo of Death which is full of traps at each of the five levels, and manage to escape unharmed. However in the film it is The Pit of Despair, and there are no traps for the duo to navigate to reach the dead Westley. After that there are only a few minor changes to the story before the team rides off to a happy ending on the backs of four white horses.

Inigo

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:11:24 UTC

Inigo Montoya was the best swordsman of his time in the books who, after searching for his father's killer for years (The Six Fingered Man) went into a downward spiral of alcoholism. In the movie he is played by Mandy Patinkin. In the film his famous lines"My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" and "I don't think that word means what you think it means" Remain the same.

Vizzini

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:18:11 UTC

The Sicilian genius Vizzini is the smartest man in crime who's mind is so keen that he can predict what you will say next, but with a great mind comes an even greater ego. Vizzini is played by Wallace Shawn and is, in my opinion a more full and entertaining character in the film than he was in the book.

Prince Humperdink

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:22:24 UTC

Prince Humperdink was a brute of a man who loved war, horses, and most of all hunting. He kept every type of creature imaginable inside an underground Zoo of Death and chose one to hunt every day. In the film he is played by Chris Sarandon and still maintains his love of war and his evil plans, but his large stature and love of the hunt is greatly diminished.

Miracle Max

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:27:12 UTC

The Kings Ex-Miracle Man who helps save Westley is a much needed plot point in the book and is the backbone of a great comedic scene in the film played by Billy Crystal. His famous "Mostly dead' quote is pretty much the same in both iterations of the story.

Buttercup

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:33:30 UTC

Buttercup is the fair maiden in the book. The most beautiful woman in the world who is set to marry Price Humperdink while she is still madly in love with Westley. In the book she is a bit of an airhead and not all that much of a intriguing character. Buttercup is played by Robin Wright and is a much more headstrong, likeable and intiguing character than in the book.

Westley

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:38:50 UTC

Westley is a daring and charming character with devilishly good looks and best near any man at any task. His tolerance for pain is unbelievable and his love for Buttercup knows no bounds. He is played by Cary Elwes in the film and his character is exactly like it is in the book.

Other Characters

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:44:53 UTC

Other characters such as Count Rugen (Aka. The Six Fingered Man) The Albino, Valerie, The King, The Queen, and The Clergyman all remain relativeley similar to the book.

Casting

morytoj — 2016-01-18 02:48:43 UTC

In my opinion the casting for this film was fantastic. One of the best casting choice was that of the one for Fezzik. Andre the giant was the perfect man for the job as his size and deep voice captured the role. Every other role was extremely well casted but two others stand out. The casting of Billy Crystal for Miracle Max was a great choice that really made it a great scene. On the other hand the casting of a slender average man for Humperdinck was not very true to the character, though one could see why they chose not to embellish his hunting prowess. The zoo of death was integral to that part of the character and was probably not implemented for cost reasons.

A Battle of Wits

morytoj — 2016-01-18 03:42:55 UTC

Miracle Max Scene

morytoj — 2016-01-18 03:52:56 UTC

The Sword Fight

morytoj — 2016-01-18 12:05:35 UTC

Setting

morytoj — 2016-01-18 12:12:14 UTC

The book is set in a fictional eastern European countries of Florin and Guilder, though other countries like France and Germany remain the same. The book describes the settings mostly in terms of the key points like The Cliffs of Insanity or The Fire Swamp. In the film all the settings make the film seem like it could be anywhere in Europe while The Fire Swamp and the castle give it a more enchanting feel. Places like The Cliffs of Insanity and The Fire Swamp were done very well as were the sets for the sword fight and Miracle Max's hovel. Again I will have to say the movie portrayed the book very well.

Music and Sound Effects

morytoj — 2016-01-18 12:12:27 UTC

Throughout the film a twangy instrumental trac is played that is kind of the theme song for the film, it is played at the beginning and at other parts of the movie when. It has a calming tone and in my opinion sets the stage very well. Throughout the action sequences and tense moments the film uses dramatic music and sound effects often. In the scenes below we see dramatic music played in the sword scene with suspenseful music at the beginning and dramatic music played all the way through. The music starts and stops with the battle and changes as it progresses. In The Battle of Wits the same thing is done, although the music is more suspenseful and less dramatic. This scene also used sound effects when Westley was talking with the Vizzini. Overall I felt that the music suited the film and portrayed the book very well.

Themes

morytoj — 2016-01-18 12:31:27 UTC

One of the most important parts of the book"The Princess Bride" is the double narrative. Goldman uses this as a literary device in the first chapters as he pokes fun at intellectuals and critics, as he explains to the reader that he had to cut out the most boring part of Morgenstern's book much to the dismay of the "experts on Florinese Culture". Even before the book starts Goldman creates an interesting story about his son, wife and his adventures in Hollywood. This side narrative provides the reader with some quick exposition and comedic interjects. At one point Goldman suggests to the reader that they can mail the publisher for an alternate page about the reunion of Westley and Buttercup that didn't make the final cut. A lot of the comedy is derived from this second narrative, but I think the film found it's comedy in it's own right. The child in the film often interjects when Goldman said he did when his father read it to him. When Buttercup is being attacked by the sharks the grandfather says she survives, before the scene is over, just as Goldman said his father did, and when Westley dies the grandfather offers to skip the death scene just as Goldman's father did for him. At the end of the book the four heroes ride of into the sunset and Goldman tells us that's what his father told him, but in reality the heroes are about to be caught by Prince Humperdink. In the movie there is just a happy ending nothing else. I think that is the real difference between the movie and the book. The book has elements of dark humor and tries to tell the audience that life is not fair, that people die, that even the best can fail. Whereas the movie tells a story just of true love and high adventure, where the heroes do live happily ever after.