# Inconceivable! (Or, I finally watched the Princess Bride) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334 "2004-12-23T15:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/41 "2004-12-23T20:53:46Z")
Humperdinck! Humperdinck! Humperdinck! I’m surprised no one has brought up [Return of the Princess Bride Jedi](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54123) yet… one of the all time funniest threads on the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/42 "2004-12-23T20:58:41Z")
I caught the credits of it on VH1 last night and immediately popped in my own DVD, to use as a background for wrapping presents. Classic, classic movie. _knock knock knock knock knock_ “Go awaayy!” _knock knock knock knock knock knock_ “Whaat, whaat?” “Are hyou te Miracle Max who worked for te King all tose years?” “The King’s stinking son fired me, and thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject. While you’re at it why don’tcha just gimme a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it. We’re closed!” _slam_ _knock knock knock knock knock_ “Beat it, or I’ll call the Brute Squad!” “I’m on dhe Bwroot Squad.” “You _are_ the Brute Squad.” ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/43 "2004-12-23T21:28:37Z")
Funny, I thought the book was awful. I love the movie, though. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/44 "2004-12-23T21:31:51Z")
[quoted from memory] “If I make him better, Humperdink suffers?” “Humilations galore” “THAT is a noble cause.” ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/45 "2004-12-23T21:36:55Z")
> [@Sevo](#): > > Inigo: “You seem a good fellow. I hate to kill you.” > > Wesley: “You seem a good fellow. I hate to die.” hey, I already did this exact same moment! Post 26. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/46 "2004-12-23T21:38:10Z")
**Odinoneeye** , I’ve never understood the little bit of gleeful babbling Max does right before saying, “Now THAT is a noble cause.” It goes kinda like “hi diddle ick \enation.” Anyone know what he’s saying? I don’t have a special edition with fancy-schmancy subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/47 "2004-12-23T21:43:25Z")
This is quite possibly the movie most often referenced in the jokes my wife and I share. We have a deep love of this movie and have watched it together many many times in the last 16 years. I have a terrible sense of smell, and sometimes, my wife will say something like (for example) “does this orange juice smell bad to you?” I sniff and say “I smell nothing.” Then we say in unison “Iocaine orange juice!” I read that originally Goldman asked his daughters what the stories should be about. One daughter said “princesses!” The other daughter said “brides!” and the rest is history. Goldman is a fantastic screenwriter and his nonfiction books about Hollywood and screenwriting are fascinating and highly enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/48 "2004-12-23T21:44:38Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > If I’m not mistaken, the fight coordinator was the same one for the Lord of the Rings movies (as well as many old swashbuckling movies from the era of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn). Bob Anderson was the swordmaster. He started in the twilight of Flynn’s career, in the early 50’s - Fairbanks was a generation earlier - and has since orchestrated just about every great sword-fighting scene you can think of: Star Wars, Princess Bride, LOTR… ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/49 "2004-12-23T21:47:59Z")
I have come for yoh **sawls**! ---
**Author:** ![Sevo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sevo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/50 "2004-12-23T21:53:12Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > hey, I already did this exact same moment! Post 26. > > 🙂 :smack: erp! What can I say, great minds think alike. (Some of us more slowly than others, apparently…) ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/51 "2004-12-23T22:02:02Z")
Maybe I have too much Pixar on my brain, but now whenever I read Vizzini’s lines, I imagine them coming out of [Gilbert Huph’s](http://www.animationtrip.com/news/features/incredibles/bossdude.jpg) mouth. (It could’ve been worse, it could’ve been Rex the Dinosaur…) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/52 "2004-12-23T22:05:20Z")
I’m surprised no one has yet mentioned my favorite movie monsters: ROUSes. “ROUSes? They don’t exist.” And although I like the story & movie a lot, no one has mentioned the terrible and fake-looking special effects like the climb up the cliff, the water/ship scenes and the ROUS fight. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/53 "2004-12-23T22:07:48Z")
Every one of you who hasn’t read the book needs to go out, right now – in the snow, or the rain, or the middle of the night, doesn’t matter, _right now_ – and get the book. The movie is excellent, but the book is excellent _cubed_. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/54 "2004-12-23T22:15:04Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > And is it here that we have a poster named “Only Mostly Dead”? (If not, it might be at another board I used to frequent.) Nope. You’re imagining things. Completely different board. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/55 "2004-12-23T22:15:57Z")
I also hate to be pedantic, but I believe it is “The Clifths of Inthanity!” ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/56 "2004-12-23T22:17:10Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > **Odinoneeye** , I’ve never understood the little bit of gleeful babbling Max does right before saying, “Now THAT is a noble cause.” It goes kinda like “hi diddle ick \enation.” Anyone know what he’s saying? I don’t have a special edition with fancy-schmancy subtitles. Well, I have the DVD with subtitles, so I just checked… The dvd subtitles don’t mention the scene, but it also has Closed Captioning signals, and the CC renders it as “Hi diddle lick do day dee shie!” For what that’s worth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/57 "2004-12-23T22:22:13Z")
> [@Jess](#): > > Every one of you who hasn’t read the book needs to go out, right now – in the snow, or the rain, or the middle of the night, doesn’t matter, _right now_ – and get the book. Dude, sit back and relax. 🙂 We’ve got [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/034543014X/qid=1103840662/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-3520738-3467952) for that task now. Let someone else do it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/58 "2004-12-23T22:49:27Z")
**ivylass** , allow me: ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/59 "2004-12-23T23:00:46Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > Nope. You’re imagining things. Completely different board. Yeah, I thought so. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334/60 "2004-12-23T23:53:41Z")
I assigned this book as summer reading for my AP class this last year, and it was a spectacular success. Probably 85% of the kids actually read it–great numbers–and they liked it–the boys liked it, the girls liked it, the jocks liked it, the nerds liked it. Everyone liked it. Everyone _remembered_ it. And it’s sophisticated enough, what with the double-narrator, both of whom are unreliable, that it can be used to teach basically everything I do: we apply the same set of skills to _The Princess Bride_, then to _The Crucible_ (also easy) and then the same skills to _The Scarlet Letter_ and the other things we read. It worked really, really well this year and I am certainly going to do it again. And the younger generation have not all seen this movie–it’s dropping out of circulation. I also hold out the _Princess Bride_ as the only truly enjoyable post-modern work: I mean, it’s messing with bankrupt language (what the hell color is autumn?) and with the idea of narration every bit as much as Pynchon ever did. It’s just accesible. If I were to go after my master’s, I honestly think there is a thesis here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconceivable-or-i-finally-watched-the-princess-bride/281334.md?page=4)