# I've only just discovered The Princess Bride **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303 "2007-05-01T13:54:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/21 "2007-05-01T16:29:18Z")
[QUOTE=Ellef] Are you offering to find me a copy? [/QUOTE] Unfortunately, there aren’t, as far as I know, any current English translations in print except for Goldman’s. If you could read Florinese, it wouldn’t be a problem, but since I don’t know if you can, my only suggestion is to search used bookstores and pray. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/22 "2007-05-01T16:44:11Z")
Check [this page](http://www.tvguide.com/movies/princess-bride/109825) frequently. Scroll down to “TV Listings”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/23 "2007-05-01T17:00:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Probably have to wait until the film turns up on TV, as I haven’t got a DVD player. Are you sure? Most computers sold in the last 5 years or so can play DVDs. And you’re still in for a treat with the movie. This is one of those very rare cases where the book and the movie are both great. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/24 "2007-05-01T18:36:02Z")
Do you know how cheap DVD players are nowadays? You can get one for under 50 bucks, easy. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/25 "2007-05-01T18:42:01Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] It’s a great book. But make sure to read the original and not that hack Goldman’s abridgement. It can be hard to find an unabridged English translation, but it’s worth it. [/QUOTE] Eh, it was a bit of a snoozer in parts. Maybe you’re more fascinated with 20 pages of Buttercup packing her suitcase, but me, I like the good bits. ---
**Author:** ![teemingONE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@teemingONE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teemingONE)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/26 "2007-05-01T19:02:00Z")
Bah. Do not listen to these guys about the unabridged version. Sure, if politics and Floresian culture is your bag, than go ahead and read it. But trust me when I say that what Tolkien did for hills, Morgenstern did for packing a suitcase. And that is not a good thing. Honestly, in Morgenstern’s version, the story of Buttercup can really be seen as nothing more than a footnote. I feel Goldman did a superb job of weeding out all the boring and unimportant stuff and showing us a real love/adventure story that was hidden under all the clutter of Morgenstern’s endless details and adjectives. But don’t get me wrong, Morgenstern did create a wonderful story, he just wasn’t able to tell it. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/27 "2007-05-02T02:50:39Z")
“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Coolest scene ever! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/28 "2007-05-02T02:59:45Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] Do you know how cheap DVD players are nowadays? You can get one for under 50 bucks, easy. [/QUOTE] [Under $30](http://www.amazon.com/Coby-DVD-224-Compact-DVD-Player/dp/B000261N6M) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/29 "2007-05-02T03:05:27Z")
The Princess Bride? I don’t think they exist. ---
**Author:** ![Ellef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@Ellef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellef)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/30 "2007-05-02T10:32:58Z")
I could have a look in Baggins’ in Rochester for the original - it’s supposed to be the UK’s largest second-hand bookshop. No hope of going to Florin for a look through - they’re not in the EU and their visa requirements are a goddam nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/31 "2007-05-02T10:49:34Z")
You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The first is never get involved in a land war in Asia. The second, only slightly less well known, is this: never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/32 "2007-05-02T11:24:19Z")
[QUOTE=kelly5078] Lucky stiff. If only I could go back to my first time. [/QUOTE] Must have been wuv, true wuv. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/33 "2007-05-02T12:11:11Z")
Here’s my obligatory post in the Princess Bride thread. One of my more treasured parental memories is catching my 3-year old son brandishing a wooden spoon and mumbling some gibberish along the lines of “ollo mename is enego montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” He had no clue what the first few magic words meant, but he knew it was cool and it was what you said when waving a sword. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/34 "2007-05-02T13:31:10Z")
“I don’t envy you the headache you’ll have when you awake, but for now, sleep well and dream of large women” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/35 "2007-05-02T14:19:06Z")
Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/36 "2007-05-02T15:20:27Z")
Every time any TV or movie character kisses another, my youngest shouts, “Is this a kissing book?” ---
**Author:** ![Ellef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@Ellef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellef)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/37 "2007-05-02T16:09:05Z")
[QUOTE=simster] “I don’t envy you the headache you’ll have when you awake, but for now, sleep well and dream of large women” [/QUOTE] Seems like a lot of the things people have quoted here must be from the film, as I don’t remember them in the book. Let me guess, is this one said to Fezzik? He’s such a sweetie, he’s my favourite! ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/38 "2007-05-02T16:15:07Z")
[QUOTE=Ellef] Seems like a lot of the things people have quoted here must be from the film, as I don’t remember them in the book. Let me guess, is this one said to Fezzik? He’s such a sweetie, he’s my favourite! [/QUOTE] Yeah, after The Man in Black beats him in a fight by choking him unconscious. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/39 "2007-05-02T16:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] No, you should have discovered The Princess Bride a long time ago. [/QUOTE] “I wonder if he is using the same popular culture we are using?” Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303/40 "2007-05-02T16:23:55Z")
You really can’t say that you’ve “discovered” the Princess Bride without having seen the movie, though. Really. You can’t. Are you sure your computer won’t play DVDs? Do you not have any friends who you can watch it at their house? Seriously… I love books but in this case the movie was as good or better than the book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-only-just-discovered-the-princess-bride/402303.md?page=3)