The Hamster King nailed it!
The Hamster King nailed it!
Don’t forget the Pirates…
dhkendall, rent Enchanted.
This I think is a reasonable critique - if you’re someone who needs naturalism in your movies, you’re not gong to find it in The Princess Bride. (There are a few small moments, particularly in the relationships among some of the supporting players [1]. But it’s swallowed up in the clever.)
[1] “If you don’t have your health, you haven’t got anything.”
-
It’s quotable.
-
It’s funny.
-
Everyone else in geekdom has seen it, so you can talk about it for hours. Or just quote it. The point is, it’s a way of bonding together via a common experience. It doesn’t have to even be a good movie- MST3K works on the same principle.
And I didn’t mention Opal even once.
Wait, there’s more to… Oh! I see. Because Fezzik is a Brute Squad all by himself… :smack:
I saw what you did there. As did many others.
I found Enchanted a little more cartoony (even aside from the animated parts) than Princess Bride; but I really enjoyed the musical numbers. Both are good suggestions.
This is my favorite movie. I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I’ve also watched it recently and didn’t find anything to have been lost in the years. (Sadly, unlike Goonies which does suffer from the advance of time).
I feel like it is one of those movies that wasn’t made for a specific target audience. It seems to appeal accross gender, age, race etc. I’ve watched it with my Grandmother and my nephews, with friends from elementary to college and after. At any given moment, you can quote that movie and SOMEONE nearby will know what it’s from and will be able to quote something back to you.
I agree. The “kissing” is almost a MacGuffin. It doesn’t matter what’s in the proverbial suitcase, and it doesn’t matter how Westley and Buttercup feel about each other. The fun is in the chase.
There has to be some impetus for the story to happen, and since it’s a fairy tale, the impetus has to be a great romance. But the particulars of the romance itself are irrelevant and frankly boring, so it’s mostly ignored in favor of the more interesting aspects of the story.
It’s another way the movie turns fairy tale conventions on their heads.
And it never occurred to me to think of it as a “romantic” movie.
Unless you count Westley and Inigo discovering each other’s mad skillz. I mean, you really wanted those two to get over their differences and be together as friends for ever and ever. It was platonic, of course, but you could totally tell they were thinking “you’re fabulous! Where have you been all my life?” It was pure joy in mutual discovery.
Funny that the bromance was so much more touching than the romance. 
I played this movie for my wife last week. Believe it or not, she had never seen it! But I warned her that I was prone to geeking out at a few scenes, and that they would be repeated a few times before I let the movie continue. I managed to contain it to two - the swordfight atop the Cliffs of Despair, and Inigo finally dealing with Rugen.
and?? did your wife like it?
Nice way to put it, and you’re right. The romance and love, and in a broader sense Buttercup herself, is assumed right at the beginning; the story is the adventure Westley goes on to get to her.
Very much. Which allowed me to inflict Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper on her two nights later. 
Hey, both of those scenes DO need to be seen twice in any viewing. Especially the first viewing.
I read the book many years before I saw the movie, and I always felt that the movie was just as enjoyable as the book. Most times, I feel that the movie is a disappointment after reading the book (unless the book is a novelization). This one, though, is just about perfect.
Can I start calling you Buttercup?
It’s not primarily a romance, but it has one ethereal scene that lets it stand with other great romance films …and that would be the closing credits.
After several watchings the Knopfler/Deville theme song becomes a classic love ballad, and when it plays behind the character flashbacks it can put a lump in your throat.
It’s just another wonderful moment in a movie that has insanely more than its fair share.
"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… ".
A few people have already quoted that, but I can recall watching the movie for the first time and perking right up when Peter Falk promised all those things to me in the first five minutes.
Really? Giants, monsters, and torture? Yep.
Even with the original, I would still only read the good parts.
I think maybe for me this film was spoiled by the huge expectations I had from reading forums such as this (see also Office Space). Inevitably, I was disappointed. I found it mildly diverting but altogether too pleased with itself, as others have noted.
Maybe some of the humour does not translate well, because despite all the cod-mediaeval trappings it all feels very American.