#BookToFilm of The Princess Bride

 

William Goldman adapted his own novel, The Princess Bride, for the screen.  And as befits someone who basically wrote the guidebook for screenwriting (or at least, one or two of them), it is a near-perfect adaptation.

It is also a near perfect film, according to many, including yours truly.  Few films manage to perfectly balance fantasy, satire, action and romance.

The book is, as you might expect, very similar to the film, but in distilling the story down to 98 minutes, Goldman manages to capture the book’s best moments and still have time for a framing story about a sick boy and his grandfather that adds depth and meaning to the fairy tale. 

And it is a fairy tale with all the fairy tale tropes – damsel in distress, poor farm boy with eyes for a woman above his station, an epic journey, giants and dwarves and evil princes.  Yet even while it follows the form and structure of a fairy tale, it pokes gentle fun at them.

The film launched the careers of then-unknown Robin Wright and gave Carey Elwes his first comic role.  Filling out the cast are acting greats like Mandy Patinkin and Wallace Shawn, joining such comic geniuses as Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane and Peter Cook.  Much of the dialogue has become lexicon, especially Inigo Montoya’s oft-repeated statement of revenge:

                                “My name is Inigo Monoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

But that’s just one example.  There are myriad others, each as giggle-inducing as the next.  I’m sure everyone has their own favourite – mine is Miracle Max declaring Westley only “mostly dead”.  Or maybe Vizzinni’s lisped misuse of “inconceivable”.  Or perhaps the romantic chorus, “as you wish.”

Initially only a modest success at the box office, The Princess Bride has become something of a cult with the film appearing on numerous “best of” lists in recent years.  Fans are so protective of the film that any rumoured remakes or musicals based on the film have been quickly squashed before they were fully developed.

Unusually for a cult film, the cast all seem to have remained close friends in the years since release and meet up to celebrate significant milestones.  In 2020 a fan-made recreation of the film was released.  Produced during the COVID-19 lockdown, an ensemble cast filmed themselves recreating scenes from the film at home.  Director Rob Reiner even made an appearance, in the role of Grandfather, initially played by Peter Falk. His father, the legendary Carl Reiner also stepped in to play this role with his own grandson standing in for the Fred Savage role.  The cast reunited later the same year for a table read of the original script that was broadcast online.

I recently caught the end of this film again, after not having seen it for several years and was once again sucked into the story.  Like the sick little boy being read the book, I can dive back into the story time and time again.  And this is one I believe is just as good as the book it is based on.  Maybe even better...

What do you think?  Better than the book or not?

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