In time for the holidays and to celebrate the movie’s thirtieth anniversary, The Princess Bride is getting the deluxe treatment. With a gifty 8 x 10 trim size, foil and embossing on the text-only cover, and elegant cream uncoated stock with rough edges, this is a stunning package no fan will be able to resist. Other embellishments include fifty full-page color illustrations by Michael Manomivibul (taken from the 2013 edition and enlarged), full-color chapter openers, and a beautiful color rendition of the map printed on the endpapers.
The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a “good parts version” of “S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure.” Morgenstern’s original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern’s mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the “Classic Tale” nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.”
Goldman frames the fairy tale with an “autobiographical” story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out.
Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you’ll put it on your “keeper” shelf. –Nona Vero
Still Enchanting! I have watched this movie from time to time through the years, and I watched it again last night. It is as lovely and funny as the first time way back in 1987. How many of us still say the phrase, “As you Wish” knowing it translates to “I love you.” ? It’s still hard to believe this was Robin Wright’s first movie! Let yourself see again, or for the very first time, the wonderful fairy tale about a young woman named Buttercup and a man named Wesley. Also, the theme song is…
Needs no introduction I’m not sure that I can add anything to the absolute flood of positive reviews on this movie. It’s been an all-time favorite of mine since it came out, and I never get tired of watching it. There is something really special about The Princess Bride. The confluence of the perfect director (Reiner), producers (Lear, Scheinman and co.), screenplay (Goldman) and of course, cast have resulted in something so special and so timeless that my grandchildren are likely to be sharing it with their…
A Must Read for every Princess Bride Fan I’ve grown up watching the movie roughly 396 times a year and will always deem it as my all-time most favorite movie ever. So naturally, when I found out that the movie was actually based on a novel, I had to have it. My biggest fear was that it would be a watered down version of the movie with less humor and wit, or that the movie took the best parts and the book would be mostly unsatisfying filler with the occasional recognizable humor. I couldn’t have been more wrong.