As You Wish…
October 17, 2023
A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated
It under-performed at the time of its release and was largely ignored by critics and the movie-going public. Now, thirty years after its theater debut, the Princess Bride has become a well loved classic. As Actor Mandy Pantinkin – who played revenge focused Inigo Montoya – summed it up in 2007 “It’s sort of become ‘The Wizard of Oz’ of my generation.”
It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Apparently I’m not alone. From the Infallible Wikipedia:
“The Princess Bride was not a major box-office success, but it became a cult classic after its release to the home video market. The film is widely regarded as eminently quotable. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted The Princess Bride the 38th greatest comedy film of all time. In 2006, William Goldman’s screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America as the 84th best screenplay of all time; it earned the same ranking in the Guild’s 2013 update. The film was selected number 88 on The American Film Institute’s (AFI) “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Passions” listing the 100 greatest film love stories of all time.”
My brother purchased the Videocassette for our family when my children were little. We’ve since upgraded to DVD. Although they enjoyed it, I loved the film from the moment I saw it and often quote from it. A few of my favorites:
- “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
- “It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead.”
- “You are the brute squad.”
- “ Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.”
- “As you Wish.” And, perhaps, the most famous line of all:
- “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
I never tire of the film and the final scene of the movie between Peter Falk and Fred Savage (The two are cast in the roles of a grandfather reading a book to his sick grandson) is guaranteed to bring a lump to my throat every time.
The day this post was published in 2017, the hubby and I headed to the Regal Cinemas near Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. We had reserved tickets to be certain we’d get to see the movie. We were not disappointed! Having never seen the movie in the theatre, we were in for a wonderful experience as the story really came to life on the big screen. We laughed, we cheered, and I still got that lump in my throat at the final scene.
Unless you have a Disney channel subscription, you will need to pay to see it on other platforms. Unless, of course, you happen to own the movie and still have your VHS or DVD player ready to fire up for a fun evening. You’ll know where to find me: snuggled up, a bowl of popcorn, and The Princess Bride on DVD.
For those unfamiliar with the movie (Inconceivable!), an overview of the plot is found here:
barbaradevore.com 