The Princess Bride (DVD, 2001)

No words that I could write would be good enough to tell the rare someone who has not seen this 1987 movie how great it is!

It is the fairy tale story of Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn) and Westley (Cary Elwes), who live in the land of Florin in the days when there were castles as well as ordinary people with farms. Buttercup owns the farm, and she delights in belittling Farm Boy Westley, who always answers her every demand with "As you wish," which is translated "I love you." Eventually, Buttercup figures out Westley's love, and they are to be married. But Westley has no money, so he has to leave to make his fortune.

Thus, they are separated, and he is reported dead. The movie continues with Buttercup eventually being betrothed to Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon); kidnapped by Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzick (Andre the Giant)--a true life giant of a man; and rescued by Roberts the Pirate. And this is just the beginning!

Each of these characters has his own story, and you will delight in them all. You will be quoting forever some of the lines: "Inconceivable" by Vizzini, "I am Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" by obviously Inigo Montoya, "As you wish" by Westley, and "Have fun storming the castle" by Miracle Max (Billy Crystal).

The fencing scenes in this movie between Westley and Inigo Montoya have been rated the best ever made in a movie. In fact, Cary Elwes was chosen for the part of Westley because of his handsome, athletic ability and his similarity to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., well known for his fencing movies.

This movie is handsomely photographed with lots of special effects. Be sure to look for the Fire Pit with a ROUS (Rat of Unusual Size), the Screaming Eels, and the quicksand.

And I almost forgot! This movie is actually narrated by Peter Falk, who plays Grandpa reading to his sick grandson, played by a very young Fred Savage, who initially wants to be read a sports story and then gets into the plot of the story. I also loved Grandpa's line that "In my day, we had no television, but we had books!"

And would you believe it is directed by Rob Reiner--yes, Meathead of "All in the Family" fame. He does an unbelievable job, which he should have been nominated for.

And don't forget to look for Billy Crystal and Carol Kane as Miracle Max and his wife, Witch Valerie, who are unbelievably disquised as very old people with magical cures. You will not even recognize them!

There are many special features in this 2001 updated DVD. You will get to see all the actors and Rob Reiner as the appear now, and they tell the story of how the movie was made. It was a pleasure to watch these too!

This is a DVD that you will want to add to your permanent library!

I am 35 years old and first saw this film in the theatre when I was 15. Still to this day, when someone asks me what my favorite movie is I always answer The Princess Bride. It has Romance, Humor, Action, unexpected outcomes, giants, sword play, and it is all done by an all-star cast. Wallace Shawn as Vizzini is fantastic, Mandy Patinkin slips in (nearly unrecognizable now that we see him older and heavier 20 years later) as Inigo the dueling revenge- seeking Spaniard. Andre the Giant is a rhyming fool who anyone would dream of having as a best friend. This was Robin Wright's first film, and she plays the lovely princess role very well. Cary Elwes is superb as Wesley, and Chris Sarandon is The love to hate you/ warthog-faced bafoon prince Humperdink. Christopher Guest plays the straight man with 6 fingers, and Carol Kane and Billy Crystal provide one of the film's most memorable scenes as Miracle Max and his wife Valerie. There are too many great characters to include, but you will love the Priest, and the Albino too. Please, do yourself a huge favor and add this title to your collection. Then, watch it as often as you can!

The Princess Bride is one of the most clever, humorous and touching testimonies to true love ever produced. So why are all the reviews so general and non-descriptive? Methinks ebayers are rushing to pile up mass reviews to achieve top reviewer status. The frame of this movie is a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a fairy tale to his sick grandchild (Fred Savage). The story line is about true love between a peasant boy (Cary Elwes) and a princess (Robin Wright) and the team of misfits who help reunite the lovers who have been separated by an evil prince (Chris Sarandon) and his sadistic henchman (Christopher Guest). Skits include Wallace Shawn as the wonderfully plotting Vizzini (inconceivable!), the truly dense (mentally and physically) Andre The Giant as Fezzik, Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya (a Spaniard seeking to avenge the death of his father at the hands of the 6-fingered man) and a classic bit by Billy Crystal as Miracle Max together with his wife played by the hysterical Carol Kane. As they journey through the Fire Swamp, the Pit of Despair and into the evil Humperdinck's castle all comes down to whether true love can overcome even death. Wonderful, wonderful for adults and kids of all ages.

'The Princess Bride' is a classic film adaption of William Goldman's book.

A boy is stuck home sick with nothing to do but play video games. His grandfather visits to read him a story...

The Princess Bride is a story of true love, pirates and revenge. A perfect blend of fantasy, reality, and droll humor makes this movie perfect for any family.

The sword-fighting in this film has rarely been surpassed on the stage or screen.

Don't rent this movie -- buy it because you'll want to watch it again!

Great comedy for all ages. It is non stop, hitting you with yet another killer line, one after another! It has an awesome cast (includes Cory Elwes and Robin Wright Penn.) The characters are extremely entertaining! A classic comic fairy tale that has all the right stuff; castles, swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, faithful (& cute) farm boy and more! Moral of the story: True love conquers all. You being disappointed with this movie would be...inconceivable!!!