How To Describe The Princess Bride?

At my job, each floor has a break room with a tv in it. Usually the tv is on the same two or three websites (food stuff, renovation stuff, sports stuff). No one usually minds if someone changes the website. One day, Princess Bride happened to be on Part way through, a guy comes in, itching to see “the game”. He had already grabbed the remote and asked (out of habitual politeness) if he could change the website. The older woman across from me, without taking her eyes off the tv, said “If you change the website off of Princess Bride, you’re going to make an enemy out of me you don’t want.” He froze, not sure if she was joking or not. He looked at me (in all my dark attire) and I said “Don’t look at me. It’s the Princess Bride.” Apparently he had never seen the movie. He spent ten minutes trying to convince everyone in the room to change the website without luck. Then, one of the floor leads (an army guy, man’s-man, sports fan kinda guy) walked by and the dude’s eyes lit up. “Hey man! Don’t you want to see the score? They’re perusal some chick movie.” Army guy looks at the tv, looks back at dude and said “That’s not a chick movie. That’s The Princess Bride. You can google the game. You don’t change the website on princess bride.” Movies like the Princess Bride brings people together in a way that’s difficult to purposefully create. It has to be something made out of love for story telling rather than love of profit. You can tell that this movie was made from something deeper, which is why it has such a magic to it.

This is my dad’s favorite movie. He saw it when it first came out in theaters and has loved it ever since. It was a staple around my house, much to my mom’s chagrin. Best part about my dad’s love for this movie is article tapes of my parent’s honeymoon in the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel in Canada. My dad would of course hide around a corner only to jump out and declare, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Drove my mom insane but yeah my family has basically treasured both this book and movie. It is still one of my most favorite book to screen adaptations

Pretty much matches my sentements. I don’t want to go pass down the remake to my niece. Oh I’m sure it will be great with better setpieces and a bigger budget with CGI allowing for far more fantastical shots, or at the very least cleaning up practical effects and allowing for better window dressing, and an actual musical score instead of ‘a guy wit ha synthesizer’ (Yea the original movie only had a guy with a synth for the whole damned thing, and it is amazing.) But… I don’t want that. I want to show this ersion to my niece because she’s getting close to the age I first saw this, and last unicorn, and a bunch of other movies that’s been either remade, talked about being remade, or in the case of last unicorn might have been but without christopher lee… I hope it never will. I don’t want to say what will happen will be garbage. I might even enjoy seeing a ‘truer to the original novel’ take on the story’ even though I kinda hated the downbeat disheartenedness to the framing device and the ending. However regardless of whatever new happens? We will always have the original. That can’t be taken away.

One of THE best movies that encapsulated 80s cinema greatness. I was happy to watch this in the 10th grade, and it hooked me in completely. The idea of a remake, especially a classic for this, definitely will scare the passionate. I too am not keen to the idea, but hey, put it in the right hands, it could turn out alright. I wouldn’t even mind a spiritual sequel or remake. And congrats on breaking 200k already. You skyrocketing!

Dude, whenever I went to a friends birthday party and any of us were bored or couldn’t think of something to do somebody would suggest to watch Princess Bride and I’d whine, annoyed that I would have to watch it for the 500th time, only to sit and enjoy being spirited away into a lovely and hilarious and heartfelt tale that I will never get tired of once again.

I was about 10 years old when I saw the movie. My dad showed it to me. And by this point he had shown me star wars (in the 456123 order) and various comedies and generally explained and talked too much (i visited mostly in the summer since he lived a few states away). I instinctively was annoyed by his movies and he knew it I guess. Though i tended to act polite. He kept comparing me to the kid and it really annoyed me. But it still stuck as positive. Only next generation, rhps, grizzly man, and scooby doo kept that feeling when watched with him honestly and most of those came later. So it felt weird when i saw a copy at my friends grandma’s house a few years later and I wanted to watch it again. So i introduced it to said friend and her dad. Then to a few other friends. Then my mom who would have hated it if she knew my dad liked it. It is honestly shocking how accurate the ripppe effect enees up being

I still remember my friend calling me and telling me we were going to see this movie, and I was baffled because I hadn’t heard of it, and could find NOTHING about it in the papers or advertising anywhere. It looked like a weird girly flick from the one still used as the poster, billboard, showtime listing, etc… But my friend had seen it already, and had decided I must also, and wouldn’t say anything more about it than simply, “Trust me. It’s YOUR kind of movie.” So trust her, I did, and thirty years later, it STILL is my favorite movie ever. I think it isn’t really that tonally different from the book, though. I made it my mission to find a copy shortly after seeing the movie, and even sent away for the reunion scene at the ravine bottom, IIRC… I think the only difference is that the book is a little more jaded while the movie is a bit more optimistic, essentially the difference between how one might actually view the film first as a child like his daughters were, and then later as an adult might find a different somewhat rueful laughter at the same scenes for different reasons twenty years later after life has worked them over a bit. The movie is the same satire, just leaves out some of the adultness of the book while keeping the awareness of it in the quick witted and ever so quotable dialogue quips that I appreciate so much that I could probably recite the entire film from start to finish. To remake the movie would be like rewriting the book – anything that was the same would be the same and anything done differently would just seem wrong.

This movie has been my absolute favorite since I was ten. I watched the movie over and over and then I proceeded to read the book many times. The Princess Bride is a personal favorite of mine and will always hold a special place in my heart. From the directing to the costuming and everything in between The Princess Bride is truly special. In true cult classic fashion someday when I do have kids I will sit them down and tell them how important this film is to me and I will watch it with them. While I believe there is value to remakes this movie does not need a remake in the slightest. Any attempt to remake it would be a pity and a waste of money. Cary is the only actor who can play Wesley, Mandy is the only true Inigo Montoya, and the day someone tries to make me watch anyone besides Andre The Giant play my favorite light hearted, rhyming, sweet Giant will be the day I will say over my dead body.

i recently got back into writing in the fantasy genre because i recently watched this movie again. my boyfriend (of about two months, heh heh,) invited me to his house to watch movies with him over the holidays, and he’d told me about how he had never watched the movie. i was so fucking excited to show it to him, because this movie was my all time favourite movie as a kid (except maybe the yellow submarine movie). this article kinda made me realize that the point of this movie was to pass it down to those you love that hadn’t seen it, and that it was something to be shared, and the fact that i had done that myself without even realizing, i’ll admit, made me tear up a little. just something as simple as sharing movies you like with someone can mean so much, and what i would give to go back and re-watch it with him is inconceivable.

That one clip of Savage with his mom on the bed…that’s Betsy Brantley. She moved into the house next to me with her then relatively unknown husband Stephen Soderbergh. He had some acclaim from sex lies and articletape but this was long before anything like Oceans 11 or Erin Brockovich. Since my moms friend rented the place to them…..I had a fort in there barn door garage (no lock). I was discovered by Betsy and Stephen (as an 8 year old) in their garage! Lol They were very sweet…offering me cookies and the like. From then on I would hang out there with them. Eventually my parents became friendly with them and then….what a ride. I got to watch Stephen edit a bunch of his movies in his editing room and we got sneak viewings of his movies. Then he hit it it huge. Just spectacular. Anyway….Betsy is also an actress and has a small part in princess bride. She’s also in an absolutely amazing (it’s so bad it’s good) movie with dolp lundgren called “I come in Peace”. It may actually be spelled “piece”….because the greatest 80’s catch line of the movie is “I come in peace…” “yeah….but you go in pieces!” Hahaha! Anyway…that’ll kill a Sunday afternoon.

My older brother gave me this book to read a few years before the movie came out, and I loved it dearly, but you’re right – since it’s release, it’s this movie that I’ve passed along to family and friends. I still think everyone who loves the movie should do themselves a favor and read the book, but this movie is the perfect adaptation of the book. I cannot imagine anyone doing it better than this merry band already has. “This is true love — you think this happens every day?” 🙂

I’ve always loved this film, and the book is fantastic too. As an English teacher living abroad, I always share it with my students, and, if they watch it, they usually tell me they loved it. The appeal of this film is universal and crosses cultures. A remake or adaptation would definitely not be the same, just like when they remade The Italian Job.

I’d heard about this movie before and had plans to watch it for a long time but because of its name it kept getting bumbed down the priority list. I eventually watched it for the first time in 2019 at 31 years old. As someone who loves plenty of old movies that stick around from my childhood, I’ve often watched them in recent years and thought “I can see why this wouldn’t be that impressive today”. This movie however, blew my mind by how quickly I was able to ignore it’s visual flaws and just be immersed in it. It holds up incredibly well even today and I really don’t see a single reason for a remake.

Oh God I remember perusal this movie. My mom literally sat me down and said “Watch This Now!” And just put it on. Ironically I was the kid on the bed that was skeptical on how “Good” it is. I rolled my eyes same as him when his grandad said there will be kissing. I WAS that kid that just wanted to play articlegames. But just like him i became swept up by the film and was enthralled the whole way through, Single handedly becoming one of my favorite movies of all time. I did the same to my little brother and the process started all over again. Congratulations on your subscriber count by the way.

Faithfulness in adaptation aside, I live in the modern day and am, though direct experience, aware of the sense of humor that movie studios have determined sells. Princess bride is a pretty silly story and is perfect for being subjected to Hollywood safe, sterile humor. Having that tone associated with an IP I love so much would make me feel kinda dirty and I don’t want it to exist.

I’d love to see The Princess Bride adapted into an animated movie in the sort of style of Into The Spiderverse/anime influences, not to make it into a more kid-friendly version or whatever, but to use animation (in whatever style best suits the dramatic, Romantic, offbeat story) because I adore animation and I think that trying to remake it into a modern day highly CGI-ed film would rob it of everything that makes it enjoyable 😶

personally while i love the movie and always love sharing with friends who i think would love it, i honestly think that a remake wouldn’t be bad, i’m all for remaking older movies, princess bride, big trouble in little china, etc, a lot of people who don’t wanna see a remake are the same kind of people that complain about the fact that all work applications are online now “you never just go ask for a job anymore, can’t just walk into a work place and say, hey i needa job, a man can’t chew backer and be blunt in public anymore” this kind of thing, like how older westerns get good remakes, but then are hated by the people who grew up with the original, or some such, walking tall was a good movie with the rock, but my dad prefers the older movies to the newer one, just like i love the princess bride, would i like the remake as much, maybe, maybe not, i value a movie based on how much it entertains me, slight changes here and their are fine, they could get the mountain to be fezzick, Luke Pasqyalino could be inigo, he did good as d’Artagnan in the three musketeers series, and i’m not sure who could be the man in black, wesley, but they’d figure it out, honestly i think it comes from a fear that it might be bad, and a fear that it might be BETTER, a lot of people like this movie and they wants their kids and friends to like it too, i think a lot of this fear of it being remade comes from the idea that it won’t be THE SAME as the movie, theirs a charm to it’s low production value and it’s almost stage play like pressence that most block busters don’t have, if they made it a big fantasy epic it’d probly get a lot of flack from the original fans for not being the same, BUT it’d also probly get a lot of love from people wh never saw the original and i think that’s what scares people, their afraid the original will get lost in the shadow of the first movie, and it’s a very real, and understandable fear, no one wants to be known as the actor who was in “that old version” of this or that movie, but with all old movies, i think once the original generation get tired of fighting over this and the movie becomes old enough someone will remake it, it’s just a matter of time, the count of montechristo, robin hood, rob roy, etc, all get remade every so often, i think the actors are being dramatic about it honestly because it was one of their early starts in film for most of them and their scared that it’ll be lost to time, their proud of their work and that pride understandably has lead to a fear that a remake will overshadow the original, but it won’t the original will always be special, and loved, and honored, what will destroy it is it modern day PC mentality gets into it and rots away the movie like it has the comics industry and part of the game industry

Goldman had to alter and make drastic cuts to his book in order to create a streamlined screenplay. This meant he had to swallow his ego, something that’s hard for anyone. Yes, his understanding of the differences between printed media and visual media allowed him to make these changes, but had he possessed a Hollywood-sized ego, his script would not have been so great. It’s the most streamlined script I’ve ever seen. So basically, he did what he said his father did while reading The Princess Bride : he only included the good parts (for visual art). BTW, I love, love, LOVE the book. Goldman is the biggest bullshitter I’ve ever encountered and I loved every second of it. Forewords are usually factual and boring. Goldman’s forewords (both of them) are neither. I’m so used to reading dry forewords, I half-believed what Goldman wrote until his increasingly wild assertions caused cognitive dissonance. The bullshitting started early on and got more and more unbelievable until I was like, “Wait…what? NO WAY!” Luckily, I had the Internet to immediately debunk Mr. Biggest Bullshitter. I think it would be funny to see how long various people would be fooled into believing the forewords are true. Obviously, Florin wasn’t a real country. There was no museum in Florin that showcased the six-fingered sword. Once I realized he was lying through his teeth typewriter, I started laughing. Goldman was completely unreliable. One of my favorite parts was his omission of the reunion scene between Buttercup and Westley.

I wish they’d remake films that were kind of good but flawed, rather than remaking ones that were great to begin with. Some sort of meta-sequel I could get behind though… I loved the framing device of the book. Perhaps they could do something like Adaptation, and rather than remake it, make something around the attempt to remake it… I dunno. I wouldn’t want a straight Buttercup’s Baby.

I was named after this movie and was able to watch for it’s 30th anniversary to the day… I wouldn’t mind seeing a limited Seris that has the same framing as the book that could be much closer to it’s “unhappy ending”, but retreading the 80s movie would just be dumb and make me sad that my name is somewhat named after it

While I think it’s a lot more likely that any potential remake would be a cynical cash grab than a passion project, I would disagree with you that there’s no good reason to remake it. As you said, the original work has very different themes, as well as a completely different writing style, than the classic movie, and I think that a faithful adaptation of that book could be very interesting. Unlike the time of the classic Princess Bride film, I think that our current film era is a lot more suited for a movie adapted from the Princess Bride book. For one thing, we live in very cynical times, and while a sincere story about true love, in all of its forms, can still touch our hearts, I think a more cynical story about how life isn’t fair and how happy endings are just a fairy tale would resonate a lot with the current generation. In addition to that, films like Deadpool have made it clear that off-the-wall stories that break the 4th wall can be very successful comedies, so long as the writing and acting are both good. Lastly, the average run time of films is a lot longer now, or at least potentially a lot longer. The average movie length is probably closer to 2 hours now than the 1-and-a-half that it was when the Princess Bride was adapted, and the prevalence of epics like The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, and others, has helped condition people to be capable of enjoying a film for upwards of 2-and-a-half hours. With an extra hour of adaption time, it should be a lot easier to adapt a 300-page book into a wacky, 4th-wall-breaking dark comedy fairy tale about how life isn’t fair.

I’d been thinking about a remake for years, but I still can’t think of anyone who’d be good to play Fezzik. That alone makes a remake worthless. Princess Buttercup was kind of nothing in the movie, so she could be replaced, but Andre at the very least I think is still irreplaceable. Hell, it’s even possible Cary Elwes reprise the same role, and while Mandy was excellent I think there could be a new Spaniard, as long as it’s not Antonio Banderas.

Instead of doing a remake (which would just be a pointless modernization with shoehorned politics) why not make a sequel involving an aged Inigo Montoya (Mandi reprising his role would be quite amazing, and I’m sure he wouldn’t be against the idea) going through his last days as Dread Pirate Roberts while finding an apprentice; perhaps even trying to fulfill a wish from his late friend/first mate Fezzik along the way. As a framing device you could use a struggling writer (perhaps even the own grandson grown up) trying to honor the legacy his grandfather left him with the book, I doubt it could ever be as good but hey it’s something.

My only criticism of this movie is that Princess Buttercup does very little in this film. That wasn’t really much of an issue back in the day, of course, and I still love the film for what it is, it’s just a shame that the female lead (and proven talents of Robin Wright) were not really stretched at all.

No, novel doesnt have to cut a lot to fit the “nature” of the medium. Its just catering to the market. Because not many wants to sit 4 hours of novel adaptation. There are other way. Longform novel can go to tv series, good example is the excelent Anne of Green Gables animated series from the 80’s. But yeaah movie is different beast I guess, people want to see things go boom. Less talk more boom.

I think a remake would flop. Not only is the story not really the kind of story most people these days seek in a movie, but if we take out the actors that made it what it is, and the set pieces replaced with CGI, and add a bunch of modern standards (They would likely make it darker, and with a heavier, more “epic” soundtrack, etc etc etc) it would lose it’s heart and soul, and it’s charm. Just because something is a classic, or even cult classic, does not mean there is an audience for a remake.

I actually disagree with your main point, there is a few amazing reasons to remake Princess Bride, first off it could be Fred Savage reading it to his sick kid showing people to remember to keep up small unique family traditions (something that seems to be falling away in recent years) In fact it would be a great way to showcase how we used to tell stories by the fire, each storyteller would add or change things offering a slightly new perspective. Second the recasting could easily provide perspective on the people who rage when an actor/actress doesn’t look just right, every person is going to mentally picture a scene different no matter how well the author describes it. Third and finally one of the things they could add is how much the grandpa changed the story back in the day, to make it socially acceptable for the 80s, and what Fred savage would have to change for his children. For example Wesley slaps Buttercup in the book, I’m NOT saying add the scene, but call attention to the fact that we’ve been “sanitizing” works for ages as the times change and with how much we have to change now just proves how far we’ve come Also we could recast Billy Crystal and just use less makeup!!! (also add a scene where Fred and his kid remark on how similar they picture that character!!!) And I guess you could argue that it would actually be a sequel in most regards even if it is the same story… and I do agree that the original is PERFECT!

why doesn’t hollywood just,,,, rerelease old films into theaters? i know some theaters have programs that do that but like. If they did that they’d probably make more money than they would just be doing a remake. on princess bride, i wouldn’t opposed to having some shots re-colorized to be a little more vibrant and maybe seeing if they can’t get a HD release, but that’s all i’d want for princess bride. no remake, pls.

I see a remake just as I saw the remake of Clash of the Titans. I don’t love Clash of the Titans for it’s story, the action, the suspense or even the actors. I love it because it was a Ray Harryhausen movie. I saw the trailer of the remake and did my best to ignore it’s existence. I didn’t want to hear anything about this over the top action fest and I’m only reminded that it and it’s sequel exist, when the discussion about remakes comes up again. Correction, bad and shitty remakes. In my opinion a remake of Princess Bride can offer nothing of value. Sure, the action scenes will be more impressive and they will probably a more suspenseful end battle against the Guards, the Prince and the Count, but I don’t think that will add anything of value. Besides, it’s on Netflix. There is a good chance that many will watch the original before perusal the remake. Comparisons will be made. With the mess major movies are these days, I have my doubts that this remake will get the care necessary so it can stand up to the original. What was the last movie with a swashbuckling tone? Oh, yes, the last Robin Hood… That didn’t work out so well.

The only remakes that work for me are the ones where the original had the kernel of good ideas but not the ability to realize them fully. Or to recontextualize it into a form that suits its age and ideaa. Like The Fly. A goofy 50’s film about a headswapped insect man becoming a horrifying bodyhorror classic in the hands of Cronenberg. Or The Thing where Carpenter went back and tapped into the identity crisis paranoia of the short story when redoing Howard Hawks lumbering walking vegetable man story. Or even how Verhoeven took a very influential scifi book that spawned most of our ideas of powered mech armor and made a goofy hyperviolent but ultimately scathing satire of in universe fascist politics. Because he personally hated the book itself I remember hearing of a director from the French New Wave talking about the one absolute rule about adapting books into movies. He said that you start with picking the book up by its spine withe the pages hanging down. You shake the book vigorously a few seconds. And whatever falls on the table during this exercise are the bits that HAVE to be in the movie. The joke of course being that assuming the bindings don’t break, nothing has to survive the process.

Moral of the story, create art for the love of the craft not the love of money, or else you’ll only ever create what sells, and what has sold already has already been done. In seeking only success, you’ll find your only worth as a story teller, is in the money you’ve made, not the stories you’ve told. And how can you be a story teller, if you can only talk about money?

I love The Princess Bride original Film I think they should leave it alone. Sometimes the best thing for a Movie is to not remake that Movie at all and just leave it alone. It’s good for a reason so don’t ruin it by remaking the film and turning a beloved film into one that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Maybe Hollywood should try remaking bad adaptations instead of films that got it right the first time. It’s easier to improve on the original if the original was bad, and a remake in this situation would have a purpose and value. Remaking stuff that were great the first time, like the Lion King, is just a cash-grab with no artistic integrity involved.

I remember being a kid and my Dad being like “Hey! We’re gonna watch this movie!” I was so reluctant at first because I was a girl hating little boy and it had a girly sounding name. But childhood misogyny aside I ended up perusal it anyways and it ended up being one of my favorite movies of all time.