In The Princess Bride, Westley, also known as the Dread Pirate Roberts, is a passionate and dedicated hero who falls in love with Buttercup. He works on her family’s farm and explains that everything he does is to please her. Despite Buttercup’s cruel nature, Westley loves her and does everything she asks.
The story revolves around the love between Westley and Buttercup, who fell in love when they met on her farm. They were later separated when Westley left to read The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern. The story follows Buttercup, a beautiful woman who is kidnapped on the eve of her wedding to Prince Humperdinck.
As the wedding begins, a clergyman with a speech impediment officiates, and Westley groans out “true love” to her. Inigo Montoya, who has been in the revenge business for a long time, advises Westley to drop his sword.
In The Princess Bride, Westley’s grandfather explains that every time Westley says “as you wish,” it means “I love you.” As Buttercup’s farmhand, he doesn’t care about his feelings or how she treats him. However, after every request she makes of him, he always replies, “As you wish.”
The story also touches on themes of life being pain, highness, and selling something. Westley believes that death cannot stop true love, and that it can only delay it for a while. In the end, Westley’s world is ripping apart, and he can only crack along with it.
In summary, The Princess Bride is a captivating tale of love, betrayal, and manipulation, with Westley’s iconic quote “As You Wish” highlighting the importance of true love and the power of love.
📹 Inigo vs. Westley: Princess Bride Perfection
Let’s discuss Inigo Montoya vs. Westley, The Dread Pirate Roberts, duelling atop the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride.
What is the famous line in Princess Bride?
Westley: True love never dies. It just makes it take longer.
What is the main message of The Princess Bride?
The book discusses love, justice, and adventure. The Princess Bride is about the power of true love.
What did Westley always say as a response to Buttercup?
He always replies, “As you wish.” When Westley leaves on a sea voyage and doesn’t come back, Buttercup thinks he’s dead. He survives and becomes a pirate, then sets out to rescue his love from an evil prince.
What does Buttercup call Westley in Princess Bride?
Biography. Life on a farm. Westley was from the country of Florin. He lived on a poor farm and helped the family that owned the land. Buttercup, the owner’s daughter, loved ordering Westley around. He said, “As you wish,” and did what she asked. One day, she told Westley to shine her horse’s saddle and later, to fill some buckets with water. He replied, “As you wish,” but Buttercup felt strange. The next day, Westley was bringing in firewood. Buttercup called to Westley again, asking for a hanging jug. As you wish, he said, but Buttercup realized she loved him.
What does Princess Buttercup call Westley?
Biography. Life on a farm. Westley was from the country of Florin. He lived on a poor farm and helped the family that owned the land. Buttercup, the owner’s daughter, loved ordering Westley around. He said, “As you wish,” and did what she asked. One day, she told Westley to shine her horse’s saddle and later, to fill some buckets with water. He replied, “As you wish,” but Buttercup felt strange. The next day, Westley was bringing in firewood. Buttercup called to Westley again, asking for a hanging jug. As you wish, he said, but Buttercup realized she loved him.
What was Westley’s famous line?
Westley’s Princess Bride Quotes: Life is painful. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
What does Wesley say to Buttercup?
Biography. Growing up on a farm. When Westley works on his family’s farm, Buttercup calls him a farm boy and orders him around. Westley obeyed her commands and replied, “As you wish.” Over time, she realizes Westley loves her. She loves him just as much. When Westley goes away to find his fortune, his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Buttercup learns that her love has been killed by the pirate. Buttercup is devastated. She shuts herself away in her room for days without eating or sleeping. She decides she will never love again.
Westley comes back. Five years later, Buttercup is forced to marry Prince Humperdinck. Buttercup doesn’t love Humperdinck, but he still wants to marry her.
What is the most famous quote?
Best Quotes of All Time “To be or not to be?” – William Shakespeare. 2. “I think, therefore I am.” – René Descartes. 3. “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. 4. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche. 5. 7. … 8. Best Quotes with a Message. Sometimes, a few words can change your day. These quotes are powerful and encourage us to think, reflect, and change the way we see the world. “The only impossible journey is the one you never start.” – Tony Robbins “Change your thoughts, and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale.
What does Wesley always say in Princess Bride?
Westley: True love can’t be killed. It just makes it take longer.
Fezzik: We face each other as God intended. Sportsmanlike. No tricks, no weapons, just skill.
Man in Black: You mean, you’ll put down your rock and I’ll put down my sword, and we’ll try to kill each other like civilized people?
What was the most famous line?
A jury of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians chose Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give a Damn, spoken by Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quote. AFI’s 100 Years… series 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, on CBS. The show was hosted by Pierce Brosnan and featured commentary from many Hollywood actors and filmmakers. A jury of 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians chose Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn, spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, as the most memorable American movie quote.
Edit: Jurors were asked to consider these things when making their choices:
Movie quote: A line from a movie in American English. Lyrics from songs are not eligible. Movie quotations that people use in their lives. They become part of the national language. Movie quotations that viewers use to remember a favorite film.
What is the famous quote as you wish?
Grandpa: He said, “As you wish.” Buttercup: Fill these with water, please. Westley: As you wish. Grandpa: That day, she realized he loved her when he said “As you wish.” She loved him back. The Princess Bride celebrated its 30th anniversary on Monday. Buttercup and Westley’s love story has become a pop culture classic. It’s known for its funny and memorable lines. Any fan of the cult classic will think of Vizzini when they hear the word “inconceivable” or of Westley when they hear “as you wish.”
What was the word in Princess Bride?
There’s a character named Vincini. His word is inconceivable. He says inconceivable. He didn’t fall. My favorite character is Anigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to die.
📹 Do Buttercup and Westley find True Love in THE PRINCESS BRIDE?
How do fairytale relationships differ from reality? Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright are taking a …
This fight always struck me as a classic “falling in love” scene but manly and platonic. From the playful boasting to forcing compliments out of each other, to the existential “Who are you?” exchange, it was like when you first properly meet the person who will become your BFF, overly dramatic for no reason and still 100% real
One of the best parts of this scene is how you can easily dismiss any spinning moves or flips of being “oh he would have just stabbed him there” because they did the development of them being such honorable gentlemen and having fun with it that it actually fits their characters to let the opponent finish the spin or flip just for their own entertainment.
Also, I have to say that I almost wept when I saw Inigo start that two-handed hacking. To see someone so talented and so skilled falling into despair… He’s spent his entire life doing nothing but train with the sword, and now this masked twit is not just going to beat him, but beat him handily. He knows he will never avenge his father, either; he’s going to die at the top of this stupid cliff. The inner rage and sorrow takes away all his confidence, his determination, and his skill; he’s left with nothing but fury, like some barroom brawler. Tragic. 😢
So random fact, when Inigo Montoya says “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father…. prepare to DIE!” the actor (Mandy Patinkin) said that the year previous his father had lost a battle with cancer and to honour him when he said those lines, he was really talking to the cancer that took his father from him…. best scene ever
I’m intrigued by the “You seem a decent fellow” exchange. Inigo is technically one of the “bad guys” at this point, lamenting he has to kill a good guy. But Westley counters saying (essentially) “You’re a good guy too.” Vizzini is such a bully to Inigo and Fezzik, they need someone like Westley who believes in them. ❤️
Head cannon: While Inigo fought left-handed to make the fight more interesting, Wesley fought left-handed because he knew he was good enough to beat the average swordsman quickly with his off hand. He was saving his good hand for later in the day because he didn’t know what else he would be facing and wanted it to not be fatigued.
In the book version, Inigo screamed the line “Who are you?” (with italics and everything) while Westley remained calm. I think the movie did that better. Also, the best explanation I ever heard for the slight cheesiness of the movie’s set designs was that it was a fantasy novel as imagined by an 80’s kid.
I had the very good fortune of assisting Cary Elwes at a Comic-Con. It is endearing, how excitedly he talks about this scene and the process that went into it. I introduced him to a friend of mine who was a fencing instructor. His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. Hats off to you for your thorough research on the background on this fight!
And the fact that Cary Elwes filmed this whole sequence with a bloody broken toe… Seriously if you want to be even more in awe of how incredible this whole scene is, read “As You Wish” by Elwes. The he talks with such reverence and humor about all the trials, tribulations, and training that led up to film day makes the whole thing so much better.
You know, I never really thought of this before but you’ll notice that, when Wesley cuts Inigo’s hair, Inigo’s hand immediately goes to his cheek. Last time he had someone strike out toward his face like that was the man who marked his cheeks and Inigo is checking for blood. He is, in a way, taken back to his childhood for just a second and reliving the day he was scarred.
The moment you opened the article by talking about how ‘realistic/historical’ sword fighting doesn’t fit cinema, it was like a breath of fresh air. I’ve seen too many HEMA people dismiss this fight for its lack of realism/historical basis, and had to hold back my desperate cry of ‘but that’s not even the POINT here!’ So, from the bottom of my stage combat loving heart, THANK YOU!\r Interesting point jumping off of what you said about the weight of the swords: yes, they are much lighter than even a stage rapier, because they and this fight weren’t meant to be based on rapier fighting at all. As you said, this movie calls back to early Hollywood swashbucklers (and is, itself, a product of a time less interested in perfectly recapturing historical technique), and the style of fighting developed for those early films.\r (Here in the states, the SAFD—Society of American Fight Directors—classifies this style of combat as ‘Single Sword,’ but I don’t know what other organizations would call it, if anything.)\r It’s a fun style with almost no historical basis whatsoever, and is nowadays usually performed with a sword that I can only call an unholy hybrid of a rapier, a small sword, and a saber (saber hilt, edged, straight blade like a rapier, but as light as a small sword), and according to my teacher, was initially developed based on Olympic saber fencing technique, but worked in/developed quite a bit of its own showiness and flashy moments that…lack practicality, but make it oh, so much fun to watch, learn, and do.
I’m going to throw a bit context from the book, which has spent a lot of time with Inigo’s backstory by this point. After his father’s death he went to Yeste: the second greatest swordmaker in Spain and a good friend of his father’s who took him in. He promised to learn to fence to take his revenge, and trained a while under Yeste. The book details his training more, but as a young teenager he runs away, feeling he has learned all he can from his Spanish master, and finds masters all over the world to train with. After 10 years away he returns to Yeste, to ask if he has achieved mastery of the sword yet. Yeste tells Inigo that he is no master, but that there is a rank above master that only one in a generation of fencers ever achieve. He declares Inigo a wizard with the sword. He goes looking for the six fingered man. But cannot find him. If he needs money he duels the local champions and wins the prize pots. (I think – I can’t remember that detail). But as his search for revenge grows longer, his despair grows larger. And his opponents bore him, for none has the skill to trouble him. Even left handed. He succumbs into depression and alcohol, which is where Vizzini finds him. When he first meets the man in black he is itching for a duel against a worthy opponent. He is delighted to see his opponent duel him left handed “my weakness against his strength”. I think his fight against the man in black – his first worthy opponent since he finished his training over a decade ago – is the first time he felt truly thrilled to be alive since his father died.
This sword fight is easily the sword fight I measure every fight scene in just about every movie against. Its perfect, or near enough. The audience always knows whats going on and who is doing what, its exciting, has a couple good plot hooks involved, and involves a high degree of skill from the actors. It accomplishes what the film needs brilliantly.
I absolutely love how you acknowledge that some of the moves are unrealistic and explain what they add to the movie despite this. So many articles about movie fighting only talk about how certain moves are unrealistic and conclude that this somehow does nothing but detract from the quality of the film. I really appreciate your approach.
My mother rented this film for us based solely on the VHS box at the local article rental place. By the time this fight started, we were all totally invested in the film. But to our family this was a jaw dropping sequence. To this day it remains a joy to watch and even though I know the film front to back and this fight front to back, it still feels new to me. It still impresses me and that’s the tragedy of this film which was totally underappreciated when it was first released. Thank you so much for your commentary and for showing me this treasured scene through a new perspective.
What’s funny about the whole “I’m not left handed” part of this film, is that left handed fencers actually tend to have an advantage over right handed fencers. Mostly because, right handed fencers probably don’t have a lot of experience fighting against left hander, but also because they are positioning their body differently as a right handed fencer-that if the right hander doesn’t have the angles of their attack right-it becomes easier to miss or have your blade slide off them. Plus their parries tend to push the attacking blade far more outside outside of the strike zone
I took an intro to fencing class in college, 30+ years ago, and the instructor was a woman was a former national-level fencer who absolutely loved this movie. One day instead of our regular class she brought in a tv and VCR and played this scene for us, and pointed out all the fencing moves as well as the “that looks flashy, but don’t do that” moves. This article brought back fond memories of that. Plus, it was fun. Thanks 🙂
One “realistically long” sword fight in a visual medium is Maul v Obi-Wan in “Star Wars: Rebels”. Two or three moves long and yet it says a massive amount about character. Having said that, part of its effectiveness is that it comes in the the context of innumerable looooong Star Wars lightsaber fights.
Cary Elwes did all of this with a broken toe. After being peer pressured by Andre The Giant to ride an ATV, Cary tipped his toes down and one of them broke on a rock. Three weeks later, they filmed this fight with him not completely healed. The quick cuts in movie fights, as you know Jill, are for performers who don’t know what they are doing. Whereas long takes at wide angle are for those who do the work and learn. This movie saved me when I only had a few bars of music to choreograph the fight between the pirates and the constables in the PIRATES OF PENZANCE. That flip Inigo does off the rocks? We had levels on our stage set and got the constables lined up while I flipped over their heads and landed in front of them. They crumbled in fear (in character) and surrendered.
This really touches on why I have so little love for modern action movies. They all seem to use action as fluff and filler without realizing that almost more than other films who just have action as a small element, action in action movies NEED to tell the story. As for The Princess Bride itself, you really get that sense that everyone involved was having a great time making the movie. The forward by Mandy Patinkin for the… er 20th? 25th? anniversary novelization of the movie is such a great read and really confirms that they had that great time making it. The entire film is just such a great example of excellent film making.
Ms. Bearup; I started perusal you when I was trying to recreate the classic swordfighting scene between The Man In Black and Indigo Montoya from The Princess Bride and I came across your piece bearing the subtitle “Perfectly Subversive”. Your personal experience in (mock) swordplay and your shameless love of the subject matter, delivered with your intelligent wit, had me perusal yet another of your pieces, “Could A Corset Stop A Knife?” When I discovered that your incisive analysis extended to movies that I had seen, books that I had read (and had been turned into movies), social phenomena (such as fanfics) and more, I was delighted. I am now binge-watching your stuff and neglecting my work. Thank you.
5:50 Hah, I had genuinely never noticed that Wesley was drawing with his left hand even before Inigo let him rest. That’s really funny, considering what it says about Wesley’s confidence levels. … … … And I now have a new headcanon that Wesley always pretended to be left-handed as DP Roberts, as part of the act. 🙂
I’ve only recently started perusal your stage combat reviews, and enjoy them greatly. They remind me both of the stage combat classes I took when I was younger, and the films which inspired me to take them. This has led me to wondering your take on the stage combat in some of the films I found inspiring – specifically: Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, Guy William’s Sign of Zorro, and Danny Kaye’s Court Jester.
I worked at a theater when it first came out and I was blessed with seeing it so many times I can still easily almost quote the whole movie, and this fight was such a masterpiece to behold now as it was then. My friend and I who worked there were Inigo and the Dread Pirate Wesley together for Halloween, had even staged a smallest smidgen of the fight to show off for coworkers and customers. It was also our proper introduction to cosplay, and as early anime enthusiasts (think Robotech era) it was the beginning of a long run of that.
Re-watching this again I have to say it is an absolute pleasure listening to someone who clearly enjoyed this movie, and this fight as much as me. So many of the people I know haven’t even heard of this movie, let alone watched it, which is somewhat awkward when I quote it… Also huge thumbs up for referencing Honor Harrington
I’d also love to point how well the accompanying soundtrack perfectly matches the choreography throughout this movie. If you listen to just the soundtrack in order with all of the musical cues you can play out each scene in your head and that helps enhance how memorable the film is. It’s definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.
I was a teenager when I watched it the first time in the late 1980s, and now I am in my 50s, but this sword fight remains one of my favorite after all these years, not just the techniques, but also the respect between two swordsmen. I have been practicing kendo for over 10 years, and have just started learning epee too recently, which makes me appreciate this fight even more. A very nice commentary and explanation by you too, thank you!
I was literally just about to suggest this, having seen your earlier excellent breakdowns. Now settling in to enjoy! Thanks Added after perusal: Thanks, Jill, I really enjoyed that. And I don’t want to think about how I would have felt had your opinion not coincided with mine (too much spoiler-avoidance?)
I fell absolutely in love with this book as a HS freshman. I actually asked the librarian about the S Morgenstern book. It was about 10 years when they announced the movie, which instantly became one of my favorites. Having William Goldman, the author, write the screenplay was brilliant. Your review was wonderful! Intelligent, well spoken, funny… Thank you. I enjoyed it very much!
I love this. I love the enthusiasm about a niche subject that applies so perfectly to a movie I love with all my heart. I love the depth of knowledge that allows a layman like me to understand why I love that thing that I love so much. I love the articulacy that makes it clear and plain. I love the sense of humour and twinkle in the eye that allows 16 minutes to fly by. A perfect collision of style, substance and subject matter. I guess I’m saying I like the tone and the monologue. Thank you.
I watched this movie as a kid in my teacher’s classroom after school because she loves this movie and this fight scene is what helped cement this movie into my mind for years and when I finally got the chance to watch it again 3 years ago I was not let down and Im glad I watched this movie when I was young
YouTube magic led me to your website, and I’m so pleased it did! I’m very much enjoying your analysis so far. Looking forward to going through more of your articles. I have a son and daughter in middle school and last night they were training with staffs and a (wood) samurai length sword. They’ve been doing martial arts for over 6 years, so weapons training is fun for them.
To anyone that loved Jill’s article on this fight and would like to hear more about how this fight scene came to be (and a whole lot of other behind the scenes goodness) I can’t recommend enough the book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. The audio book is narrated by Cary Elwes so you can hear about the grueling practice schedule right from the Man In Black himself. Many of the actors also read their own memories sections. It’s far more than worth checking out!
It’s interesting in the plot that Prince Humperdink is promoted as the expert swordsman yet when he and Wesley faceoff the Prince surrenders without a fight. This exchange between Wesley and Inigo highlight that courage is an essential ingredient to honour and hence, true nobility. This fight also highlights the principal that ‘pride comes before a fall’ (Inigo being pride and Wesley representing humility). You also have the motivations of love vs work. Inigo loves his father that is without question but he just works for vascini to pay the bills. One more point, when Inigo fights the count, it’s a pursuit that represents Inigo’s life. Inigo overcomes a cheap shot (thrown dagger) to fight off death (revenge) to remember his Father (love) – ‘i want my father back you son of a bitch’ Love not revenge, money or power is able to overcome death. I love this movie.
i’m not even gonna pretend you didn’t just open the door to what i actually think i could do for the rest of my life. i might be almost in tears right now and this will be ungodly long but that’s not important. i just found this website and my god, i am in love. thank you so much for making me realize that i could pursue a line of work that is ‘aggressively’ charged, physically cathartic, and stunningly aesthetic/artistic. the way you speak of the things in these articles are the exact way i speak of the things in these articles, but you have the professional education behind it that i will marvel for hours at. this is maybe my third article from your website. got here from a short titled “how to tie up your dress in a fight” and i was like “unironically, i’m almost certain i will need this at some point, but what is this” and discovered your website after because the short wasn’t just a joke or skit it was actually how it’s done and i got excited. the first line i heard being “we all know the first rule of fight club, but..” and i knew this is where i need to be lmao further in and i’m honestly feeling like i already had a professional eye for swordplay scenes and action story development. this has been one of my favorite scenes since childhood, and it was a movie shown to me after my insane obsession with the pirates of the caribbean movies, specifically the sword fights. as i got older i still loved them for how well the action scenes progressed the movie and weren’t just “wow let’s blow shit up that looks cool” and i really have an analysis of the jack-will POTC sword intro scene that i am SO SO SO excited to compare to yours, i lost my mind when you said that the wesley-inigo scene was the scene that kept the jack-will scene wavering because i feel the EXACT same way.
And this is a master class in film analysis. It studies the scene with a professional eye to detail, but never loses sight of the purpose of an action scene, or indeed any scene in a film, to tell a story and reveal character (which technically is the same thing.) And to add to the brilliance, I noticed that Jill took on a Princess Bride-esque narration technique that almost sounds like Vizinni talking out his logic in the poison scene, and had me laughing out loud. Top marks for flair, as well as examining all aspects of cinematic story-telling through the specific lens of sword combat. Truly masterful. Total aside, and not at all relevant, and I respect you know your audience, but I feel like I’ve heard enough about The Last Jedi, and how angry it made certain people. There’s nothing wrong with that throne room scene that isn’t wrong with some of the greatest, most innovative fight scenes in cinema history. Old Boy’s famous hallway scene was full of punches that didn’t connect, people falling over on their own, wooden weapons breaking way too easily. The only thing which makes it a classic and the throne room scene flawed is that no one was rooting for Old Boy’s scene to suck. So to my mind, the complaints about Last Jedi are kind of disingenuous. And bringing it up yet again just validates bad-faith argument. At least, in my opinion. For what that’s worth.
I appreciate you bringing up about how modern movies not only shoot but EDIT fights in a way that is chaotic and confusing – a thing I imagine is done to cover up how poor the fights are. I think another reason this one stands out and that we as the audience don’t give 2 shits about the obvious set of it all – is because we are perusal the fight. We are able to see where they have been and where they are going – so much so that we are nervous ahead of the characters because we can see where the fight is heading geographically and I LOVE IT!!!
I’ve watched many of these scenes from the perspective of HEMA practitioners and sword fighters. It is interesting to see the take from someone more on the filmography side of things. While still giving glowing praise for this scene (as rightly deserved), it’s far more measured praise than the fan boy foaming at the mouth level the sword community has for this. At the same time, the sword fighting community absolutely hates the Jedi Throne room scene, which she defends. It’s great seeing how they are looking for different takeaways from the scenes, and the perspective can show a lot.While she can appreciate the technical aspects of the combat itself; she also views the scene within the greater context of both the story being conveyed and the practical limitations of scene and stage.
I recently read the book Cary Elwes wrote about the making of the film, and I didn’t see a comment about this already A couple details I’d like to point out that add to the impressiveness of this film. This fight was filmed towards the end of production. This allowed for as much rehearsal time as possible. When Cary and Mandy signed on to do the film, neither had a swordsman background. They were shown the three minute fight scene designed by the two choreographers and rehearsed it in every spare moment during production. And then we come to the “that’s it?” moment referenced in this article. They had rehearsed the three minute fight down to LESS THAN A MINUTE. The two actors had a good deal of input into what we see in the final film, but it’s just as impressive how good the two of them had gotten by this point; more than doubling the length of the sword fight and nailing the entirely new choreography in, like, a day when the original had been fine tuned across months.
Speaking of practice and skill and getting it right…I’d love to see your breakdown of Star Wars Ep3’s climactic fight. Perhaps the most divisive? One hand, being two sides of the same coin, the other the sheer ferocity, skill, and speed. It’s a visual spectacle that people bemoan for going on too long Can we see you either praise or tear it to shreds? Or Both?
It is a pleasure to see your article presentations. As a now retired working Fight Choreographer and Stunt Coordinator. I really admire your professional and pleasant manner. Your history notes are spot on and as you know you can always add more if need be. To the point..(He,he) There are not enough women in the business of “Defence” and I am so pleased to see your standing upon this ground. I thank you for your work and your approach. I look forward to more of your articles and commentary. (Patty Crean, Ralph Faulkner, Frederic Adolphe Cavens, and of course William Hobbs. All of these men deserve comment on elevating the art of Sword choreography. Patty Crean was Errol Flynn stunt double in many a film and was well known back in the day. There those of that trained with him. My training was in France and that is a whole other conversation.) Jill you are breath of fresh air I thank you again and look forward to more of what you do…Bravo and Zaa!~ (Ross Clay)
Ms.Nearly For some obscure mathematical reason, the YouTube algorithmic overlords presented your wonderful website to me about 11 minutes ago. I am a (mostly) retired actor who always got the fencing bits in community theatre, and a (lacking opportunities) inactive sport fencer(all three weapons, epee’ a specialty) So, your lovely work was a very nice way to wake up this Sunday morning; just perfect. Thanks for all this fun, and I think your technical presentation is spot on! Great job.
that’s so cool your like some sort of sword expert. at first I thought you were just another movie critic until you out of nowhere pulled out an actual sword, which left me a bit puzzled on to why someone like yourself would own an actual real sword, you don’t see that to often. But as I kept perusal I started to put the clues together and just like that it hit me around the 9:28 mark, that you are a damn swordsman or women which ever you prefer to be called. I have never met a person with your kind of expertise until now. You have just gained one more subscriber!
This is a great article and explains the break down of the scene really well. Well done! FYI. The swords Wesley and Inigo, the prince and Rugen uses are called Epees. Epees (shown in the movie) is the heaviest of three Foils used in Fencing. The Epee were commonly used by the nobility and any person that can afford the forging of such swords. An Epee is a flexible but sturdy, elegant sword that was used in what was called gentleman’s combat, utilizing the art of Fencing. These swords were common in the provinces of France, Spain and Italy during that time. Since this scene was all about the integrity of both swordsman as gentlemanly and honorable, it made sense to use the Epee. So in short, the swords used in this film are correct for the period and provinces. Even the hilt of Inigo’s sword, as ornate as it was, would also be correct. He, Inigo, did say that his father was commissioned to forge it.
This is such a great article essay! I love this movie so much. It is one of the most perfect films ever (at least to me). You explained things so well that I had only really noticed on a subconscious level. You put into words what I love about this scene. I know you are a writer but you truly have a way with words. The way you talked about this was poetic.
I recently had the pleasure of portraying George Haye in Moon Over Buffalo and had to sword fight my co-star. I contacted my ex-girlfriend who teaches stage combat and performs as a stunt woman…and she didn’t respond. I think, now, I should have asked you for tips. We worked it out and I’ve only seen one other performance that was better (WAY better, I’ll confess), but we were all working with experience that was thirty years old and out of practice. Anyway, good analysis. The “Flynning” comment was amusing.
I only recently discovered your website (stupid algorithm doesn’t understand me at all). It’s fabulous – thank you (#1)! I’ve always loved this sword fight. I’ve frequently told friends, especially those who have never seen the movie, that it’s the “best. sword fight. in. movie. history.” I didn’t exactly know why, I just knew I loved it. Your analysis and insight, not just on the fight itself (#2), but on the storytelling involved (#3), just makes it all the better. So thank you, thank you, thank you!
Such a fun review! BUT I must say what I always say in regards to this fight. In the book — Inigo wins the fight against Wesley when they fight on difficult terrain, he wounds the Man in Black multiple times because Inigo trained for all circumstances, he never knew how it would be when he found the 6-fingered man, so he trained for everything. Wesley beats him on even, flat, ground, being the superior natural athlete. The only problem I have with the movie is that they sold Inigo’s skill short, he was entirely, and handily beaten by Wesley.
I won’t name names, but there’s a forum on the internet that teaches a lot on swords and sword fighting. As a writer and a roleplaying game designer (and player), I have learned a great deal of facts that I can incorporate into my work. However this forum frowns on people like me and has no respect for RPGs or fantasy in general, and they don’t hide it. I would just like to thank you for this post and for showing folks like me respect without looking down on what we like to do.
I’m so glad I found your website! I’ve been perusal fights looked at by martial artists and Hima peoples for quite a while cause I find it super interesting. But being an artist\\musician who has preformed on stage and in pits I’ve been curious about fights from a stage fighter/choreographers view point and this was awesome. Really enjoyed the article.
Just recently discovered your website, and I have to say, I’m in love. The details of your analysis, your humor, and of course, your love for one of my favorite movies of all time, has won you a subscriber. I’m just disappointed that you didn’t one of my favorite things about this movie…the dialog.
Found your website with another article. But when I looked at your website, this was the first article on which I clicked. 🙂 Love Princess Bride. I also love that you do stage combat. You’re an awesome lady with cool articles! Thanks for making and sharing articles! I fell in love with this scene as a kid and that love of rapier combat still survives today. (I don’t do stage combat but I do rapier combat with Society of Creative Anachronism using manuals, primarily Italian Renaissance. Love my Darkwood Pappenheimer rapier!)
I’ve been perusal Jill’s articles for about a week now and probably watched about 2 dozen or so now. I’m addicted. She has widened the gap between action scenes that I do and do not enjoy. I’m so happy that this article made me love this scene even more than I already did, which I didn’t think was possible.
I just wish I could RE-discover YT articles, but at that point… I’m condemned to relive what-I-already-lived-through. Princess Bride will forever be one of my classics. Trying to thumb up another time but then… It was a fight between a pirate and a corsair. And as a french foreigner, I’m a sucker for “corsairs”.
Thank you for this article, it was wonderful. It is my favorite scene from my favorite movie. Was a joy to watch the breakdown. At 1:15 when you said: “Your audience would likely be disappointed if you build up and build up to this climactic battle, and then… OOP DONE!” really should have been accompanied by a article clip of a particular scene from Game of Thrones Season 8. After years and years of buildup about the Night King and that “Winter is coming” and all that, it is suddenly… “OOP DONE!” after one little staby-stab. Yea, I think that fits your example of failure perfectly.
This is easily in my Top 3 Best Movie Swordfights of All Time. There’s something so special about this fight that to my knowledge no other fight has been able to pull off. That being the respect and sportsmanship that Westley and Inigo show to one another. Like you said, the tone of this fight is less a mercenary vs a pirate, but instead two gentlemen. I would actually say this is more like two masters having a friendly sparring match rather than a duel to the death. I wish more fights had this kind of energy and tone, where both sides acknowledge the other’s skill and power, while neither side gives way. There has to be a winner, but there is never any malice or hatred between the two, just mutual respect and admiration. On a seperate note about realism in movie fights, the thing I’ve always had in my mind when it comes to fights that last “unrealistically long” versus how real fights tend to go is the skill and training present in whoever is fighting. In this scene for example, we see that both sides are absolute masters at their craft, studying all manner of techniques and skills from various masters. Compare that to someone like, say, you’re average foot soldier who has maybe spent a great deal of time learning how to fight, but has not put in nearly the amount of effort that people like Inigo and Westley have. Another example of two masters having a long fight is the final duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan in ROTS. In a way, I see that duel as the inverse of this duel. A pure duel to the death, both sides trying their hardest to kill the other, with no further thought to respect or sportsmanship.
Wow. WOW. This is my first article from your website, and I am THRILLED over your content. Also, I did not know a real rapier was that large; actually I always thought of Inigo and Wesley’s swords when I pictured rapiers LMAO. I’ve learned something new today! Thanks to you. doffs hat in appreciation and respect
Definitely my favorite dueling scene of all time. The dialogue helped make it, but the fact that knowing both actors did 99.9 percent of it after months of practice made it so believable. I did some fencing in high school taught by a french master instructor (I don’t remember his name, too many years ago). Some people had no idea, but some of us for whom medieval & renaissance style weaponry was a hobby, we did pretty well. A friend of mine & I ended up at 2 points a piece after 20 minutes, neither one able to score the winning point, to the point where even the instructor was impressed. Unfortunately, they don’t teach such things in school these days.
New to your website but I love it already! You talking about long fights and how the audience would be disappointed if it was more realistic and over in a couple of moves got me thinking again about how good the Maul vs Obi-Wan fight in Star Wars Rebels was. Over shockingly quick for a lightsaber fight that is traditionally flashy and protracted (especially the prequel ones) but I feel it still tells a fantastic story. I would be really interested in your take on that fight!
One of my favorite movies ever. Didn’t see it in the theater, but did see it on HBO just after it left the theater. I’m glad I saw it as a child. Because I probably would have thought it was stupid if I had seen it as an adult for the first time, but now when I watch it, it takes me back to a much less stressful, much sillier, happy time.. Which is why it has remained one of my favorite movies even still to this day. Great review by the way. 😁
Fun fact: I actually met Bob Anderson back in…maybe 2010? I was on a train going to London and was reading a book, By The Sword. He saw the book, glanced at me, then took the seat opposite me. There was just so much joy on his face that some random dude was interested in swords and fencing..and that the book was by somebody he actually knew. The next two and a half hours were just me listening to Bon Anderson tell exciting stories of Olympic Fencing, movie fights, and insider stories about Richard Cohen (the guy who wrote the book)
I’m not necessarily super interested in sword fighting. It’s ok in a film, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to look for it. However, this article was perfect. Jill Bearup is not only knowledgeable but very entertaining. She’s got the perfect tone for me to enjoy her articles. It’s the first one I’ve seen of hers, & I’ve already subscribed. I’m a sucker for people who know things & who want to share them in an interesting way, no matter what the subject. Thank you for posting this, Jill. 🙂
As a fencer from a family of fencers and weapon wielders, we love The Princess Bride and watch it a LOT (i could probably recite the entire script from memory), as the fights aren’t just fights. They are duels, dances, extensions, and expressions of the characters. You can see bits of their personality reflected in how they duel, and different techniques and styles for different opponents, terrain, and phases of the battle. They are not just battling with sheer strength there’s a calculation to it. A series of causes and effects. Some movements are completely automatic from having trained for years, able to freely discuss and look each other in the eye. They are not just wailing and swinging at each other, they had precise control in their fingertips. It’s a great depiction of fighting considering it’s a film and its time period. The ethics and civility of the duel is consistent for gentlemen of old times. I’ve had flashy bouts they are incredibly fun and tiring but require knowledge and intuition from both sides, it becomes a partnered dance, equally matched and unwilling to lose.
Such a good movie! Loved that scene as a teen, love it today as and old guy. That’s a great point about the cuts too; modern movies have SO many rapid cuts to different cameras and it’s so headache-inducing. The longer scenes in this fight are amazing, but jeeeeez – 230 moves… didn’t realize just how epic that was.
I’ve never done choreographed combat of any kind – I have, however, done 6 years of live-steel, full-contact, block it dodge it or get hit by it, sword combat. 50 pounds of steel plate armour and an 8 pound spring-steel sword (yes, we made our swords out of leaf springs – already tempered and ready to go). One is never more alive than when one is laughing in the face of Death. I still love this duel. One of my all-time favorites. I also love the duel between Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham – passionate, and they looked like they actually wanted to kill each other. You should do that fight, as well. Amazing.
12:55 WHAAAA?! They *BOTH* switch hands….twice? Both?! Both. Both? Both is good. I knew Inigo switched, but not Westley and certainly not both at the same time. I’ve watch this movie more time than is healthy and this fight more times than is sane yet this is the first time I’ve seen this. I *LOVE* cinema exegesis for this exact reason: learning there is even more greatness in my favorite scenes. Magnificent!
I love me a long flashy movie swordfight, but I also love the complete inversion of that at the end of Sanjuro, where it DOES build tension up and then is over in one move, and it’s still amazing because Kurosawa was a god among men. All that being said I still find Princess Bride to be a nearly perfect film and I adore the scene you cover in this article.
Thanks – brought here by a link from a blog, not expecting much. What a pleasant surprise, informative and fun about one of my favourite films and scenes. Now, perhaps you should consider the best cinematic swordfight of all time (arguably) James Mason, Stewart Grainger in a Prisoner of Zenda. I don’t know the technical stuff about stage fighting, but moving the plot along and witty dialogue are there – where did you learn to fight like that – on the playing fields of Eton ! Great stuff !
The genius of this fight scene is that it’s not about the sword-fight. It’s story-telling plus character development using a sword-fight as the vehicle. It’s why fights like this one are light-years removed from the self-indulgent CGI barf-fests of the Star Wars prequels. I always loved the set-up, too – Inigo is theoretically a mercenary working for Wallace Shawn in service of a master plan, but the instant the possibility of fighting a good swordsman presents itself, all of that goes out the window and he’s all about the challenge. That tells you everything you need to know about his character, and the rest of the fight just fleshes them both out. It’s marvelous story-telling.
Elwes and Patinkin started training with Anderson and Diamond at the very beginning of production, practically right after they were cast. Bob and Peter convinced the director Rob Reiner to move the shooting of the sword fight to the near the very end of the shoot so that they would have the maximum amount of time to train Cary and Mandy. Every single day after shooting dialogue scenes, the two would be grabbed by Anderson and Diamond and taken off to train. After Elwes’ incident with Andre the Giant’s ATV that broke his toe, they shifted his training from footwork to hand movement, which is why he got so damn good at switching hands. As you said when they finally got to the time of shooting the fight they had actually become so good at it that they had turned what had been a 3 min fight into a 1:30 fight. So they had to add two more minutes to the choreography. All throughout the training they were perusal classic swashbucklers with Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. for inspiration. According to Elwes on the day of the actually shooting of the scene they did the whole fight in a single take (sans the acrobatics) that Reiner filmed with two cameras. They got a round of applause from a crowd of cast and crew members who showed up just to watch it. They then did it again more than two dozen times over the next week so Reiner could get all the footage he needed for it.
there’s a part of the SW throne room fight where one of the guard’s swords just vanishes out of his hand because if he retained it, Rey would have logically died. As someone who is writing a scene between two fierce opponents who are trying to bets each other for stakes and for personal pride, I appreciate that you created this article. By the writer of the book, or ‘the good parts version’ is the great William Goldman, mentor to Aaron Sorkin, one of my teachers.
Director Rob Reiner said that he wanted the greatest movie sword fight ever filmed, and I think he succeeded. I had always assumed that it was done with not two, but four, stunt doubles (to do the left versus right handed fighting), which would have been easy enough to do with their costumes hiding much of their faces, but was amazed to learn that it was the actors themselves who’d done all the fighting. Apparently, they practiced at every spare moment during filming, and Mandy Patinkin got into it so much that he continued with fencing well after completing this beloved flick.
Before the movie was the book. That swordfight was included in Spider Robinson’s anthology The Best Of All Possible Worlds, which sent me scurrying to the bookstore for a copy of The Princess Bride, a wonderful book. Imagine my surprise when the movie was released and it was right, it was perfect. That rarely happens.
Interesting fact: Mandy (who plays Inigo) states that the ending scene where he kills the Count helped heal him. His father had died of cancer and he said when he fought and killed the Count, he imagined he was fighting the cancer. That whole scene was him confronting cancer, “killing” it, and coming to terms with his father’s death. That’s why that scene is so powerful, emotional, and iconic. The audience felt his struggle and relief.
I actually got to meet Cary Elwes the other day at an event, and he was the nicest guy. Recognized that I froze when it was my turn to get pictures taken with him, and rather than being rude or crass about it, he got down to my level (i’m in a wheelchair, and significantly shorter than other people) and used a quiet voice to try and calm me down and say it was ok. Even talked to me for a little bit. He really didn’t have to be that accommodating, but I very much appreciated it. I’ll never forget it. Every bit as charming in real life as he is in the movie
I met Cary Elwes and I did NOT want to be that person who asked him to say “As You Wish” for the millionth time. But as I asked him if he could sign my copy of his book he said “as you wish” and I about died! He is SO kind and patient and lovely. I really hope I get the chance to meet more of the cast someday. Wonderful article and so happy to see how much you both love this movie!!
The Princess Bride is how I knew that my husband was “the one”. Early on, I asked him what his favorite movie was, and he said “The Princess Bride”, and I basically accused him of lying. To prove it, he sent me a picture of 20th anniversary edition DVD that he had in his possession, and then later that week he brought it over and he quoted pretty much the whole thing while we watched it. This is THE BEST movie ever.
I’ve always thought of Cary Elwes saying in interviews that it’s not often that an actor is involved in a film and they know that that’s what they’ll be remembered as forever. I remember him saying something along the lines of, “when I pass away, people will say, ‘Westley died.’ I’ll probably have ‘mostly dead’ on my gravestone.” That’s crazy.
I believe the original novel made the point that Wes and Buttercup had a lot of work to do before getting to happily ever after, but I can see why the movie went the more straightforward route. I was fortunate enough to get to meet Cary Elwes for a fan signing several years back, and he fully admitted this was the most fun he’s had on any project he worked on.
Inigo Montoya and Fezzik are absolutely icons of masculinity. Sure they play the role of scary villains but at heart they’re romantic in the extreme, they know how to be friends without being cruel, they have gentle jokes… Even counting Inigo’s revenge obsession, they’re the best men in movies. I love them.
This is my family’s comfort movie. Whenever one of us is in the hospital, one of us will show up to read this book to make the hospitalized party cheer up. Shortly after my parents divorced my mom ended up hospitalized. I was out of town but she still woke up to find my dad sitting next to her with the Princess Bride. She was so confused, saying that they were divorced now. And he just told her that they were still family. It gave me a lot of comfort to know that despite the problems that led to their divorce they still loved each other as family and would still support and care for each other. I feel extremely lucky for the care and consideration my parents have for each other and the Princess Bride will always remind me of that fact.
A nice little story that actually happened when I was working as a horse trainer. There was this beautiful and talented gelding that I was training for his owner to sell. He was the most willing and amazing partner to work with. Incredible athletic talent and a heart of gold. He always wanted to do everything that was asked of him. A teenage girl ended up buying him, and she was amazed by how willing he was to do anything she asked. She ended up changing his barn name to Wesley, and his show name was, of course, “As You Wish”. When she told me of his new name, I automatically felt the feels. Sad statement though, the barn owner didn’t understand the reference.
I bought the book out of the discount pile on my first day of college because I liked the cover…that evening, I’m reading it, and when I reach, “I am not left handed,” I yell “HA!!” and immediately apologize to my startled roommate. Who was even more startled when I got to “I’m not left handed, either,” let out a loud whoop, and threw the book in the air… These are things I’ve never done reading any other book, before or since, and it took a few additional weeks to persuade my roomie I wasn’t entirely insane 😅
Princess Bride was my “Dungeons and Dragons” movie for so many years. It had such a great mix of action, great sword fights, drama, humor, quotes & catchphrases, giant monsters, a Giant (named Andre), locations like “The Cliffs of Insanity!!”, and basically captured the kind of things we always strive to capture in a good D&D game.
I’m so happy this movie was covered. It’s one of my personal favorites because the dialogue is funny as hell, Cary and Robin are REALLY fine, and the lead characters were actually likeable (mainly Buttercup and Westley). I remember reading the book a long time ago (there was a book first) and the parody of the fairytale is SO MUCH STRONGER. Buttercup is…I’ll cut to the chase, she wasn’t smart. Westley had to spell things out for her and often was annoyed when she wasn’t picking up on things. He only “loved her” for her looks and not her personality. Same goes for Buttercup. She never glanced Westley’s way until she saw the Countess (only found in the book) staring at Westley, checking him out, and realized that she was jealous (took an entire evening for her to realize that). In the movie, Buttercup is a lot more faster on picking things up. I always thought that she didn’t pick up on the fact that Westley was actually Dread Pirate Roberts because she wasn’t used to that particular tone. Westley at the beginning spoke to her in a more soft manner, so a much more aggressive tone would throw her off.
When Allen was talking about flat cinematography and lighting and stuff i actually feel like it adds to the vibe of a stage play. Like it is in the imagination of the kid hearing the story building a simple but vivid picture of the scenes his grandpa is reading to him. It kind of makes the movie better to me lol
My dad’s favorite movie is The Princess Bride. I remember perusal it again one time when I was 15 with him and after the fire swamp bit with the ROUS, my dad paused the movie and said, “I never understood why he said he didn’t Believe in ROUSes. He saw one RIGHT THERE.” And it explained so much about my dad (he’s pretty restrained emotionally… Several problems between us there) especially when I said, “But BUTTERCUP hadn’t seen it, so he was trying to keep her calm. Because he loves her. And knows that if she panicked, it would only make their situation worse.” My dad stood there blank-faced at me like, “Yeah, no, still don’t get it.” It is the only thing I think about during that scene now lol
In the book, The Princess Bride was the recollection of a story told to a now-adult-author by his father when he was sick. The author loved this story, told everyone he loved this story, and people would read it and be confused why he loved it so much. Turns out, the book he was being read from, a book with the title The Princess Bride that he could find, that he could hold, did not have the story he remembered being read. It was a history book. His father made it all up on the spot. So, since the book wasn’t his favorite story, he went ahead and wrote the story to rectify this. Grandpa reading a book to his sick grandson reflects this premise. Even when it wouldn’t technically be required for the movie to function, it would have been sorely missed to readers to not have this dynamic somehow in the movie. It is one of the best adaptations.
I disagree that Wesley kidnaps and then continuously insults Buttercup as some kind of test to see if she still loves him. He is clearly ANGRY to find out that he fought his way back to her after enduring three years of mental torment, being told every night by his captor every night, “I’ll most likely kill you in the morning,” only to find out she is engaged to a prince. He STILL loves her, so when he finds out she is in danger, of course he feels a NEED to save her, maybe even to return her to Humperdinck (notice that his first instinct when he sees the riders on top of the ridge isn’t to run away; in fact, they don’t run from the royal hunting party until Wesley has revealed himself to Buttercup). So his love for her overrules his anger far enough to make him want to save her. BUT, he’s mad at her deep down for not waiting for him. And the longer he looks at her in bright silk riding habit, so different from the earthtone homespuns she used to wear, the more he remembers the anger. THAT is why in the previous hillside scene to the one you showed, he scoffs at the worth of “the promise of a woman,” and when Buttercup yells at him that she has “loved more deeply than a killer like yourself could ever DREAM,” he does the foulest thing of all, which is to raise his hand to strike her. Even though he doesn’t follow through, to me that is Wesley’s most egregious action in the entire movie, and the only one that makes me mad at him. But his next line is very telling when he says to her that he’s giving her a warning that next time he will follow through because “Where I come from there are penalties when a woman lies.
My absolute FAVORITE movie! Lord, the Goldman brothers were incredible writers. Between them, Princess Bride, Lion In Winter, Butch Cassidy, All The President’s Men, Marathon Man, Robin and Marion…but I digress. The performances, (and hey, I loved the music, Alan), the whole thing is PERFECT. Now, here’s the interesting thing to me – so many PErFECT movies are terrible patterns for real relationships. I suspect that the drama that powers these movies is something to be avoided in real life. But heck, that’s why I watch you guys! Thanks for this one! <3
I was so excited to see you released an episode on “The Princess Bride” that I nearly screamed. I’d asked you guys if you’d ever do an episode on it 3 times in the past 2 years (good thing I did it on different platforms otherwise you’d have gotten tired of me lol) and you replied each time that you intend to, so I was super happy to see the episode up!!\r Sadly I had a minor friendship crisis and had to have a good cry before I could actually WATCH the episode that night, and then life sort of happened, and so I only watched it (twice) a few days ago. Yeesh. I actually don’t always comment on every CT episode, but just like Alan, this is my favorite movie of all time, so it’s special <3 \r Loving the fact that you did specifically Couples Therapy for this ep, rather than just talking about the whole film, since it gives me hope that you might cover other topics in the film, such as revenge or psychology of a hero for Inigo Montoya. You did say you were hoping to have one/some of the actors on the show as guests, so I’m holding onto that hope!