The Princess Bride: The Characters, Part 2: The Sicilian Crowd, the Villains, and Conclusion

When we are first introduced to Inigo, he’s not exactly a glowing example of heroism.  A former alcoholic, Inigo is a Master Swordsman, working as a mercenary, he is one of the trio who first kidnaps Buttercup (under Humperdinck’s orders).  He’s fine with the abduction itself, but shows a few of his true colors when

The Princess Bride: The Characters, Part 1: Introduction, Westley, and Buttercup

As easy as it might seem, as it turns out, writing a fairy-tale for the screen can be rather challenging, especially in terms of what might seem to be the ‘easiest’ part: the characters.   In most legends and fairy tales, characters aren’t really people, they’re archetypes, designed to be described in one word so that

The Princess Bride: Genre and Themes

“Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…” Within the first few minutes of the film, The Princess Bride firmly places itself into a very specific genre.  The Grandfather uses the above phrase very early in the movie in an attempt to sell the Grandson on the book after his skeptical reaction

The Princess Bride: The Story

The story of The Princess Bride doesn’t even open with the actual story at all.  In fact, it opens on something out of the realm of fantasy entirely: in a little boy’s bedroom, circa 1987. This is The Grandson (Fred Savage), and he is home from school, sick. The Grandson is interrupted from his video

The Princess Bride: Legacy and Impact

There are no shortages of books that have been adapted into film, some successfully, some less so.  For every To Kill a Mockingbird, it seems, there’s a Dune.  Some books are adapted faithfully, others with considerable liberties, and there’s honestly no way to tell which is going to be better for a film immediately.  Some