This week we round out our podcasts on this amazing film beloved by so many. Join us all here at the Retro Cinema as we give our thoughts on an absolute 80s classic!
End song credit: True Love / Schmoyoho
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Alright, Gidgit & Angry: better pull up your chairs! I haven’t seen THE PRINCESS BRIDE in 15-20 years…and even then it was a crudely edited TV version. However, I watched it enough times that I knew it all by heart. However, I’ve always enjoyed the movie without loving it. Even after viewing the making-of documentaries, I was never convinced that it has earned the status of something legendary like “The Wizard of Oz.” Weirdly enough, I substituted a middle-school class about a decade ago and, lo and behold, we read and discussed the book! Luckily, my memorization of this movie was enough for me to get through the class without any real preparation. So I read some of the book at the time.
I listened to Part One of the podcast and then ultimately decided to rent the movie again…the way it was shown in theaters and the way that families have passed the movie generations down via VHS and later DVD. The moments which used to be merely funny were now downright hilarious, and I’m quite frankly rather shocked out of all of the Oscar nominations the movie it could have received that Adapted Screenplay wasn’t one of them (then I looked at the actual nominations and said…”Oh!”). The one-liners produce genuine guffaws, yet they are also written so elegantly as to be, well, literate. Some of my favorites: “You’ve been most dead all day!” (plus Westley’s reaction), “Chocolate coating makes it go down easier,” “Get used to disappointment,” and, of course, “Oh, you mean this gate key!”
My favorite scene is still the goblets of wines and iocane powder. The fact is the entire scene seriously makes my sides hurt, largely because Wallace Shawn is perfect at playing such a clown who always seems to be convinced that he has the upper hand. I vaguely recall my dad howling so hard at Shawn’s very first line where he tells Buttercup that they are “poor, lost circus performers.” It was also this scene in which I was looking most forward to your comments because of how much they talk about Australia. One of the biggest laughs is when Vizzini loses his train of thought for a moment—pretty clear by now he doesn’t stand a chance or clue against Westley—and the latter reminded him he was talking about Australia and then goes back to being a fool. (Your comments didn’t disappoint, btw!)
The film is indeed beloved. Took me a long time to truly realize it and I think part of the reason is because I have virtually no family and this is something that would almost surely in that kind of environment. Thus, I’m on the fence when it comes to buying it when it seems like to it should be a no-brainer. That being said, my lady friend loves the movie so it’s a prime candidate for a gift if we are together at Christmas. Ultimately, this is the type of movie I’d want to watch with someone else, not by myself. The only thing I can add trivia-wise to your superlative discussion is that according to Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide (he only gave PRINCESS BRIDE an inconceivable 2.5 out of 4 stars) he said Christopher Guest was intentionally channeling/parodying Henry Daniell’s Lord Wolfingham in THE SEA HAWK (1940). Not sure if either of you would agree, although the fantastic swashbuckling did in fact remind me of those classic Errol Flynn pictures.
Finally, while I never intended to make this kind of request, I simply can’t help it. Of the 5 films that Rob Reiner directed in the 1980s, you have now podcasted 4 of them. It’s the one you haven’t covered which happens to be my personal favorite of the 5 and is even on my all-time Romantic Comedy list along with ROXANNE. Sure, it’s not much more than a college version of the genre’s grandfather, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (which, needless to say, is also on that short list), yet the chemistry between John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga is delicious; plus, Anthony Edwards is cordless, Tim Robbins sings showtunes, the classy Viveca Lindfors makes for one of the most irresistible college professors in history, and Nicollette Sheridan more than lives up to the film’s title. I don’t care if it takes you years until you get to it, you quite simply must do THE SURE THING somewhere down the line.
Lost while traveling cross country in the pouring, drenching rain and trying to break into an abandoned trailer…
“I have a credit card!” — Zuniga
“Credit cards work on a completely different kind of lock!” — Cusack
“I don’t think you understand…I HAVE A CREDIT CARD!” — Zuniga
“You have a credit card?!?” — Cusack
“Oh (joy immediately evaporates)….and my dad told me specifically that I can only use it in case of an emergency!”
“WELL MAYBE ONE WILL COME UP!!!”
Only recently started listening to the podcasts and I’ve been binging them for the last couple of weeks, listening to 3 or 4 per day. Just about caught up now with the ones I’ve seen recently, or know very well. I’ll go back to the ones I haven’t seen, or not seen in a long time. Particular favourites so far are the John Hughes films, Blade Runner, Raiders, Goonies, Mannequin, anything with Michelle Pfeiffer, Kelly Le Brock or Kim Cattrall, the Star Wars ones, and, of course The Princess Bride. Great trivia, too. Some I knew, some I didn’t. Looking forward to what’s coming up.
I have some suggestions for consideration for the list to be podcast. Don’t know how long this list will get, but here goes…
Airplane!
Airplane II: The Sequel
Splash
Top Secret
The Man With One Red Shoe
Inner Space
Red Heat
Cobra
Amazon Women On The Moon
The Fabulous Baker Boys
The Cannonball Run movies
Smoky And The Bandit 2 & 3
Firefox
Earth Girls Are Easy
Transylvania 6-5000
Spaceballs
Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Heartbreak Ridge
Any Which Way You Can
the two Dirty Harry movies
Pale Rider
Crimewave
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid
The Three Amigos!
St Elmo’s Fire
Top Gun
Iron Eagle 1 & 2
Stripes
Private Benjamin
Overboard
The Golden Child
Secret Of My Success
Empire Of The Sun
Batteries Not Included
Short Circuit
Dragnet
About Last Night
Cocktail
On Golden Pond
Subway (Luc Besson)
Nikita (Luc Besson)
I could come up with loads more, but I’ll leave that for another time. A fair few of those are probably on your list already, but some of them might not be.
I saw on Twitter that Coming To America is next (going to leave F/X till I’ve re-watched it). Any thoughts on the sequel coming soon to Amazon Prime Video? I’m going to watch the original again this week in preparation for the podcast.
Good morning, my Neighbours!
Oh boy Stone and David – HUGE replies! Will go over them and will reply! HUGE feed back so might need Angry and ME to answer! Thanks guys xx