Movie Mondays: The Princess Bride

Gosh, I read some really fun books and watch some really good movies for this new segment. I'm pretty stoked about it, aren't you?

This week I decided to go for The Princess Bride [imdb]. Mostly because the book has been unread and sitting on my shelf for about two months and it's about time that I got right down to it. The best of it is that this is a perfect summer read for me -- casual, satirical, and light-hearted.

So I'm going to go right out and say this… it's a rare case where I watch the movie before the book, but hey, it happened. I watched this movie for the first time sometime in my youth -- I believe a TV station was broadcasting it at the time and I didn't even know that a book existed until well into my teen years. I'm not unhappy that I read the book after seeing the film, but I am in fact, content. I think if I didn't imagine Andre the Giant playing the character Fezzik then I would feel like something would be missing from my life somehow.

I think, honestly, that the movie did a fantastic job at adapting the book and that the book filled in the things I desired from the movie -- backstories of Inigo and Fezzik and how Humperdinck came to choose Buttercup for his wife and other such information. The adaptation was insanely spot-on and the dialogue is nearly identical to the book. I felt that the characters were actually written for the actors that portrayed them. Of course, Goldman, the author, is also a playwright and screenwriter so I'm sure he felt he had certain people in mind as first-choices. Andre the Giant as Fezzik remains to be my favourite role from anyone, ever. Of all time. Especially after seeing this (Warning: ALL THE FEELS.) And let us not forget that no one else can say the famous line: "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" quite like Mandy Pantinkin. The very thought of any other person than Wallace Shawn playing Vizzini? Inconceivable!

Okay, I'm done quoting. I swear, I'll stop. Really.

It's not often that a film is better than the book, mostly the book is almost always better but in this case? Neither are true. They are equal in what they give to the audiences and both are companions to one another. The compliment each other brilliantly and as most of you have almost seen the movie well before reading the book, I highly encourage you to do so! Reviewing these two together has actually been a pleasurable experience and I've only done a few book reviews that I've been so proud of and this is honestly one of them.