This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
The Hot Princess
Plot Overview
A young Chicago Bears fan (Fred Savage) Of Evanston, Ill. is laid up in bed playing a video ball game when his grandfather (Peter Falk) pays the boy a visit bringing him … “A book?” Replies granddad cynically, “That's right. When I was your age, television was called books.” He imposes on the youngster a reading of family heirloom, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern.
The Grandson: “Has it got any sports in it?”
Grandpa: “Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles ...”
We follow threefold obstacles & challenges as in the rhythm of a baseball game, with interruptions by the kid to gloss over the kissing parts, until he's sold on it enough to invite his grandfather to return the next day for a re-read.
Ideology
An imposing clergyman (Peter Cook) in his nuptial ceremony expounds on: “Mawage is wot bwings us togeder today. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam ... ” [sic]. Dr. Ide has written of “that blessed arrangement”: “The Contemporary Christian standard was defined not by the bible but generated by Roman law as defined by the jurist Modestinus who argued that marriage was ‘consortium omnis vitae, divini et humani iuris communicatio: a life-long partnership, and a sharing of civil and religious rights’” (83–5). According to the Catholic catechism, matrimony is the kernel of the family that's a “domestic church”, which preceded any other human institution, and that the civil authority should recognize it as such. Here in the U.S.A. the civil authority is not permitted to establish a church; a minister performs the ceremony or if it's done by a JP, at least the witnesses will be independent of the state. I'm not sure how it's done in the country of Florin where this storybook tale takes place. And sometimes the civil authority has its own independent agenda.
The morning after I saw the movie I was listening to a radio preacher develop his thoughts on, (Eph. 5:22-24) “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” In this movie the lovely peasant Buttercup (Robin Wright) is in love with a farmhand Westley (Cary Elwes) and he with her. Lacking the means to support a wife, he leaves to make his way in the world promising to return, and she to wait for him. His willingness to work and provide for her indicates his desirability as a husband, the financial “saviour of the body”, and he faces danger later on to save her as well. Buttercup remains faithful to the plan until she receives word that Westley's ship had been waylaid by the dread pirate Roberts notorious for taking no prisoners. After five years and no word, what's a girl to do? She's in financial straits, and Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) selects her for his bride—as is his option.
The radio preacher sets forth the exceptions to “everything” that the wife is to submit to. Citing Acts 4:18-20 dealing with conflicts between man's demands and God's, he says she is not to disobey God if there is a conflict between the two. In this movie that means she should not go through with her plan to commit suicide to avoid marriage to the prince. The preacher went on to say that if her husband gets egotistical in his demands putting himself above God, the woman is not to follow suit becoming egotistic too but is to remain submissive in attitude if not able to carry out some specific demand. In this movie it is another woman who gets ugly (Miracle Max: “Get back, witch.” ¶Valerie: “I'm not a witch, I'm your wife. But after what you just said, I'm not even sure I want to be that any more.”) The man who gets egotistic in his pride is the prince's lieutenant, Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) in his zeal to dispatch a not-so-dead Westley. The prince has a secret political agenda in marrying a simple peasant girl: to murder her and blame it on neighboring country Guilder to gain public sympathy for the war he wants to wage on them. And not mentioned by the preacher—in the time I spent listening—is (Titus 2:3-5) “That the aged ... women ... may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” In this movie that role is fleshed out by an ancient hag (Margery Mason) exhorting the befuddled princess to opt for true love. Buttercup may be a simple peasant girl but liking horses she may have a reserve of good old horse sense in her.
Production Values
This film, “The Princess Bride” (1987) was directed by Rob Reiner. The screenplay was adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel The Princess Bride. It stars Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Wright. Everybody does his bit; there's no one part that stands out above the rest. The impressive cast also boasts Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Andre the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Peter Falk, and Fred Savage. Their acting was flawless. Cary Elwes excels as Westley. Robin Wright plays a very sympathetic Princess Buttercup.
This film is rated PG. It was toned down from the satirical book. The genius of this film is the straightforward romantic plot interspersed with comic relief to the hilt. The very smooth, precise editing doesn't get in the way. “The chatty duel” is the best swordplay to be seen on the screen anywhere.
Review Conclusion w/ Christian Recommendation
“The Princess Bride” remains a cinema classic fit for the whole family. Many people have even memorized its appealing lines.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability for children: Suitable for children of all ages. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Good for Groups. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall product rating: Five stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Ide, Arthur Frederick. Noah & the Ark: The Influence of Sex, Homophobia and Heterosexism in the Flood Story and its Writing. Las Colinas: Monument Press, 1992. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org