by donald dusinberre imartsyfartsy@gmail.com
Showtimes:
Friday, June 8th @ Midnight
Saturday, June 9th @ Midnight
Sunday, June 10th @ 2 pm
You know the feeling you get when the movie you’ve been dying to see stops showing at the theatres? It’s awful. You get angry at the theatres for not waiting indefinitely for you to mosey on in. You’re disappointed with yourself for not making more of an effort. But worst of all, you get depressed because you know you’ll never see that movie on the silver screen. It’ll never be that large again, and the prospect of watching it on your television in six months is no consolation.
Luckily, the San Marco Theatre has cured many of your favorite movies of their terminal smallness. Our city’s most celebrated old movie theatre will be showing a series of midnight movies throughout the summer, and this writer’s favorite guilty pleasure of all-time is one of them.
The Princess Bride was first released in 1987 and is based on a novel by William Goldman. It is chock full of notable stars with memorable performances, including Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, and Peter Falk.
The story is set in a fictional medieval kingdom called Florin, where a young maiden named Buttercup (Robin Wright) lives on her family’s farm. She receives great pleasure in ordering the doting Farm Boy (Cary Elwes) around, and they fall deeply in love. Farm Boy must leave the farm and promises to return for Buttercup, but he is soon presumed dead, leaving Buttercup heartbroken and unwittingly back on the single’s market.
The smarmy Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), learning of Buttercup’s marital availability, forces her to accept his proposal for marriage, much to her chagrin. Fortunately, her long lost Farm Boy is still alive, masquerading as the Man in Black (not Johnny Cash) and trailing a trio of mercenaries back to the kingdom.
The mercenaries, Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and Fezzig (Andre the Giant), are on a mission to spark a war between Florin and Guilder, a rival kingdom. As it turns out, Prince Humperdinck is the mastermind behind the whole endeavor, allowing the bungling trio to “kidnap” Buttercup and leave “evidence” that places blame on Guilder. The Man in Black follows Vizzini, Inigo, and Fezzig across the kingdom, defeating each of them with their preferred fighting technique. As the chase goes on, they encounter such extraordinary obstacles as Shrieking Eels, the Cliffs of Insanity, the Fire Swamp, and Rodents of Unusual Size.
The story then focuses on the Man in Black’s quest to stop the wedding between Prince Humperdinck and Buttercup. Although he fought and defeated both Inigo and Fezzig, they soon join him and help their new friend accomplish his goal. Of course, a medieval fantasy such as this cannot end without maximum happiness.
Filled with clever dialogue, hilarious antics and an abundance of well-developed characters, this movie has entertained this writer with every viewing. It is truly a classic for all age groups, much like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or The Wizard of Oz.
Here are just a few of the best lines from the movie:
• “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
• “Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.”
• “You’ll put down your rock and I’ll put down my sword, and we’ll try and kill each other like civilized people?”
• “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
• “You’ve got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It’s going to get you into trouble someday.”
Go to imdb.com and find The Princess Bride. They have a Quotes page, Trivia page, and Goofs page that will keep the rabid fan entertained for hours. Then, check out this timeless classic on the big screen one last time (or for the first time) at the San Marco Theatre.
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