The
Princess Bride [Blu-ray]
(Rob Reiner, 1987)
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Reissued January 4th, 2011 at a cheaper price!:
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Review by Leonard Norwitz
/ Gary Tooze
Studio:
Theatrical: Reiner/Scheinman
Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
/ Criterion - Spine #948
Disc:
Region: 'A'-locked
(both)
Runtime: 1:38:21.937
/ 1:38:38.662
Disc Size: 40,664,407,496 bytes
/ 47,657,843,456 bytes
Feature Size: 32,991,184,896 bytes
/ 29,921,243,136 bytes
Average Bitrate: 35.72 Mbps
/ 34/10 Mbps
Chapters: 30
/ 26
Case: Custom Blu-ray case
/ lavishly illustrated, clothbound
book
(see image below)
Release date: March 17th, 2009
/ October 30th, 2018
Video
(both):
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
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Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3856 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3856
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
/ Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3837 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3837
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Commentary:
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Audio Book:
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles:
English SDH & Spanish
/ English (SDH), none
Extras:
• Audio Commentary by Director Rob Reiner & Writer William
Goldman
• Fairy Tales & Folklore* (9:16)
• The Art of Fencing* (7:07)
• The Princess Bride – The Untold Tales* (9:06)
• The Dread Pirate Roberts (11:43)
• Miraculous Makeup (11:22)
• Cary Elwes' Video Diary (3:55)
• Love is Like a Storybook (16:43)
• DVD of the Feature Film (with selected bonus features*)
•
Audio commentary from 1996 featuring
director Rob Reiner, screenwriter William Goldman, producer
Andrew Scheinman, and actors Billy Crystal and Peter Falk
•
Edited 1987
audiobook reading of Goldman’s novel The Princess Bride by
Reiner
•
New program about Goldman’s screenplay
(17:17)
•
New program about Goldman’s tapestry
based on his novel (6:26)
•
Archival interviews with Reiner,
Goldman, and actors Crystal, Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest,
Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage, and Robin
Wright (11:45 )
•
New interview with art director Richard
Holland (11:54)
•
Programs about makeup (11:22), fencing
(7:08), and fairy tales (9:16)
•
On-set video diary filmed and narrated
by Elwes (3:56)
•
Five behind-the-scenes videos with
commentaries from 1996 by Reiner, Scheinman, and Crystal
•
Trailers (2:16 / 2:19) and 4 TV Spots
(1:02, 0:32, 0:33 + 0:32)
PLUS: An essay by author Sloane Crosley and, for the Blu-ray
edition, Goldman’s introduction to his Princess Bride script
from his collection Four Screenplays, in a lavishly
illustrated, clothbound book
The Film:
A high-spirited adventure that pits true love against
inconceivable odds, The Princess Bride has charmed
legions of fans with its irreverent gags, eccentric
ensemble, and dazzling swordplay. A kid (Fred Savage), home
sick from school, grudgingly allows his grandfather (Peter
Falk) to read him a dusty storybook—which is how we meet the
innocent Buttercup (Robin Wright, in her breakout role),
about to marry the nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris
Sarandon) though her heart belongs to Westley (Cary Elwes).
The wedding plans are interrupted, however, by a mysterious
pirate, a vengeful Spaniard, and a good-natured giant, in a
tale full of swashbuckling, romance, and outrageously
hilarious spoofery. Directed by Rob Reiner from an endlessly
quotable script by William Goldman, The Princess Bride
reigns as a fairy-tale classic.
Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Is it conceivable that there is anyone out there who does
not enjoy The Princess Bride? Even if you find the
contemporary part of the movie where Peter Falk seduces his
eight year old grandson (Fred Savage) into the world of
fairy tales a case of interruptus (Fred, does); even if you
find Billy Crystal's rendition of Miracle Max a little too
much shtick or Carol Kane as his wife a little too shrill;
and even if Andre the Giant was yet to meet his match in
Hulk Hogan, is this not one of the sweetest, most
entertaining 98 minutes on video? I ask you! (Pacé, Ms. Kael.)
I had forgotten that The Princess Bride introduced those of
us who don't watch daytime soaps to Robin Wright (in the
title role) and gave Cary Elwes (Westley, the farm boy) a
shot at having people recognize his name, perhaps even
pronouncing it correctly (El-wez). By this time, Rob Reiner
had long been something of a household name, not so much as
a director, but as "Meathead",
Archie Bunker's son-in-law, whom he played from 1971-79. His
first stint as a director was in 1984 for the satirical and
still iconic rockumentary This is Spinal Tap. His next
movie, The Sure Thing, pretty much sealed the fate of the
then nineteen-year old John Cusack. Stand By Me would do the
same for River Phoenix – for a while anyhow. The following
year Reiner made The Princess
Bride and two years after that, When Harry Met Sally. After
Misery (1990),
A Few Good Men (1992),
The American President
(1995) and Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Reiner's output
slowed dramatically, but for a remarkable dozen years, he
gave us at least six remarkable and popular films.
The Princess Bride is a tongue-in-cheek, but loving movie of
a tongue-in-cheek, but loving book that pretends to be a
version of a famous fairy tale by one "S. Morgenstern"
(viz., The "Morning Star.") The book and screenplay is by
William Goldman, whose previous credits include:
Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Stepford Wives,
All the
President's Men, Marathon Man,
A
Bridge Too Far and
Heat.
The Movie: 8
Peter Falk visits his grandson Fred Savage who is sick in
his bed at home. To distract him from his aches, pains and
video games, and to introduce him to the joys of books and
stories Falk reads to him from the book "The Princess
Bride." Grandpa says that it was the book his father read to
him when he was a boy and that his grandfather read to his
father. The grandson is impatient,
but little by little he tears himself from his video game,
finding himself seduced by forces beyond his control or
apprehension.
The story is about a beautiful girl named "Buttercup" (Robin
Wright) and a farm boy named Westley (Cary Elwes) and how
they fell into True Love. Not having the money to marry,
Westley goes off to make his fortune, but his ship is
captured by pirates and all hands are presumed lost. Five
years later Buttercup finds herself the intended bride of
Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) who
has political designs beyond his own kingdom. He arranges
for Buttercup to be kidnapped and for blame to fall on
another kingdom, provoking an excuse for war. But the
kidnappers (Wallace Shawn, Mandy Patinkin and Andre the
Giant) are themselves chased by a lone pirate, the "Dread
Pirate Roberts" who bears a striking resemblance to our own
Westley. Puns and other lighthearted low humors abound,
along with the swash and the romance.
Image:
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were
taken directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
I've always found video representations of The Princess
Bride tough going on a large display. Thin and fuzzy they
were. If it weren't for the movie, I would prefer they not
take up space on my shelf. The new Blu-ray is an
improvement, but not by leaps and bounds. Though no fault of
the transfer process I'm reasonably sure, the image is never
much better than fair: It is soft and thin, sometimes
filtered to the point of fog. Unless lit by a strong light
source such as direct sun, skin tones and garments show a
fine film grain in place of what little texture remains.
Contrast and color rarely "pop", but then the original
photographic intention was to ensure that the story would
maintain a remote feel.
The Criterion is advertised as a "New 4K digital
restoration". It establishes a superior image as
compared to the Fox with richer colors and deeper black
levels. It also shows some very consistent grain texture and
it looks fabulous in-motion. The improvement is probably
better than the static images indicate here - toggle between
the larger captures to see more. I think there is an up-tick
in sharpness as well. Very impressive overall.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
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Captures
Audio & Music:
7/8
Clearly the lossless DTS HD-MA mix ensures that The Princess
Bride has never sounded this good on video. While most of
the material is front-directed (dialogue and most of the
music) there are plenty of occasions where the surrounds and
effects come into play: Note the screaming eels and the
rumbling fire pit.
The robust DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround
is the same as offered by the Fox
Blu-ray with a brilliant score
by Mark Knopfler ("Dire Straits" fame) with Storybook
Love, A Happy Ending, Guide My Sword and
The Fireswamp & The Rodents Of Unusual Size etc. and
a few deft separations. Effects can be deep. Criterion offer
optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A'
Blu-ray.
Extras:
7
There are several new features here since the DVD dating
from 2006. These are all in 480p and include: the half hour
"As You Wish" – The Story of The Princess Bride, where
Reiner and Goldman talk about how their project came into
being, the tone of story where the fairy tale theme of True
Love would be placed front and center. They also talked
about how they went about casting of relative unknowns in
the leading roles, especially wanting to echo the swash and
buckle of Douglas Fairbanks. "The Dread Pirate Roberts"
crosses back and forth over the line between historical fact
and satire (more droll than dread.) Miraculous Makeup
details the conversion of Billy Crystal into Miracle Max. In
between sword fighting lesson, Cary Elwes' Video Diary
remembers what Andre the Giant had to endure as a boy when
his size became the object of derision. Finally, "Love is
Like a Storybook" looks at the history of the fairy tale
from its beginnings as an oral art form in the Middles Ages.
What is most important to note here is that fairly tales,
even in written form, are meant to be read, and read aloud
to children.
Other features are common to both the
Blu-ray
and the
accompanying new DVD: The Audio Commentary by Reiner &
Goldman, and "Fairy Tales & Folklore," which explores why
and how fairy tales have the hold on us that they do, and
how The Princess Bride fits into the genre (an interesting
segment, I thought). In "The Art of Fencing" we see how the
actors learned how to wield a sword reasonably convincingly
and how Cary and Mandy learned how to do it bi-laterally.
"Untold Tales" is a retrospective look at the impact of the
movie on both the actors and audiences in general.
Criterion include extensive supplements including many found
on the Fox VD release, duplicating the audio commentary from
1996 - actually produced by Criterion for their Laserdisc -
featuring director Rob Reiner, screenwriter William Goldman,
producer Andrew Scheinman, and actors Billy Crystal and
Peter Falk plus the edited 1987
Dove Entertainment's
audio book reading of Goldman’s novel The Princess Bride by
Reiner, the three programs about makeup (11:22), fencing
(7:08), and fairy tales (9:16), On-set video diary filmed
and narrated by Elwes, also five behind-the-scenes videos
with commentaries from 1996 by Reiner, Scheinman, and
Crystal, archival interviews with Reiner, Goldman, and
actors Crystal, Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Mandy
Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage, and Robin Wright. It
was a pleasure to see the new are a 17-minute program about
Goldman’s screenplay with Loren-Paul Caplin addressing the
scrip as s guide to William Goldman's craftsmanship. There
is also a brief 6.5-minute video piece about Goldman’s
tapestry that he had made based on his novel with various
scenes also found in the film. There is a new interview with
art director Richard Holland delving into efforts required
to conjure up the fantasy world of The Princess Bride.
It runs a dozen minutes. There are 2 trailers and 4 TV Spots
plus there is a liner notes booklet with an essay by author
Sloane Crosley and, for this Blu-ray edition, Goldman’s
introduction to his Princess Bride script from his
collection plus there are four Screenplays, in a lavishly
illustrated, clothbound book (see image above.)
20th Century Fox - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray
Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Bottom line:
8
I don't imagine that The Princess Bride is going to look
much better than on this Blu-ray, which is a bit of a shame,
really. The audio is fine and the new extra features have a
couple of items worth the effort. But the main thing is that
fans of the movie are going to want to best there is. That
would be this Blu-ray for the foreseeable future I imagine.
Well, 9-years later - it looks like Leonard was wrong - this
4K restoration does indeed advance upon the image
quality of the original Fox
Blu-ray. It wins handily in image and extras,
audio is a draw but the Criterion package is unmatched and
gives this film the honored package that it has always
deserved. It remains a lovable masterpiece. Our highest
recommendation!
Leonard Norwitz
April 1st, 2009
Gary Tooze
September 13th, 2018
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Reissued January 4th, 2011 at a cheaper price!:
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