I had a rare night last week where there wasn’t too much school work to do, so I grabbed the opportunity to watch a movie I’d borrowed from a friend a month or two ago but hadn’t got to watch, yet – The Princess Bride.
I first saw it in primary school, and I’ve never forgotten the terror inspired by the screaming eels! This time, though, it was a real pleasure to watch.
I’ll do a full beat sheet analysis of it soon (my definition of soon: sometime in the next six months!) but in the mean time, I want to note the growth demonstrated in the opening and closes images.
Opening Image: We start with a young Fred Savage resting in his bed. He is sick, and his mother tells him that his grandfather is coming over. Fred is not thrilled at the news. He doesn’t want his grandfather pinching his cheek. But, despite Fred’s reservations, his grandfather enters the room and promptly pinches his cheek.
Grandfather has brought a book to read to Fred, the same book he used to read to Fred’s father when he was sick. Once again, Fred is not overjoyed at the thought of having his grandfather around, even if he will be reading him a story. Grandfather commences reading The Princess Bride, and we are transported into a magical fairytale of true love.
Closing Image: Fred is absolutely enthralled as his grandfather finishes reading. In a major transformation from the opening image, Fred tells his grandfather it would be alright if he came over and read the story again tomorrow.
With the last three words of the movie, Fred’s grandfather replies, “As you wish.” In the context of the movie those three words are packed with symbolic significance. They reveal the bond of love that now exists between grandfather and grandson, and call to the audience’s mind the great love Westley and Buttercup shared, too.
In Conclusion: The Princess Bride is one of my favourite movies. There’s plenty more to say about it, but I’ll hold off until I do the full beat sheet. William Goldman is a gifted storyteller, and it will be a fantastic learning experience to analyse the way he structured The Princess Bride.
Hi – Hi – I too recently watched it again (albeit for the millionth time) although now I am more interested in the structure of the story telling, plot etc..
It is such a great film and as an aspiring writer, I am using this work as reference point as start to learn more about storytelling.
I look forward to hearing what you come up and would be happy to share thoughts! Catherine
Hi Catherine,
thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment.
William Goldman is an awesome writer, and much can be learnt from his scripts and the books that he has written about screenwriting.
The full analysis is coming soon, and will be based off the shooting script. I'm interested to see the differences from script to screen.
Anyway, good luck with your writing!
Kenny
Thanks Kenny, I look forward to reading what you post. I haven’t read the book but it’s on my list. I’m told the plot of the book is far more complicated than the film, and in fact the film did a better job in executing the story?
I’ll have to read and see for myself.