Review: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I very much enjoyed the audio presentation here mainly narrated by Cary Elwes himself. Robin Wright, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, and other members of the cast do their portions which really makes it feel like an onstage panel with surviving members of the cast. (Some members are voiced by other narrators which keeps the presentation diverse.)

I always felt here was a Monty Python feel to the movie, different from the book as I pointed out in my review of The Princess Bride. This makes sense since I learned that Production Design by Norman Garwood (Brazil, Time Bandits) tied key creative direction to the Python troupe. The casting that brought in Garwood and the actors reveals how this was constructed from such a desire to produce a witty, smart, satirical screenplay with the participation of author William Goldman. Other things of note include the gigantic generosity and appetites of Andre The Giant, the completely unnecessary insecurity of Wallace Shawn ("Inconceivable!"), the intense amount of swordplay practice put in by Elwes and Mandy Patinkin to stage the "greatest duel" as well as the two serious injuries that befell Elwes.

Certainly 4 stars for any committed fan of the movie as it is like a warm and witty audio commentary to the film.

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