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Today, 05 July 2009

Yesterday, 04 July 2009

> IRB called in on Botha ban

> Lions roar in Johannesburg

> Rugby live scoring

> United States of Africa?

> The iafrica.com debate

Everyone has that one fantasy film that, despite the wobbly sets; over-the-top performances; fake, muppetish monster puppetry; appalling political incorrectness and unutterably twee sentimentality, you love like a lame puppy-runt with pink-eye.

Whether it’s ‘Willow’, ‘Labyrinth’, ‘Dark Crystal’, ‘Legend’ or ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, you feel an almost maternal, unconditional affection that grows more tender with time.

Mine's ‘The Princess Bride’. If there’s one film on which I intend to bring up my children, it is this. Scripted by William Goldman, based on his book (which, word has it, is even better), it’s a movie about true love, swordplay, revenge, treachery and Rodents of Unusual Size. The Rob Reiner-directed movie is a treasure-trove of delicious characters, hysterical cameos (from the Peters Falk and Cook to Billy Crystal), quotable one-liners and heart-warming moments that bring an honest tear to the eye and make you writhe with delight.

Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright, later Wright-Penn) falls in love with her manservant, Westley (Cary Elwes). Feeling unworthy of her, he goes to sea to seek his fortune. Soon afterwards, his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts and no survivors are reported. Buttercup mourns for five years before the ghastly Prince Humperdink takes her as his fiancée. One day, while out riding, she is abducted by a gang of criminals-for-hire, who intend to murder her and frame a neighbouring country, thus initiating a war.

Buttercup’s captors are Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), a genius; Fezzick (Andre the Giant), a colossus and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), a master swordsman on the trail of a six-fingered man who murdered his father. As the villains and their prisoner make their way across the countryside, they are pursued by a mysterious man in black, who defeats them one after the other before fleeing with Buttercup into the fire swamp…

The tale is beautifully framed by an external story in which an elderly man, played by Peter Falk, visits his sick grandson (Fred Savage) with a fairytale book. "When I was your age," he says, "television was called 'books'." The 'everykid', jaded by video games and definitely not into a 'kissing book', grudgingly concedes, allowing his grandfather to read to him.

For a sceptic and a cynic like me, having Fred Savage along for the ride is akin to having a Greek chorus voicing one’s own reservations as the film progresses. He jumps in with a smart response every time the film threatens to descend into sentimentality, but as it continues, he too is swept up in its genuine warmth and humour all the way up to the final scene.

Before making 'Princess Bride', Reiner had made 'The Sure Thing' and the cult mockumentary 'This Is Spinal Tap', so it seemed natural his third project should combine the two and be a romantic satire (he would go on to direct winners like 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'Stand By Me'). As so often happens with quirky, multi-faceted movies, 'Princess Bride' failed at the box office primarily because marketers had no idea how to sell the movie. The same thing happened to a little film called 'The Wizard of Oz'.

All too often the extra features on the DVD of a film made some time ago will be dull because the people involved have moved on and can’t be bothered to come back and speak in featurettes and commentaries. The fact that fourteen years after its original release, Rob Reiner has just about everyone who worked on the movie in the 'As You Wish' featurette (2001) — from Crystal to Wright Penn to Goldman to Savage and beyond — tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the man and the movie. Listening to the stars talk about making the film is heartwarming. Clearly there was real camaraderie on the set, and a mix of such people is rare in Hollywood.

The best bits in the featurette are when people talk about Andre the Giant. He seems to have inspired everyone on the set. A former wrestler, he was persuaded by William Goldman to take on the role — his first-ever shot at acting. Goldman had written the part for Andre, whose seven-foot stature seemed to make him the ideal candidate for the role, but the big man was in fact terribly weak from a lifelong illness and years of wrestling and rugby. Nonetheless, Andre took the role and bore up wonderfully. His English wasn’t perfect, but his warmth and kindness seem to have been infectious. The movie was filmed mostly on location, and when it rained he would put one dinner-plate-sized hand over Robin Wright’s head to keep her warm.

Goldman’s wonderful script is a treasure-trove of witty lines, hilariously over-the-top characters and delicious ironies. And then there’s the best line of all: "As you wish."