“
That particular take was the one that ended up in the film. So when you see Westley fall to the ground and pass out, that’s not acting. That’s an overzealous actor actually losing consciousness.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
It should be noted that all hugs from Rob are bear hugs.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautiful ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Pain. Death. Brave men. Cowardly men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
It's true in life, as in the movies, that the greatest highs are often followed by the lowest lows.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
like a good wine without iocane powder, it seems to get better with time.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Mandy swears that barely a day goes by that he isn’t asked by someone, somewhere, to recite Inigo Montoya’s most famous words, in which he vows vengeance on behalf of his father. “And I never let them down,” he says.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
For safety purposes, both to protect him and any passersby, they decided to place a small velvet rope barrier around André, who was by now snoring loudly enough to shake the lobby walls.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
André drank from a beer pitcher, which looked a lot like a regular glass in his hands anyway.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
So when you see Westley fall to the ground and pass out, that’s not acting. That’s an overzealous actor actually losing consciousness.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
He was the real hero in my world and I treasured him. And he loved me. Loved spending time with me.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
This is true love. You think this happens every day?
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Is it fair to call The Princess Bride a classic? The storybook story about pirates and princesses, giants and wizards, Cliffs of Insanity and Rodents of Unusual Size? It's certainly one of the most often quoted films in cinema history, with lines like:
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
"Inconceivable?"
"Anybody want a peanut?"
"Have fun storming the castle."
"Never get involved in a land war in Asia."
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."
"Rest well, and dream of large women."
"I hate for people to die embarrassed."
"Please consider me as an alternative to suicide."
"This is true love. You think this happens every day?"
"Get used to disappointment."
"I'm not a witch. I'm your wife."
"Mawidege. That bwessed awangement."
"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."... You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."
"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."
"Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"
"There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours."
And of course...
"As you wish.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
At the moment of impact, I couldn’t help but look up at André, at first wondering, like a good many others, if we were experiencing an earthquake and then, having discovered we were not, out of sheer concern for his well-being. The sonic resonance was so intense I even observed our soundman remove his headphones to protect his ears.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
The Princess Bride nights at the Alamo Drafthouse cinemas, a national restaurant/movie house, have become so popular that they now produce their own licensed Princess Bride wine.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk,
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Never take your eyes off your opponent.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Great Representation of the Art and Use of Fencing, written by the Italian maestro Ridolfo Capo Ferro
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
The Crimson Pirate, The Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, The Black Pirate, Adventures of Don Juan, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Sea Hawk, The Prisoner of Zenda, Scaramouche,
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
It was, however, combined with the fart itself, a highly unusual sight. I remember looking up at him as a huge grin flashed across his face and remained there—a grin of both amusement and, I suspect, of blessed relief.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
We got to the moment when I wake up from being "mostly dead" and say: "I'll beat you both apart! I'll take you both together!", Fezzik cups my mouth with his hand, and answers his own question to Inigo as to how long it might be before Miracle Max's pill begins to take effect by stating: "I guess not very long."
As soon as he delivered that line, there issued forth from Andre' one of the most monumental farts any of us had ever heard. Now I suppose you wouldn't expect a man of Andre's proportions to pass gas quietly or unobtrusively, but this particular one was truly epic, a veritable symphony of gastric distress that roared for more than several seconds and shook the very foundations of the wood and plaster set were now grabbing on to out of sheer fear. It was long enough and loud enough that every member of the crew had time to stop what they were doing and take notice. All I can say is that it was a wind that could have held up in comparison to the one Slim Pickens emitted int eh campfire scene in Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles, widely acknowledged as the champion of all cinematic farts.
Except of course, this one wasn't in the script.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
BILLY CRYSTAL It’s been one of the little jewels of my career. Very often, still to this day, in airports or movie theaters, people will walk by and go, “Have fun storming the castle!” Or the really cool ones will whisper to me, “Don’t go swimming for an hour, a good hour,” and then just walk away. Those are the really cool ones.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
I wondered if Bill Goldman had ever experienced the same giant rats I had encountered while living in Manhattan - the ones the size of cats, that make you freeze in your tracks. The kind that are not afraid of human beings and carry themselves with that swagger and give you that look that seems to imply, "Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?
”
”
Cary Elwes
“
It endures. In fact, like a good wine without iocane powder, it seems to get better with time.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
We had a really fun time working together on the film. With myself as a pirate. And she as a fair maiden. Running off together in the spirit of love and adventure.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
The Academy of the Sword (1630) by the Flemish master Gerard Thibault d
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
a veritable symphony of gastric distress that roared for more than several seconds and shook the very foundations of the wood and plaster set we were now grabbing on to out of sheer fear.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
The only topic you could not get Andre' to budge on was whether or not wrestling was fake or rehearsed in any way. I don't know if in Andre's case it was real, considering all the severe punishment he experienced, or whether he believed in the wrestler's code of never giving away trade secrets.
”
”
Cary Elwes
“
I’ve done enough movies in the last twenty-five years to know that this is always a difficult moment for an actor. Actors nearly always want to appear courageous and committed, willing to do anything for the team. So while it is perfectly acceptable to opt out of a stunt and let the professionals handle it, there is some pressure, mostly internal, to push yourself beyond your normal comfort zone. Typically, the director will follow up after the consultation with the stunt coordinator and special effects experts and the actors, just to make sure everyone is at ease with their respective roles when it comes to the stunt. Certainly that was the case on this occasion, as Rob consulted with both Robin and me about our willingness to do the stunt. But more so with her, seeing as she was the one who was actually going to be set on fire.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Except, of course, this one wasn’t in the script. At the moment of impact, I couldn’t help but look up at André, at first wondering, like a good many others, if we were experiencing an earthquake and then, having discovered we were not, out of sheer concern for his well-being. The sonic resonance was so intense I even observed our soundman remove his headphones to protect his ears. As the fart continued, I looked back at André. What struck me, besides, of course, the sheer immensity of the wind, was that steam appeared to be rising from his hairpiece, which, given that it was a particularly hot day, was apparently not unusual for him.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Over the past three decades I’ve appeared in nearly a hundred movies and television shows. I’ve been a leading man and a supporting actor and worked in almost every genre. But whatever else I’ve done or whatever else I might do, The Princess Bride will always be the work with which I am most closely associated; and Westley, with his wisp of a mustache and ponytail, the character with whom I will be forever linked. Not Glory, which earned higher critical praise upon release and won more awards; not Days of Thunder or Twister, both of which were summer blockbusters. Not even Saw, which was shot in eighteen days on a budget smaller than most movies spend on catering, and earned more than $100 million; and that’s just fine by me.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
As soon as he delivered that line, there issued forth from André one of the most monumental farts any of us had ever heard. Now, I suppose you wouldn’t expect a man of André’s proportions to pass gas quietly or unobtrusively, but this particular one was truly epic, a veritable symphony of gastric distress that roared for more than several seconds and shook the very foundations of the wood and plaster set we were now grabbing on to out of sheer fear. It was long enough and loud enough that every member of the crew had time to stop what they were doing and take notice. All I can say is that it was a wind that could have held up in comparison to the one Slim Pickens emitted in the campfire scene in Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles, widely acknowledged as the champion of all cinematic farts.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
This was the point in the Fire Swamp sequence where Buttercup’s dress briefly catches on fire before the flame is extinguished by Westley. It’s merely a line in the stage directions and consumes only a few seconds of film, but before we could shoot the scene, several steps had to be taken. First, a fire marshal had to be brought to the set. He would then meet with the stunt coordinator, Peter Diamond, Nick Allder, our FX supervisor, and his special effects crew. This was followed by what is known as a general “safety meeting” with the rest of the crew. Anytime there are firearms, fire, or even a dangerous or semidangerous stunt involved, there is always a safety meeting of this kind. The whole crew gathers around, and usually the first AD explains what the meeting is about. He then introduces everyone to the person in charge of special effects/stunts/firearms, etc., and that person walks everyone through the sequence, detailing both process and all potential safety concerns.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)
“
Think of it like you’re holding a bird in your hand,” Peter said. “If you hold it too tightly, you’ll strangle it. Too loosely, and it’ll fly away.
”
”
Cary Elwes (As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride)