rewatching "the princess bride" (1987) and recalling there was once a time audiences young and old were to be trusted with heart, humor, and winding, complex tales...
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Sincerity takes courage. Hollywood lost theirs. Instead, they go after literally all possible viewers with graphics, predictable plots, and ironic self-awareness that lowers the emotional impact to a safe level.
Once when I turned on the TV, Princess Bride was on and the first sounds from the set were clinks from a sword fight. My daughter from a different room shouts “You’re watching that without me”.
I read a book by the screenwriter William Goldman where he described crying at the scene where, well, no spoilers for the younger ones. But this is a gem of a film, with great actors and awesome direction by Rob Reiner.
The fact that ‘the princess bride’ is a widely appreciated classic of humour and storytelling is testament to the enduring goodness of the human condition.
Well, I did my best with La La Land, John Wick, Barbie, Frozen, Top Gun Maverick, GLOW, I wrote SNLs More Cowbell and Jack Sparrow sketches among other things. We still have Wes Anderson's output too.
As a professional writer, has the mindset changed in the writers' room in your career? I've noticed that early movies took heavier inspiration from theatre in comparison to modern works.
The studios have shifted more towards sequels of successful franchises in recent years. The move away from physical media has meant that certain big paydays like the DVD release no longer exist. Disney acquired Marvel so there was that to explore but once that's done theatre and books still inspire.
Shifting to sequels and franchises feels like a shift to media we consume once, and a decrease in media intended to be watched/read repeatedly and by several generations.
I've brought the book with me on holiday, had this copy since 1987 and abridged it to read to read to my children it's battered but loved. Lent it to someone here and they are going to buy a copy when they get home. I'll watch the movie around 3 times a year.
Skeleton Crew, the new Star Wars series seems to follow a journey- it has a Spielberg Goonies vibe to it. And the new Dr Who episodes from last year jump into it too
Not only that but audiences were trusted to be able to interpret things themselves. Not everyone had to get every joke. There is a reason nobody ever re-made Airplane! It would be 4 hours long because every joke would need a 11 minute explanation.
What do you expect, it has "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True Love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautiful ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beast of all nature and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles"
The only recent time I can remember anyone even trying was after the 1st Lord of the Rings. I remember walking out and seeing an 8 year old girl telling her father, “Daddy, that was the best movie I ever saw.” it reminded me of the enraptured kids I saw at a sneak of The Princess Bride yeats before.
Time for a revisit. I still love this movie. In my opinion the 1980s was the BEST time for kids movies and fantasy. Those movies are so enduring because they took their child audience seriously by showing them that the world was not all fun and fanciful. It could be dangerous too.
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Canada on the other hand…
A fun film for sure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHzU5ZH_qNY&t=2s
Wild.
In the meantime, rest well and dream of large women
When they did finally watch it, they loved it.