As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes with Joe LaydenSynopsis: “From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes the New York Times bestselling account of the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with co-stars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner. The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Love Stories and by the Writers Guild of America as one of the top 100 screenplays of all time, The Princess Bride will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come. Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets and backstage stories. With a foreword by Rob Reiner and a limited edition original poster by acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.”

My Review

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook about recollections of making of the iconic 1987  film The Princess Bride.

I think I’ve seen the film twice and thoroughly enjoyed it, but hadn’t read this book even though I’d seen it around. When I read Carla’s brilliant review I decided to take the plunge and get a copy.

As the synopsis mentions above it’s read by Cary Elwes who played the main character Wesley, alongside Robin Wright his love interest. There are also loads of recollections from most of the cast and crew, including Billy Crystal, who actually wasn’t in the film for very long, but his contributions were great.

I loved hearing about why it took so long to get the film made, one reason being that  it couldn’t be pin holed into a particular genre, so obviously was too difficult to get studios on board with marketing etc.

As you’d expect there are loads of behind the scenes anecdotes about how much fun the cast had filming, in fact it seems like they all had a wonderful time making it, as no one really had a bad word to say about any of it. Although Wallace Shawn who played Vizzini the Sicilian didn’t seem to enjoy himself as much as the others. His agent told him that he hadn’t been the first choice for the part, so he was very nervous the whole time, thinking he was gong to get fired at any moment!

One aspect I particularly enjoyed hearing about was the training Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin (who played Inigo Montoya), underwent for the sword fighting scenes. They are amazing for a modern film, and the training was particularly gruelling for them. They were trained by Bob Anderson and Bill Tomlinson. Bob Anderson had been a British Olympic fencer back in the 1950s, and then went onto to do stunt work for one of the Bond films and did the lightsaber fighting for Darth Vader in the first Star Wars films! No wonder their training was so arduous!

Definitely recommended for fans of the film, as it was a bit repetitive towards the end.

Book 8 of 20 Books of Summer 2024