As You Wish: Behind the Scenes of The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is an enduring classic, a movie that spans the generations and continues to entertain kids and adults of all ages today. It has been 27 years since the movie was released, but the movie's fans are still devoted to it, flocking to special screenings a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show, having Westley and Buttercup themed weddings, and endlessly quoting the movie's eminently quotable lines. Therefore, As You Wish, Cary Elwes' memoir (co-written with Joe Layden) about the filming of The Princess Bride, is a welcome addition to any fan's bookshelf.

The book takes us all the way from Elwes' initial casting to the end of filming and subsequent reception of the movie. Despite a good critical reception and ardent support from the people who managed to see it in theaters, the film only made a modest $30 million at the box office and seemed destined for obscurity. However, as VHS technology became more widespread, the movie quickly became a family favorite and a cult classic; 25 years later, the cast were assembled at Lincoln Center for a screening and Q&A to talk about the movie's enduring popularity.

The book mostly recounts Elwes' memories of the shoot and the impressive cast and crew, but it is peppered with remembrances from the other actors, director Rob Reiner, and writer William Goldman. I highly recommend that you have the movie on hand when you read this book: there are certain scenes alluded to that you will want to re-watch now that you have the behind-the-scenes scoop of what was really going on. This by no means a scandalous memoir; by all accounts, The Princess Bride was a joyful movie to make, led by a mensch of a director, featuring a tight-knit and extremely collegial cast, a hardworking, tea-break-enjoying British crew, and an anxious but brilliant screenwriter who was entrusting his most beloved script to people who wanted to do justice to his imagination. Right after I read this book, I felt compelled to read Goldman's original 1973 novel, a brilliant fairytale that set this whole juggernaut into motion.

The tone of As You Wish can get a bit saccharine at times, but ultimately, what can you expect for a movie that is so sweet and beloved as The Princess Bride? While many of the stories recounted in the book were familiar to me from the fantastic Entertainment Weekly oral history that was published a few years ago, it is still wonderful to have a compilation of these tales in one book. The dust jacket also contains a limited edition Shepard Fairey poster, so fans can adorn both their walls and their bookshelves. The Man in Black might believe that you have to get used to disappointment, but if you're a fan of the movie, this memoir is everything you could wish for.