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The Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

5K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Philnick 
#1 ·


The Review at a Glance: (max score: 5 )

Film:


Extras:


Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )
79





Studio and Year: 20th Century Fox - 1987
MPAA Rating: PG
Feature running time: 98 Minutes
Genre: Family/Adventure

Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, French Dolby Surround, Spanish Mono
Subtitles: Spanish, English SDH
Starring: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin. Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the giant
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Music by: Mark Knopfler
Written by: William Goldman based on his book
Region Code: A

Blu-ray Disc release Date: October 2, 2012
"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die"


Film Synopsis:


Scale the cliffs of insanity, battle rodents of unusual size, face torture in the pit of despair, and join Princess Buttercup and Westley on their spell-binding journey to find true love. A classic fairy tale complete with heroes, villains, trickery, mockery and death-defying miracles, The Princess Bride captured audiences young and old with its brilliant, memorable dialogue, enchanting story line and bewitching characters.


The Princess Bride 25th Anniversary Blu-ray is loaded with special features including the all-new featurette “True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon” which includes brand new interviews with Reiner, Elwes, Wright, Goldman, Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon and executive producer Norman Lear. Additionally, fans will have a chance to vote on the Blu-ray artwork on the 25th Anniversary tab of The Princess Bride Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/theprincessbride ) beginning June 28. Voting ends July 11 and the fans choice will be revealed on July 12.

My Take:

I reviewed The Princess Bride in 2009 when it first came to Blu-ray and have included my comments from that original article.


Heartbroken over the death of her beloved Westley (Cary Elwes), beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright) finally succumbs to the advances of the wicked Prince Humperdinck. Yet, when she's suddenly kidnapped by a motley gang of deviants, what gallant hero comes to her rescue? None other than Westley - alive, well... and as wonderful as ever! But before these two can live happily ever after, they must first overcome formidable odds. Will these star-crossed lovers ever fulfill their destiny? Or, this time, will Buttercup lose Westley forever?


By now I would hope that most who are reading this has seen The Princess bride. I can’t believe it has been 25 years since its release! This is a beloved film that is based on the book written by William Goldman and published in 1973. It’s a modern fairytale that has roots which are based in many classic fables. I love how it sort of takes the traditional fairytale style and puts a satirical spin on it. The aspects of love, adventure, and good versus evil are all represented but there is a clever up to date feel that is rewarding. I get a kick out of the witty banter and clever dialogue. For example, the scene when Prince Humperdink and Count Rugen, are standing at the entrance to the pit of despair, Rugen asks Humperdink if he is coming in and Humperdink says “I would love to come and watch you work but I’ve got my country’s 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it, I’m swamped”.


There are wonderful characters both good and bad that are genuinely portrayed by the cast. Cary Elwes has been around for a long time and rarely gets recognition for his work. He usually has smaller roles and ends up as the heavy or foil for the protagonist but this film is different and showcases his talent. Although this is early in his career this is probably my favorite of his films (along with Glory). This was Robin Wright’s first feature film and who could ask for a more auspicious beginning? Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya is my favorite character in the story. I can’t help but laugh at his exchanges with Fezzik (Andre the giant), his fair approach to dueling with “steel” and his endless quote (the tagline that begins this review). The cameos are perfectly placed and of course Rob Reiner’s direction brings it all together. This is a timeless film that is chock full of great lines and memorable characters that can be enjoyed from one generation to the next. I have watched it with my kids and they love it as much as I do. I can’t think of a better compliment.


Parental Guide:


The rating is for mild action violence.



AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**


Audio: 78

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Dynamics:

  • Low frequency extension:

  • Surround Sound presentation:

  • Clarity/Detail:

  • Dialogue Reproduction:




Video: 80

(Each rating is worth 4 points with a max of 5 per category)

  • Resolution/Clarity:

  • Black level/Shadow detail:

  • Color reproduction:

  • Fleshtones:

  • Compression:


The Princess Bride comes to Blu-ray Disc from Fox featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 38 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 3.7 Mbps.

This appears to be the same audio/video encoding contained on the 2009 Blu-ray release. Below are the comments from my original review.


This film isn’t the type that is going to offer high gloss imagery, eye popping colors, and razor sharp definition. I thought that this 1.85:1 framed high definition presentation had a film like quality that seemed to faithfully deliver the film’s elements. At times the presence of grain gives it a gritty texture but I never found it objectionable. With the exception of red, colors were vivid, and natural looking. Reds had kind of an orange tinge to them. I honestly couldn’t say for sure whether or not it was intentional as it has been a long time since I saw this film theatrically. I don’t want to make too much of it because it really wasn’t an issue. Complexions varied from rosy to pale with most appearing realistic in depiction. Blacks were a little flat and shadow detail was good but not great. This left the darker scenes lacking it depth. I was happy with the balance between contrast and brightness which breathed life into the colorful, and lush landscapes and period costumes featured in the film. Image detail in close ups was appreciable in all but a handful of instances where definition wavered. Long range and mid level camera views were a mixed bag but at their best never achieved the level of depth and dimension that accompany the better high definition transfers available on Blu-ray. Overall fidelity seemed intact and I have never seen this film looking better on home video.


The DTS-HD MA soundtrack delivered dialogue that was full bodied, well articulated and tonally descriptive. The surround mix maintained a frontal perspective with above average soundstage depth and discernible channel separation. There wasn’t any discrete rear channel activity but ambient music extension and exterior sounds such as blowing wind, creaking wood and reverberant echo helped to occasionally broaden the sound field. Bass response didn’t shake the room but its presence lent solidity to the music score and low end punch to sound effects. The sequence that takes place once Buttercup and Wesley enter the Fire Swamp makes excellent use of the entire system. Mark Knopfler’s music is nicely detailed, dynamically empowered, and well balanced throughout the presentation. I thought that this mix sounded great.

Bonus Features:

  • (HD) *NEW* True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon (2 segments) :
    1. A conversation with Rob Reiner, Cary Elwes and Robin Wright – 15 minute discussion as the director and two stars reunite and talk candidly about the film's 25th anniversary, favorite fan encounters and memories from the set, illustrated by never-before-seen dailies.
    2. Entering the Zeitgeist – 15 minute retrospective/feature on the film’s impact on pop culture. Hear from Rob Reiner, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon, writer William Goldman, executive producer Norman Lear, Carl Reiner, and more.
  • Audio commentary by Director Rob Reiner

  • Audio commentary by author/screenwriter William Goldman

  • The art of fencing - 7 minute feature

  • As you wish: The story of The Princess Bride - 27 minute featurette

  • Cary Elwes video diary - 4 minutes with running commentary by Cary and Robin Wright

  • The Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Pirate of the Seven Seas - 11 minute faux documentary

  • Fairytales and folklore - 9 minute documentary

  • Love is like a storybook - 16 minute documentary

  • Miraculous makeup - 11 minute featurette

  • (HD) Original theatrical trailer

  • Princess Bride: The untold tales - 9 minute feature



Final Thoughts:


I think that I have made my feelings pretty clear regarding this wonderful family film that has become a classic. If you haven’t seen it your in for a treat as Fox has done a nice job with its presentation on Blu-ray Disc. This 25th Anniversary Edition of The Princess Bride contains the same audio/video and supplemental package from 2009 Blu-ray release. In addition it adds insightful new features in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Diehard fans are going to want to replace their original Blu-ray with this one but there is little here that warrants a buy for those that aren’t that interested in bonus features. Either way The Princess Bride should have a place in every video collection. Enjoy!












Ralph Potts
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews





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#4 ·
There are scant few movies in the whole history of movies where, if someone has never seen it and I'm about to pop it into the player to show it to them for the first time, I can assure them with absolute 100% certainty that they WILL really like this movie. The Princess Bride is one of them. Any excuse is a good excuse to watch it again and again.
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hitchfan  /t/1432344/the-princess-bride-25th-...lu-ray-official-avsforum-review#post_22469997


There are scant few movies in the whole history of movies where, if someone has never seen it and I'm about to pop it into the player to show it to them for the first time, I can assure them with absolute 100% certainty that they WILL really like this movie. The Princess Bride is one of them. Any excuse is a good excuse to watch it again and again.
I will not tolerate excuses I will get myself another giant!!
 
#8 · (Edited)
A quick "heads up" - while this film still has not been released on 4K disk - which is utterly, and in every way, inconceivable - it is available for streaming in 4K through VUDU and Amazon Prime.

The soundtrack is still 5.1 - but at least it's DD+, not DD - so turn on your favorite upscaler to animate your rear and overhead speakers - I'm partial to Neural:X, but there's also the Dolby Surround Upmixer.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Well, it took long enough, but I found this on 4K disk on eBay. Most of the copies come from Germany, and the packaging is thus in German, but they apparently have an alternative English-language soundtrack.

From looking at the pictures of the back of the disk cases of the German versions, the soundtracks are in DTS HD 5.1 - no mention of Master Audio. DTS has always used higher bit rates than Dolby. On Blu-ray DTS HD uses up to 6 Mbps versus DD+ up to 1.7 Mbps. (Dolby TrueHD is up to 18 Mbps versus 24 Mbps for DTS HD MA.)

I was able to snag an English-labeled version from Canada. But it's not cheap - budget a bit over $50 for it, including shipping. (Less for the German-packaged versions.)

It appears that, like many 3D Blu-ray disks, some of my favorite American films are sold in Europe but not America - see also the wonderful 1999 version of Midsummer Night's Dream starring Kevin Kline as Bottom (I believe he also directed it), which I was only able to get on Blu-ray on a Region B disk with foreign-language packaging.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
I spent more money than necessary on what appeared to be be a fully-English language copy shipped from Canada - only to get the same German-made disk Craig got, which I found totally, and in every way, inconceivable.

The eBay seller had discovered that the paper insert in the disk case could be removed and turned around to show English language labeling, which he photographed for his ad - though the disks inside were labeled in German and defaulted to the German soundtrack.

Fortunately, the only on-screen evidence of it being a German disk was that the "anti-piracy" and "private use only" warnings were in German - the film's own titles were the normal English ones.

Though the external labeling makes no mention of Master Audio, just DTS HD, the disk is indeed DTS HD Master Audio, in your choice of 5.1 or stereo in either German or English. The 5.1 English track is choice 3 when you bring up the choice of soundtrack with your remote. Upmixing with DTS Neural:X works well with this 5.1 soundtrack, and the DSU probably would sound good as well.

This disk's image and sound quality are excellent. Its color in HDR10 is beautiful. The VUDU 4K stream looks almost as good, but the streaming copie's sound is only DD+ 5.1.
 
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