Films which fit into the "romantic comedy" genre typically favor one quality or the other. They are either romantic films with comedic highlights, or conversely, comedies with a romantic story. It is a rare film, such as '
The Princess Bride' that can gently walk the line between "romantic" and "comedy" and still deliver one of the most memorable films from the 80's.
For romance film fans, the title says it all. A young princess named Buttercup falls in love with her farm hand Wesley who answers all of her requests with the phrase "As you wish." When his ship is ransacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, Buttercup waits five years for his return before, heartbroken, assumes he has died. Reluctantly, she agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck, even though he is not her true love. Before the wedding, three outlaws kidnap the princess in hopes of starting a war between the two rival nations. A masked man follows them, and eventually defeats them all to rescue Buttercup. Unfortunately, its Roberts, the man who killed her true love!
For comedy fans, the title will throw you off (the words "princess" and "bride" you don't immediately make you think uncontrollable laughter would be a part of the story). While the story is as romantic as they come, the interactions between Roberts and the three bandits is where this classic really shines, highlighted by an amazing performance by André Roussimoff (Andre the Giant). Never forced, the comedy drives the picture down an road rarely seen today. This title is not one to miss.
Both Fox and Warner once again dig deep into their vaults to deliver the 1950's films '
Quo Vadis' and '
The Robe'. While not the quality of epic that will leave viewers begging for more, Staff Reviewer Kenneth Brown concludes in his
review of 'Quo Vadis', that the release has an, "excellent video transfer and a faithful mono presentation of the film's original audio."
Paramount has also released a few two-packs at a great price, so make sure you check those out if you're behind on your collection.
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.