As You Wish audiobook

This is a deeply affectionate, engaging story of the making of the film The Princess Bride, as told by Wesley Cary Elwes. It includes frequent sidebar comments from many of the other actors, the director, Rob Reiner, and others involved in creating this classic tale of pirates and princesses, wizards and giants, swordfighters and devious Sicilians. True love. And fights to the death. As You Wish is told in a chatty, anecdotal style, and is unremittingly positive in tone (no dirty laundry being aired here). This memoir probably won't appeal much to people who aren't Princess Bride fans, but those will find a lot to enjoy in the pages of this book. The most poignant parts are the stories and tributes to Andre the Giant, who passed away about five years after the movie was released in 1987, and this quote from Mandy Patinkin:It was 1986. My father died in 1972. I read that script and I wanted to play Inigo because my mind immediately want, If I can get that six-fingered man, then I'll have my father back, in my imaginary world. He'll be alive in my imagination. So that was it for me. It was like, I'll become the greatest sword fighter, and my reward will not be to be in this movie that ended up being what it's become to all these people; my reward will be that my father will come back.The book also touches upon what happened after the movie came out, including a 25th anniversary party/reunion:I will say that I think it's the kind of book I'd recommend getting from the library rather than buying it as a keeper, unless you're a truly rabid fan. I don't think I'll ever be particularly interested in rereading it, as much as I enjoyed it the first time. So it's a soft 4 stars.I can't think of a better way to end this review than with some of the classic quotes from the film (most of which are also in the original novel -- which, by the way, is one of my all-time favorite books and I recommend it highly):"Inconceivable!""You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.""Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.""Get used to disappointment.""I'm not a witch! I'm your wife!""You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you." "You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.""Mawidge. That bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dweam ... Twue wuv!""Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.""Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.""Have fun storming the castle!" "As you wish."

I am so tempted to give it 5 stars just for how much I love learning any new tidbit about this movie. I am such a Princess Bride fan girl. This is me when I found out the book existed. THIS movie cover is my favorite -- see how the title is the same upside down? The book covers how the different actors came together to be part of movie. Cary talks about his nervousness and how sweet he was on Robin. Cary talks about how grueling learning the swordplay was. Just for fun, here is a link to the famous swordfight BUT WITH LIGHTSABERS!!!! HEREYou'll hear about the little people inside the R.O.U.S. costumes and how one came to be arrested just before he was needed for filming the scene.Billy Crystal and Carol Kane were so great together even behind the scenes. They came together before filming and created some backstory and generally worked their chemistry out beforehand. Billy is always great at improv and ad libbing. Apparently some of these scenes were too risque to be put in the final film, including these little gems: “Don’t bother me, sonny. I had a bad day — I found my nephew with a sheep.” “True love is the greatest thing in the world — except for a good BM.” Cary, who was supposed to be "mostly dead", couldn't hold it together during this scene. They had to use a dummy on the slab. Rob Reiner wouldn't even stay in the room, but watched from a soundbooth so he could guffaw away. Mandy Patinkin actually sustained his ONLY injury on the set by holding in his laughter - he actually bruised his ribs. Cary violently broke his toe by agreeing to drive/ride Andre's only mode of transportation while on set. Andre was too large for any other vehicle. Three things in the book really touched me. The first was Andre, who was the gentlest guy ever. We hear more about his childhood and younger days, how much he could drink at one sitting (here is his hand with a normal size beer), and a rip-roaring fart for the ages while on set. We hear how he calmed an acrophobic cast-mate and how he kept Robin warm on the cold days by placing his huge hand gently on her head (apparently the man generated an amazing amount of heat). The second thing that touched me was hearing more of Mandy Patinkin's inspiration for his part as Inigo Montoya. His father had recently died from cancer. He took all that pent up anger and decided in his mind's eye that he would be defeating his father's cancer, if only in his imagination. So when he says, I want my father back, you son of a bitch! He was really honestly feeling those emotions about his father and the anger he had toward the cancer that claimed his life. He is also very gracious to everyone who every asks him to say his iconic line. He says he always does it. I wonder if it is because he sort of relives that moment whenever he says it. That line just means so much to him. The last thing that touched me had to do with Cary's visit to his grandfather during the filming (he also died while before the movie wrapped). Very touching thoughts.I'm just happy to know these random things about the movie. One more happy dance for the road...

This is, by far and away, one of the warmest "let's get together and talk about the making of my favorite movie" books I've ever read, but I really need to remember that it's really nothing more than that. :)I've already heard, from what seems like millions of sources, that Princess Bride touched them deeply and how it always seems to be a personal favorite film for each of us. Hell, I find myself being one of those people. I LOVED the film. It has fantastic writing, great pacing, great acting, and even a three-act structure as if it was a Shakespearian play! :)But mostly what I get from this book is an utter fan-service, and that's just fine if we love nostalgia, and we do. Don't we? Oh yes, we do. :)I particularly love the tidbits about where Cary and Robin kept kissing and when Cary worked through a broken toe and, of course, just how much effort went into learning the swordplay. :) That was brilliant.

I remember seeing "the Princess Bride" at the dollar movie at the end of 1987. I loved it completely and wondered why I'd never heard of it. Of course, I was smitten by Westley. I bought the book at the campus bookstore before I graduated the following year. The movie has since become a classic and my children quote it better than I ever did.The actor playing Westley grew up and wrote a memoir on the making of this epic movie. I do not use epic lightly. Cary Elwes a little known actor who was just getting some solid experience in the business when he was approached by Rob Reiner to play Westley. He was ecstatic. Turns out, this was a very special and exact movie, a screenplay written by the author of the novel, years earlier for his daughters. How do you make a perfect movie for the perfect book? The right director, the right cast, and best supporting staff, and some magic thrown in by Miracle Max.The movie is an anomaly; the perfect balance of satire and fairy tale. Every character given perfect lines (some ad libbed), yet a perfectly clean, seamless adventure, love story, fairy tale emerges. So, it seems, the making of this movie was also. A few wonderful secrets are given away like how they climbed The Cliffs of Insanity and the story of the broken toe, the secrets of the swamps, the fire, and best of all, the sword fights. Big spoiler here, the sword fights were real and hard earned. This is really the story of what can happen on the set of a movie when there is mutual love and respect for one another and a true passion about the art.

People have been asking if I've read this from the moment it came out. Princess Bride is my all-time favorite movie. Where other kids would watch the Disney movie du jour over and over until their cassette broke, this was mine. We watch it almost every year as our first outdoor movie of the summer. I've been to screenings of it with cast Q&A, my spouse and I arranged our wedding vows so that instead of "I do" we said "as you wish," and my sister got $100 from my uncle for starting her wedding ceremony with "Mawwage is wot bwings uf togeva today." I think it's safe to say that this movie is sincerely part of what brings my family together.So, you can imagine my delight at listening to so many members of the cast and crew (and cast and crew doing impressions of other cast and crew) talking about the making of this movie with the same childlike joy I experience when I watch it. What a treasure to re-live this in a new way, and find new things to appreciate about my favorite film after over 30 years of fandom.A perfectly pitched love letter to the movie and book that captured all our hearts, and the first book I've listened to at regular speed since the invention of the mp3 format. Just lovely.

As with a few things in life, I discovered The Princess Bride late in life, this past week to be exact. However, from the first scene onwards I was enthralled and in love. Therefore, and because Ginger said it would be immensely funny and insightful, I had to read this book (I'm usually too sceptical about memoirs or making-of books). It tells the story of how Rob Reiner made the movie adaptation of William Goldman's The Princess Bride as told by "Wesley" aka Cary Elwes, with the kind "help" of his fellow cast members of which several interview snippets are thrown in.Though the print edition has cool production pictures and even some private ones from the cast and crew, this audio version was the best because it made it even funnier and lovelier.We start with the horrendous ordeal almost any movie has to go through to get approval (Hollywood is just stupid), followed by Rob Reiner meeting the author and convincing him to grant them the rights (after the Hollywood disaster the author had bought the rights back). Then comes casting and, finally, the actual production and reception (which wasn't too good at first). But this description sounds dull. This book, however, is anything but.The way Cary Elwes lovingly retells his experiences, the fact that all the cast members contributed, the humbleness and heart of all involved, the genius of Rob Reiner, ... a truly magical and exceptional story that leaves no doubt about why the movie is still so important to people all around the world. Also, some experiences are almost unbelievable. Like when Elwes meets a fan who tells him how the movie saved his life:My favourite story about this involves a man and his son whom I met while I was filming a movie in Rochester, New York. The father told me how the movie actually saved him from going insane.I always have time for fans but this guy definitely piqued my interest."How, if you don't mind my asking?"He proceeded to explain that he had been on active duty in the military and had recently returned from a long deployment in Iraq. His base had been located in a highly dangerous area. There were lots of snipers, IEDs, and mortar fire, he told me. After losing a lot of his comrades, morale amongst the unit had sunk to an all-time low. So every night from that point on, before the soldiers went out in their Humvees to secure the perimeter or go on patrol, their commanding officer would give them their orders and send them on their way with these words: "Have fun storming the castle!""Thanks to your movie we were all able to complete our mission on that base, as our CO was able to always make us smile before heading out. And that did a lot for morale."That is profoundly powerful and underlines the importance of humour that the creators and cast definitely appreciate(d) too.But, of course, there were some incredibly funny moments too, like the toe story (especially that Rob Reiner and Andy Scheinman thought he had just found a wonderfully elegant way of sitting down - bwahahahahaha).Then there were the impressive parts, most notably the fencing. Cary and Mandy had to learn to fence both left-handed and right-handed, and we wanted to make sure that they could design a really cool fencing sequence. So when we finally got to it, I was so proud of the fact that the two of them - I mean, Mandy had started working on it even before we went over to London; he was working on it I think for about four months, and Cary worked for only about two months - I'm very proud of the fact that every single frame of actual sword fighting is both of them. There are no doubles except for the acrobatics when they flip off the bar. The actual swordplay, every single frame, is just the two of them. Left-handed and right-handed. I put it up against any swordfight in movie history."And Rob Reiner is right! That IS impressive. It is also said at one point that the swordmasters made them train with their left hands first and that, in the end, "Inigo" was actually better with his left, despite being right-handed (which explains why I thought his fight sequence right at the beginning of the iconic swordfight was better than when he had switched to his supposed strong hand).What struck me was how many people of the movie business back then I actually know without actively knowing them. Like the two swordmasters Peter Diamond and Bob Anderson (both dead in the meantime, sadly). I've been a fangirl of theirs ever since I saw my first swordfight on television!Or André the Giant (I know him from The Fall Guy and The Six Million Dollar Man mostly). Let me tell you that Elwes' story of his fellow cast members were at least as intriguing as the production details themselves. Especially André stood out though, for he must have been one of those rare, truly gentle people.André knew he wasn't going to live to a ripe old age and even told Billy Crystal at one point during the shoot, "We don't get such a good break, the little guys and the big guys. We don't live so long."I think that is why Anré carried himself in life with that beatific smile of his. He never took a single day for granted, not knowing if it might be his last. He wanted to share how beautiful life was with everyone he came into contact with. He was as generous-hearted and sweet a person as I ever hope to meet. The kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back, a shirt big enough for four or five people. He never let anyone pay for a meal or drink as he wanted to be the one to give instead of receiving.Just to show anyone not knowing who I am talking about just HOW BIG this guy was (it was genetic by the way and, yes, caused his death before he ever turned even only 50):This is him in the movie with Princess Buttercup aka Robin Wright.The famous beer can picture, also mentioned in this book. And yes, it's regular sized and has not been tampered with.This is him with "Conan" aka Arnie.So it shouldn't come as a surprise that (back injuries aside), André could lift an Aston Martin with his bare hands (yep, he did it once). He sometimes made fun of his friends by moving their parked cars while they were in a building. *lol*This book, then, is a nostalgic read even for me. It makes you relive the movie and get a deep insight into life back then and it gives you the impression of truly knowing all the people involved (there were some surprising and personal revelations from all involved in here). However, it also makes you miss your childhood while still making you feel cozy - just like the movie itself. I hope the movie will continue to be ageless and beloved and yes, I'm gonna rewatch it tonight.

★★★★★ (This is a review of the audiobook.) Wonderfully narrated by many of the stars from the movie, reading their contributions. I did miss Billy Crystal and Mandy Patinkin’s voices, but it is still a wonderful listen.Even if you only liked The Princess Bride, and didn’t love it like I did, you'll enjoy this book. CE said he wrote it from his heart, and that comes through on every page. Sorry... can’t write more, I’m off to re-watch the movie.

4 stars for the book itself, and 1 additional star for the wonderful narration. It was just lovely, heart warming and funny. I listened to the whole thing with a big smile on my face and sometimes tears in my eyes. If you're a fan of the movie, you HAVE to listen to the audiobook. Just make sure you've got the dvd ready once you're done!

If you're a die-hard Princess Bride fan, you'll eat this up with a spoon. This is a light-hearted, charming account of the making of the movie from Cary Elwes' (Westley's) point of view. It's a definite love-fest between and about the cast members--no dirt dished here! That's okay, because we don't really want to think about our beloved PB characters being nasty to each other. There's plenty of awed admiration for everyone from the young, star-struck Cary, who was only 23 at the time of the filming. There are some genuinely funny stories, and some behind the scenes info that makes me impatient to watch the movie again. My favorite is the story behind Westley's first encounter with Count Rugen. I've definitely got to watch that again!Anyway, if you're a PB fan, I suggest checking it out. The audio version is especially enjoyable, since you get to hear the entire story in Elwes's smooth British accent, along with inserted remarks from actual cast members. In this book, the PB world remains a fairy tale!

Last year, Disney (I think) floated out the idea of remaking The Princess Bride. In a world of stupid politicians, racist violence, an unsteady economy and now Covid, apparently the one thing people agree on is DO NOT REMAKE THE PRINCESS BRIDE!!!!!!Charming, sweet and engaging. Words that describe both The Princess Bride and As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride and make this a great book to either read or listen to right now. I recommend the audio as Cary Elwes narrates it along with additional narration from some of the major cast members. His enthusiasm for the movie as well as his crush on Robin Wright come through clearly.Keep on flipping if you’re expecting a scandalous behind the scenes expose on Hollywood, this is the love affair the cast had in creating a quirky romantic classic. Each actor from sweet Cary Elwes, exuberant Rob Reiner, Chris Guest, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal etc and so forth talks about what a wonderful experience it was making the movie. You don’t have to read between the lines to see that the breakout darlings of the cast were Robin Wright, Andre the Giant, and I suspect Cary, as the more experienced actors were blown away how perfect they were for the part. In fact Goldman wrote Fezzik with Andre the Giant as his inspiration. CE was 24 at the time, and Robin Wright was a little younger and coming off the soap Santa Barbara.Cary doesn’t detail every scene and experience but those that stand out to him regarding himself and the other actors. It's fun reading the behind the scenes background of how Cary Elwes broken toe affected his performance, Wallace Shawn's freak out over his casting, and the enthusiasm Rob Reiner had for his cast and the story. There is a hint of "Gee whiz" but who cares.The ongoing second storyline is how hard he and Mandy Pantinkin worked to make their sword fight the very best. The scene stands out as one of the top three cinematic sword fights and is as much a duel of wits as a duel of swords.My favorite individual was William Goldman who wrote this book decades ago and was so concerned about how it would be turned into a movie. So concerned he actually bought the rights back on his own book. And this is after directors as legendary as Francois Truffaut, Norman Jewison and Robert Redford showed interest but couldn’t get it done. Truffaut? Mmm, nope.Goldman is pretty endearing despite insane talent. He states turning TPB into a movie was the most important thing he's ever done, and this is a man that wrote the screenplays for The Stepford Wives, All the President's Men, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. My favorite part (view spoiler)[ is when he sees Buttercup's dress get set on fire and screams they've set Robin on fire forgetting he wrote the book AND the screenplay. The man was darling. (hide spoiler)]The sword fighthttps://www.google.com/search?client=...["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

Before I start my review, I want to mention that As You Wish is the perfect audiobook for a road trip between St. Louis, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. I was traveling with my daughter and husband, and we were all entertained by Elwes' memories of the making of the film. It's really not that easy to find a book that works for all three of us, but this was an absolute hit. I can't recommend it enough and if you're already a fan of the movie, I'm sure that you'll love it even more.Though it starts out a bit self-congratulatory in tone, throwing around words like "timeless", "modern classic", and "once-in-a-lifetime experience", As You Wish is ultimately, like The Princess Bride, a very sweet and and enjoyable memoir about the events behind the making of the film. At first, as I said, I was afraid that I was going to be bored to tears. Rob Reiner wrote and narrated the foreward and it is sugary sweet in its praise of the author, the movie, and everything to do with either. This high praise, some may argue, is well deserved, but I thought that it might have fit better in the flow of the tale as an afterword. First, the play then the applause, but, that's just my opinion.Some of the best parts of the memoir, not surprisingly, centered around Elwes' interactions with his colorful co-stars. Andre the Giant figures largely into this tale, as he did in life, not only because of the enormous size of his body but also his heart. The brightest among us always seem to burn too quickly. Another of my favorite parts is the description of Elwes' and Patinkin's struggle to film the "greatest sword fight in modern times." I had no idea of the amount of backbreaking work that went into the acquisition of the skills to run the scene. From day one of filming, Elwes and Patinkin were schooled by some of the best sword fighters in the movie business. Now that I know, I'm going to have to re-watch the film. I had always assumed that the fight was done by stuntmen. How wrong I was...If you enjoy the film, The Princess Bride, you must listen to this audiobook. It is a real treat and you'll appreciate some hidden gems revealed by Elwes' narration. To borrow some descriptors from the book, it was a magical, "once-in-a-lifetime" moment when talent and story mixed together to create a "timeless, modern classic". If you're looking for some film related read-alikes (for movies other than the Princess Bride), try Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future...: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned by Michael J. Fox.

This was such a delightful experience. Nonfiction isn’t anywhere near by genre of choice, but The Princess Bride is among my favorite movies of all time, so I decided to give it a go. Also, Carey Elwes is an absolute treasure. But even the fact that the book was the backstory of one of my favorite movies as told by its lead actor wasn’t enough to entice me into buying a copy of this book. Until I came across the audio version. Let me tell you, I jumped right on that, especially once I learned that Carey Elwes himself, along with the majority of his Princess Bride co-stars and those who were involved with filming, directing, writing, and producing the movie, narrated the audio. Getting to hear these people, whose work together has been delighting countless viewers for over 30 years, talk about their experience with the movie was a wonderful experience. It just made me appreciate even more this movie that has been so special to me for nearly half of my life. So many lines from this story have worked their way into my family’s vocabulary and, while that is in large part due to the brilliance of Goldman’s writing, the voices in which we heard them spoken are what have kept them in our heads for well over a decade.In recent years I’ve come to really appreciate what audiobooks bring to the table. I strongly disagree with those who don’t consider audiobook consumption to be truly “reading,” as studies have shown the the exact same portions of the brain are being stimulated by visually reading or listening to a story. (That being said, I also firmly disagree with those who listen to a dozen or more books a week at the highest speed possible, resulting in chipmunk-esque background noise. I don’t see how on earth anyone could properly connect with a story in that way, but that’s just my personal opinion.) Audiobooks have become among my most constant companions, accompanying me on long walks and long drives and long bouts of household chores. I’ve experienced some truly wonderful stories through this medium, and Elwes’s story behind The Princess Bride is among those. First of all, hearing anything as told by its author is always a fantastic experience, especially if they happen to have a nice speaking voice. Elwes, who has made his living off of his voice and face, was a pleasure to listen to. And he wasn’t alone. Getting to hear from Billy Crystal and Robin Wright, Rob Reiner and many more, was equally wonderful. I loved hearing how much everyone loved their involvement in this movie and knew it was special long before it gained it loyal following. I also loved that everyone involved in the making of the movie seemed so genuinely fond of one another, and had such great respect of one another.One of the most unexpected aspects of this book was how much everyone raved about Andre the Giant, one of the few cast members who had passed on before the writing of this book. While I had always found his character sweet and delightful, I knew little about him outside of his role as Fezzik. Hearing about how much everyone loved him was just so sweet. Throughout the entire audiobook, I was captivated by how much everyone loved and respected each other, and that, for the most part, filming this movie was a wonderful experience for them and still serves as one of the highlights of their careers.If you’re a fan of The Princess Bride, you really need to give this book a read. And I wholeheartedly recommend doing so through audio, as the story was far more impactful in my opinion whey voiced by those who lived it. If you haven’t seen The Princess Bride, I’m begging you to give it a shot. It’s beloved for a reason. Everything about As You Wish made my heart happy. Now excuse me while I go rewatch the movie was the hundredth time.Have fun storming the castle!You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.