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I grew up watching The Princess Bride on TV, then VHS, and am now the proud owner of the DVD. I was thrilled to find that the movie was based on another book of the same name. I purchased it as soon as I was able and read it immediately.

The particular version that I read had commentary by the "author" William Goldman interspersed between chapters and scenes. While I was impressed that he had also written the screenplay for the movie, I was very surprised when he said that his novel was actually an adaption of another novel by S. Morgenstern. If you remember, in the beginning of the movie when the grandfather begins reading the book to his grandson, he begins with "by S. Morgenstern". This was not just thrown in to the movie.

Goldman explained that his grandfather (or father, my copy is on loan so I can't check) used to read the original book to him, keeping all of the adventure, but leaving out the "boring" bits. He tried to do the same with his adaption of the novel, and later, with his screenplay. I'm hoping that this is not just part of his humor to make up a previous author.

I love both versions by William Goldman. I can't say that the movie follows the book exactly, though you can follow the storyline from one version to another. The movie has a slightly exaggerated form of humor, and the book a dryer form.

The one thing to bear in mind with all book to movie adaptations, is that there are some things that work better on screen, and some things that work better in print. For instance, some of the conversations were much more complicated and entertaining in the book, and had to be trimmed down for added punch in the movie. Conversely, scenes like Westley wrestling Fezik were much funnier in the movie. It's rare to find a novel that is written in a way that it can be easily adapted to screen without changing any of the elements that are loved in the book. William Goldman did a fantastic job either way. My heart will always be with the movie, but without the book, there is no movie.

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