The Sword and Laser discussion

I'm just basing this off the movie, since I haven't read the book yet. But my favorite character is definitely Inigo Montoya!!

William Goldman, even if he is a jerk.

Veronica wrote: "...But my favorite character is definitely Inigo Montoya!!"

Can't imagine him not being the overall favorite by a very wide margin.

Oh, and he is my favorite as well.

In the book I actually preferred the Grandpa

It is "inconceivable" that it could anyone but Vezzni;)

Smrathburn wrote: "It is "inconceivable" that it could anyone but Vezzni;)"

You keep using that word. I do not thing it means what you think it means.

Yes, Inigo would be a favorite of mine as well :-)

Based on the movie, I really like Vezzni, but I think what I like about him is the interaction between him and Wesley. In the movie, Wesley was quite witty.

terpkristin wrote: "Based on the movie, I really like Vezzni, but I think what I like about him is the interaction between him and Wesley. In the movie, Wesley was quite witty."

Is he not in the book?

Dunno, never read the book. :)

Based on the book, my favorite is Inigo. But, I preferred Wesley in the movie version. He is kind of a jerk in the book.

Everything in the movie is in the book, plus some more of the back-stories of Inigo and Fezzik. The grandfather stuff is different. It's a 41 page intro about how this "good parts" edition came to be--and Goldman himself is in the story.
This was a favorite book of mine and I was elated when the movie came out. I saw it at the Uptown theater in DC (a classic old style movie theater with a balcony and curtains they draw closed and back between the previews and the feature). Saw JP there too.

I will cast the lone vote so far for Fezzik! How can you not love Andre teh Giant (movie version, which is the only way I can envision him!).

I'm with Rick there. Andre the Giant stole the show

I wuv the Pwiest.

I read the book first. According to the image on the book cover, Andre the Giant as Fezzik was totally mis-cast (I'll see if I can dig up the old book and scan it - I can't seem to find the original paperback book cover image anywhere on the web).

From what I can remember the Giant was dressed in a turban and had a darker, sort of middle-east feel to him. Andre totally disappointed me in that respect.

Veronica wrote: "Is he not in the book?"

Of course Vezzini the Sicilian is in the book.

My vote though is Íñigo Montoya. I still can't believe that there isn't an edition that corrects Inigo. It's just like Carmen Ibanez in Starship Troopers, which should really read Ibañez. Íñigo is like a pet form of Ignacio (Ignatius). Probably the most famous namesake is Ignacio López de Loyola, founder of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus).

Anyway, Mandy Patinkin gets it right in the movie:

"Hello. My name is Íñigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

He doesn't say Inigo.

As I saw the movie before I read the book, Fezzik would be a close second to Íñigo, though if you think about it, they are pretty much inseparable.

@Stan, page 82 in the Del Rey/Ballantine paperback describes the trio:

The man in front was dark, Sicilian perhaps, with the gentlest face, almost angelic. He had one leg too short, and the makings of a humpback, but he moved forward towards her with surprising speed and nimbleness. The two others remained rooted. The second, also dark, probably Spanish, was erect and slender as the blade of steel that was attached to his side. The third man, mustachioed, perhaps a Turk, was easily the biggest human being she had ever seen.

If you went by the descriptions in the book, then I think Wallace Shawn also wouldn't fit the bill exactly. I really enjoyed André the Giant as Fezzik. I remember reading in the 25th anniversary edition (which also includes Buttercup's Baby) that when they picked André to play Fezzik, they couldn't imagine anyone else in the role. Besides which, William Goldman did write the screenplay which was pretty much true to the book.

I have to say it's Fezzik if its just based on the movie. "Does anybody want a peanut?" still makes me laugh after having watched the movie 20 times.

A few chapters into the book, I have to say that I'm liking Buttercup a lot more in the book than I did from the movie.

From the movie, Inigo all the way. For the book, I shall see...

I can never pick favorites. The movie was as good as it is because it was cast flawlessly, and the author is a scriptwriter by trade.

I liked some of the additional character detail provided by the book, but I still heard the actor's voices in my head.

The one new character was the "author", and I understood him in the book and liked the commentary overall. I understand why the movie chose to have Peter Falk play the role as the author's father, the original reader of the book. The character in the book is better suited for an anti-hero obsessed early 1970s book reader; the reader in the movie is better suited for a 1987 family movie audience.

Jaime wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Is he not in the book?"

Of course Vezzini the Sicilian is in the book.

My vote though is Íñigo Montoya. I still can't believe that there isn't an edition that corrects Inigo. It..."

I meant to say "Is he not (witty) in the book?"

My favorite character is Mortenstern's wife. I realize that she never actually shows up as an actual character, but I love the asides that he adds in about her!

After finishing the book on Friday night, I think my favorite character was Fezzik. His insecurities are rather endearing, and I really liked how his character was willing to push through them. That's something that really didn't come out in the movie. Westley was nowhere near as interesting in the book as he was in the movie. I guess that's not really a surprise, though, since on film, the main characters have to take the show.

I wasn't aware that Richard or the luggage were in The Princess Bride. I could be mistaken, though... :-)

Just finished the other night, including the sequel (or I should say the authors attempt at it) "Buttercup's Baby" and I have to say Fezzik is my favorite, but it is hard to separate him from Montoya. They are a set pair, and somewhat inseparable.

In the end, the author turned out to be my favorite character. Most of his life, he commented on throughout the book was fiction anyway. This was a fairy tale, wrapped in a book, surrounded by a story...

I think mine would be a tie between Inigo and Miracle Max. I mean come on, Max saved the day by telling them that Wesley was only partially dead. If he hadn't of known that, Wesley might of ended up totally dying.

"My name is Íñigo Montoya, you read my book, prepare to laugh."

Iñigo Montoya!

It must be Inigo!

Goldman as a child is certainly not my favorite character, but he did give me words for an enduring principle. It's called the "Jesus, Grandpa, what did you read me this thing for?" principle. (It's "Grandpa" in the movie. It's his dad in the book.) This principle is why I'm not interested in books that are trying so hard to be "gritty" or "edgy" or "real" that they forget the entire point of story-telling, which is to satisfy the reader/listener with something that transcends a mere repetition of a random series of events. I end up considering the boy as a bit of a touchstone because of that!
But as for actual favorite character, I think I'd have to go with Inigo, like so many others.