This week’s Double Feature is a little premature. After all, Stardust doesn’t even come out on DVD for another week and a half (in stores December 18th). Still, I’ve been holding on to this double feature since I saw Stardust in theaters and with this week’s CB Top Five Fantasy Films list to celebrate The Golden Compass, it seems like the right time to double this one up – you know, for synergy.
Fantasy films have had a bad rep for years now, only recently coming into popularity with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You can’t blame most people for shaking off fantasy films though. For every Neverending Story there’s at least three or four Hawk the Slayer. Not that I don’t love our man Hawk. He’s just not what you’d consider to be very mainstream in his appeal. We’ll pay tribute to Hawk on another Friday night though, just to be fair.
This week we look more at Fantasy and Romance, and what better pictures to do that with than a daring duo of fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… I think you get the picture.
Even without the second picture in this Double Feature, do you really need an excuse to watch Rob Reiner’s beautiful depiction of William Goldman’s novel? I don’t think there’s another movie that’s come out within my lifetime that was so instantly classic than The Princess Bride. How Reiner managed to pack the talent so tightly into one movie is beyond me. From the grandfather-grandson duo of Peter Falk and Fred Savage to the romantic lovers played by Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, all the way down to bit roles filled in by the likes of Billy Crystal and Carol Kane. But not only is the story timeless and the acting incredibly talented, the movie is also eminently quotable. Pop the movie in the DVD player around people you just met and see how quickly they start delivering the dialog alongside the movie (and if they aren’t able to, they probably aren’t people you want to know). It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty years since The Princess Bride hit theaters, but it’s doubtless to be a movie that entertains audiences for ages to come.
Stardust
Only arriving in theaters this year, it might be a little early to be heaping the same praise on Stardust that can be lavished upon The Princess Bride. After all, Neil Gaiman’s story hasn’t had to withstand two decades of fandom and scrutiny yet. Somehow, I think it’ll hold up. Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation holds much of the same charm and magic that Reiner’s tale holds, with an even more unlikely hero undergoing a quest in the name of blind romance. Thankfully for young Tristan, he finds true love along the way, even if he doesn’t realize it very quickly. Like it’s Double Feature mate, Stardust is loaded with talent, although much of Stardust’s acting pool is more established than the cast of Princess Bride was at the time of its filming. The big names don’t let their egos get in the way, however, or belittle the fantasy film they are involved in, and turn in highly enjoyable performances (even the strangely miscast but still enjoyable Robert De Niro). Stardust may not have made our Top Five Fantasy Films this time, but give it a few years and see if it doesn’t pop up higher on other people’s lists.
Other Fantastic Fantasies: The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Willow, The Neverending Story
Enjoy our Double Feature suggestions? and maybe we’ll use them in a future column.
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