Fans of the movie The Princess Bride will be charmed by this audio book version of As You Wish. Cary Elwes wrote and narrates his memories of the making of the movie, starting with the difficulty of getting it made at all (most studios thought it was “unmakeable”) and ending with the slowly growing international acclaim it has garnered. Cary was only 23 when he was cast as Westley, and his wonderment at being part of such a life-changing endeavor is apparent in his words and voice. He is also a fair mimic, and he often “interprets” the voices of others, two of his favorites being Rob Reiner and Andre the Giant. However, others associated with the film add comments and recollections in their own voices, as well; among them are Rob Reiner, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal and most of the rest of the surviving cast. As the listener immerses him or herself in the back stories, s/he will hear tidbits like which particularly graceful move in the movie was really just someone trying to protect their broken toe; how hard it was to wrestle with a R.O.U.S (rodent of unusual size), who was obsessed with Danny DeVito and why, and how hard it was to learn to fence with one hand, let alone two! S/he will discover that some scenes are more real than realistic because a bop on the head with a sword is harder than an actor might expect, and will learn that someone who does nearly all his own stunts is injured only when he bruises a rib trying to stifle his laughter while playing a scene with a wildly adlibbing Billy Crystal. In fact, laughter on the set seems to be one of the biggest obstacles to getting through many of the scenes!
It must be noted that there is a print version of this book as well. But surely, listening in on the actual voices of those who remember this time so fondly is more magical that just reading the words. It puts the listener in a situation similar to a reunion of longtime friends chatting and recalling the good old days, and makes one anxious to revisit those times by watching the movie all over again.

What a great insight to how this classic was made! I loved hearing the behind the scenes stories and about different cast members. I would recommend watching the movie before listening. Enjoy!

Make sure you have a copy of the movie nearby because you're going to want to watch it again after listening to what Cary has to say about the making of it.
Very interesting with voice "cameos" from the director, writer and other actors.
Like someone else said, a bit on the sweet side i.e. no dirt, but still an enjoyable listen. Andre sounded like a wonderful person - gone too soon!

Let's be honest, I'd listen to Cary Elwes read just about anything.
I loved hearing about the behind the scenes things that happened while filming one of my most beloved movies.

The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies. It was so much fun to listen to the story of the adventure of the movie narrated by Cary Elwes and other members of the cast. You will watch the movie as soon has you finish the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, and Elwes' relaxed reading of it.

The participation of so many original cast members and people involved in the production in reading out their own reminiscences was also a lot of fun, though it's too bad several key ones (I'm looking in your direction, Mandy Patinkin) couldn't record theirs.

So why not 5 stars? Well, same complaint for me as Sean Astin's "Lord of the Rings" memoir, namely that Elwes is too relentlessly self-effacing and uncritical of anyone involved in the project other than himself. While charming, to a degree, I would have appreciated a more "warts and all" approach revealing more tiffs, disagreements, squabbles, and generally human behaviour. While I don't doubt for a second that they all did very much enjoy the process of filming, it can't have been as utterly frictionless as presented here.

Going on a roadtrip? I highly recommend this audiobook. Not only is it read by Cary Elwes himself, but the audio features cameos with Rob Reiner and many of the actors. Get a behind-the-scenes peek into what made The Princess Bride such an enduring film for all ages.

Great behind the scene stories for any fan of the princess bride.

Ive been a huge fan of this movie since first seeing it on VHS back when the world was young. However, the book has several flaws, the worst of which is simply the style of writing . Cary Elwes is an excellent wactor and a fine person, but his storytelling style is stilted and awkward. Fortunately, the making of the movie is interesting enough and contains characters so vivid that even the dull prose is worth wading through.z

Recommended by Marisa - Wilmot