Mise en Scene

The Mise en Scene of the Princess Bride is rather simple, portraying a romantic, fairy tale style of elegance and adventure with each scene. There are a variety of shots used in this film; the close up, medium, and far shots, however, dominate the screen and carry the majority of the tones and emotions.

The close up shots are primarily used for the romantic scenes between Wesley and Buttercup, making the shot seem close and extremely intimate. However, some of the comedy shot use this as well, giving the audience a clear picture of the comedic facial expressions of the speaker. One example of this is the Battle of Wits between Westley and Vizzini. The scene constantly switches between these two masterminds as the humorous bout entertains the audience. Vizzini dominates this part of the film, hamming up each line with his hysterical explanations and clown-like facial expressions.

Medium shots are probably the most used in the film, using both the cast and the scene to portray the action. The majority of the fight scenes are done in this fashion so as to keep the audience in the fray and to carry the dialogue. The most famous fight scene in the Princess Bride, the swordplay between Westley and Indigo, relies heavily on this style and rarely veer away from it

When the film uses far shots, it is usually for scenery purposes, such as the scaling of the Cliffs of Insanity. These scenes usually depict the distance in which the characters must travel, and are mostly incorporated in Westley and Buttercup’s escape from Humperdinck and his men.