Normally my movie trivia quizzes cover horror movies, or at least sci-fi/horror hybrids, or brutal action movies, or raunchy, adult comedies. Today's quiz is an exception, as it will be about "The Princess Bride," the 1987 action/fantasy/romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner. It's a rare film that's appropriate for children, but is still enjoyable to adults. Oddly, when it came out, it was only modestly successful at the box office. But it quickly became a cult film, beloved by pretty much everyone who has seen it. So let's get to it--the usual format, questions followed by the answers, many SPOILERS ahead.
Questions:
1) The boy (played by Fred Savage) is playing a video game as the film opens. What game?
2) The boy is wearing a jersey for a sports team. For which team, and which player's number?
3) According to the boy's grandfather (played by Peter Falk), before he starts reading, what does the book "The Princess Bride" contain, specifically?
4) According to the grandfather, who wrote "The Princess Bride"?
5) What two activities did Buttercup most enjoy?
6) After Westley leaves Buttercup, to make his fortune for their wedding and life together, and is reportedly killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts, how much time passes?
7) What is the name of the community that houses the Royal Household in the nation of Florin?
8) Florin has an anniversary coming up. How many years has it existed?
9) Just before Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo kidnap Buttercup, they tell her a lie about themselves. What is it?
10) According to Vizzini, he found Fezzik unemployed in what country?
11) What aquatic species attacks Buttercup when she jumps off the boat into the sea?
12) What was the first name of Inigo Montoya's beloved father?
13) How old was Inigo when the 6 Fingered Man (later revealed to be Count Rugen) killed his father?
14) And how many years ago was this event?
15) What four fencing moves/strategies, named after people, do Inigo and Westley reference during their duel?
16) Fezzik says he's losing the fight against Westley because he's used to fighting more than one person at a time. How many people has he been fighting against lately?
17) To brag about his intelligence, Vizzini says that three famous people were morons compared to him. Name these famous people.
18) What four qualities does Westley reveal that iocane powder has?
19) According to Vizzini, where does iocane powder come from?
20) Buttercup talks about Prince Humperdinck's skill at hunting and tracking. What tracking feat does she say he can do?
21) How does Buttercup describe Westley to the man she thinks is the Dread Pirate Roberts?
22) What is the name of the Dread Pirate Roberts' ship?
23) According to Buttercup, how many years has the Dread Pirate Roberts been marauding?
24) We later learn that the Dread Pirate Roberts is a title used by 4 men in succession, including Westley. Name the other three.
25) And where is the first one living now, like a king?
26) Prince Humperdinck promises not to hurt Westley. How does he swear this?
27) During Buttercup's nightmare the old woman boos her and calls her the Queen of what (insulting) four things?
28) How does Prince Humperdinck plan to murder Buttercup on their wedding night?
29) What is Count Rugen's first name? (Prince Humperdinck call him by it once.)
30) Who is the Chief Enforcer of all of Florin?
31) On the big wedding day, how many guards are posted at the Castle Gate initially, and then how many are there by the end?
32) How many years of life do we see the Machine suck out of Westley?
33) How much do Fezzik and Inigo pay Miracle Max for creating the magic pill to revive Westley?
34) According to Max, what is the greatest thing in the world, aside from true love?
35) After the bellows are inserted, Westley says, "true love" as his reason for wanting to live. What does Max lie and say that Westley said?
36) What is the name of Max's wife?
37) How did Fezzik and Inigo acquire the holocaust cloak?
38) Count Rugen gives Inigo five wounds, total. Describe them.
39) For a duel, what exactly does "to the pain" mean?
40) Prince Humperdinck says no one has ever insulted him before. What three insults does Westley say to him?
41) What are the names for the characters of the boy and his grandfather?
42) The composer of the music for this movie is arguably better known for his successful rock band. Name the guy, and the name of his famous band.
43) The two main countries featured in this movie, Florin and Guilder, are fictitious. What is the inspiration for these names? (Conjectural)
44) Where does the boy (played by Fred Savage) who's listening to the read story live? (Conjectural)
45) When are the events of the book within the movie set? (Conjectural)
46) How many real places are referenced in the story within the movie?
47) If the Machine removed all those many years from Westley, will he then die soon after he was revived by Max's pill? Because isn't he now the equivalent of being like 70-80 years old? (Conjectural)
48) How many people are seen to die in the film?
49) Should Westley have had Inigo kill Prince Humperdinck? (Conjectural)
Answers:
1) He's playing "Hardball!" a game from the Accolade, Inc. company, which came out for the Commodore 64 computer in 1985. Later versions were able to be played on other systems.
2) He's wearing a Chicago Bears NFL jersey, number #34, the number worn by Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton.
3) It has fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, and miracles.
4) S. Morgenstern. Who is not real. The novel of this book, also by William Goldman, continues this false authorship much more thoroughly.
5) Riding her horse, and tormenting the farm boy, who's named Westley.
6) 5 years.
7) The imaginatively named Florin City.
8) It will be the country's 500th anniversary.
9) They claim to be poor lost circus performers.
10) Greenland.
11) Shrieking eels. Which aren't real.
12) Domingo.
13) 11 years old.
14) 20 years, so Inigo is 31.
15) Bonetti, Capo Ferro, Thibault, and Agrippa. Which, surprisingly, are real fencers and moves, from European fencers in the 16th and 17th centuries.
16) 6.
17) Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates.
18) It's odorless, tasteless, dissolves instantly in liquids, and is among the more deadly poisons known to man. Iocane is made up, if you're curious.
19) Australia.
20) He can track a falcon on a cloudy day.
21) He's "poor and perfect, with eyes like the sea after a storm."
22) Revenge.
23) 20.
24) The first one might have actually been named Roberts--or at least we don't hear another name for him. The second one with the Dread Pirate Roberts title was really named Cumberbund, the third one was named Ryan, and then Westley took over as the fourth one.
25) Patagonia, which is a region of the Southern tip of South America, with part of it in the modern country of Chile, and part within Argentina.
26) "May I live a thousand years and never hunt again." (If he breaks his promise, obviously.)
27) She calls her the Queen of Refuse, the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, and then the Queen of Putrescence. She also concludes by just yelling "Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck!"
28) Strangulation.
29) Tyrone.
30) Yellin.
31) At first it's 30 guards, and then it's increased to 60.
32) 51. We see Count Rugen do 1 year, and then Prince Humperdinck, in a rage, turns it all the way up to 50, for a total of 51. (Rugen could have sucked more years away, off screen, but we don't see it, or hear about it.)
33) 65, of an unspecified unit of currency.
34) An MLT, or a mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomatoes are ripe.
35) He claims Westley said "to blave," which Max says mean "to bluff," which Max then speculates means Westley was playing cards and cheating.
36) Valerie.
37) Miracle Max gave it to Fezzik because it fit him so well.
38) In order, Rugen gives Inigo the slashes on both cheeks when Inigo was 11. Then he throws the knife into Inigo's stomach. When Inigo keeps fighting Rugen stabs him in the left shoulder, and then the right upper arm (a bit lower than the left shoulder wound), with his sword, although Inigo partially parries these stabs so they're not in his torso. Inigo later wounds Rugen in all of these places, although his final stomach stab kills Rugen.
39) First Westley will cut off the Prince's feet below the ankles, and then he'll cut off the Prince's hands at his wrists. Then the Prince will lose his nose, then left eye, then right eye. But the Prince will retain his ears, so he can hear the scared shrieking of children, crying babies, and other onlookers' horror at his appearance, leaving him wallowing in misery forever.
40) After implying the Prince is stupid by saying he'll explain in small words, he directly insults him by calling him a warthog-faced buffoon, Then he calls him a pig, and finally, a miserable vomitous mass.
41) It's never revealed. They're listed as "grandson" and "grandfather" in the end credits, and they don't use any names while talking to each other. And the kid's mom calls him "honey," which is clearly an affectionate nickname.
42) The composer was Mark Knopfler, best known for being the lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter for the band Dire Straits from 1977-95.
43) Short answer, they're named after coins. Longer answer--there are several nations that had coins with these names throughout European history. However, the best candidate is probably the Dutch coin used from 1434-2002, which was called a florin, and sometimes a guilder. Perhaps author William Goldman was slyly implying that the nations of Florin and Guilder in his story were very similar, two sides of the same coin.
44) It's never said, or shown, but all signs point to it being in Chicago, or the surrounding area. Because in the boy's room we see he's wearing a Chicago Bears jersey, and has a poster of another Chicago Bears player, William "The Refrigerator" Perry on his wall. He also has a Chicago Cubs pennant on the wall, and has a Chicago White Sox hat. Furthermore, author William Goldman was born in Chicago and lived his childhood in a Chicago suburb. Director Rob Reiner also reportedly claimed the boy's house is located in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.
45) It's intentionally unsaid, vague, and contradictory. An Italian coin with the name of "Florin" dates back to 1252 A.D., and the Dutch one was used from 1434-2002. The fencing moves and strategies mentioned were developed by people in the 16th and 17th centuries. Australia started importing prisoners in 1788. And some folks think Buttercup's description of Westley's eyes come from an 1800's painting.
46) I think that it's 6. As I already covered, Vizzini mentions Greenland (Question #10), and Australia (Question #19). Westley mentions Patagonia (Question #25). Vizzini reveals that's he is Sicilian, or from Sicily, and Inigo is from Spain. Finally, Vizzini mentions never getting into a land war in Asia.
47) It's interesting to speculate. The Machine very nearly killed Westley, and only a miracle pill from a magic user brought him back. After a bit of a recovery period, he seems fine. He doesn't look like he's elderly, or move like it, etc. Three theories suggest themselves. One, the miracle pill magically restored him to his original age, before the Machine, so he'll potentially live a normal life span in his restored life. Two, he wasn't restored, but the signs are indetectable, perhaps temporarily, perhaps not, and he'll die relatively soon, like in a few months or years. Three, Rugen was incorrect, or being poetic--the Machine can severely harm, or even kill its victims, but it doesn't translate to exact years of life removed.
48) All the sources I checked claim it's 6. In rewatching the movie, clearly Westley poisons Vizzini to death, and Inigo kills Count Rugen with his sword. The other 4 seem to be the guards that Rugen has attack Inigo when they encounter Inigo, Fezzik, and Westley in the castle hallway. In viewing this again, only one guard appears to be actually killed during the melee, with a stab to the stomach of the 4th guard to attack. The others are barely touched, even kind of brushed aside by Inigo. But, they all fall to the floor, unmoving, and are still there several minutes later. So I guess they were killed somehow, and because it's a kid friendly movie they made the death cuts quick and bloodless.
49) Maybe, let's go over the cases for and against killing him. Killing an unarmed, tied up man is arguably an evil act, and at least in this film our heroes only kill in self-defense, or defense of others. Also, killing a prince of a nation will ensure that all of Florin will be out to capture Westley, Buttercup, Fezzik, and Inigo, wherever they go, and for the rest of their lives. It's also unknown who is next in the line of succession for the very old King of Florin--maybe there is no one, and the country will be thrown into chaos with the power vacuum, with civil wars and loads of misery for the common people. On the other hand, sparing Prince Humperdinck is dangerous. He's the only person now living who recognizes all four of the fleeing heroes, for one. (Okay, maybe Yellin does too.) Also, he's shown that he's jealous, spoiled, and evil, so he will certainly chase after the fleeing 4 to the ends of the Earth, no matter how much time and money it takes. And surely such a selfish and psychopathic person will make for a terrible King--his people will almost definitely suffer greatly under him when he ascends the throne. True, as I just mentioned, the next heir in line might be as bad, or maybe even worse than Humperdinck, but I think that would be hard to do. And even a possible civil war if different factions fight for the throne might still be better than Humperdinck in charge. So, overall, I know it's a kid friendly movie and all, so they wouldn't show this, but within the reality of the story I think it would have been preferable to take the chance and kill Prince Humperdinck, for both the safety of the 4 heroes and the welfare of Florin (and Guilder too, since Humperdinck is itching for war with them). Finally, when Westley was acting as the Dread Pirate Roberts, surely he would be forced to murder innocent people repeatedly, to maintain his fearsome reputation, so having an evil, but tied up man killed might be old hat to him!
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