You could analyze the cinematography (the framing of Buttercup in the castle), the score (Mark Knopfler’s folk-infused guitar), or the editing. But the magic of is simpler than that.

Goldman pretends to abridge an old history book by a fictional author named S. Morgenstern.

Consider the famous lines:

A fairy tale is only as good as its heroes and villains, and The Princess Bride boasts perhaps the most perfectly cast ensemble in 80s cinema. The characters are drawn with broad, archetypal strokes—the Farmboy, the Princess, the Giant, the Swordsman—but the actors infused them with a humanity that elevates them beyond caricature.

The film is framed as a grandfather reading a storybook to his sick grandson, a meta-narrative that allows for humorous interruptions and self-aware commentary.

The film's enduring popularity is largely due to its pitch-perfect casting.