THE PRINCESS BRIDE
1987, 20th Century Fox

In my opinion, The Princess Bride (1987) is one of the funniest movies of all time.  And, it’s an energy movie!  In a classic scene, Westley the Farm Boy is tortured in the Pit of Despair, which looks like a laboratory out of a Frankenstein movie. Count Rugen (played by Christopher Guest) delights in causing pain and takes meticulous, scientific-quality notes on the efficacy of his torture device. Known simply as The Machine, it sucks the life force out of its victims.

A great sequence shows his turning the machine on to begin the torture. Adjusting the lever opens a gate that allows water to flow over a classic overshot waterwheel reminiscent of the mechanical power systems used for grinding grain or polishing glass in medieval Europe.  Falling water spins the wheel operating a series of gears and axles and creating a controlled series of motions. The waterwheel is a form of hydropower used in antiquity.  Today’s hydropower uses the same basic principles, but instead of sucking out our life force, they spin generators to give us electricity, which is a whole lot better.