The Princess Bride

Director: Rob Reiner Rob Reiner

Overview

Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper

Product Details

Release Date:	10/30/2018
UPC:	0715515222518
Original Release:	1987
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	52

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Cary Elwes	Westley
Robin Wright	Buttercup, the Princess Bride
Mandy Patinkin	Inigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon	Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest	Count Rugen
Wallace Shawn	Vizzini
Peter Falk	The Grandfather
Fred Savage	The Grandson
Andre the Giant	Fezzik
Peter Cook	The Impressive Clergyman
Carol Kane	Valerie, the Wizard's Wife
Billy Crystal	Miracle Max, the Wizard
Mel Smith	The Albino
Janet Hirshenson	Actor
Jane Jenkins	Actor
Willoughby Gray	The King
Malcolm Storry	Yellin
Margery Mason	The Ancient Booer
Betsy Brantley	The Mother
Anne Dyson	The Queen

Technical Credits

William Goldman

Rob Reiner	Director,Producer
Nick Allder	Special Effects
Ken Baker	Asst. Director
David Barron	Production Designer
Peter Bennett	Asst. Director
Adrian Biddle	Cinematographer
Lois Burwell	Makeup
Phyllis Dalton	Costumes/Costume Designer
David John & the Mood	Sound/Sound Designer
Norman Garwood	Production Designer
William Goldman	Screenwriter
Maggie Gray	Set Decoration/Design
Janet Hirshenson	Casting
Richard Holland	Art Director
Jane Jenkins	Casting
Mark Knopfler	Score Composer
Robert Leighton	Editor
Steve Nicolaides	Associate Producer
Norman Lear	Executive Producer
Keith Pain	Art Director
Andrew Scheinman	Producer
Jeffrey Stott	Associate Producer

Editorial Reviews

With its tongue firmly in cheek, Rob Reiner's delightful revisionist fairy tale The Princess Bride simultaneously challenges and reaffirms the conventions of happily-ever-after stories. Once upon a time, as this particular yarn goes, there was a beautiful princess named Buttercup (Robin Wright) who was being held against her will by the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) and his dastardly henchmen. Luckily, her childhood sweetheart, now the Dread Pirate Roberts (Cary Elwes), and his newfound friend, the dashing swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), come to the fair maiden's rescue. In chronicling their adventures, director Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman tinker playfully with time-honored plot devices and counterbalance swashbuckling action with plenty of laughs. Broad character turns by Billy Crystal, Peter Falk, Carol Kane, and André the Giant give the film a loosey-goosey feel, and all the actors play it to the hilt throughout. Although the twinkles in their eyes could have made this a cloying affair, Reiner finds a nice balance, never making it feel as if they're trying too hard to have fun.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Both a tribute to and revision of fairy tales past, The Princess Bride manages to combine subtle, acerbic humor with a classic understanding of what makes the elements of fantasy so appealing to children. Director Rob Reiner took a chance on William Goldman's novel of the same name; though the central plot is unarguably Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup's (Robin Wright) journey to happily-ever-after, a variety of subplots and personal quests make for the daunting prospect of producing a film that very well might have too much going on. A surprisingly gentle performance from late wrestling icon Andre the Giant, along with an excellent supporting team including Billy Crystal, Wallace Shawn, and Mandy Patinkin, however, not only make the intermingling of plots seem perfectly natural, but express a sense of camraderie so realistic that one hardly notices the subject at hand is as likely to be the pitfalls of life in the revenge business as it is the tedious process of bringing one back from the dead. Patinkin in particular is compelling as Inigo, a Spanish swordsman on an obsessive quest to avenge his father's murder, while Wright plays the title role of with all of the angst, priss, and unbending faith in true love expected from a princess. Elwes' Westley, however, is far cry from the traditional knight in shining armor--clothed in all back and well-versed in the pirating industry, Wesley is a verifiable fairy-tale bad-boy--and like the film itself, somehow, it just works.

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