The Princess Bride (1987)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

William Goldman (screenplay) and
William Goldman (book)

Release Date:

25 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair. - True love has never been a snap.

Plot:

A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing (as read by a kindly grandfather).

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Pirate | Giant | Princess | True Love

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Cary Elwes	...	Westley
Mandy Patinkin	...	Inigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon	...	Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest	...	Count Tyrone Rugen
Wallace Shawn	...	Vizzini
André the Giant	...	Fezzik (as Andre the Giant)
Fred Savage	...	The Grandson
Robin Wright Penn	...	Buttercup / The Princess Bride (as Robin Wright)
Peter Falk	...	The Grandfather / Narrator
Peter Cook	...	The Impressive Clergyman
Mel Smith	...	The Albino
Carol Kane	...	Valerie
Billy Crystal	...	Miracle Max
Anne Dyson	...	The Queen
Margery Mason	...	The Ancient Booer

Also Known As:

The Bridges' Bride (Philippines: English title)
Die Braut des Prinzen (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
A Princesa Prometida (Brazil) [pt]
A herceg menyasszonya (Hungary) [hu]
Bleka dödens minut (Sweden) [sv]
Bortrövad prinsessa (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Caballero negro (Venezuela) [es]
El pirata y la princesa (Venezuela) [es]
La Princess Bouton d'Or (Canada: French title) [fr]
La princesa prometida (Spain) [es]
La storia fantastica (Italy) [it]
Narzeczona ksiecia (Poland) [pl]
Prenses gelin (Turkey: Turkish title) (Pay-TV title) [tr]
Princesse Bride (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
Prinsessan ryöstö (Finland) [fi]
Prinsessebruden (Norway) [no]
The Princess Bride - Prinsessan ryöstö (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Treles istories erota kai fantasias (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:6 | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-10 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:10 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Act III Communications

Trivia:

When Count Rugen hits Westley over the head, Cary Elwes told Christopher Guest to go ahead and hit him for real. Guest hit him hard enough to shut down production for a day while Elwes went to the hospital.

Goofs:

Continuity: On the castle wall, Westley (still barely mobile) shifts his head to face Fessik and his head leans to his left. Cut to close-up and Westley's head rests against the wall and leans to his right.

Quotes:

[first lines]
The Mother: Hi, honey.
The Grandson: Hi, mom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 50 Greatest Comedy Films (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Friends Song

A satiric comedy with humor and sadness, dark with the light.

This film is an intelligent, sardonic send up of several genres that pokes fun (affectionately) at fairy tales, swashbucklers, love stories and basic conventions of film. One of my favorite scenes is where Inigo Montoya first confronts his quarry after years of searching. His adversary does the unexpected-and what most villains in real life WOULD do under the same circumstances, with hilarious results in the scene. Basil Rathbone probably whirled in his grave!

Not by any means Citizen Kane (we already have one of those, anyway) but a champ in its weight class, with a perfect score, a fine script and good performances. Far more true to the flavor of the original fairy tales that it spoofs than even the best of Disney's takes. I loved it the first time I saw it and love it more now. Well worth watching. Recommended.