The Princess Bride (1987)

While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

William Goldman (book), William Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright

Top Rated Movies #184 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	The Princess Bride
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

Storyline

An elderly man reads the book "The Princess Bride" to his sick and thus currently bedridden adolescent grandson, the reading of the book which has been passed down within the family for generations. The grandson is sure he won't like the story, with a romance at its core, he preferring something with lots of action and "no kissing". But the grandson is powerless to stop his grandfather, whose feelings he doesn't want to hurt. The story centers on Buttercup, a former farm girl who has been chosen as the princess bride to Prince Humperdinck of Florian. Buttercup does not love him, she who still laments the death of her one true love, Westley, five years ago. Westley was a hired hand on the farm, his stock answer of "as you wish" to any request she made of him which she came to understand was his way of saying that he loved her. But Westley went away to sea, only to be killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. On a horse ride to clear her mind of her upcoming predicament of marriage, Buttercup...

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Plot Keywords:

true love | fairy tale | pirate | princess | giant | 

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Taglines:

It's as real as the feelings you feel

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Braut des Prinzen

Filming Locations:

Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$30,857,814 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Inspired by, and written directly for his two daughters, writer William Goldman already had a special affection for his story. However, it spent many years in "development hell" during which it gained a reputation for being un-filmable, with at least two studio heads losing their jobs (for unrelated reasons) mere days after stating they wished to make the film. By this stage Goldman was so disillusioned and protective of his book that he took the almost unheard of step of buying back the rights to his own story when it came available after a studio 'desk clearing' (putting up every optioned story for sale so as to start again with a clean slate).

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Goofs

When the Grandfather turns to the Grandson at the end he is wearing a jacket with stripes. Immediately before and after he is wearing a plain brown jacket.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Bang Theory: The Workplace Proximity (2013)

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Soundtracks

A Happy Ending
Written by Mark Knopfler

User Reviews

The Perfect Movie

This is one of those rare films that gets better each time you watch it. With something for everyone, The Princess Bride combines romance, action, adventure and parody to create the perfect movie.

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright are beautiful to watch and the story of their love is a wonderful backdrop to the adventure and intrigue played out in this story. Mandy Patinkin is wonderful as Inigo and gets to deliver some of the best lines in the film. Chris Sarandon is perfect in his role as the bad guy prince.

The plot is rich, with adult innuendos the kids will miss all together and levels of wit to entertain the whole family. The dialogue is full of very funny catch phrases- many of which are still part of my repertoire more than a decade after I first saw the movie. If you like dry humor and fast wit, The Princess Bride will make your day.

I have owned this video since 1988 and still watch it regularly - it has become my 'sick day' movie because it is such a joy.