The Princess Bride (1987)

While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writers:

William Goldman (book), William Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright

Top Rated Movies #233 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cary Elwes	...	Westley
Mandy Patinkin	...	Inigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon	...	Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest	...	Count 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
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 | giant | fairy tale | pirate | princess | 

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Taglines:

The story of a man and a woman who lived happily ever after. Even though the courtship almost killed them.

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Genres:

Adventure | 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:

The Princess Bride

Filming Locations:

Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$206,243, 27 September 1987

Gross USA:

$30,857,814

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$30,877,156

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

Art director Richard Holland commented in an interview that The Machine was originally based on his design for a rejected torture machine in the James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again", consisting of a giant wheel with bones strapped and powered by sand weights that would fall on a giant spike that gets closer and closer to James Bond. When the movie needed to redesign The Machine for the movie, Holland decided to have The Machine powered by water instead and use cogs and wheels that intertwined to suck out life from a person's body.

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Goofs

Westley's mustache changes throughout the film, sometimes it is uneven, sometimes it's longer on the sides than at other times.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Buttercup is referred to on-screen by name, but is only credited as "The Princess Bride."

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Connections

Referenced in Film 2017: Episode dated 17 December 2014 (2014)

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Soundtracks

A Happy Ending
Written by Mark Knopfler

User Reviews

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.