Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse
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.
Princess Bride
Director: Rob ReinerCast: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin
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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… See more details below
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
Editorial Reviews
All Movie Guide
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.Product Details
- Release Date:
- 11/13/2007
- UPC:
- 0027616806420
- Original Release:
- 1987
- Rating:
- PG
- Source:
- Mgm (Video & Dvd)
- Region Code:
- 1
- Presentation:
- [Wide Screen]
- Sound:
- [Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
- Time:
- 1:38:00
- Sales rank:
- 26
Cast & Crew
| 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
| 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 |
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Customer Reviews
Average Review:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
The Princess Bride
4.7 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
191 reviews.
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This is simply one of the greatest movies of all time, as far as I'm concerned. Of course, I have a decent sized list of movies I consider to be among the best of all time, but this is certainly one of those. I have been watching this movie since I was a kid. I own the original DVD release of this, but it has just about zilch for features, and the DVD was starting to get pretty worn anyway, so I decided i would go ahead and pick up the blue ray, seeing as how it's one of my all time favorites. This version contains a bunch of features on it, and it even comes with the DVD copy, so it's all good. Seriously, this movie is great! An oldie, but a goldie. If you have never seen this movie folks, you need to get on it! Friggin great, classic movie!
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one very amazing movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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A great movie for everyone kids and parents. Many great lines you will be quoting for years
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I've seen The Princess Bride a good half dozen times, but I had to have my own copy of it so I could watch it whenever I felt like it. Even if, like my brother-in-law, you prefer gritty, realistic films, you have to see this one at least once in your life. It's one of the few movies you can watch with kids and genuinely enjoy as an adult.
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Did they clean up the sound?
I love most everything about this movie except for the fact that the soundtrack on my old VHS version is rather muddy, which makes it difficult to understand Fezzik's lines at times, due to Andre the Giant's heavy accent. What would be really helpful to me in terms of deciding to buy this DVD is feedback on whether they've remastered the sound yet.
Also, I'm usually one of those people who says that the book is always better than the movie, but this one is the exception that proves the rule. I hated the book. The author keeps interrupting the story with distracting vignettes about his personal life that are not only self-serving but also annoyingly sexist.
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