Princess Bride-20th Anniversary Edition (1987)

"Cary Elwes is marvelously funny as the hero.  David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
"Thrilling, exciting, very funny and absolute magic!  Joel Siegel, ABC-TV
"...wonderful scenes and character vignettes...  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...a lively, fun-loving, but nevertheless epic look at the nature of true love.  Rita Kempley, Washington Post
"A hilarious mixture of Errol Flynn swashbuckler and Monty Python send-up...  TV Guide
"One of Reiner's most entertaining films, effective as a swashbuckling epic, romantic fable, and satire of these genres.  Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.com
"...a lively, fun-loving, but nevertheless epic look at the nature of true love.  Rita Kempley, The Washington Post

Editor's Note Director Rob Reiner breathes vividly colored cinematic life into William Goldman's THE PRINCESS BRIDE, effectively evoking the wondrous, wide-eyed spirit of the witty 1973 novel. When a sick boy (Fred Savage) receives a visit from his doting grandfather (Peter Falk) who intends to read to him from his favorite book, he's not exactly pleased to be extracted from his world of video games. However, his mood quickly changes as he, along with the viewer, is transported to a place out of time--to Florin, a kingdom in the ultimate imaginary land, complete with dashing heroes, cowardly princes, rhyming giants, shrieking eels, rodents of unusual size, fancy swordfights, and yes...even some kissing. The lovely Buttercup (Robin Wright) learns that "As you wish" really means "I love you" when she falls for her charming farmhand, Westley (Cary Elwes). While trying to seek his fortune, however, Westley disappears at sea, an apparent victim of the Dread Pirate Roberts, who takes no prisoners. A few years later, Buttercup, engaged to the oily Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), is kidnapped by an oddball trio of rogues--brains, Vizzini (Wallace Shawn); brawn, Fezzik (André the Giant); and sword, Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin in a standout performance). As they sail away toward the Cliffs of Insanity, they notice the pursuit of a man in black...and the adventure begins. A clever fairy tale for all ages, THE PRINCESS BRIDE is arguably one of the funniest and most entertaining films of all time.

	Billy Crystal
	Cary Elwes
	Peter Falk
	Robin Wright Penn
	Adrian Biddle - Cinematographer
	Andrew Scheinman - Producer
	Mark Knopfler - Original Music By
	Norman Lear - Executive Producer
	Rob Reiner - Director
	Robert Leighton - Editor
	William Goldman - Writer
	Willy De Ville - Original Music By

Once upon a time, a feisty old grandfather told his bedridden grandson a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale... In the mythical kingdom of Florin, farm boy Westley rides off one day to make his fortune, leaving his true love, Buttercup, waiting patiently behind. Unfortunately, his ship is beset by pirates, and Buttercup grieves for many years, believing Westley dead. She reluctantly agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck, knowing that she will never love him. Humperdinck has his own plans for the marriage, however--he intends to have Buttercup kidnapped and murdered in order to set off a border war that will strengthen his power. But she is eventually rescued by a mysterious pirate, who turns out to be Westley in disguise. Their reunion does not last long, though, and the pair must face numerous obstacles before they can live happily ever after.

"Farm boy, fill these with water...please."----Buttercup (Robin Wright)|"As you wish."----Westley (Cary Elwes)

"Is this a kissing book?"----Grandson (Fred Savage) to his grandfather (Peter Falk)

"I won't be seeing you again, since I'm killing myself once we reach the honeymoon suite."----Buttercup to the king (Willoughby Gray)|"Won't that be nice..."----The king, obviously senile

"No more rhymes now...I mean it!"----Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) |"Anybody want a peanut?"----Fezzik (André the Giant)

"Inconceivable!"----Vizzini

"I admit it...you are better than I am."----Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), regarding Westley's swordfighting technique|"Then why are you smiling?"----Westley|"Because I know something you don't know."----Inigo|"And what is that?"----Westley|"I...am not left--handed!"----Inigo, as he shifts his sword to his right hand|"You are amazing!"----Westley|"I ought to be...after 20 years."----Inigo|"Oh, there's something I ought to tell you."----Westley|"Tell me."----Inigo|"I'm not left--handed either."----Westley

"There's a shortage of perfect breasts in the world. It'd be a pity to damage yours."----Westley to Buttercup

"Have fun storming the castle!"----Miracle Max (Billy Crystal)| |"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."----Inigo to Count Rugen (Christopher Guest)

"Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again tomorrow?"----Grandson|"As you wish."----Grandfather

New York Times
"...Sweetness and sincerity....A delightful cast and a cheery, earnest style that turns out to be ever more disarming..."| 09/25/1987 p.C10

Variety
"...At heart, PRINCESS BRIDE celebrates the power of true love to triumph over adversity..." 09/16/1987

Entertainment Weekly
"...THE PRINCESS BRIDE is a fun, sad, scary, witty fairy tale featuring the greatest performance ever given by a professional wrestler, the late Andre the Giant..." 09/14/2001 p.71

Sight and Sound
"Reiner's beautifully crafted fairytale pastiche still represents one of the high points of US comedy in the 1980s..." 02/01/2001 p.64

Total Film
"...Rob Reiner's uncategorisable blend of action, romance, spoof, swashbuckler and fairytale is purely and simply a corking movie..." 05/01/2000 p.118

Total Film
5 stars out of 5 -- "It was influential...the current crop of fractured fairy tales clearly owe a great debt to its groundbreaking balancing act of melodramatic pastiche, light-hearted send-up and the simple delights of a good yarn well told." 11/01/2008 p.146-147

Empire
5 stars out of 5 -- "More swashbuckling than Errol Flynn, more romantic than Casablanca, funnier than virtually everything, THE PRINCESS BRIDE is -- like MARY POPPINS -- practically perfect in every way." 12/01/2008 p.211

ReelViews 10 of 10
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die"...When William Goldman wrote those words, he did not intend for them to become a fragment of '80s pop culture. When Mandy Patinkin spoke those words, he didn't expect his every inflection to be endlessly mimicked. And when Rob Reiner directed those words, he had no idea that kids and young adults everywhere would be repeating them. Nevertheless, there's no doubting that nearly every movie-going American is familiar with those three short sentences. Reiner has stated that, along with "I'll have what she's having" and "You can't handle the truth," this represents one of the three most often quoted excerpts of dialogue from his movies...For director Rob Reiner, The Princess Bride represented the fourth of seven consecutive commercial and critical successes...The tone owes more to Spinal Tap than to any of Reiner's other outings -- it is witty and irreverent without ever going so far over-the-top that it turns the proceedings into camp. Reiner manages the difficult yet ultimately rewarding task of creating a movie that simultaneously parodies a genre while also celebrating and participating in it...Since its release more than 15 years ago, The Princess Bride has often been copied, but never equaled. Perhaps the most successful movie to capture its essential spirit was the animated Shrek. The word "brilliant" is often overused in the movie business, but this is one of those occasions when it is warranted. The Princess Bride is an unparalleled achievement -- a modern classic that will be enjoyed for generations to come. It has been called the "Generation X's version of The Wizard of Oz," and, more than any other description, that comes the closest to identifying this movie's impact. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
"The Princess Bride" begins as a story that a grandfather is reading out of a book. But already the movie has a spin on it, because the grandfather is played by Peter Falk, and in the distinctive quality of his voice we detect a certain edge. His voice seems to contain a measure of cynicism about fairy stories, a certain awareness that there are a lot more things on heaven and Earth than have been dreamed of by the Brothers Grimm...The story he tells is about Buttercup, a beautiful princess (Robin Wright) who scornfully orders around a farm boy (Cary Elwes) until the day when she realizes, thunderstruck, that she loves him. She wants to live happily ever after with him, but then evil forces intervene, and she is kidnapped and taken far away across the lost lands, while he is killed..."Is this story going to have a lot of kissing in it?" Falk's grandson asks. Well, it's definitely going to have a lot of Screaming Eels...Part of the secret is that Reiner never stays with the same laugh very long. There are a lot of people for his characters to meet as they make their long journey, and most of them are completely off the wall...There is, for example, a band of three brigands led by Wallace Shawn as a scheming little conniver and including Andre the Giant as Fezzik the Giant, a crusher who may not necessarily have a heart of gold. It is Shawn who tosses the princess to the Screaming Eels, with great relish..."The Princess Bride" was adapted by William Goldman from his own novel, which he says was inspired by a book he read as a child, but which seems to have been cheerfully transformed by his wicked adult imagination. It is filled with good-hearted fun, with performances by actors who seem to be smacking their lips and by a certain true innocence that survives all of Reiner's satire. And, also, it does have kissing in it. - Roger Ebert