Heroes. Giants. Villains. Wizards. True Love. – Not just your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum fairy tale.
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American romantic comedy fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner, and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Christopher Guest. Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel of the same name, it tells the story of a farmhand named Westley, accompanied by befriended companions along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film effectively preserves the novel’s narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his sick grandson (Fred Savage).
The film was first released in the United States on September 25, 1987, was well-received by critics at the time, but was a modest box office success. Over time, particularly with the introduction of the Internet, the film has become a cult classic. The film is number 50 on Bravo‘s “100 Funniest Movies”, number 88 on The American Film Institute‘s (AFI) “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions” list of the 100 greatest film love stories, and 46 in Channel 4‘s 50 Greatest Comedy Films list. In 2016, the film was inducted into the National Film Registry, being deemed as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.
Framing story
- Fred Savage as The Grandson
- Peter Falk as Grandpa/The Narrator
- Betsy Brantley as The Mother
Main story
- Cary Elwes as Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts/The Man in Black
- Robin Wright as Buttercup/The Princess Bride
- Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya
- Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdinck
- Christopher Guest as Count Tyrone Rugen
- Wallace Shawn as Vizzini
- André the Giant as Fezzik
- Peter Cook as The Impressive Clergyman
- Mel Smith as The Albino
- Carol Kane as Valerie, Max’s wife
- Billy Crystal as Miracle Max
- Margery Mason as The Ancient Booer
- Malcolm Storry as Yellin
- Willoughby Gray as The King
The Princess Bride (novel)
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The “Good Parts” Version is a 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman. The book combines elements of comedy, adventure, fantasy, drama, romance, and fairy tale. It is presented as an abridgment of a longer work by the fictional S. Morgenstern, and Goldman’s “commentary” asides are constant throughout. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, then later by Random House, while in the United Kingdom it was later published by Bloomsbury.