The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, and Robin Wright. Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film preserves the novel's metafictional narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson.
The Princess Bride
- Act III Communications
- Buttercup Films
- 20th Century Fox (United States)
- Interaccess Film Distribution (international)
- September 25, 1987[2]
98 minutes
United States
English
$16 million
$30.9 million
The film was first released in the United States on September 25, 1987,[2] and was well received by critics at the time. After only having modest initial box-office success, it has over time become a cult film and gained recognition as one of the best films of the 1980s as well as one of Reiner's best works.[3] The film is number 50 on the 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.[4] The film also won the 1988 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[5]
In 2016, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[6]
Plot[edit]
A grandfather reads a novel to his sick grandson, who initially dismisses the story.
The book is about Buttercup, a young woman living on a farm in the fictional kingdom of Florin. Whenever she tells farmhand Westley to do something, he always complies, saying, "As you wish." The two fall in love, and Westley leaves to seek his fortune overseas so they can marry. However, Westley is presumed dead after his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts.
Five years later, Buttercup is forcibly betrothed to Florin's Prince Humperdinck. Before the wedding, she is kidnapped by three outlaws: a small Sicilian man named Vizzini, a giant from Greenland named Fezzik, and a Spanish fencing master named Inigo Montoya, who seeks revenge against a six-fingered man who murdered his father. A masked man in black pursues them, as does Prince Humperdinck and his soldiers.
Atop the Cliffs of Insanity, the man in black defeats Inigo in a fencing duel and knocks him out, chokes Fezzik into unconsciousness, and tricks Vizzini into drinking a deadly poison. He forcibly flees with Buttercup. Buttercup correctly guesses he is the Dread Pirate Roberts, rebukes him for killing Westley, and shoves him into a gorge. While tumbling down, he shouts, "As you wish!" Realizing the man is Westley, Buttercup throws herself into the gorge after him, and they are reunited.
While making their way through the Fire Swamp to avoid Humperdinck and his soldiers, Westley explains how "Dread Pirate Roberts" is an inherited title that he assumed when the previous Roberts retired. Having found Buttercup, Westley intends to retire himself and pass on the title to someone else. Humperdinck captures the pair after they emerge from the Fire Swamp. Buttercup agrees to return with Humperdinck after he promises to release Westley. Humperdinck secretly orders his sadistic vizier, Count Rugen, to take Westley to his torture chamber, the Pit of Despair. Westley notices that Rugen has six fingers on his right hand. Rugen knocks Westley unconscious.
When Buttercup threatens to fatally stab herself if the wedding happens, Humperdinck falsely promises to find Westley for her. His real plan is to start a war with the neighboring country of Guilder by killing Buttercup and framing Guilder for it. Humperdinck had secretly hired Vizzini to kill Buttercup, but Westley interfered. Meanwhile, Fezzik becomes part of the brute squad ordered to clear the thieves' forest before the wedding. He finds a drunk Inigo living in the forest, whom he sobers up and tells about Rugen. Inigo says that he and Fezzik need Westley's help to storm the castle.
Buttercup realizes that Humperdinck did not search for Westley and calls him a coward. Enraged, Humperdinck imprisons Buttercup and tortures Westley to a deathlike state. Inigo and Fezzik, who followed Westley's screams through the forest, find his body and bring him to Miracle Max, a folk healer whom Humperdinck recently fired. The "mostly dead" Westley is revived by Max, though he is severely weakened.
As Westley, Inigo, and Fezzik storm the castle, Humperdinck panics and orders the in-progress wedding ceremony to be shortened. Inigo tracks down Rugen, who taunts him about his father's death. Despite his injuries, Inigo eventually kills Rugen. Westley locates Buttercup, who believes she is married to Humperdinck and is about to commit suicide. Westley assures her the marriage is invalid because she never completed her wedding vows. Humperdinck finds them, and challenges Westley to a duel, but Westley willingly stands and intimidates Humperdinck into surrendering. Inigo finds Westley and Buttercup, and Fezzik procures four horses for their escape. Having killed Rugen, Inigo is unsure what to do with his life; Westley offers him the Dread Pirate Roberts title. As dawn arises, the reunited Westley and Buttercup share a passionate kiss.
The sick grandson eagerly asks his grandfather to read him the story again the next day. His grandfather replies, "As you wish."
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Rob Reiner, who had been enamored with Goldman's book ever since he was given it as a gift from his father, realized he wanted to make the film adaptation after successfully demonstrating his filmmaking skill with the release of This Is Spinal Tap in 1984.[7] During production of Stand by Me, released in 1986, Reiner had spoken to an executive at Paramount Pictures regarding what his next film would be, and suggested the adaptation of The Princess Bride. He was told they could not, leading Reiner to discover that several studios had previously attempted to bring Goldman's book to the big screen without success.[7]
Those previous attempts included 20th Century Fox, which paid Goldman $500,000 for the film rights and to do a screenplay in 1973.[8][9] Richard Lester was signed to direct and the movie was almost made, but the head of production at Fox was fired and the project was put on hiatus. Goldman subsequently bought back the film rights to the novel with his own money.[10][11]
Other directors had also attempted to adapt the book, including François Truffaut, Robert Redford and Norman Jewison,[7] and at one point, Christopher Reeve was interested in playing Westley in one planned adaption.[12]
Reiner found success by gaining financial support from Norman Lear, whom Reiner knew from All in the Family and who had funded production of This is Spinal Tap, with the production to be distributed by 20th Century Fox.[7][13] Reiner worked closely with Goldman to adapt the book for the screenplay.[7] In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Reiner acknowledged that then-20th Century Fox head Barry Diller also had a prominent role in the film's production, instructing Reiner to make it a Wizard of Oz-like film which could find greater success over time.[14]
Casting[edit]
Reiner had quickly decided on Cary Elwes for Westley, based on his performance in Lady Jane; however, during the casting period in Los Angeles, Elwes was in West Germany on set for Maschenka. Reiner flew out to West Berlin to meet with Elwes, confirming his appropriateness for the role. While Reiner and casting director Jane Jenkins auditioned other actors for Westley, they knew Elwes was perfect for the part.[15] Elwes had read the book in his childhood and associated himself with the character of Westley, but never believed he would have the opportunity to play him.[16]
Robin Wright was cast late in the process, about a week before filming; Reiner and Jenkins had auditioned a number of English actresses but had not found their ideal Buttercup.[16] Uma Thurman, Meg Ryan, Sean Young, Suzy Amis, Courteney Cox, Alexandra Paul and Whoopi Goldberg all auditioned for the role.[17] Wright's agent had heard of the casting call and encouraged Wright to audition. Though initially shy, Wright impressed Jenkins, and later Reiner. They invited Wright to come meet Goldman at his house. Jenkins recalls: "The doorbell rang. Rob went to the door, and literally, as he opened the door, [Wright] was standing there in this little white summer dress, with her long blonde hair, and she had a halo from the sun. She was backlit by God. And Bill Goldman looked across the room at her, and he said, 'Well, that's what I wrote.' It was the most perfect thing."[15]
Mandy Patinkin and Wallace Shawn were early choices for the cast; Shawn in particular was chosen as Vizzini due to his diminutive size to contrast that of the giant Fezzik.[15] Danny DeVito was considered for the role of Vizzini.[17]
When Goldman originally shopped his novel in the early 1970s, his first choice for Fezzik was André the Giant, whose wrestling schedule left him unavailable for filming. Goldman's second choice was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who at that time was almost unknown as an actor. However, by the time The Princess Bride was finally green-lit, Schwarzenegger was a major film star and the studio could not afford him. Jenkins contacted the World Wrestling Federation to ask about hiring André, but were told that the filming conflicted with a wrestling match in Tokyo that would pay him $5 million. Jenkins auditioned other tall men, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lou Ferrigno and Carel Struycken, but these did not pan out. André was hesitant to take the part on the account of the fact that the film's dialogue was in English while he was French and because he was a professional wrestler, not an actor.[18] Furthermore, Andre the Giant was suffering much pain resulting from his acromegaly, which was to eventually lead to his early death.[19] Liam Neeson also auditioned for the role, but he was turned down due to height.[20] Near the end of casting, the World Wrestling Federation told Jenkins that André's match in Tokyo had been cancelled, clearing him to play the role of Fezzik.[15] For his part, André found his participation was a gratifying experience considering that no one stared at him on set during production as a kind of freak, but instead simply treated him as a fellow member of the cast.[21]
Post-theatrical release[edit]
In North America, the film was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1988 by Nelson Entertainment, the latter being a "bare bones" release in unmatted full screen. New Line Home Video reissued the VHS in 1994.[54] The film was also released on Video CD by Philips.[55]
The Criterion Collection released a matted widescreen version, bare bones version on laserdisc in 1989, supplementing it with liner notes. In 1997 Criterion re-released the Laserdisc as a "special edition". This edition was widescreen and included an audio commentary by Rob Reiner, William Goldman, Andrew Scheinman, Billy Crystal and Peter Falk (this commentary would also later appear on the Criterion Blu-ray and DVD release); excerpts from the novel read by Rob Reiner; behind the scenes footage; a production scrapbook by unit photographer Clive Coote; design sketches by production designer Norman Garwood; and excerpts from the television series Morton and Hayes, directed by Christopher Guest.
By 1998, MGM had acquired the US home video rights to the film (as part of the pre-1996 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment film library package) and released the film on VHS and DVD. The DVD release featured the soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 with the film in wide and full screen versions, and included the original US theatrical trailer. The next year MGM Home Entertainment re-released the film in another widescreen "special edition", this time with two audio commentaries—one by Rob Reiner, the other by William Goldman—"As You Wish", "Promotional", and "Making Of" featurettes; a "Cary Elwes Video Diary"; the US and UK theatrical trailers; four television spots; a photo gallery; and a collectible booklet.
In 2006, MGM and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a two-disc set with varying covers—the "Dread Pirate" and "Buttercup" editions. Each featured their respective character, but had identical features: in addition to the features in the previous release were, the "Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Legend of the Seven Seas", "Love is Like a Storybook Story", and "Miraculous Make Up" featurettes, "The Quotable Battle of Wits" game, and Fezzik's "Guide to Florin" booklet.
A year later, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the film, MGM and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film with flippable cover art featuring the title displayed in an ambigram. This DVD did not include any bonus features from the older editions, but had new short featurettes and a new game. A Blu-ray Disc was released on March 17, 2009, encoded in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Special features included two audio commentaries, the original theatrical trailer and eight featurettes.[56]
In 2007, the film was released for download in the iTunes Store.[57]
The film is available in Europe (DVD Region 2), published by Lions Gate Entertainment. Its extras are the theatrical trailer and text filmographies.
The Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 30, 2018. It included a new 4K digital transfer, the same audio commentary from the Criterion LaserDisc release, an edited 1987 audiobook reading of Goldman's novel by director Rob Reiner, new programs on William Goldman's screenplay and tapestry, a new interview with art director Richard Holland, an essay by author Sloane Crosley, and a Blu-ray exclusive book highlighting four screenplays, as well as Goldman's introduction to the 1995 screenplay.[58]
The Princess Bride has been made available on May 1, 2020, on The Walt Disney Company's streaming service Disney+.[59]
Adaptations[edit]
It was announced that composer Adam Guettel was working with William Goldman on a musical adaptation of The Princess Bride in 2006. The project was abandoned in February 2007 after Goldman reportedly demanded 75 percent of the author's share, even though Guettel was writing both the music and the lyrics.[60]
In late 2013, Disney Theatrical Productions announced that they would adapt a stage musical adaptation of The Princess Bride.[61] A website was launched a couple of months later.[62] In 2016, Rob Reiner said the project was still in development despite "roadblocks" and that Marc Shaiman, Randy Newman and John Mayer had all been approached to write songs, but had turned them down.[63] In June 2019, it was confirmed Rick Elice and Bob Martin were writing the script and David Yazbek was composing the music and lyrics.[64][65]
In 2018, The Princess Bride was adapted by players of a virtual reality social game, Rec Room, into what is likely to be the world's first full-length virtual reality stage production. The duration of the production was approximately 80 minutes, and ran for a total of four shows.[66][67]
There have been many board games based on the film, beginning with a promotional roll and move game distributed with an early VHS video release in 1988.[68] In 2008, PlayRoom Entertainment released The Princess Bride: Storming the Castle, a board game based on the film.[69] Since 2013, Game Salute (now Tabletop Tycoon, under the SparkWorks imprint) has published multiple games based on specific scenes from the film, including party game The Princess Bride: Prepare to Die!,[70] card game The Princess Bride: A Battle of Wits[71] and dice game The Princess Bride: I Hate to Kill You...[72] In 2020, Ravensburger published The Princess Bride Adventure Book Game, a collaborative card and miniatures game with several boards presented as "chapters" of a book.[73]
The Princess Bride Game is a casual video game developed and published by New York game development studio Worldwide Biggies.[74][75]
In June 2020, a "fan made" recreation of The Princess Bride was released on Quibi called Home Movie: The Princess Bride. It was produced by Jason Reitman during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine in March 2020 with help from an ensemble cast who filmed themselves recreating the various scenes at their homes to raise money for the World Central Kitchen charity. Reitman received backing from Jeffrey Katzenberg for the project, as well as the rights to stream the film on his Quibi service. The "fan-made" film also had approval from Norman Lear and the estate of William Goldman, and Mark Knopfler permitted the use of his music. Rob Reiner approved of the project, even briefly stepping in to play the grandfather.[76][77] It also features the final performance of Carl Reiner, playing the grandfather in the last scene to his own son. The film was dedicated to his memory as he died days later.[78]
On September 13, 2020, most of the original cast members took part in a virtual live read-through of The Princess Bride script, Princess Bride Reunion, to support the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The returning cast included Elwes, Wright, Sarandon, Patinkin, Guest, Shawn, Crystal, and Kane, with additional performances by Rob Reiner as the Grandfather, Josh Gad as Fezzik, Eric Idle as the Impressive Clergyman, Whoopi Goldberg as the Ancient Booer and the Mother, King Bach as Yellin, the Assistant Brute and the King, Finn Wolfhard as the Grandson, Shaun Ross as The Man With Albinism, and Jason Reitman as the narrator. Norman Lear joined the Q&A session at the end, which was hosted by Patton Oswalt.[79] Cast members promoted the event beforehand using the hashtags "#PrincessBrideReunion and "#DumpTrumperdinck".[80] More than 110,000 viewers donated a dollar or more to Wisconsin Democrats to view the livestream event.[81]
Potential remake[edit]
In a September 2019 biographical article on Norman Lear in Variety, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra, speaking of Lear's works and interest in remaking them, stated, "Very famous people whose names I won't use, but they want to redo The Princess Bride."[82] The reaction to this via social media was very negative, with fans of the film asserting that a remake would be a bad idea and, in reference to the film, "inconceivable".[83] Elwes paraphrased the film, saying, "There's a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one."[84] Jamie Lee Curtis, Guest's wife, stated, "there is only ONE The Princess Bride and it's William Goldman and [Reiner]'s".[85]
