The Princess Bride (1987)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 10 nominations total
A delightfully postmodern fairy tale, The Princess Bride is a deft, intelligent mix of swashbuckling, romance, and comedy that takes an age-old damsel-in-distress story and makes it fresh.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s got it all – romance, action, and laughs – then The Princess Bride is the flick for you. It’s like a fairy tale, but with a modern twist that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. The story might be old as time, but this movie makes it feel brand new. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and get ready for a swashbuckling good time!
Production Company(ies)
Act III Communications, Buttercup Films Ltd., The Princess Bride Ltd.,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1987 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 18, 2000
Genre(s)
Adventure/Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, directed by Rob Reiner, written by William Goldman, adventure, comedy, PG rating, box office gross $26.9M, reviewed by Chris Chase, Peter Bradshaw, Derek Malcolm, Ian Nathan, Richard Corliss, Carrie Rickey, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, William Goldman, produced by 20th Century Fox, swashbuckling, romance, fairy tale, Florin, William Goldman novel, postmodern, damsel-in-distress, cult classic, William Goldman, Andrew Scheinman, 20th Century Fox, Surround sound, Dolby Stereo, Flat (1.85:1), Cary Elwes as Westley, Robin Wright as Buttercup, Mandy Patinkin as Iñigo Montoya, Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdinck, Christopher Guest as Count Rugen, Wallace Shawn as Vizzini
Worldwide gross: $30,902,442
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $82,485,876
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,111
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,995,188
US/Canada gross: $30,857,814
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $82,366,753
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 846
US/Canada opening weekend: $206,243
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $550,511
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,380
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $16,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $42,707,758
Production budget ranking: 899
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $22,998,128
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,779,990
ROI to date (est.): 26%
ROI ranking: 1,265
Robin Wright – Buttercup, The Princess Bride
Mandy Patinkin – Iñigo Montoya
Chris Sarandon – Prince Humperdinck
Christopher Guest – Count Rugen
Wallace Shawn – Vizzini
Director(s)
Rob Reiner
Writer(s)
William Goldman
Producer(s)
Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (79) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (2)
Mandy Patinkin, an actor not known for humor, is particularly wonderful as Inigo, a Spaniard out to avenge the death of his father at the hands…
February 9, 2018
Chris Chase
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
It’s an adventure which reaches back to golden-age Hollywood and the devil-may-care world of Douglas Fairbanks or Tyrone Power playing Zorro, or Errol Flynn playing Robin Hood.
October 23, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The Princess Bride easily transcends expectations, as a fantasy that has a few pertinent things to say about the genre, including the odd fact that the heroes of such things are often prettier than the heroines.
February 17, 2016
Derek Malcolm
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A unqualified success that blends New York wit with timeless storytelling; a risky piece of filmaking that never feels so.
December 7, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
As you watch this enchanting fantasy, feel free to be thrilled or to giggle, as you wish.
June 28, 2013
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Patinkin, the most dazzling movie swordsman since Errol Flynn, steals the movie with his athletic grace and delivery of lines like: “My name is Inigo Montoya! Prepare to die!”
June 28, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
The film was always wonderful, featuring clever conceits plus perfect looking cast members and locations.
August 11, 2021
Robin Holabird
Robin Holabird
As the picture practically spoofs the endeavors of Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, it’s also competent enough to craft its own identity as a swashbuckling thriller.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Its well-developed characters and situations take us back to the literary myths of the genre as well as the language of classic cinema. [Full Review in Spanish]
June 3, 2020
Ángel Luis Inurria
El Pais (Spain)
It is, in short, CINEMA that makes CINEMA great. [Full Review in Spanish]
May 7, 2020
Sergio Benítez
Espinof
Princess Bride is very much a parody of the very nostalgic culture it was replicating and celebrating
March 3, 2020
Kathi Maio
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The cult of The Princess Bride is still strong 32 years after its release.
July 30, 2019
David Harris
Spectrum Culture…
Plot
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 prefers something with lots of action and “no kissing”, but he lets grandfather continue, because he doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. 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 is kidnapped by a band of bandits: Vizzini who works on his wits, and his two associates, a giant named Fezzik who works on his brawn, and a Spaniard named Inigo Montoya, who has trained himself his entire life to be an expert swordsman. They in turn are chased by the Dread Pirate Roberts himself. But chasing them all is the Prince, and his men led by Count Tyrone Rugen. What happens to these collectives is dependent partly on Buttercup, who does not want to marry the Prince, and may see other options as lesser evils, and partly on the other motives of individuals within the groups. But a larger question is what the grandson will think of the story as it proceeds and at its end, especially as he sees justice as high a priority as action.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Mandy Patinkin, not known for his humor, steals the show as the swashbuckling Inigo Montoya.
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