Valentine’s Film: The Princess Bride
Rob Reiner, 1987, USA, Colour, English, 98′ mins, Certificate: PG
This is a cult classic.
THE cult classic in the illustrious career of the late, great Rob Reiner (This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men).
This is a story of a story, read to a bedridden boy by his grandfather, about a farm-boy who grew up and became a pirate as he faced numerous obstacles and adventures in order to reunite with his one true love.
This is a fantasy adventure, a romantic comedy, a satire of all the stories we grew up with, even a revenge thriller, all at once. Come for all that, but stay for the comedy! Imaginative, fearless, COMEDY.
Both Reiner and star Cary Elwes had to repeatedly remove themselves from the set during Billy Crystal’s scenes, because they laughed so hard that they would either feel nauseated (the former), or kept ruining take after take (the later)? And Mandy Patinkin bruised a rib (the only injury he sustained throughout the entire filming) as he constantly had to stifl his laughter in all his scenes with Crystal? Inconceivable!
Based on Reiner’s favourite book by William Goldman (who also wrote the screenplay), this is a subversive fairy-tale, if you wish, for kids of all ages, from 13 to 93 and beyond.
With a mostly fresh, pre-fame, stellar anyway, cast (Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk, Carol Kane, Fred Savage, Wallace Shawn, and the WWE star André – The Giant – René Roussimoff in addition to the three mentioned above), it is filled with ever quotable one liners, gloriously meme-able comedy gags, and wonderful memories.
So come to rediscover this big, comforting hug of a film that in 2016 was inducted into the American National Film Registry, being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”!
Reviews:
“.. a film all about the telling of tales: tall, short, moral — kind of — and whimsical. It is not to be trusted, only adored. A unqualified success that blends New York wit with timeless storytelling; a risky piece of filmaking that never feels so.” Ian Nathan, Empire
“It’s a fairytale with bite. Children can see it as a bright, frothy adventure while adults will appreciate the subtlety and the sheer wit. The film mocks sword fantasies yet it also delights in them and is somehow able to trumpet the genre while simultaneously laughing at it.” William Gallaghers, BBC Movies
“The entire cast is superb, but the funniest is Billy Crystal as a wizened miracle man… Patinkin’s performance is especially touching. He can say, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die”—and make you laugh, cry and cheer at the same time. The movie, two hours of pure enchantment, has the same effect. ” Peter Travers, People
“Some movies transcend their subject matter, subvert your expectations and become so endlessly quotable that their one-liners are seared into pop culture. By now you probably know what to prepare for when confronted by Inigo Montoya and that it’s unwise to go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line… ” Krystal Sim, SciFiNow