The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride, is an American romantic comedy adventure film released in 1987 that was produced and directed by Rob Reiner. It was adapted for the screen by author William Goldman from his 1973 novel entitled The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, “The Good Parts” Version. Although it did moderately well at the box office, its popularity grew even more over time and it has gained a cult status due to its universal appeal and quotability.

Summary

The movie opens its meta narrative style by introducing a sick young boy in bed (played by Fred Savage). His grandfather (Peter Falk) has come over to read to him from the book The Princess Bride. As the grandfather begins to tell the tale, the movie shows us the story he is reading, along with a few interruptions from the young boy along the way.

The story begins in a vaguely medieval setting, in a rural area of the kingdom of Florin, where Buttercup (Robin Wright) and the handsome farm boy, Westley (Carey Elwes) reside. Westley is in love with Buttercup and whenever she demands something of him, he always replies, “As you wish.” After Buttercup realizes that she loves Westley, he leaves to work overseas in order to make money so they can marry. But Buttercup soon gets word that his ship has been attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is notorious for never leaving captives alive, and Westley is presumed dead. She mourns the loss of her true love but five years later becomes unenthusiastically betrothed to the prince of Florin, Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Soon after their public engagement, Buttercup is kidnapped by three hired men: the brains of the group, named Vizzini (Wallace Shawn); a giant with a gift for rhyme, named Fezzik (André René Roussimoff, also known as Andre the Giant); and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), a master swordsman from Spain who seeks revenge on the six-fingered man who killed his father when Inigo was a young boy. The three, along with Buttercup as their prisoner, flee, though they are pursued by a mysterious man in black and, behind him, Prince Humperdinck and a company of soldiers.

The man in black catches up with each of them one at a time, besting Inigo with his sword work, choking Fezzik unconscious, and outsmarting Vizzini by tricking him into drinking poison. The man in black then takes Buttercup and begins to forcefully run away with her. When given a moment to catch her breath, she pushes him down a large hill, telling him to die for all she cares. As he falls, he yells, “As you wish.” Buttercup realizes the man in black is actually her Westley, and she throws herself down the hill after him, where they finally reunite. Westley and Buttercup make their way through the Fire Swamp, a dangerous area known for its three terrors: flame spurts, lightning sand, and creatures known as R.O.U.S. (rodents of unusual size). Along the way, as they successfully deal with the three terrors, he tells her how he inherited the Dread Pirate Roberts name from the previous Roberts when he had retired, and how he was planning on passing it along to someone else now that he had found Buttercup. When they emerge from the Fire Swamp, Prince Humperdinck and his soldiers are waiting for them. Buttercup promises to go with him if he promises not to hurt Westley and to return him to his ship. Humperdinck (lying) agrees and rides off with Buttercup, leaving Westley with his sadistic adviser Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), a man with six fingers on his right hand.

Count Rugen takes Westley to the Pit of Despair, where he tortures him using a device he invented that can take years off of the victim’s life with each use. Meanwhile, Buttercup is back with Prince Humperdinck and threatens to end her life if she is forced to marry him. Humperdinck promises her that he will send for Westley with his four fastest ships. Humperdinck later explains to Count Rugen that he is going to murder Buttercup on their wedding night and blame the neighboring country of Guilder so he can start a war. It was Humperdinck that hired Vizzini, paying him to kidnap and murder Buttercup, but the plan was foiled by Westley’s sudden reappearance. The prince orders the leader of the guards, Yellin (Malcolm Storry), to form a brute squad and have the Thieves’ Forest emptied of all its unsavory denizens before his wedding to Buttercup. One of the members of the brute squad turns out to be Fezzik, and while performing his duties, he finds a very drunken Inigo. He takes him home and nurses him back to health, telling him what he has learned about Count Rugen, the man with six fingers on his right hand. Inigo and Fezzik decide they must find Westley to help them break into the castle so Inigo can exact his revenge on the count.

Buttercup discovers that Prince Humperdinck never sent for Westley and calls him a coward. Enraged, the prince rushes to the Pit of Despair and sets the device to the highest setting, torturing a screaming Westley, who soon appears to be dead. Fezzik and Inigo follow Westley’s screams through the forest and find his body, which they bring to Miracle Max (Billy Crystal) and his wife Valerie (Carol Kane) in the hope that Westley can be healed. With a miracle in hand (in the form of a chocolate-covered pill), they set off to storm the castle just as Buttercup and Humperdinck’s wedding is beginning. They are able to revive Westley, but he is in a much weakened state. Fezzik and Inigo fight their way through the soldiers as Humperdinck, hearing the commotion, rushes the officiant (Peter Cook) to finish the wedding. Inigo finds Count Rugen elsewhere in the castle and says the words he has waited most of his life to say: “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Count Rugen runs off, and Inigo chases him through the castle until the count throws a dagger at him, piercing his abdomen. After Count Rugen begins to taunt him, Inigo rallies, repeatedly saying his phrase of revenge, and finally kills Count Rugen, at long last avenging his father’s death.

Meanwhile, Westley has found Buttercup, who is about to end her life because she thinks she has married Prince Humperdinck. Westley explains that it is not so, as she never said “I do” because the wedding was cut short. Prince Humperdinck soon finds them and challenges Westley to a fight. Even though he is very weak, Westley wills himself to stand and commands the prince to drop his sword, which he does. Inigo then reunites with them. They tie up Prince Humperdinck and then hear Fezzik’s voice calling: he has found four white horses, enough for them all to get away on. As they escape, Westley tells Inigo that he would make a great Dread Pirate Roberts. The four ride away together. Buttercup and Westley share a passionate kiss.

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Back in the young boy’s bedroom, the grandfather finishes up the story. The grandson tells him that maybe he could come back tomorrow to read it again. The grandfather replies, “As you wish.”

Production and cultural impact

After the success of Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and Stand By Me (1986), he chose to work on the adaptation of The Princess Bride. He worked closely with Goldman throughout the screenwriting process to ensure the author’s vision would be preserved on screen. It had a reported $16 million budget, took in $30.9 million in the box office, and won the Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation in 1988. The movie’s score was nominated for a Grammy Award, and the original song “Storybook Love” was nominated for an Academy Award.

The film’s popularity increased as time went on, and it is now considered a cult classic. The Writer’s Guild of America awarded the screenplay the 84th spot on its 101 Greatest Screenplays list in 2006 and the 22nd spot on its 101 Funniest Screenplays list in 2015. The film also made the American Film Institute’s list of America’s 100 greatest love stories in 2002.

Production notes and credits

• Production company: Act III Communications
• Director: Rob Reiner
• Writer: William Goldman
• Music: Mark Knopfler
• Run Time: 98 minutes

Cast

• Fred Savage (the grandson)
• Peter Falk (the grandfather)
• Carey Elwes (Westley)
• Robin Wright (the princess bride/Buttercup)
• Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck)
• Wallace Shawn (Vizzini)
• André René Roussimoff, as Andre the Giant (Fezzik)
• Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya)
• Christopher Guest (Count Rugen)
• Malcolm Storry (Yellin)
• Billy Crystal (Miracle Max)
• Carol Kane (Valerie)
• Peter Cook (the impressive clergyman)