The Princess Bride [2 Discs] [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is staged as a book read by grandfather (Peter Falk) to his ill grandson (Fred Savage). Falk's character assures a romance-weary Savage that the book has much more to deliver than a simpering love story, including but not limited to fencing, fighting, torture, death, true love, giants, and pirates. Indeed, The Princess Bride offers a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale depicting stable boy-turned-pirate Westley's journey to rescue Buttercup (Robin Wright), his true love, away from the evil prince (Chris Sarandon), whom she had agreed to marry five years after learning of what she had believed to be news of Westley's death. With help from Prince Humperdinck's disgruntled former employee Miracle Max (Billy Crystal), swordsman Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), and a very large man named Fezzik (Andre the Giant), the star-crossed lovers are reunited. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 2
• Subtitle: Eng/Spa
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Features:
  • Blu-Ray Disc: Audio commentaries by director Rob Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman
  • Featurettes - As You Wish: The Story of the Princess Bride
  • Miraculous Makeup
  • The Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Pirate of the Seven Seas
  • Love is Like a Storybook
  • The Princess Bride: The Untold Tales
  • The Art of Fencing - Fairy Tales and Folklore
  • Video Diary from Cary Elwes
  • DVD Disc 2: Featurettes - The Princess Bride: The Untold Tales
  • The Art of Fencing
  • Fairy Tales and Folklore

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Song - 1987 (Willy Deville)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Cary Elwes - Westley
       Robin Wright Penn - Buttercup, the Princess Bride
       Mandy Patinkin - Inigo Montoya
       Chris Sarandon - Prince Humperdinck
       Christopher Guest - Count Rugen
       Wallace Shawn - Vizzini
       Peter Falk - The Grandfather
       Fred Savage - The Grandson
       Andre the Giant - Fezzik
       Peter Cook - The Impressive Clergyman
       Carol Kane - Valerie, the Wizard's Wife
       Billy Crystal - Miracle Max, the Wizard
       Mel Smith - The Albino
       Janet Hirshenson
       Betsy Brantley - The Mother
       Margery Mason - The Ancient Booer
       Jane Jenkins
       Anne Dyson - The Queen
       Malcolm Storry - Yellin
       Willoughby Gray - The King

• Director:

  Rob Reiner

• Producer:

  Norman Lear, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman

• Screenwriter:

  William Goldman

• Book Author:

  William Goldman

• Cinematographer:

  Adrian Biddle

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mark Knopfler

• Editor:

  Robert Leighton

• Production Designer:

  Norman Garwood, David Barron

• Art Director:

  Richard Holland, Keith Pain

• Associate Producer:

  Steve Nicolaides, Jeffrey Stott

• Executive Producer:

  Norman Lear

• Set Designer:

  Maggie Gray

• Costume Designer:

  Phyllis Dalton

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  David John

• Makeup:

  Lois Burwell

• Special Effects:

  Nick Allder

• First Assistant Director:

  Ken Baker, Peter Bennett

• Casting:

  Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson

REVIEW:

• Both a tribute to and revision of fairy tales past, The Princess Bride manages to combine subtle, acerbic humor with a classic understanding of what makes the elements of fantasy so appealing to children. Director Rob Reiner took a chance on William Goldman's novel of the same name; though the central plot is unarguably Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup's (Robin Wright) journey to happily-ever-after, a variety of subplots and personal quests make for the daunting prospect of producing a film that very well might have too much going on. A surprisingly gentle performance from late wrestling icon Andre the Giant, along with an excellent supporting team including Billy Crystal, Wallace Shawn, and Mandy Patinkin, however, not only make the intermingling of plots seem perfectly natural, but express a sense of camraderie so realistic that one hardly notices the subject at hand is as likely to be the pitfalls of life in the revenge business as it is the tedious process of bringing one back from the dead. Patinkin in particular is compelling as Inigo, a Spanish swordsman on an obsessive quest to avenge his father's murder, while Wright plays the title role of with all of the angst, priss, and unbending faith in true love expected from a princess. Elwes' Westley, however, is far cry from the traditional knight in shining armor--clothed in all back and well-versed in the pirating industry, Wesley is a verifiable fairy-tale bad-boy--and like the film itself, somehow, it just works. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi