The Princess Bride

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: September 25, 1987

8.5	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 321 Ratings

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User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

clayJan 25, 2007

It's worth a watch, it's fun, but isn't 10 material at all. Many scenes are cheesy without anything to resolve it. the wine/poison scene was great though.

1 of 1 users found this helpful

GlooneOct 12, 2015

I was completely unaware of this film until recently, when I heard it mentioned a couple of times as being a really great fantasy adventure -- so I gave it a watch. Unfortunately I felt pretty disappointed by it; given the hype, I wasI was completely unaware of this film until recently, when I heard it mentioned a couple of times as being a really great fantasy adventure -- so I gave it a watch. Unfortunately I felt pretty disappointed by it; given the hype, I was surprised by how weak it was in several key areas. The fantasy setting lacks a feeling of substance, and is just generally nondescript. This is not helped by the visual execution; the sets, visual effects and cinematography are bland and amateurish. The story itself is very by the numbers, and lacks momentum and emotional resonance. There's a framing device with a grandfather reading the story to his son, and while it was one of the better executed aspects of the film, I couldn't really see what it added. The characters are also generally rather clichéd -- the villains especially, and also the romantic duo, who lack any spark. Most of the acting is also uninspired or poor, the main exceptions being the main hero, who is played with an eccentric unflappability, and a vengeful swordsman, who has a sort of portentous magnetism. The interplay between these two near the start of the film was a high point, with good choreography and memorable dialogue. There are a good number of similarly memorable and witty lines throughout the film. This is the film's saving grace, and the main reason that I'm not giving it a bad score. But equally, that one aspect on its own can't make up for the film's many deficits. In conclusion, I can see how the film's quotability could make it entertaining for repeat viewings of a devoted fanbase, and how the cheesiness and clichés could be endearing. But personally I found that the cheesiness felt more like poor workmanship, and the clichés weren't self-aware or entertaining, but the result of blandness.… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

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DelFeb 16, 2007

You'll either love it or hate it. Although slow, it's worth watching once. Mandy Patinkin brings a lot to the "action party," though Elwes seems to throw it away. It seems that Reiner was trying far to hard to add romance, action, You'll either love it or hate it. Although slow, it's worth watching once. Mandy Patinkin brings a lot to the "action party," though Elwes seems to throw it away. It seems that Reiner was trying far to hard to add romance, action, and anything else you can think of. I feel this was the downfall. Was it a romantic/action/mushy slow train, or brilliant? You watch it!… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

TyranianJun 6, 2019

Fairly funny film with good acting and humour though also fairly unambitious.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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SummersausageJan 7, 2013

Ugh an unfunny interpretation of a kids ale. Just because characters run around and say cheesy lines doesn't mean it's funny. This is beyond campy it's just bad.

0 of 5 users found this helpful05

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imthenoobNov 24, 2020

I liked the first half of the movie, I liked the scenes between the grandfather and grandson, I disliked the second half of the movie and how little sense it made. Is it entertaining? Yes and I very much enjoy the cast but I think it's one ofI liked the first half of the movie, I liked the scenes between the grandfather and grandson, I disliked the second half of the movie and how little sense it made. Is it entertaining? Yes and I very much enjoy the cast but I think it's one of those movies that weighs a bit on the overrated side.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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FilipeNetoJul 4, 2021

This is one of those movies that almost everyone born in the Eighties has seen several times. I saw it myself, on television, even though I decided to revisit it now as my memory was no longer quite fresh. What I found is surprisingly worseThis is one of those movies that almost everyone born in the Eighties has seen several times. I saw it myself, on television, even though I decided to revisit it now as my memory was no longer quite fresh. What I found is surprisingly worse than I expected, but it didn't leave me totally disappointed.

The story is based on a book and is very aimed at young audiences: a grandfather decides to read his sick grandson a fairy tale, recounting the ideal love between an orphan peasant girl transformed into a princess and her youth partner, who becomes a pirate to collect enough money for their wedding. To stay together, they will have to defeat a local king who is determined to marry her, then kill her and lead their country into war with a neighboring kingdom.

Does the plot sound confusing? In fact, I thought of it that way too, but if we ignore the loose ends, it turns out to be fun and entertaining us perfectly. Set somewhere in medieval times, in a place that is also fictional, it has, however, some anachronisms: the character Inigo Montoya, for example, is a Spaniard who should have been Castilian or Aragonese, since Spain, as a country, appears later of the Middle Ages. And although piracy and swordplay are practically timeless, the weapons used in the film date back to the 17th century, which was the golden age of piracy par excellence. Details that, however, I did not take into account because the film is a fantasy and not a historical film.

The cast is headed by Cary Elwes and Robin Wright. Both are the archetypal action hero and damsel in distress: slim, elegant, invariably blond and blue-eyed, he is a braggart, she is bland. The actors can be good, and they had other projects to prove it, but here they really don't have anything particularly remarkable to do. More interestingly, Mandy Patinkin's performance is full of Latin charisma and stereotypes, but I would say it's eerily similar to what Banderas would later do in "The Mask of Zorro". Was the actor inspired by Patinkin's work? Andre The Giant and Billy Crystal also deserve an applause for their work, with Crystal personifying moments of pure comedy. Chris Sarandon brought the villain to life in a conventional way, but collaborated very well with Christopher Guest.

Technically, it's a forgettable film, that permanently reminds us not to take it too seriously: despite having a reasonable budget, it feels cheap and sloppy. The sets could hardly be more artificial, the sound effects are primitive (even by the standards of the time, which gave us technically superior films), the editing is uninteresting and the cinematography is ugly, with washed-out colors and very low contrast. The soundtrack, then, is truly disastrous, one of the worst I've heard. Of all these problems, the choice of some elegant and visually beautiful filming locations, good props, good makeup work and a very detailed wardrobe stand out.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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