The Princess Bride (1987)

[Akijama]

The Princess Bride (1987)

A high-spirited adventure that pits true love against inconceivable odds, The Princess Bride has charmed legions of fans with its irreverent gags, eccentric ensemble, and dazzling swordplay. A kid (Fred Savage), home sick from school, grudgingly allows his grandfather (Peter Falk) to read him a dusty storybook—which is how we meet the innocent Buttercup (Robin Wright, in her breakout role), about to marry the nefarious Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) though her heart belongs to Westley (Cary Elwes). The wedding plans are interrupted, however, by a mysterious pirate, a vengeful Spaniard, and a good-natured giant, in a tale full of swashbuckling, romance, and outrageously hilarious spoofery. Directed by Rob Reiner from an endlessly quotable script by Oscar winner William Goldman, The Princess Bride reigns as a fairy-tale classic.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital transfer, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 1996 featuring director Rob Reiner, screenwriter William Goldman, producer Andrew Scheinman, and actors Billy Crystal and Peter Falk
• Edited 1987 audiobook reading of Goldman’s novel The Princess Bride by Reiner
• New program about Goldman’s screenplay
• New program about Goldman’s tapestry based on the film
• Archival interviews with Reiner, Goldman, and actors Crystal, Cary Elwes, Christopher Guest, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Fred Savage, and Robin Wright
• New interview with art director Richard Holland
• Programs about makeup, fencing, and fairy tales
• On-set video diary filmed and narrated by Elwes
• Five behind-the-scenes videos with commentaries from 1996 by Reiner, Scheinman, and Crystal
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by author Sloane Crosley and, for the Blu-ray edition, Goldman’s introduction to his Princess Bride script from the 1995 collection Four Screenplays, in a lavishly illustrated, clothbound book

New cover by Angela Rizza

[MifuneFan]

Awesome. Also, I totally called this for last year's New Year's Drawing

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I wonder why the bride in the drawing has no hands..

No hands, means no finger prints. No finger...prints..S Bride....Princess Bride

Boom

(I know it's for Marry S, for the Marseilles trilogy, but I think it could also be for something else)

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

With regards to The Pricncess Bride, this image does make it look kind of similar in styling to the drawing.

[Buscemi]

Could this mean This is Spinal Tap might be in the works?

[koberulz]

Are we sure that's not sarcasm?

[movieben1138]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

Could this mean This is Spinal Tap might be in the works?

I thought this one was the more likely of the two, actually. They had it before and the way MGM is re-licensing those older titles, I'm sure it's coming. They've already re-released SID & NANCY, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, STRAW DOGS, and a few others.

[jess1581]

Are we being punk'd here? This is for real?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by jess1581

Are we being punk'd here? This is for real?

Yes. I believe this was a title that the CEO has wanted back in the collection for some time now. It was originally released by Criterion on Laserdisc. Many titles that were formerly with Criterion and/or OOP will be coming back this year, or the next.

[Member-222782]

I've lost count the number of times this film has been re-released on video. It was one of MGM's favorite reissues back when they were actively releasing DVDs. After MGM started farming their movies out, Princess Bride always wound up as one of those retailer-exclusive steelbooks. I guess I'll have to blind buy a copy just to see what the fuss is about

[The Great Owl]

Inconceivable!

My name is The Great Owl. You're making me double-dip on my existing Blu-ray. Prepare to die.

*ahem*

I used to watch The Princess Bride all of the time when I owned the DVD, but I wore that DVD out, and I haven't revisited the movie in several years.

I bought the 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray for five dollars at a Target a couple of years back, but still haven't made my way to watching it, simply because I'm still fatigued from the heavy rotation that my old DVD got.

It's ripe for a revisit, though, as Pro-B might say.


No more double-dips now, I mean it.
Anybody want a peanut?

[Batman1980]

This is definitely one Criterion title I would love to own!

[thinredline]

Not to diminish other people's tastes (to each his own), but i saw this once and although i LOVE 80s fantasy films, i could barely sit through it and I didn't understand why it's always high in the lists of best 80s or fantasy films.
Maybe I should re-watch it, I don't know..
But I was even surprised with myself that didn't like it at all.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Are we sure that's not sarcasm?

It does have sort of a tongue-in-cheek feel to it but one would think they know the obsessive tendencies of their clientele a little too well to be flippant about something like upcoming titles.

[MJD64]

My 25th anniversary Blu has a transfer and supplements I'm content with. Still, great news for fans of this charming flick (and they are legion). Speaking of OOP Criterion titles the CEO would like to get back into the collection, I vote for The Killer and Hard Boiled. Two great John Woo films with less-than-great transfers in their domestic releases.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by octagon

It does have sort of a tongue-in-cheek feel to it but one would think they know the obsessive tendencies of their clientele a little too well to be flippant about something like upcoming titles.

We have zero context, though. And it's not really a situation of someone just letting something slip, like with Coppola and Suicides.

I don't care either way as I just bought the Australian Blu and I doubt Criterion can do enough to make me want to import another.

[meremortal]

Still have the Criterion LD and I'll buy this one as well. I'd even add the digital UHD for $5 if Vudu had a cheap sale like was the case with Silence of the Lambs. Hopefully they'll release more movies that haven't been updated since the old days like Pulp Fiction, Boyz N the Hood, Dead Presidents, She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, etc.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by thinredline

Not to diminish other people's tastes (to each his own), but i saw this once and although i LOVE 80s fantasy films, i could barely sit through it and I didn't understand why it's always high in the lists of best 80s or fantasy films.
Maybe I should re-watch it, I don't know..
But I was even surprised with myself that didn't like it at all.

I know a lot of people who unabashedly love this film, and almost without fail, it's a childhood favorite. If you see it for the first time as an adult (as I did), it's not as powerful.

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I know a lot of people who unabashedly love this film, and almost without fail, it's a childhood favorite. If you see it for the first time as an adult (as I did), it's not as powerful.

This has unfortunately been the case with many films that I missed as a child or teen. I know a number of people who didn't grow up with the 1990 adaptation of IT, for example, and think it's a dumb campy mess now whereas it terrified me as a child. And on a similar note to the previous reference, I was very late to see Battle Royale and thought it was kind of boring after seeing the Cube and Saw style movies and their countless clones for well over a decade beforehand. Timing can be everything with some films.

[Zero_Cool]

Anybody want a peanut?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by noirjunkie

I know a lot of people who unabashedly love this film, and almost without fail, it's a childhood favorite. If you see it for the first time as an adult (as I did), it's not as powerful.

I dunno about that, I was in my mid-twenties when it came out and I was glued to the screen.

Granted, I was pretty immature in my mid-twenties but still...

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

I dunno about that, I was in my mid-twenties when it came out and I was glued to the screen.

Granted, I was pretty immature in my mid-twenties but still...

I first saw The Princess Bride in my late 20s, and I loved it.