‘The Princess Bride’: THR’s 1987 Review

On Sept. 25, 1987, 20th Century Fox unveiled The Princess Bride in theaters. The Rob Reiner-directed comedy would initially gross a modest $30 million in theaters but live on as a cult classic. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of the movie is below:

It’ll be interesting to see how Rob Reiner describes Princess Bride on the talk shows. It’s swashbuckling, bright, breezy and delightful, but it defies pigeonholing. It doesn’t have a hook or lend itself to a one-sentence description. But then Rob Reiner certainly isn’t lending himself to similar pigeonholing with his wide-ranging films.

Princess Bride will be a challenge for 20th Century Fox’s marketing department it’s an adults’ film in children’s garb but it’s one that will likely be a labor of love for the marketeers.

Look for strong word-of-mouth, featuring a lot of “I know it sounds silly, but you’ll like it”-type recommendations.

Princess Bride all takes place in the magical kingdom of Florin, and it’s got all the best swords and sorcery ingredients: true love, kindhearted giants, dueling, big rocks, fire swamps, a torture chamber and chases.

To boot, Princess Bride is graced with a kingdom full of witty and breezy lines. Screenwriter William Goldman has graced Princess with lines that work on two levels: one for the more literal minded of the kids, another for the most ethereal of adults.

With finesse and grandeur, director Rob Reiner has managed to distill Princess‘ wondrously mercurial spirit to a panoramic scape. Reiner, unlike many other directors traveling in this genre, has the confidence and finesse not to gum it up with gratuitous special effects. Princess Bride is superbly planned and deferentially orchestrated — its theme fits its telling.

As the two lovers, Robin Wright as the comely princess and Cary Elwes as her loving swain are engaging and appealing. Elwes athletic grace and dashing good looks are up to heroic standards.

Among the colorful cast of rogues, villains, queens and clergymen, Andre The Giant stands out as the young suitor’s kind-hearted but stupid brute. Peter Cook and Billy Crystal add zany cameos, while Peter Falk shines as a grandfatherly storyteller.

Big medals and engraved swords to the technical contributors, especially director of photography Adrian Biddie, whose light tones and droll eye add color and panache to Princess‘ appealing look. — Duane Byrge, originally published on Sept. 15, 1987.