The Princess Bride (film)

The Princess Bride
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed byRob Reiner
Screenplay byWilliam Goldman
Based onThe Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version
by William Goldman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAdrian Biddle
Edited byRobert Leighton
Music byMark Knopfler
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • September 25, 1987 (1987-09-25)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16 million
Box office$30.9 million

The Princess Bride is a 1987 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Robin Wright. Adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film preserves the novel's metafictional narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson.

The film was first released in the United States on September 25, 1987, and received widespread critical acclaim. After only having modest initial box office success, it has over time become a cult film and gained recognition as one of the best films of the 1980s as well as one of Reiner's best works. The film is number 50 on the Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies", number 88 on The American Film Institute's (AFI) "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions" list of the 100 greatest film love stories, and 46 in Channel 4's 50 Greatest Comedy Films list. The film also won the 1988 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

In 2016, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".