Critic Reviews

Princess Bride, The (1987) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Princess Bride, The (1987) a score of 3.1267 out of 4

based on (94) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(29)

Very Good

(58)

Good

(6)

Fair

(1)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

eFilmCritic.com (Scott Weinberg)

Storybook perfection. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Scott Weinberg)

Boxoffice Magazine

As they've been apt to do in recent months ("Platoon" anyone?) MGM has taken a featureless current release and rereleased it with an abundance of features. Hopefully MGM and other studios will soon learn to make these decisions before they release A-list ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

eFilmCritic

The Princess Bride. To me, was that movie that you REALLY want to see, and yet you don't for a host of incredibly stupid reasons. Mine was the title. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at eFilmCritic

The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

Rob Reiner's 1987 fantasy about a fairy tale as told by Peter Falk, who played his uncle to his flu-ridden naphew who keeps interruping him with lots of questions. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

Crazy for Cinema Review

THE PRINCESS BRIDE is Rob Reiner's third directorial effort and it's a gem to behold. Much like his first film THIS IS SPINAL TAP (a classic in its own right), this simple story about the search for true love will touch your heart and tickle your funny ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Crazy for Cinema Review

DVD Clinic ("Professor Steve")

Told as a bedtime story from a grandfather to his grandson, this fairy tale follows the beautiful farm girl Buttercup (Wright) who has agreed to marry the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) thinking that her childhood sweetheart, Westley (Elwes), ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at DVD Clinic ("Professor Steve")

Richard A. Zwelling

With a screenplay written by William Goldman (based on his book), The Princess Bride is a classic, familiar story of a princess, her true love, and the forces that come between them. As is evidenced by those in attendance, this is a story for all ages. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Richard A. Zwelling

Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)

Sheer entertainment of the highest calibre - a great way to fill an hour and a half. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Movie Gazette (Gary Panton)

The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

This witty modern fairy tale by William Goldman (screenwriter of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "All the President's Men") is resoundingly satisfying. The most beautiful woman in the world (Robin Wright) is engaged to the cruel Prince (Chris ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at The Movie Mom (Nell Minow)

Decent Films - faith on film (Steven D. Greydanus)

Rob Reiner's great cult classic The Princess Bride is one of those rare satiric gems, like The Court Jester and Galaxy Quest, that doesn't just send up a genre, but honors it at the same time, giving us the excitement and pleasure of the real thing ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Decent Films - faith on film (Steven D. Greydanus)

Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice

[ Inigo: ] Who are you [ Man in black: ] No one of consequence. [ Inigo: ] I must know. [ Man in black: ] Get used to disappointment.Spinal Tap play dungeons and dragons. When Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner worked together on This Is Spinal ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Who among us has never uttered the line, "My name is Inigo Montoya..."? Standing as one of the most eminently quotable films ever made -- this side of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anyway. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

The lesson it most effectively demonstrates is that cinema has the power to turn you into a kid again. As we wish. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

Orbital Reviews

Evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) kidnaps Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright), who he wants to take as his bride, despite her objections. Meanwhile, Westley (Cary Elwes) is actually in love with her, and her with him, so he begins his quest to ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Orbital Reviews

Worldwide DVD Forums - DVD Review

The Princess Bride. If you've seen the trailer you're probably thinking what genre this is. Is it romance? Fantasy? Drama? Suspense? Comedy? Well, it's all of these things. The film opens with a young boy in his bed (played by a very young Fred Savage) ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Worldwide DVD Forums - DVD Review

DVD Verdict (Erick Harper)

I am forced to admit that The Princess Bride is not perfect, but it occupies a special place in my personal movie pantheon nonetheless. Overall it remains an absolute joy to watch, and like the old Bugs Bunny cartoons or the Toy Story films has different ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at DVD Verdict (Erick Harper)

Apollo Guide (Guy MacPherson)

How many times have you excitedly sat down to watch a show you loved as a child only to stare blankly at the screen? This will be the experience of every future adult in twenty years when they go back and view Barney for old time's sake. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Apollo Guide (Guy MacPherson)

Washington Post (Rita Kempley)

As a good fairy tale should, The Princess Bride teaches but never preaches. It's a lively, fun-loving, but nevertheless epic look at the nature of true love. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Washington Post (Rita Kempley)

Film Threat (Brad Laidman)

An effective comedy, an interesting bedtime tale, and one of the greatest date rentals of all time. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Film Threat (Brad Laidman)

New Times (L.A.) (Luke Y. Thompson)

Though not as visually impressive as comparable Terry Gilliam fare such as Jabberwocky, the verbal wit is fast and abundant (abetted with cameos by Billy Crystal, Peter Cook and Mel Smith), and you'd better believe the midnight movie crowd will remember ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at New Times (L.A.) (Luke Y. Thompson)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

It is filled with good-hearted fun, with performances by actors who seem to be smacking their lips and by a certain true innocence that survives all of Reiner's satire. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

DVD Movie Central

The Princess Bride was a film that brought the fairy tale back to vivid life with a winning mixture of comedy, romance, adventure and fantasy. It was the third film for director Rob Reiner, and though it was a bit slow at finding an audience at first, ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at DVD Movie Central

TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

A hilarious mixture of Errol Flynn swashbuckler and Monty Python send-up, THE PRINCESS BRIDE works as love story, as adventure, and as satire. In the framing story, a sick 10-year-old (Fred Savage) is visited by his grandfather (Peter Falk), who reads ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide

SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

Nowadays Rob Reiner is one of the top mainstream filmmakers in Hollywood with films like When Harry Met Sally (1989), A Few Good Men (1992) and The American President (1996). Reiner is the son of famous comic and sometimes director Carl Reiner. ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

Chris Jarmick

Reiner's filmed version of William Goldman's novel and screenplay of The Princess Bride walks that line between farce and fantasy adventure in the great swashbuckling tradition of films like Captain Blood (Errol Flynn) and The Crimson Pirate(that's the ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Chris Jarmick

Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

Performed by only two individuals (Knopfler and Guy Fletcher), the score won't blow you away. Instead, it steals your heart with two opening cues of sweet and romantic (traditional) guitar performances. The wishy-washy, echoing recording of the ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Filmtracks (Christian Clemmensen)

DVD Talk (Jeff Field)

The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favorite movies. When I found out it would be coming out on DVD, I was quite excited. While I was disappointed, I was happy to find out the disc would be in Widescreen and the soundtrack (to my surprise, since ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at DVD Talk (Jeff Field)

Movie Reviews UK

Using the cliched scene of a bedside story, read by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his sick grandson, which transports us into the tale we begin The Princess Bride. At first there's just too much kissing and romance for the grandson (he'd rather play ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Movie Reviews UK

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

"The Princess Bride" begins as a story that a grandfather is reading out of a book. But already the movie has a spin on it, because the grandfather is played by Peter Falk, and in the ...read the complete Princess Bride movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

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