The magnificent Criterion Collection has just announced their October 2018 titles, which include Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s long-unavailable television series Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day, a working-class soap opera suffused with affection and solidarity, Warren Beatty in Shampoo– a sly sendup of sex and politics in the 1960s directed by Hal Ashby, Brian De Palma’s Sisters, the virtuoso director’s twisted and terrifying first foray into Hitchcock territory, and Cornel Wilde’s stripped-down action film The Naked Prey. But more importantly, the iconic film ‘The Princess Bride‘ is finally getting the high-end home video treatment from Criterion.
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 EDITION 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