Last night most of the cast of The Princess Bride held a reunion as part of the NY Film Festival.  The festival, in its 50th year, treated the cast right with a nice red carpet ceremony.   Director, Rob Reiner came out to introduce the film, and gave us some interesting insight on the weeks leading up to the films release.  MGM didn’t know how to properly market the film because there wasn’t anything quite like it before.  They didn’t have a trailer or a one sheet when it was a week away from release.  Rob Reiner was in fear that it would become the next Wizard of Oz. A movie the was popular later after release, but initially tanked at the box office.

After Mr. Reiner’s introduction, the film was presented in a newly restored 35mm transfer in an effort to keep film on film instead of a digital transfer.  As with seeing anything at the Lincoln Center the film looked really good.  Most of the effects still hold up 25 years later.  There are very few things that can be pointed out that might look a tiny bit outdated, and I bet in another 25 years it will probably be the same.

After the film the cast came out to field questions from the moderator, and the attendee’s of the screening.  Pictured above, The reunion was made up of (from left to right) Rob Reiner, Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup), William Goldman (author), Wallace Shawn (Vizzini), Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck), Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya), Carole Kane (Valerie), Cary Elwes (Westley),  Billy Crystal (Miracle Max), and the moderator.

Each of the cast told a few stories that they remembered.  One in particular stand-out was when Wallace Shawn spoke about Andre the Giant.  Wallace is afraid of heights, so they had to make a lot of adjustments to make him feel comfortable while shooting.  In the scene where Robin, Mandy, and Shawn were harnessed to André going up the mountain, André patted him on his head and told Shawn not to worry and that he wouldn’t let anything happen to him.  The cast spoke very fondly of André and how nice he was.

Billy Crystal stole the show last night with his wit and stories.  He told one about going out to eat with the cast in full Miracle Max makeup.  While in makeup, he thought it felt foolish to not be Miracle Max.  He couldn’t be himself.  So when he went out to order food he stayed in character the whole time creating great comedic moments.  Mandy Patinkin said the only injury he sustained on set was bruising a rib from laughing so hard at Billy, who was only there for 3 days.

There was a standard Q&A from the crowd, where as per usual most of the questions weren’t as well thought out as I would have liked.  One person told Robin that she was his first crush, and asked if he could get a hug on stage.  She allowed him to and they took a picture together which I’m sure made his night.  After time was up the crowd gave the cast a well deserved standing ovation to close out the night.

Other photos from the night can be seen Here.