Most people born in the 1980s and after have seen The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner’s 1987 picture about a princess and her stable boy who embark on an epic journey. The film has won many admirers over the years and is widely regarded as one of the finest love stories of all time. Even the film’s original cast members recognise the film’s seminal status and the influence the film’s fairy tale plot has had on contemporary society and cinema. Among Mandy Patinkin’s many memorable roles is that of Inigo Montoya, Wesley’s swashbuckling companion in the quest to avenge his father’s death at the hands of the Six-Fingered Man (Cary Elwes).
Many people can relate to Inigo’s desire for revenge after the death of his father, and his famous phrase, “hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die,” has become one of the most famous lines from the 1980s thanks to Reiner’s streak of hits. In honour of this month’s milestone, which marks 35 years since the release of the picture, Patinkin has shared several videos on Twitter in which he reminisces about his time on the set of the 1987 blockbuster. He expresses his enthusiasm for the picture by telling anecdotes from his time on site and providing insider information on the making of one of the most memorable movies of the last decade.
He cried when recalling the moment when director Rob Reiner called “cut and print” on the scene where Inigo says, “you seem a kind person, I hate to murder you,” and Wesley replies, “you seem a decent fellow, I hate to die.” In his own words, “I’m such a f**kin’ crybaby,” he said, “but it was so great to work on it with everyone, so when you’d hear him say ‘cut, print,’ my heart would plummet because it would imply that’s it. Cancel that.”
Patinkin went on to say that he preserved several of the Inigo swords, a design that has since been copied and sold at innumerable renaissance festivals and specialised stores, and that he gave two to his kids, Isaac and Gideon. According to Patinkin, even just the hilts alone were incredibly heavy, so having a lighter blade reduced the risk of developing muscle issues from holding and fighting with the swords for hours on end, every day during filming. He also gushed over André the Giant, the wrestler-turned-movie star who played the endearing Fezzik, Inigo’s companion in crime, as many other cast members have. In a moving tribute to his late co-star, Manolo Patinkin called Inigo, who passed away in 1993, “beyond a gentle giant” and the “soul of the movie.”
He told a few tales about André, including one about the day they shot the famous opening sequence, “Cliffs of Insanity”: One of the most memorable times was when we were making our way up the Cliffs of Insanity. Back at the studio, they’d already constructed the mountain, complete with a rubber… split in two along its length, with an unseen forklift on the other side and a metal shaft slicing through the middle. Because André’s back was giving him trouble, he had the three of us sit on bicycle seats so that none of us would put too much pressure on it.
And Wally had a double there that morning since Wally was afraid of heights. But once we’re on the forklift, it begins to rise, and Wally’s obvious discomfort with the height and the feeling of being lifted off the ground becomes apparent. And André just carries him like a baby in his arms and reassures Wally, “Don’t worry. I promise to look after you. And that’s something I’ll never forget.” Disney+ now has the classic film The Princess Bride available to view.