{"id":351140,"date":"2025-12-16T06:23:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/351140\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T06:23:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T06:23:15","slug":"rob-reiners-most-iconic-movies-from-the-princess-bride-to-when-harry-met-sally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/351140\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Reiner’s most iconic movies, from ‘The Princess Bride’ to ‘When Harry Met Sally…’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood is mourning Rob and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner<\/a>, who were found dead in their home<\/a> on Dec. 14.<\/p>\n

Rob Reiner achieved fame in Hollywood as an actor, starring as Michael \u201cMeathead\u201d Stivic on Norman Lear\u2019s groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family from 1971 to 1978. Although Reiner appeared occasionally in TV and film \u2014\u00a0including appearances on the comedy New Girl from 2012 to 2018 \u2014\u00a0he ultimately became known as a prolific director. He made his directorial debut with the rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984, later returning to the faux band in 2025 with Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. This sequel would be his final movie.<\/p>\n

Although Reiner started out in comedy, the director has worked in different genres and tones, bringing Stephen King\u2019s tense thriller, Misery, to the big screen as well as Aaron Sorkin\u2019s legal drama A Few Good Men. But he\u2019s perhaps best known for films that wear their heart on their sleeve, like the romantic adventure The Princess Bride and quintessential rom-com When Harry Met Sally, starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.<\/p>\n

Below are some of Reiner\u2019s most beloved films.<\/p>\n

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)\"Christopher<\/p>\n

Christopher Guest in “This is Spinal Tap” – 1984. (Embassy Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

This Is Spinal Tap follows a heavy metal rock group \u2014\u00a0made up of members played by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer \u2014 as they tour the United States. Reiner played Marty DiBergi, the director making the documentary.<\/p>\n

In July, Reiner spoke to Page Six<\/a> about the struggle to make his first film. \u201cWe went around with this 20-minute demo reel that we had and nobody wanted it,\u201d he recalled. \u201cEverybody passed on it. Nobody understood it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, funding for the film came from All in the Family creator Lear, who Reiner said \u201ctook a big leap of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was my champion my whole career,\u201d Reiner said.<\/p>\n

Stand by Me (1986)\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell in “Stand By Me.” (Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy: Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Stand By Me marked a shifting of gears for director Reiner, who followed up This Is Spinal Tap with the 1985 romantic comedy The Sure Thing. Reiner adapted Stephen King\u2019s 1982 novella The Body, a coming-of-age drama about a group of 12-year-old boys who search for the body of a missing boy. It starred River Phoenix as well as Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

Reiner told\u00a0 Variety<\/a> in 2016 that the film was \u201cthe first time that I did anything that was closely connected to my own personality. It had some melancholy in it and also had some humor in it. It was more reflective, and I thought, if people don\u2019t like this, they\u2019re not going to like what I like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with Piers Morgan<\/a> in September, Reiner said of Stand By Me, \u201cPeople have their favorites, the clich\u00e9 [is], we love all our children, even the bad ones. \u2026 I always say, Stand By Me, to me, is the one that meant the most to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Princess Bride (1987)\"Cary<\/p>\n

Cary Elwes and Robin Wright Penn in “The Princess Bride.” (20th Century Fox\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

The Princess Bride, an adaptation of William Goldman\u2019s novel of the same name, tells the love story of farmhand-turned-pirate Westley (Cary Elwes) and Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright). Along the way, the two encounter characters such as the vengeful Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) and the giant Fezzik (Andr\u00e9 the Giant). The film is framed by a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a story to his sick grandson (Fred Savage).<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, it’s an oddball movie, when you think about it. It’s got romance, it’s got swashbuckling, it’s got satire,” Reiner said at the \u201cDirectors on Directing\u201d panel with Paul Feig at San Diego Comic-Con in 2025, according to Gold Derby<\/a>. \u201cThe same movie that has these great sword fights has a guy saying, \u2018Never get involved in a land war in Asia.\u2019 It’s a very weird, odd mix of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Harry Met Sally\u2026 (1989)\"Billy<\/p>\n

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally.” (Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Can men and women really be friends? It\u2019s the question posed in When Harry Met Sally, which starred Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as two opposite-minded people who form an unlikely friendship that grows into something more \u2014 if only they could get out of their own way. Toward the end of the film, Harry makes a grand romantic gesture on New Year\u2019s Eve, winning Sally\u2019s heart. The movie closes with the reveal that the two are happily married.<\/p>\n

Nora Ephron wrote the script, which originally concluded with Crystal and Ryan\u2019s characters parting ways after an awkward one-night stand. At the time, Reiner had been divorced from fellow director Penny Marshall for 10 years, which he said inspired that less-than-romantic ending.<\/p>\n

“Because I had been married for 10 years, I\u2019d been single for 10 years and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody,\u201d he told CNN\u2019s Chris Wallace in 2024<\/a>, \u201cand that gave birth to When Harry Met Sally.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Harry and Sally\u2019s happy ending came after Reiner met his wife, Michele, who had visited the set at the time of filming<\/a>. \u201cI met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending,\u201d Reiner said.<\/p>\n

Misery (1990)\"Kathy<\/p>\n

Kathy Bates and James Caan in “Misery.” (Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Reiner followed up When Harry Met Sally with dark story of love and obsession. Misery, an adaptation of King\u2019s 1987 novel, centers on writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who gets injured in a car accident and is cared for by his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). Except Annie\u2019s not exactly the good nurse she appears to be, and it soon becomes clear that she has no interest in letting Paul ever leave her home.<\/p>\n

Bates, a stage actress at the time and relatively unknown to film audiences when she was cast, won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1991.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe read one line,\u201d Reiner told Yahoo<\/a> in 2018 of the process of casting Bates. \u201cShe had a whole scene prepared, and after the first line, I said, \u2018You don\u2019t have to read, I know you\u2019re great. You have the part.’\u201d<\/p>\n

A Few Good Men (1992)\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Kevin Pollak, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore in “A Few Good Men.” (Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Reiner teamed up with then-playwright Aaron Sorkin for A Few Good Men, a legal drama about the death of a soldier at a naval base. The film starred Tom Cruise, Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Bacon. It also created one of the most iconic film speeches of all time, when Col. Nathan Jessup (Nicholson) testifies and screams: \u201cYou can\u2019t handle the truth!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The film examined ideas of honor, loyalty and obedience within the U.S. military.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do you draw the line between being loyal and following orders, and acting on your own when something is immoral or illegal,\u201d Reiner told the New York Times<\/a> in 1992 of the film. \u201cIt’s the same moral dilemma the Nazis dealt with at Nuremberg, or Calley at My Lai. And it doesn’t just apply to the military. We all live in corporate or business cultures. We’re all subordinate to somebody else. We all have to make decisions about what’s right and what’s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reiner worked with Sorkin again in the 1995 film The American President.<\/p>\n

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)\"Alec<\/p>\n

Alec Baldwin in “Ghosts of Mississippi.” (Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Reiner returned to courtroom drama with Ghosts of Mississippi, about the 1994 trial of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith (played by James Woods), who was accused of the 1963 murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Whoopi Goldberg portrayed Myrlie Evers, Evers\u2019s widow, who sought justice for her husband\u2019s assassination, and Alec Baldwin, played attorney Bobby DeLaughter, who takes on Evers\u2019s case. Woods received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role.<\/p>\n

The Bucket List (2007)\"Jack<\/p>\n

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in “The Bucket List.” (Warner Bros.\/Courtesy Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

After the 2005 romantic comedy Rumor Has It, Reiner reteamed with A Few Good Men\u2019s Nicholson for buddy comedy The Bucket List. The film starred Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as terminally ill friends who decide to make a list of everything they want to do before they \u201ckick the bucket.\u201d The film did much to popularize the phrase \u201cbucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with the New York Times<\/a>, Reiner said that he wanted to direct Justin Zackham\u2019s script within the first 10 pages of reading it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to think of myself as a very young old person,\u201d said Reiner, who was then 62. \u201cBut you start thinking, \u2018How many years am I going to have to be productive?\u2019 Especially in our business, youth is so stressed. You start thinking, \u2018How many more movies am I going to get to make?\u2019 Maybe, if I\u2019m lucky, I\u2019ll make five more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reiner directed eight more films after The Bucket List.<\/p>\n

LBJ (2016)\"Jennifer<\/p>\n

Jennifer Jason Leigh, Woody Harrelson and Kim Allen in “LBJ.” (Electric Entertainment\/Everett Collection)<\/p>\n

Reiner\u2019s political drama followed Woody Harrelson as Lyndon Johnson, focusing on his work following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The film was written by Your Honor showrunner Joey Hartstone, whose script made the 2014 Blacklist, an annual roster of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

In a 2016 interview with the Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, Reiner said that the film \u201cset about trying to make him human and show all sides of him,\u201d praising Harrelson for his \u201coff the charts\u201d performance.<\/p>\n

Reiner teamed up with screenwriter Hartstone again in 2017 for the film Shock and Awe, about a group of journalists searching for answers about the 2003 invasion of Iraq.<\/p>\n

Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023)\"Albert<\/p>\n

Albert Brooks and Rob Reiner in “Albert Brooks : Defending My Life.” (HBO)<\/p>\n

Reiner paid tribute to his best friend, comedian and screenwriter Albert Brooks, with this HBO Max documentary. The film, which is framed by an on-screen conversation with Reiner and Brooks, chronicles Brooks\u2019s life, and features commentary from fellow comedians and entertainers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do this for years. When the film My Dinner With Andre came out, I said, \u2018Albert, come on, we\u2019ll go to a deli and it\u2019ll be My Lunch With Albert.\u2019 He never wanted to do it,\u201d Reiner told the Hollywood Reporter<\/a> in 2023. \u201cTime went by, and finally we both thought it could be more than the two of us talking. It would also go into his career, because to me, Albert is a genius. So many young people don\u2019t know him, and I wanted everybody to be able to see what I\u2019ve seen for 60 years now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollywood is mourning Rob and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, who were found dead in their home on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,193207,134,193206,1973,97470,193144,193209,193210,192369,193208,95990,3948],"class_list":{"0":"post-351140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-christopher-guest","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-harry-shearer","14":"tag-hollywood","15":"tag-kathy-bates","16":"tag-michele-singer-reiner","17":"tag-myrlie-evers","18":"tag-norman-lear","19":"tag-rob-reiner","20":"tag-the-princess-bride","21":"tag-this-is-spinal-tap","22":"tag-when-harry-met-sally"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}