Search - My Dinner with Andre on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1981 DVD Release: 08/25/1998 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Studio: Fox Lorber Members Wishing: 21 Genres: Comedy Drama See Also: My Dinner with Andre [Criterion Collection]

A extended conversation between two old friends over dinner proves an unexpectedly fascinating subject for a film in the critically acclaimed My Dinner with André. The talkers in question are André Gregory, a renowned experimental theater director, and playwright and actor Wallace Shawn, both of whom play themselves. The film is not a documentary, but a condensation of several real discussions fashioned into a dramatic exchange by Shawn and director Louis Malle. The subtle conflict stems from the differences in the men's characters: Gregory is an inquisitive, uninhibited wanderer, willing to travel to remote lands to take part in unusual foreign rituals, while Shawn is the cynical, realistic New Yorker, more concerned with the challenges and rewards of day-to-day city life. Malle approaches their philosophical yet playful back-and-forth with a straightforward, minimal style that only rarely wanders outside its restaurant setting. The focus therefore falls on Shawn's and Gregory's contrasting verbal styles and facial expressions, highlighting conversational nuances normally lost on film. While the idea of watching any conversation for over 90 minutes, no matter how fascinating, may turn off some viewers, enough audiences have supported the film to make it an art-house classic. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Wallace Shawn - Himself
Andre Gregory - Himself

Whatever one's thoughts may be on Louis Malle's film about an extended dinner conversation between two old friends, no one can deny that its treatment on DVD is subpar. Presented in a full-screen format, the picture looks no different from its transfer on home video. The sound too is decidedly poor, again sounding more like an aged VHS copy than what viewers have come to expect from DVD. Extras are absent, aside from a handful of cast and crew biographies. While some may argue that a film such as My Dinner With Andre is not in need of a lavish, extra-laden DVD of the caliber of, say, Armageddon, the fact remains that the film is a long-beloved treasure of art-house cinema; it deserves a better transfer. ~ Jeremy Brown, All Movie Guide