Search - Diner on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Profanity Movie Release: 1982 DVD Release: 04/04/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Total Copies: 18 Genres: Comedy Drama, Reunion Films, Coming-of-Age, Ensemble Film See Also: Diner

Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college of Billy (Tim Daly) to serve as best man at the wedding of his pal Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). Billy is consumed by a confusing relationship with a close female friend, while Eddie still lives at home, preparing a football trivia test for his fiancée and vowing to cancel the wedding if she fails. Other characters woven into the narrative include Boogie (Mickey Rourke), a womanizer with a gambling problem, and Shrevie (Daniel Stern), a music addict with a troubled marriage. Diner became known for its bittersweet comic screenplay and its remarkable cast, which also included Paul Reiser, Kevin Bacon, and Ellen Barkin. In order to capture the loose, laid-back dialogue of the diner scenes, Levinson directed them last, so that the actors would be more comfortable with each other. Diner was the first part of Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy," followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide

Tim Daly - William 'Billy' Howard
Steve Guttenberg - Edward 'Eddie' Simmons
Daniel Stern - Laurence "Shrevie" Schreiber
Mickey Rourke - Robert "Boogie" Sheftell
Kevin Bacon - Timothy Fenwick, Jr.
Ellen Barkin - Beth
Paul Reiser - Modell

Barry Levinson's directorial debut (and his first semi-autobiographical "Baltimore" film), Diner was a critically acclaimed minor hit when it was first released. This Warner DVD release of Diner has a crisp widescreen transfer and Digital Dolby 2.0 soundtrack that conforms with the original theatrical mono mix. There are a few nice extras, but it's the movie itself that makes this DVD worthwhile. The real meaningful bonus here is a new "making of" documentary that features interviews with Levinson and most of the movie's cast. It's zippy and entertaining, but doesn't quite offer the kind of insight that a good audio commentary would. The documentary reveals that nuance was so important to Levinson that he had the male cast members share a tiny trailer instead of a motel during the shoot. He hoped that the relationships established while hanging out would work their way into their scenes together. The documentary also allows the cast to correct Diner's only major flaw; Levinson has the music nut played by Daniel Stern win an argument that Johnny Mathis is a better singer than Frank Sinatra. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide