My Dinner with Andre

Starring:Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler (II)
Director: Louis Malle
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
The sheer audacity of My Dinner with Andre drew throngs of curious filmgoers who made the film the most talked-about art-house hit of 1981. After all, who'd ever heard of a movie consisting of nearly two hours of nonstop dinner conversation? Ah... but this isn't just any conversation--it's the kind of mesmerizing, soul-searching, life-affirming exploration that we feel privileged to listen to, and with unobtrusive style, director Louis Malle invites us to eavesdrop to our hearts' and minds' content. The film was written by two New Yorkers at the dinner table, noted playwright-actor Wallace Shawn and well-known stage director Andre Gregory, who essentially play themselves. They taped their conversations for several weeks and Shawn gradually shaped them into a scripted conversation, but you'd never know it from watching the movie. The talk flows and flows until you're captivated by Gregory's stories of world travel and spiritual quests in Poland, India, Tibet, the Sahara desert... the tales of a soul-searcher who'd dropped out of the theater world to rediscover his zest for living. Shawn plays the skeptic, the voice of reason, his feet on the ground but his own mind willing to soar. The cumulative effect of this conversation is almost hypnotic, and certainly plays into our eternal appetite for storytelling. Both primal and sophisticated, witty and profound, My Dinner with Andre is a film that can be savored over time, offering new revelations with each viewing as the listener-viewer develops his or her own appreciation of life's great mysteries. --Jeff Shannon

Average customer rating:

I'm still waiting for my 'Andre' action figures to come out...great film.....

Unique movie, thoughtful and penetrating.

After all I'd heard, this is it?

Bad DVD quality

Take it for what it's worth. Not for the juvenile

My Dinner with Andre
Starring: Wallace Shawn , Andre Gregory , Jean Lenauer , and Roy Butler (II)
Director: Louis Malle
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Friends | By Theme | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video
Gregory, Andre | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Shawn, Wallace | ( S ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Malle, Louis | ( M ) | Directors | Stores | DVD | Video
Louis Malle | By Director | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305069743
Release Date: 1998-08-25

Amazon.com

The sheer audacity of My Dinner with Andre drew throngs of curious filmgoers who made the film the most talked-about art-house hit of 1981. After all, who'd ever heard of a movie consisting of nearly two hours of nonstop dinner conversation? Ah... but this isn't just any conversation--it's the kind of mesmerizing, soul-searching, life-affirming exploration that we feel privileged to listen to, and with unobtrusive style, director Louis Malle invites us to eavesdrop to our hearts' and minds' content. The film was written by two New Yorkers at the dinner table, noted playwright-actor Wallace Shawn and well-known stage director Andre Gregory, who essentially play themselves. They taped their conversations for several weeks and Shawn gradually shaped them into a scripted conversation, but you'd never know it from watching the movie. The talk flows and flows until you're captivated by Gregory's stories of world travel and spiritual quests in Poland, India, Tibet, the Sahara desert... the tales of a soul-searcher who'd dropped out of the theater world to rediscover his zest for living. Shawn plays the skeptic, the voice of reason, his feet on the ground but his own mind willing to soar. The cumulative effect of this conversation is almost hypnotic, and certainly plays into our eternal appetite for storytelling. Both primal and sophisticated, witty and profound, My Dinner with Andre is a film that can be savored over time, offering new revelations with each viewing as the listener-viewer develops his or her own appreciation of life's great mysteries. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

I'm still waiting for my 'Andre' action figures to come out...great film............2007-06-19

Pardon the shameless reference to the epilogue of WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, where Corky St. Clair (Christopher Guest) produces two plastic reproductions of the rotund, balding Wallace Shawn and the tall, intellectual Andre Gregory, as part of his collection of film memorabilia. Was this ironic, considering that MY DINNER WITH ANDRE is two hours centered around these two men having an engrossing conversation about life, existentialism and the numerous global treks that Andre Gregory had the privilege to take? Yes, it was, a bit, but you really have to see this film to understand just what subtle (and effective) tribute mockumentarian Christopher Guest was paying to a film rich with intelligence, broad wit and humor and engaging writing. The title says it all. Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory sit together and have a meal, candidly discussing the state of their lives. We feel like as though we're at the table with them, too. The film is intimate and inclusive of the audience, all the while allowing the characters to shape the story through their exchanges. Ultimately, this dinner is a very profound experience. It makes me think of the times I have really had a chance to sit down with an old friend, rehash old times through the exchange of memories, and then trade our perspectives through lively discussion. The number of people I feel I can do this I am able to count on one hand, and, no doubt, the characters we are seeing feel the same way toward each other--without flash, computer-generated graphics, violence, gratuitous sex or voyeurism. Never has the addage "less is more" been so truly (and beautifully) conveyed in a film. Don't miss out on this one.

Unique movie, thoughtful and penetrating........2007-05-18

This is a truly unique film which works so well because of it's honesty and simplicity. It consists entirely of a discussion between a struggling playwright and a successful theatre producer (Andre) over dinner. It sounds as though it would necessarily be boring and pretentious. The quiet intensity of their conversation however keeps the viewer riveted throughout. Roger Ebert I think called it the one movie entirely free of cliches. While the movie is free of posturing it is largely about how we all posture and become "actors" in our lives to an extent that we can fail to see reality as it is. A brilliant movie.

After all I'd heard, this is it? .......2007-04-03

After 20 minutes I found myself waiting for something to happen. After 45 minutes I thought "They have to start the meaningful part soon". After 1:15 I found myself thinking "I just wasted 1:15".

D'habitude, j'aime les film francaise. I have an MA in Philosophy and I detest car chases and gratuitous violence and the various Hollywood formulae. I'm not complaining about the lack of explosions and blond bimbos:

This film was just plain shallow drivel.

No action, and no meaningful dialogue, and dull characters who seem to think they're interesting. I'm utterly befuddled that anyone could have liked this film.

Frankly, I think they should snip it into little pieces, and splice those pieces together with the pieces of "Viva Knievel". It'd improve both films.

Bad DVD quality.......2007-02-09

Showtime has been airing a good looking letter boxed print of this film. I recommend watching that instead of buying the poor quality full frame DVD.

Take it for what it's worth. Not for the juvenile.......2007-02-06

Most people I know who criticize this movie do so based on its unique concept, or their mere dislike for the main characters- that they ain't exactly George Clooney or Tom Hanks. Almost w/o exception they also haven't seen this movie, at least no more than 15-30 minutes. Well, this isn't my favorite movie by any stretch, nor does it demand much from it's main characters. But once you get past all the aforementioned criteria, this movie can be captivating. Initially, Wallace Shawn comes across as somewhat pretentious and one of those who feels compelled to dominate a conversation with seemingly arcane subjects to the point of annoyance. But his detailed dialogue is essential to the soul searching exchanges between he and Gregory that, the more the conversaion unfolds, the more we see the reason for the over indulgence of some segments of the conversation. This movie takes some patience, some openness to something completely different from any other movie experience. But in the end you find yourself asking yourself some questions, perhaps even about yourself. Not that this is the main purpose of the movie. But it certainly is one of them, and it does it effectively enough that for a person who avoided this move forever, I finally watched it and took it for what it's worth. You may not like the characters or the concept, or even their stories they have to tell, but assuming you're not somewhat of a philistine, you can find yourself engrossed in the content of the dialogue.

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