My Dinner with André

Louis Malle

United States

1981

110 minutes

Color

1.66:1

English

479

Synopsis

In Louis Malle’s captivating and philosophical My Dinner with André, actor and playwright Wallace Shawn sits down with friend and theater director André Gregory at an Upper West Side restaurant, and the two proceed into an alternately whimsical and despairing confessional on love, death, money, and all the superstition in between. Playing variations on their own New York–honed personas, Shawn and Gregory, who also wrote the screenplay, dive in with introspective, intellectual gusto, and Malle captures it all with a delicate, artful detachment. A fascinating freeze-frame of cosmopolitan culture, My Dinner with André remains a unique work in cinema history.

Cast

Andre Gregory
Wallace Shawn
Jean Lenauer
Roy Butler

Credits

DirectorLouis Malle
ScreenplayAndre Gregory and Wallace Shawn
ProducerGeorge W. George and Beverly Karp
MusicAllen Shawn
CinematographyJeri Sopanen

Disc Features

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET:

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • New video interviews with actors André Gregory and Wallace Shawn by filmmaker and friend Noah Baumbach
  • “My Dinner with Louis,” an episode from the BBC program Arena, in which Shawn interviews director Louis Malle
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin and the prefaces written by Gregory and Shawn for the published screenplay

From the Current

A Tribute to Dan and Toby Talbot

Oct 1, 2009

Tonight the New York Film Festival will honor Dan and Toby Talbot and their the legendary, erstwhile New Yorker Theater in a special event marking the publication of Toby Talbot’s http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-14566-4/the-new-yorker-theater-and-other-scenes-from-a-life-at . . .

André’s Inspiration

Jul 10, 2009

In the epic table talk à clef that is My Dinner with André, André, a theater director (played by theater director André Gregory), tells his old friend Wally (played by playwright and actor Wallace Shawn) about a long journey he took in search of enlightenment. A key figure for André in . . .

PRESS NOTES: TALKING IT UP

Jul 3, 2009

“If you want a break from all the summer bombast, My Dinner with André is out . . . in a fabulous new two-disc package,” suggests NPR’s Glenn McDonald in a review of the new Criterion special . . .

WHEN NOAH MET WALLY

Jul 1, 2009

My Dinner with André:
Long, Strange Trips

by Amy Taubin Jun 26, 2009

Seemingly nonchalant, impeccably crafted, borderline delirious, My Dinner with André is the result of an inspired collaboration among its actor . . .

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My Dinner with Andre Criterion, June 23rd? Hip, Hip, Hooray!

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A movie to watch all by yourself

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My Dinner with Andre

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Available Editions

My Dinner with André Criterion DVD Add to Cart

DVD

2 Discs

SRP: $39.95

Criterion Store price

$31.96