My Dinner With Andre - DVD SE Required (1 Viewer)

Greetings,

Short time listener, first time poster...

Just finished watching My Dinner with Andre (VHS) for the first time. Jumped onto Amazon to see if it existed in DVD format but was disappointed to see it was only as a bare bones / full screen version.

While watching this film I kept thinking how great a 5.1 sound with clinking glasses and muted other conversations in the background would sound. Also, a commentary with the two actors on what they are speaking of would be fascinating. Of course, those bored by the film (it seemed to have divided the audience quite a bit) would scoff at a commentary. "More dialog! Ick!"

shaun

IMDB says it's 4:3 OAR so the dreaded Fox Lorber disk is actually correct. I doubt you will see a better one coming out any time soon.

While we're on the subject of Louis Malle films, who wants Vanya on 42nd Street?

The DVD release of this film is absolutely horrible. It is the worst looking video quality I've seen on DVD. The main feature isn't even time-coded, so you can't know just playing it how much time has elapsed and how much is remaining. I don't care about 5.1 at all (not sure if you're serious about that), but the audio/video should be a heck of a lot better and I wish a major studio would do something nice with this. Criterion could do a nice disc and this is one rare instance where I actually want them to take on a title.

First of all, it was shot on 16MM, so it can only look so good. The Fox Lorber disc is weak, but it is doubtful that the transfer could get much better.

It is the worst looking video quality I've seen on DVD

You're kidding, right?

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Click to expand...

No, I'm not kidding. Memory serving, I remember it looking pretty terrible. Sure, it's not going to be able to look like The Royal Tenenbaums, but the movie looked about twice as old, had every cigarette burn on it for the reel changes, jittered with every single cut, and was filled with dirt, dust, etc. I rented it from Netflix a while ago and I remember loving the movie and hating the DVD. "Weak" is being kind to the DVD.

It's a bad DVD, but because of the setting and extended takes, I don't notice it as much as some other F/L discs, like Erich Rohmer's Summer.
Thankfully, F/L's latest incarnation, Wellspring, seems to have taken a big step up in quality.
But yes, I would be interested in an SE, love Wallace Shawn, so a commentary from him would be a must buy.

Isn't Vanya coming in a few months? I remember seeing that on dvdfile.com last week.

Yes, I just saw a "Vanya" announcement on DVDAngle:
http://www.dvdangle.com/editorial/index.html#072402-1
Awesome!

Count me in as saying that the Fox Lorber DVD release of My Dinner with Andre, notwithstanding the way it was filmed, looks pretty terrible. Perhaps not the worst transfer I've ever seen - but pretty bad.

I am happy to own it though. I watch this movie every couple of months. Every time I see it, it totally entrances me. This film deserves the red carpet treatment.

Didn't Siskel & Ebert do an in-depth interview with A.Gregory and W.Shawn right after the film was released? What a great extra that would make. Perhaps schematics of the restaurant set, discussions about the subtle camera movements made at key moments in the conversation.

Ebert was correct IMO when he said that My Dinner with Andre is a film virtually devoid of cliche. A treasure.

Joseph

Terrific news about Vanya... One of my all-time favorite movies.
Andre's not a must-own for me, but I'm sorry to hear the movie's gotten such mundane treatment on disc. As for a commentary, that'd be excellent--and a little funny, hearing the two guys talking about the two guys talking...

This is one of my all-time favorite films (maybe second, behind The Godfather). I haven't seen the current release, but I have been awaiting a new release based on all the negatives I've heard about the first.

Regarding a commentary, I'm not convinced that could work. Would be interesting, though.

Jon

I know where you can get some MY DINNER WITH ANDRE action figures CHEAP! If you're interested, this guy Corky St. Clair also has some REMAINS OF THE DAY lunchboxes and Brat Pack Bigheads.