Films of Ideas: My Dinner with Andre w/Lee Hall

Past Present Future

D&HR Media Ltd

Politics, News, Philosophy, Society & Culture, History

4.7 • 747 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The second episode in our live series from the Regent Street Cinema explores Louis Malle’s My Dinner with Andre (1981), in which two men discuss the meaning of theatre, capitalism, love, science, faith and freedom over a meal. David talks to playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall (Billy Elliot, Rocketman) about how a great film can be made out of a single conversation. Who was the real Andre? How scripted was the dialogue? Who won the argument? And why has this film had such an extraordinary afterlife? Out tomorrow on PPF+: a bonus episode to accompany this series in which David and film historian Harrison Whitaker discuss the greatest Christmas film of ideas: Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, which is much more than just a seasonal tearjerker. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening sign up to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus If you are looking for last minute Christmas presents we have 6- and 12-month gift subscriptions to PPF+ giving access to all our bonus episodes, ad-free listening and automatic sign-up to our fortnightly newsletter – which can be delivered to the recipient of your choice on Christmas Day! ⁠https://ppf.supportingcast.fm/gifts⁠ Next time: Rosa Luxemburg w/Lea Ypi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Think about cheese.
0:02.0	Make your thoughts cheesier.
0:04.2	Now add 100% chicken breast fillet,
0:06.3	Chipotle sauce and Amadea cheese melt.
0:08.3	And it's giving the new cheesy chicken stack at McDonald's.
0:12.3	Did we mention it's cheesy?
0:13.9	Cheese!
0:15.8	Availments at the 4th of Jan, 2026 from 11am.
0:18.1	Plus and participation may vary.
0:19.2	Subjects availability. Hello, my name's
0:30.6	past, present, future,
0:33.8	the History of Ideas podcast.
0:35.8	Today, it's the second film coming out of our autumn film season
0:39.8	at the Regent Street Cinema in London. We called the season Films of Ideas. And today the film
0:46.1	that I'm discussing with our special guest is the unique in many ways inimitable, quite hard to
0:53.5	describe my dinner with Andre. And I'm going to be
0:57.0	talking about it with the playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall. We are going to be trying to
1:04.1	decide what on earth this extraordinary film is really about.
1:19.2	As we said last time, we're very aware with these episodes that the conversation you're about to hear took place in front of an audience in a cinema where we had all just watched
1:24.3	the film. And I'm pretty confident that many of the people listening to
1:28.5	this podcast not only have never seen My Dinner with Andre, but don't really know what it's about.
1:33.8	If you have seen it, my guess is you do remember at least something of what it's about because
	...

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