The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Dinner at Eight
Comedy · Drama · 1933
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
Movie details
Dinner at Eight
“HERE IS THE SCREEN'S CLIMAX OF GLAMOR AND THRILL THAT RAN OVER A YEAR ON BROADWAY! THE STAGE SMASH NOW A SENSATIONAL FILM TRIUMPH!”
1933 Comedy · Drama 1h 51m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dinner at Eight?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Standing Up, Falling Down
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The Boys in the Band
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Landline
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
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Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Cukor
Written by
John Meehan · Frances Marion · Herman J. Mankiewicz
Marie Dressler
Carlotta Vance
John Barrymore
Larry Renault
Wallace Beery
Dan Packard
Jean Harlow
Kitty Packard
Lionel Barrymore
Oliver Jordan
Lee Tracy
Max Kane
Edmund Lowe
Dr. Wayne Talbot
Court is in session
Put Dinner at Eight on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.