Favorite Movies About Food?
Hi'ya Hounds..
A few weeks back I rented the delightful Japanese comedy classic "Tampopo," which, for those of you who haven't seen it, centers on a young widow named Tampopo who is struggling to make ends meet by running a noodle restaurant. One day a passing truck driver (Goro) saves Tampopo's young son from being beaten by a group of school girls and is rewarded with a bowl of very bad ramen. Goro tells Tampopo the awful truth about her cooking and she asks for his help. Together they search for the perfect ramen recipe. Comedy ensues. And very charming comedy it is, too!
Anyway, by the end of the film, I had a hankering for ramen the likes of which I've never had! I absolutely HAD to have it! Fortunately, I live in Los Angeles, and there are quite a few great ramen shops to satiate such a craving.. so off to Asahi I went. Ah, hit the spot all right.
But it got me to thinking about movies that center on food.. or the preparation or celebration of food.. And I came up with a small handful that I've seen that I think are lovely films.. films that beautifully or artfully capture the magic of cooking, eating, and celebrating. Films that make you hungry!
So here's my short list of faves:
(in no particular order)
1) Tampopo
2) Big Night
3) Like Water for Chocolate
Hit reply and share your faves!
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re: HillJ
Eden,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765444/
as a chef, and a human, i literally cried twice during this, while on a plane from bangkok to seattle. once as achef, once as a human ;-) this movie is amazing. peace
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re: RetiredChef
This past weekend I discovered I had the videotape of this movie in my basement, still in the shrink wrap. I watched it Sunday afternoon and while it was funny, and it did take place in a terminally trendy restaurant, there was really nothing having to do with food in the whole thing. There was scene with the waitresses eating early on, and a couple of gratuitous mentions of things like "Cleavage Caviar". The "Linguini Incident" of the title is only mentioned once and never really explained.
On the other hand, one of the restaurant owners was also in "My Dinner With Andre".
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re: rozz01
Passadumkeg
Jul 16, 2009 07:53 PM
Just finished watching The Tin Drum (1979). I hdn't realized what a Chowhound the supposed father was. Eel stew, yum.
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bermudagourmetgoddess
Jun 23, 2009 09:53 AM
Ratatouille - just soemthing about a rat that cooks....
Waiting to Exhale ( I loved the family dinner and how no matter how mad they were at each other the food still brought them together!)
Last Holiday - how even butter is good in moderation!
Big Night - just love Tony Shalhoub
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - The passion for the food and Ouzo is amazing
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monalisawoman
Jun 23, 2009 05:19 AM
Would like to add "Kung Fu Panda" to the list, because it makes me crave dumplings EVERY time I see it.
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Passadumkeg
Jun 22, 2009 04:52 PM
Just saw on the plane New in Town w/ Rene Zellwiger. Lousy film but tapioca and meat loaf play major roles.
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Passadumkeg
Jun 14, 2009 03:47 AM
We just watched The King of California. No direct food porn shot but a major commentary on fast food and chain restaurants. Michael Douglas looking at Applebee's: "Know why these places are so popular? Because people are afraid to try something new" The scenes in Mickey Dee's are priceless. A real social comment on modern American (Californian?) suburban life. Costco plays a major role. A fun film.
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OCAnn
May 31, 2009 03:15 PM
Here's a new one, recently released: The Ramen Girl (w/Brittany Murphy).
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re: OCAnn
Pata_Negra
Jun 1, 2009 03:18 AM
having seen Flavour of Happiness twice [on the plane] i couldn't stomach Ramen Girl omg... :( especially the actress [saw RG when i got home].
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re: Pata_Negra
Wahooty
Nov 8, 2009 02:22 PM
You clearly weren't watching it in the right frame of mind. This definitely falls into the so-bad-it's-AWESOME category. Or would, if it didn't stop being so damned funny towards the end and play it straight for the sincerity. And it was sorely lacking a cheesily romantic karaoke scene - I can't BELIEVE they passed up that opportunity. Sometimes, you just need something mindlessly, laughably bad, and Ramen Girl is almost PERFECT for it.
Almost.
Perfection requires karaoke.
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mcsheridan
May 31, 2009 07:00 AM
Like Water for Chocolate, of course.
Defending Your Life. The recently deceased discover they're 'on trial' for their most recent life, but while they're in Judgement City they can eat all they want without heartburn, other intestinal upset, or gaining weight.Scenes of cheese omelet and sausage, pounds of pasta, platters of shrimp, ice cream cones, whole roast chicken, sushi.
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HillJ
Sep 22, 2008 08:30 AM
http://www.blockbuster.com/browse/cat...
Just rented My Blueberry Nights. Quirky independent film with an interesting cast. Waitress on a journey. Love blueberry pie!
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re: jessicheese
maria lorraine
May 29, 2009 03:57 PM
I like that scene, too -- it's sweetly gratifying -- but it's done with more humor and strategy in "Mostly Martha." That scene and the "blindfold" one are the two best scenes in MM. "No Reservations" -- at least IMO -- was clearly the inferior of the two versions of that story. Though I do love that Patricia Clarkson.
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An update in 2008:
The Korean movie "Le Grand Chef" is a comedy about dueling chefs.
http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/CRSe... -
Not really a movie about food but does anyone remember an old spaghetti western comedy about a super fast gunfighter. Early on in the movie there is a scene where his family sits down for dinner and after grace they plow into their food at lightnening speed... grabbing and competing for all the food on the table. I'm guessing (its about a 35 year old memory) that the entire meal lasted less than a minute. The implication was that he was such a fast draw because of his family's table manners. I might just want to rent it if I could remember the title of the film. I thought it was pretty funny as a kid.
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re: garfish
beantowntitletown
Nov 18, 2008 06:56 PM
i just discovered this thread tonight, so this is a late post. if you're still looking for the name of that movie, it sounds to me like 'they call me trinity'. hilarious movie. of the food movies i've seen so far, my votes (like many here) go to 'eat drink man woman' and 'babette's feast'.
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Brian S
Jul 21, 2008 10:14 AM
No one has mentioned "Autumn in New York" (2000) and I'm not surprised. It's a mediocre tearjerker. (Though if you LIKE tearjerkers, you should watch it.... and take a whole box of Kleenex.) But its plot marked a Chowhound watershed. Richard Gere plays a rich celebrity who moves in the highest social circles... but falls in love with an impoverished young recluse. Now 70 years ago, the rich socialite would have inherited his wealth, as in Philadelphia Story. 25 years ago he would have been a self-made CEO of the biggest company. But in this film, the rich and famous Richard Gere character was... a CHEF! A career in food had suddenly reached the top rank in social status.
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Not a movie, but a short series: Fishing With John.
Adventures of John Lurie (who knows nothing about fishing) and his friends (Willem Dafoe, Dennis Hopper, Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon), traveling around the world, fishing (or most of the time not-fishing). Hilariously weird, weirdly hilarious.
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I was a Tampopo virgin until last night. OMG..I loved this movie. I was so wanting a big hot bowl of noodles, a raw egg yolk, to bonk Iron chef Morimoto in a cowboy-like hat, and some Shabu-Shabu. I also laughed alot. So many scenes I loved..so much to say. I am watching it again today..with my husband.
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thew
Jan 21, 2008 02:12 PM
all my faves have been mentioned , but i thought id throw in this tidbit-
BBC did some reworked shakespeare plays kept the story line basically, but not the dialogue...
the Macbeth was set in a michalin 3 star restaurant, with duncan being the celeb chef, but macbeth being the real chef de cuisine.... really well done
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monalisawoman
Jan 15, 2008 03:21 AM
Yes, to MANY of the above...
Water for Chocolate
Eat Drink Man Woman
Spanglish
Big Night
Ratatouille
Under the Tuscan Sun
Greek Wedding
and one that i haven't seen mentioned.......
Home for the Holidays (Holly Hunter & Robert Downey Jr.)
the scene where the father breaks into the pie in the middle of the night is classic! -
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im_nomad
Jan 4, 2008 03:50 PM
I dearly loved Ratatouille, and would watch it again and again and again !!!
Yay for the Rare Birds mention !!! Such an excellent movie, and for anyone who thought The Shipping News was a great movie set in Newfoundland (as it made several fellow newfoundlanders cringe in many ways~and i'm a huge fan of many of the actors in that one) again, yay for rare birds ! hehe.
Chocolat
Like Water for Chocolate
Under the Tuscan Sun (which is not totally about food...but i love how she cooks her way through her heartache and fills her house this way....especially after the "i have a house for a life I don't have" comment)
Again not about food, but i love the blue soup scene in Bridget Jones' Diary
Loved "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"Last Holiday and Moonstruck worth a mention...and i have to say , i enjoyed Spanglish ( became an even bigger fan of Adam Sandler with Reign over Me)
I love the food in "marie antoinette"....and the spagetti scene in "lady and the tramp"
Do drink movies count? then "Sideways"
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re: fussycouple
Mrs. Murphy: Help you two?
Elwood: Do you have any white bread ma'am?
Mrs. Murphy: Yeah.
Elwood: I'll have some toasted white bread please.
Mrs. Murphy: You want butter or jam on that, honey?
Elwood: No ma'am, dry.
Jake: Do you have any fried chicken ma'am?
Mrs. Murphy: Best damned chicken in the state.
Jake: Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke.
Mrs. Murphy: You want chicken wings or chicken legs?
Jake: Four fried chickens and a Coke.
Elwood: And some dry white toast please.
Mrs. Murphy: Ya'all want anything to drink with that?
Elwood: No ma'am.
Jake: A Coke.
Mrs. Murphy: Be right back.
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Just discovering Japanese TV series these days:
"Kui Tan" - a comedy series about a detective who loves to eat. There are so many scenes of food and of eating. He solves cases by his discerning taste buds and his understanding of food. There are many close ups of food and food preparation, for example, how a sushi chef prepares the sushi differently (and the logic behind it) depending on whether it's to be eaten in front of him, or for take out.Even though it's somewhat goofy at times, his passion and joy for eating is contagious, and so is his appreciative manner of giving thanks for the food...and of course, the carrying of his own special chopsticks in his suit pocket!
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Ratatouille confused me a bit, in terms of its intended target market. I loved it. I'm not mad for the dish, but the animated version had me salivating. And what foodie has not found his-/herself in Remy's position, dealing with an unsympathetic crowd?
Kudos to the one above who nominated Eating Raoul! Well done!
So-so film, not about food, but there is a bizarre restaurant scene in The Mad Detective, in which a detective tries to get into the mindset of a suspect by eating his menu choices, repeatedly.
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ginger7949
Oct 23, 2007 09:30 AM
I love Tortilla Soup
Spanglish
The scene in Stranger than fiction when Will Farrell brings Maggie Gylenhaal the "flours" - so romantic!
Pieces of April - the turkey!!
Fried Green Tomatoes - the secret's in the sauce. - the book has great recipes.
The scene in Made where John Favreau makes pasta Puttanesca for the little girl.
Meg Ryan's description of pears in city of angels
GoodFellas - the garlic prison scene, and the salami smuggling -
tastelessfruit
Oct 20, 2007 04:56 PM
there's a glaring omission here i'm happy to be able to pointout.
BIG EDEN a beautifully romanticized love story set in montana
with food acting as it often does as a conveyer of love.
A MUST SEE MOVIE -
singleguychef
May 21, 2007 04:14 PM
A movie that may become one of the classic "food movies" is called "Waitress" starring Kerry Russell. It's a small independent movie by a woman who was killed in New York. In the movie, Kerry Russell's character works at a diner as a waitress and she bakes these great looking pies with these funny weird names to represent her current situation. The filming of the pie-making is very luxurious and makes you want to bake a pie day and night. It has a great ensemble cast such as Cheryl Hines as another waitress. It's in theatres now and is a small movie that I feel should get some support.
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1) Tampopo
2)Big Night
3)Chocolat
4)Green Card - the scene where Gerard Depardeau reviles Andie McDowell's attempt at trying to persuade him on what coffee is - he in turn shows her what coffee is to the French - espresso... This was life-altering to me - "what the hell is the deal with this espresso stuff?" was my thought as I sat in the movie theatre...›2 Replies-
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re: beaudrillard
Beau, I guess chalk it up to the mystical magical allure of espresso... I'll have to seek out your movie mention some time - just looked it up on imbd and it sounds interesting and engaging... Upon seeking espresso out after seeing the movie (1990-preCoffeeMadness in LA), and trying a precious little cup for the first time, I didn't get it at first because instead of sitting and savoring it, I stood and drank it like coffee. I still don't drink espresso neat often, but my favorite drink is a marriage of Depardeau"s and McDowell's character. A simple Americano...
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I adore Tampopo, especially the scene in the supermarket with the elderly woman, who plies her fetish by suggestively squeezing fruit for ripeness.
I also love Mon Oncle, starring Jacques Tati. In the midst of conducting pranks on unsuspecting pedestrians, young Gerard and his friends feast on either pain perdu or tartines. Mmm...grilled bready confections, laden with powder sugar and confiture! Here's a link to the scene on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Sg0G...
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chef chicklet
May 16, 2007 02:11 PM
So agree with newbatgirl about The Joy Luck Club, scenes with food and her books do better descriptive of food yet.
Sort of a silly movie but cute, was Last Holiday. I really enjoyed the food scenes in that movie. -
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re: servpro8912
MOVIES:
Tampopo (Japanese) - still makes me want to go slurp down some ramen!
Eat Drink Man Woman (Chinese)
The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnamese)
Babette's Feast (Danish)
Bread and Tulips (Italian)- on second thought, I haven't seen this in a while.. maybe it doesn't center around food?TV SHOWS:
Dotchi! - where else can you get a food game show/reality TV/ cooking show mixed into one ball of fun and mouth-watering genius? If you haven't caught this already, please do soon since it will be ending in the next couple of months. It comes on channel 18/ Asian Am TV every Sat. night.
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maria lorraine
Apr 16, 2007 08:49 PM
The noodle scene, with Robin Williams and Amanda Plummer, in The Fisher King
is hilarious.Babette's Feast rules over all others. Also in this first tier: Cocolat, Big Night (been
trying to make that timpano for years), Like Water for Chocolate, Eat Drink (and Tortilla Soup). Not as much but still wonderful: Dinner Rush, Mostly Martha, Oliver.Pan's Labyrinth has a pretty incredible food scene, and I've never seen anyone eat more
freely and elegantly than Laurence Olivier eating breakfast in his hotel room in Rebecca.›1 Reply-
re: maria lorraine
There are just a few noodle scenes that do justice to noodles. In Tampopo, the only one that slurped the noodles the way they were supposed to be consumed was Goro's sidekick. Robin Williams did it OK but he was trying to be funny.
The scene in Tsukiji in Black rain. Michael Douglas should have taken a lesson from his Japanese partner.
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I know this comes in a little late after your initial posting, but I've just discovered Chow.com via a google request whilst soaking up the sun in my Aussie living room.
What about Woman on Top? Never been a fan of Penelope Cruz, but this little film was delightful and the soundtrack I play at least twice a week.
Books? If you're interested:
Lunch With Elizabeth David (can't remember the author but it's a fictional account of Elizabeth David in the 1940/50's)
Love Takes You Home - Julie Capaldi
Under The Olive Tree - Manuel Darling-Gansser
Salute - Gail&Kevin Donovan and Simon Griffiths
Blessed Are The Cheesemakers - Sarah-Kate Lynch
The Faux Gourmet - Juli I Huss
and
love him or hate him, Anthony Bourdain always amuses on some level›1 Reply-
re: missbonnie99
Big Night (of course) - fabulous all around, from the food to the perfomances. A must-see for any chowhound.
Eat Drink Man Woman and the American-remake Tortilla Soup. - I'm typically starving after watching either plus I love the relationships between the sisters.
What's Cooking - I love watching this with my family after a holiday meal; everyone seems to enjoy it and can relate to the characters.
I agree with the above poster about the food in the Joy Luck Club but that movie also makes me cry so hard that I forget the food by the end.
I also have a soft spot for Dinner With Friends starring Andie McDowell and Dennis Quaid.
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mielimato
Aug 30, 2006 10:28 AM
In th Mood for Love--
Not overtly about food but a lot of great scenes occur over a bowl of noodles or in a resto. Come to think of it, all of Wong Kar Kai's movies naturally incorporate eating in important scenes. Chungking Express, Fallen Angel, Happy Together.US movies rarely have good food scenes (except for the occasional Scorsese movie like the scene in Goodfellas where they cook pasta in prision). As if eating is not really an important part of daily American life. It is sad.
Other favorites mentioned earlier:
Tampopo
Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
Like Water for Chocolate
Big Night -
Polecat
Aug 30, 2006 04:11 AM
Unless I missed it, no one has mentioned Diner. This movie has so much to say about what it means to sit down and eat with someone. Paul Reiser to Steve Guttenberg: "You've got roast beef in your heart that just stays there".
Strangely enough, after seeing Oldboy, I had a craving for dumplings. Kind of like a friend of my wife who was telling me that, after seeing SuperSizeMe, she had to have a Big Mac.
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ssusu
Aug 24, 2006 06:41 PM
Chicken Rice Wars. Made in Singapore, I caught this film at the Seattle International Film Festival a few years ago. It is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet about (you guessed it) two competing families with Chicken Rice stalls. I remember little about the plot or the characters, but man was I hungry when I walked out of that film.
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tastelessfruit
Aug 21, 2006 08:39 AM
as i promised...one more stellar entry
FEAST
last years australian masterpiece.A MUST SEE! AS I'M CERTAIN YOU'LL AGREE
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Phaedrus
Aug 7, 2006 08:57 PM
Big Night was incredible. I ran around St. Louis after seeing the film looking for an Italian place to eat; but, a;las, it was a Sunday so all the good places were closed and I went to The Pasta House. I agree with the assessment of the last scene, beautifully done.
Eat Drink, Man, Woman. The original is the best, although I liked Tortilla Soup, it didn't really do it for me as much as Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.
Joy Luck Club was terrific, especially the scene where the idiot anglo son-in-law pours soy sauce on the mother-in-law's perfectly made signature dish.
Tampopo I liked also, mainly because it was the first food centeredmovie that I had seen. Babette's Feast was great but the ethos it evoked with the oppressive world view of all the dinner gests, except for the one guy who had a great time at the beginning was priceless.
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I've been hearing about "Big Night" for years and never remember to rent it when we're at the video store.
One I particularly like is "The Wedding Banquet." It's an Ang Lee movie that I watched in a college class. I've never seen it in a video store, but I'd love to see it again.
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Brian S
Aug 1, 2006 08:57 PM
I've noticed a heartening trend of late. Cooking has been used by films, even mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, as a synecdoche for artistic creativity, or even a metaphor for the infinite variety of the human soul. Like Water for Chocolate is a good example. And dumbing down the recipe, selling out to a chain, then is used to symbolize selling one's soul. First Night uses something like that to symbolize the struggle between good and evil. (Though the bad guy's sellout restaurant looked like a fun place to be.) In Sideways, the main character is basically a chowhound, of the wine variety, and it is that facet of his character, always at war with the selfish-pig aspect, that gets the girl. Eat Drink Man Woman uses food as the battleground (and ultimately the bridge) between generations. So did Dinner Rush. Jet Lag, a French movie, does that too, with a twist. The son, who has gone to New York to run a frozen food company, returns to Brittany to cook in his father's 3-star restaurant. In Woman on Top, which itself is a dumbed-down, but likeable, version of LIke Water for Chocolate, the main character realizes the man she thought she loved is the wrong man for her when he suggests that she substitute canned for fresh peppers in her favorite recipe. You've gotta love a film like that!
There's a similar thread, also on this board.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/... -
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Covert Ops
Jul 26, 2006 07:02 PM
The pate scene from "War of the Roses". . .woof. :-D
I also love "Big Night" and "Super-Size Me." I tried to watch "Old Boy" one night when I was in bed, but it was so disturbing I had to turn it off (and I'm a Tarantino fan). I'll try watching it again in the daylight to see the parts about sushi. :-P
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okay i take on the challenge. Strangers in Good Company. bus breaks down. one woman hoards her food. another catches fish with pantyhose.
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re: himbeer
tastelessfruit
Jul 26, 2006 06:54 PM
kewl! i'll have to investigate. sounds just my speed!
here you go:
EAT YOUR HEART OUT : a group of young hip la friends living harmoniously in a loft until one is chosen to be a television chef and becomes famous.
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tastelessfruit
Jul 26, 2006 01:33 AM
well, no one has coaxed me! but i can't keep my mouth shut as this is a rather important topic.
RARE BIRDS the eccentric tale of a restaurant in nova scotia with william hurt starring as chef.
i am betting no one will be able to suggest a movie i havent seen.......but i would be delighted to be turned on to something i MAY have missed.›2 Replies-
re: tastelessfruit
Brian S
Aug 1, 2006 09:20 PM
Here's one you might not have seen. Satantango, by Hungarian director Bela Tarr. Tarr is known for his incredible camerawork. Every shot in a Tarr film is between ten and fifteen minutes long. It may take months to do a single shot. And it's worth it. The camera swoops, glides, and soars. It circles the characters, it moves from scene to scene. It may, as in "Satantango," travel with a herd of cows around a village, or follow the nocturnal peregrinations of an obese agoraphobic drunk who is forced to leave his house because he's run out of booze. Satantango, incidentally, is well over seven hours long, and I wouldn't have cut a minute of it. There is one shot in which a tray of luscious food is precariously balanced during a bar fight. I bet it took lots of takes to film that one, the tray probably dropped at some point during most of the attempts.
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tastelessfruit
Jul 22, 2006 05:40 PM
DUDES.................................!
not a soul has mentioned what is clearly one of the best.
WHO'S KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE?
stars jaquelinne bissert and george segal when both were young.
AN ABSOLUTE MUST SEE!
and i know a few more i might be coaxed into sharing with you all -
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What the heck, I will weigh in since this thread is active. It is so nice to interact with other people who have heard of Tampopo. I think my favorite experience of seeing a food movie goes to Chocolat--the theatre I went to had ushers at every showing who gave a piece of chocolate to every person leaving the theatre! Definitely needed at that point!
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This is a fun topic to think about whilst drifting off to sleep, with a full belly.
Coca-Cola Kid; a battle in an Australian area over soda brand supremacy.
Gregory's Girl: the high school chef so passionate about his product.
Mystic Pizza: what is in that sauce?
Diva: this is how to butter a baguette
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore: working in a diner
Baghdad Cafe
Eat a bowl of tea
Sixteen Candles: grandmom cooking breakfast, filling the pan with cigarette ashes
Bobby Deerfield: having a picnic in a field in Italy and then accepting a stranger's offer to go up in his hot air balloon because you can't tie yourself down by not taking chances
And Now My Love: waiter asking if they want right or left chicken leg; don't lie that you take 3 cubes of sugar in coffee
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i haven't yet seen tampopo, Big Night, eat drink man woman, so I'm really not in a position to judge! That said, I enjoyed:
What's Cookin' - four cultures cook their Thanksgiving meals in four interweaving stories
Tortilla Soup - A MExican-American retake of eat drink man woman. the cooking scenes involved whole fish, grilled cactus, and other things that made me really hungry.
Did anyone mention Chocolat? Talk about chocolate cravings when I left the cinema...›1 Reply -
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OK. Not a movie about food, really, but a great bit: French Connection 2, where Popeye Doyle has been kidnapped, addicted to heroin, and left for dead (or at least left as a "message"--one gets the idea that his good health or survival is not particularly a concern) and found by the French police chief he has been working with. They are combing Marseilles in a boat, trying to trace where Popeye was being held. On shore an attractive woman is strolling along, eating a double ice cream cone. Popeye says: "I'd like some of that." French police chief says, "Are you crazy? A woman right now would kill you!" And Popeye replies, "Not the woman, you fool--what's she's eating!" Cut to: Popeye with his own double cone.
(I also developed a craving for white terrycloth bathrobes from this movie.)›1 Reply -
Last Tango In Paris. I will never look at butter in the same way again.
One problem with Tampopo is that it uses Japanese negative stereotypes of the Chinese in some scenes (dirty and untrustworthy).
Then there's the fat European who relieves everyone's insecurity by eating noisily. See, they're not so polite after all!›2 Replies -
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re: 2chez mike
YES!!! The one where Curly has a fight with an oyster in his stew is priceless...
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Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe
Dumplings: Three....extremes
Hainan Chicken Rice (a.k.a. Rice Rhapsody)Link: http://eatingchinese.org
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re: Gary Soup
chef chicklet
May 16, 2007 01:22 PM
Thanks for the ineresting link Gary Soup! I will enjoy this a lot!
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re: Peter
designerboy01
Aug 27, 2006 05:55 PM
Just a note, I don't think that is Taiwanese food that they are cooking in the film.
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No particular order:
Eating Raoul
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory›2 Replies -
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"Babette's Feast." Superlative movie with or without food.
"Eat Drink Man Woman" would probably be my runner up.›10 Replies-
re: Fida
I'll second Babette's Feast. Also, I sound seconds for Tampopo, Eat Drink Man Woman, and Big Night.
But I'll also throw in a thumbs down for Mostly Martha - a tedious pile of cliches masquerading as a film. I had heard for ages how much I would like this movie, "because you love food." I happen to love good writing, too, however, so this one is right out. The food looked good, though. (Damn, someone is going to call me out for being too harsh. That someone is no doubt right. But have you every watched a movie that included all your most hated cliches, the ones that really push your buttons, so that you hate it out of all proportion? That's how I feel about this movie. Just ignore me.)
For some reason, all the talk of cannoli in the Godfather movies always gets me hungry. -
re: Fida
Second on Babette's Feast - my idea of heaven would be a DVD of that with a huge file of outtakes from the cooking scenes...OY!! And I have determined that I will serve family and friends Caille en Sarcophage one of these days. Probably sometime after I've gotten really cool with brioche...
Big Night is the other great one. Did anyone EVER come up with the definitive recipe for that incredible pie-like concoction?-
re: Will Owen
I gotta go with Babette's Feast, with Tampopo, Like Water for Chocolate and Eat Drink Man Woman also making the list.
I love the story line in Babette's Feast - a meal made with care can work magic.
In Big Night, the scene where they are arguing in the kitchen and the one brother makes eggs for the other is so perfect - he moves with such assurance in the kitchen, like he has done it 1000 times before. -
re: Will Owen
I made a timpano once, for the other-pangolin-du-jour and me, four or five layers, each different. I couldn't believe that the thing held together. I was so pleased that I called up my sister after dinner and left her a drunken voice mail screaming "I'm a fucking guy!"(Re: the Ian Holm line). I wouldn't call mine definitive, but it's more interesting than most published recipes that I've seen, which seem to rely solely on things like meatballs, sausage meat, and penne (WTF?!?) as the fillings.
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