What's Your Favorite Food Movie?

[ellaj]

So far I've enjoyed "Eat Drink man Woman", "Babette's Feast", and "Mostly Marta". Sadly, that's about all our video store has but there are others I'd like to see.

What foodie movies have you enjoyed?

Thanks for any recs.

[Glam Foodie]

I can't believe no one's mentioned the breakfast scene in Moonstruck! When Cher is grilling thick slices of bread in a skillet, and there's red peppers and eggs... yum!

I also have to echo Waitress, because 'Falling in Love Pie' sounds heavenly every time I hear about it. All the pies do! Marshmallow Mermaid, Spanish Dancer Pie with Potato Crust, Strawberry Chocolate Oasis, etc.

And the food in Tortilla Soup makes the film worth watching, in my opinion.

[J.L.]

Just got back from the L.A. industry screening of an absolutely remarkable documentary about sushi in Tokyo, entitled "Jiro Dreams of Sushi"

This documentary was made by people who earnestly love sushi. I am in no way affiliated with the filmmaker or the studio, but as a Hound, I'd highly recommend anyone who's evene remotely interested in sushi to catch this gem when it screens nationwide later this year.

[tatamagouche]

My S.O. is a film programmer and we're waiting (impatiently) for the screener. Can't wait to see it. Also just caught Food & the Maiden—wonderful.

[pdxgastro]

I just watched a new one. "Soul Kitchen", about a Greek immigrant in Germany who owns a greasy spoon in an industrial part of Hamburg. He hires a fancy chef and everything changes for him. The before and after food that he cooks is amazing.

[shecrab]

"Like water for chocolate" and "I like killings flies"

[tatamagouche]

LOVE I Like Killing Flies. Great doc.

[twyst]

this thread needs more ratatouille love!

[J.L.]

Food and Pixar films are 2 of my favorite things, just ask any of my friends. Yet strangely, I get the sense that "Ratatouille" wasn't made by people who truly love food. Before you throw month-old bananas at me, allow me explain myself:

Sure, the classic Pixar storytelling is there, the French gastronomic sensibilities are explained, and the food "scenes" are depicted adequately.

BUT - There's actually not much actual finished, plated food shown in "Ratatouille", and the cooking scenes simply lack the sheer lustfulness and outright voluptuousness of the "joy of food" that I saw in (for example) Ang Lee's gorgeous opening Chinese home kitchen scene from "Eat Drink Man Woman".

[steve h.]

Dinner Rush is all about the food. To die for.

Ratatouille is a classic.

[tatamagouche]

That opening scene is, to me, the entire movie. The rest of EDMW I could take or leave.

[lusfolgena]

This is an old thread but I couldn't resist saying I fell in love with Jullie/Julia!! Not just my fave foodie movie but also now my all time fave chick flick!!! LOVE Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia!!!

[Funwithfood]

Agree that Meryl Streep did a FANTASTIC Julia Child.

[tatamagouche]

Streep is great. Personally found Julie annoying as hell, but then, I knew I would. Not Amy Adams' fault.

[nolanani]

And speaking of Meryl Streep, It's Complicated is a fabulous food movie.

[pamfenway]

Babette's Feast is my favorite by far. I can't imagine any food movie I'll ever like more.

[Sooeygun]

I won't say it's my favourite food movie, because all my favourites have been mentioned, but I enjoyed the dark comedy The Last Supper. It's about five liberal graduate school students who invite a string of right-wing extremists whose political views they disagree with to dinner in order to murder them. And they bury the bodies in the tomato garden.

[coll]

Just bought a movie called Fast Food out of the $1.99 bin, it stars Traci Lords and Jim Varney (and Michael J Pollack!). About a restaurant that makes a secret sauce that arouses the customers. I'll let you know when I get around to watching it........hopefully it will be amusing. Anyone else seen it (it's from the 1980s)?

[coolcatcoffee]

I think Waiting and Still Waiting are awesome, but of course Tampopo best ever.
Other recently watched and recommended movies a' food: the Slammin Salmon
I Served the King of England and Short Order
Thank you all for the other great rec's, seen a bunch but a few Ive never heard of

[tatamagouche]

I Served the King of England—great movie!

[dingey]

I was surprised at what a charge I got out of "Ratatouille," since I generally don't like that pixar CGA stuff. The moment when the evil critic tastes the dish that rockets him back to childhood is beautiful.

Also, just watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bib9U8...

Lydia Mendoza making tamales with her family!

[chefscott6767]

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 a chef, once as a human ;-) this movie is amazing. peace

[junescook]

Tom Jones, with the lusty eating scene between Tom and Mrs Waters (perhaps his mother).

[u172633]

Does anyone remember the name of the foreign movie that Mostly Martha was based on?
It was much better.

[buttertart]

Bella Martha, no? It was much better.

[pdxgastro]

Mostly Martha' (Bella Martha in some countries) *was* the German film. It was remade by Hollywood as 'No Reservations'.

[Funwithfood]

No comparison. Mostly Martha rocked!

[pamfenway]

Too true! Loved Mostly Martha. No Reservations was blah.

[jackrugby]

Monty Python's "the meaning of life" openning scene; "just 1 thin mint".

[burlgurl]

Julie and Julia!

[Parrotgal]

Wow, thanks for some wonderful suggestions! I was going through my DVD library recently and was shocked to discover how many of them feature food prominently. Waitress, No Reservations, Ratatouille, Last Holiday come to mind immediately. Does Little Shop of Horrors count ("feed me")?

[Parrotgal]

Forgot to mention one of my all-time favorites--Big Eden.

[rozz01]

The scenes where the whole town is trying to help him cook and keep it a secret are so wonderful... love that movie!

[bermudagourmetgoddess]

Last Holiday ~ with Queen Latifiah and Gérard Depardieu, the love of food in that movie is powerful..."You and I, we know the secret to life ... It's butter!!!"

Big Night ~ Big Cast!! and just a great film

My Big Fat Greek Wedding ~ Come on who doesn't roast a whole goat on a spit in their front yard...doing that tomorrow ;)

Christmas Story ~ Where the dog runs off with the Christmas Turkey and they all had to go the Chinese Restaurant for Christmas dinner.

The original Willy Wonka, I wanted the golden ticket darn it!!

[pdpredtide]

how about cloudy with a chance of meatballs?

[chef chicklet]

I did enjoy Like Water for Chocholate very much back in the day. In fact thanks for the reminder, I need to buy that movie. But as of recent I really enjoyed Last Holiday, with Queen Latifa. Especially appreciated it more after watching the FN (or was it the making of the movie?) and seeing the work the FN staff put into this movie. To make it so real and believable, they actually cooked the food several times. Wonderful! I also enjoyed (very much) Julie and Julia. A fun movie, the food looked pretty good too.

[pdpredtide]

Ratatouille?

[MattInNJ]

Anyone else remember the noodle scene from Iron Monkey?

[hannah]

I don't think these have been mentioned:

Under the tuscan sun had some delicious food and landscape scenes

The last holiday with Queen Latifah and Gerard Depardieu had some great food scenes.

Sideways watched in london made me long for a good meal and nice wine. Or in the very least a burger and a good bottle of wine

French Kiss--wine and cheese scenes

[annabana]

Perhaps its buried too deep in the "wayback" machine, but "Christmas in Connecticut" with Barbara Stanwyck is delightful. She plays a very successful "homemaking" columnist for a major woman's magazine, and she is anything but. Food centered hi-jinks ensue.

Also, many of the Tracey/Hepburn movies have important food scenes, from the diastrous make-up breakfast in "Woman of the Year," to the "you're in training now," lunch in "Pat and Mike" to the curried lamb dinner in "Adam's Rib" and of course their final movie together "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

Finally, the dinner on the terrace scene from "Notorious" (C.Grant/I.Bergman) features the best tracking shot kiss in movies. All of the above classic movies are more than worth seeing on their own, the food scenes being merely the icing on top, pun intended.

[ChefJune]

used to be Babette's Feast and Like Water for Chocolate. but Julie and Julia has replaced them. ;)

[coll]

I just remembered: Dona Flor and her Two Husbands, that was my favorite movie for a long while. My husband used to make fun of me about liking it so much. She ran a cooking school in her home, and I remember her showing her students how to rinse the fish under the faucet while squeezing lemon juice over it. When her wild husband dies (although his ghost sticks around) she feeds her suitors all kinds of dainty treats in her family's drawing room. I haven't seen it in at least 20 years but I remember the food scenes the most (not the two husbands as my husband suspected). Starring Sonia Braga, the only reason my husband even watched it, as he hates subtitles.

I understand the book it is based on has some excellent Brazilian recipes.

[buttertart]

The book is much better than the movie. I loved the movie too (as did my husband...).

[Pearlgirl121]

"Soul Food" has some seriously delicious food!!!! I also like "What's Cooking" which is about Thanksgiving at four distinctly different families' homes (Vietnamese, Jewish, African American, and Latino).

[pdpredtide]

Chocolat
God of Cookery
The Chinese Feast

[xianzhong]

Favourites;

Big Night
Eat Drink Man Woman
God of Cookery

Honourable mentions;

Goodfellas
Soylent Green
A Feast At Midnight
Spanglish

Looking foward to finding and watching;

Tampopo
Dinner Rush

[DallasDude]

Cheers to the fellow mentioning The Meaning Of Life. Mr. Creosote and his wafer thin mint gets me every time.

Creosote orders moules marinieres, pate de foie gras, beluga caviar, eggs benedictine, a leek tart, frogs' legs amandine and quail's eggs all mixed together in a bucket with the quail eggs on top and a double helping of pate, and for apéritifs he has six bottles of Château Latour 1945, a double jeroboam of champagne, and half a dozen crates of brown ale (considerably less than his usual allowance).

[xianzhong]

Finally watched Tampopo and it easily bumped God of Cookery off from my Top 3 food movies. Tampopo has to be the purist food film I've seen so far but I still think Big Night and Eat Drink Man Woman are still better movies overall.

Now I can't wait to get a hold of a copy of Dinner Rush.

[southernitalian]

The sandwich that Adam Sandler's character in "Spanglish" makes when he gets home from work remains one of the most delicious-looking things I've ever seen in a movie.

[EWSflash]

Babette's Feast
Tampopo
Like Water for Chocolate
Chocolat
My big Fat Greek Wedding

[pitu]

Just saw a lovely indie French movie "35 Shots of Rhum" by Claire Denis.
Food and cooking is completely woven into the film, although not in a spectacular way. Every day rice, a meal at a bar during a thunderstorm, family standing in the kitchen with their dinner plates, a guy who is perpetually looking in his fridge to announce he's out of milk.

I loved it, although I'll caution that it's not for everyone. Moody, spare, contemplative...

[Sandwich_Sister]

Mystic Pizza

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Aunt Voula: What do you mean he don't eat no meat?
[the entire room stops, in shock]
Aunt Voula: Oh, that's okay. I make lamb.

[Daydreamer]

Does anyone know the name of the movie where a woman cooks and all of her emotions she has while she's cooking makes the people who eat her food feel the same way... I remember a scene where she cooks something for a woman who she didn't like and the woman choked on it.. very good movie

[Passadumkeg]

Like Water for Chocolate.

[Chuckles the Clone]

Since this thread apparently will not go away .. and nobody's mentioned ...

Cool Hand Luke: "My boy says he can eat fifty eggs, he can eat fifty eggs."

Five Easy Pieces: "Now all you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me
the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich."

[Passadumkeg]

Funny, I just showed the egg scene from Cool Hand Luke to my hs psych class yesterday. The whole film is filled w/ great examples of classical and opperant conditioning.

[tatamagouche]

And I just saw CHL last night for my first time! We were eating dinner during the scene and it was really not helping the food go down.

[Passadumkeg]

We just watched Woman on Top w/ Penelope Cruz. May I die and go to Bahia (again).

[Passadumkeg]

Also, after peeling chiles for 40 years and burning my eyes & cojones, Ms Cruz taught me to rub my hands w/ oil before pealing the chiles. Now I'm going to make some pico de gallo for our huevos rancheros (Yo ciento dos huevos!) for breakfast. Gotta go oil up!

[pitu]

Woman On Top is soooooo cheesey, but Penelope Cruz is so yummy...

[Passadumkeg]

Aaaamen, and Ms Keg found the Brazilian singer nice eye candy.

[Flaco]

"Women in Love" directed by Ken Russell... I've always relished figs.

[buttertart]

That is one of the most sensual scenes in any movie, ever. D.H. Lawrence + Alan Bates as he was then + figs = me in a puddle at his feet.

[tastyjon]

An interesting film is The Contender. It's a political thriller, not food focused, but two of the main characters use food as a way to assert their power. One is the fictional President, who tries to subtly woo others by calling the White House kitchen and requesting esoteric dishes on a whim (every request is delivered with no hesitation). His nemesis in the Senate uses food to intimidate, gleefully enjoying blood red steak when meeting with non meat eater. Not a foodie movie, but a movie that uses food in defining characters.

Another is Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. For kids, it's a candy version of porn. And maybe for many adults. I'm not a big sweets eater these days, but if you're gonna die, falling into a river of chocolate isn't the worst way to go! It could have been Pablo and the Pasta Factory... the premise of a shared love for a certain food is a universal theme that is great, regardless of the product.

[Avalondaughter]

"Soul Food", especially the feast the sisters prepare at the end of the movie.

[vinovelo]

Fried Green Tomates,....should be added to this list.

But yes, The Big Night is my all time favorite. So much so I have learned to make Timpano and served it after viewing the movie.

Several years ago there was a winery in Livermore CA that actually hosted a "Little Big Night" event. Customers were encouraged to adopt minor roles in the movie and the kitchen staff all played out parts of lead characters (not a play, they just looked like them). The entire dinner from the movie was reproduced. It was Amazing. I will try to post some pictures.

[bayoucook]

Love so many posted here, and also No Reservations. Food plus tragedy. Mmmm

[Fritter]

All of theese responses and not one mention of The Godfather? The slicing of the garlic, Pasta, Leave the gun, take the Cannoli's!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EJnEXuUR54

How about Chitty Chiity Bang Bang with the Toot sweet treats?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmry...

.....or 9 1/2 weeks with the fridge scene.

[sheilal]

I definitely agree with you on 9-1/2 weeks! Who knew food could be so erotic??

[betsydiver]

Eating Raoul"

[ricepad]

I already said that!

[gfr1111]

My two favorite food movies are "Big Night" for the food-centricity of the movie, and "Eat Drink, Man, Woman" for the feel-good story.

I think that the lines from the competitor across the street in "Big Night" crystalize the war between the preparation of mass market food and high quality food. The competitor across the street from the two Italian brothers, who are making high quality, complex dishes, but getting few customers, says something like this (not a direct quote):

"A man works hard at his job. He works all day. After work he wants to relax. He wants to have some food he loves. He sees a steak. He thinks, 'I know steak. I like steak. I'll have steak. But your brother. What does he make? He makes risotto. He brings it to the man. The man looks at it, and says, "What is this ________ ?!"

[MattInNJ]

Soylent Green!

[Arebella]

I don't see "Vatel" (2000) mentioned, but it's a great food movie!

[Passadumkeg]

Newer indie: The Waitress. Pie time!

[CoconutMilk]

What about Ratatouille? The second half of that movie was all about the food. It was awesome!!!

[steve h.]

it was a great movie. brad bird is a genius. i actually sat through the entire credit crawl at my local cinema. amazing.

[Gio]

Not necessarily my favorites but worth mentioning:
La Grande Bouffe...love Marcello....
Sweeney Todd....
When Harry Met Sally...the scene
Simply Irresistible....if you believe in magic.

[steve h.]

sweeney todd!
...very cool.

[Passadumkeg]

Was Like Water for Chocolate mentioned?

[steve h.]

dinner rush remains my favorite food movie.

[Zengarden]

Love this thread but it's been a few years since it was last commented on.

Any new ones to add?

[KevinB]

Reading through the thread again, I noticed no one mentioned "Do The Right Thing"; lot of things going on there, but it all revolves around Danny Aiello's pizza joint.

[JohnE O]

Bill Forsyth's "Comfort & Joy" which is about the Scottish mafia and ice cream vans. No, really. The last of the great Forsyth movies (Local Hero being the best).

[buttertart]

Agree 100%. Hello folks!

[Chuckles the Clone]

Woody Allen, "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" A Japanese spy thriller edited
and overdubbed to become a search for the secret egg salad recipe.

And the fabulous "God of Cookery":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_C...

[JackSpit]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971

[The Engineer]

Here's one I just saw yesterday... Marie Antoinette, in theaters now. If you've ever seen the palace at Versailles, imagine that opulence applied to food. The scenes showing the daily royal breakfasts feature beautiful food. As the film goes on, Marie wanders, plays, and entertains at her private mini-castle retreat complete with chickens, ducks, lamb, goats, and a large garden. Mmmmm.

I should add that the movie itself wasn't that good, if not for the early food scenes and the (fulfilled) desire for more, I would have left early.

[Frosty Melon]

Excellent call on Dinner Rush. A movie noone saw, but at least it is out there on DVD. Great movie, great ending, great food, great cast. I bought it after seeing it the first time.

[The Engineer]

Not a "food movie" per se, but one of my all time favorites, The Pope of Greenwich Village, has plenty of food scenes- like any good mob flick should.

[lucaabrate]

Dinner Rush (2000)
Is it just another evening at the hugely popular Italian restaurant of proprietor and bookmaker Louis Cropa (Danny Aiello) in New York? Anything but as tonight's guests include; a local police detective and his wife specially invited by the owner; on the balcony rival bookmaker gangsters from Queens who want to become partners in the restaurant; in the corner renowned food critic 'the food nymph' is her usual demanding self; and at the bar, seemingly unnoticed, is Ken ('John Corbett' ). As the evening continues enter Duncan (Kirk Acevedo), inveterate gambler and sous-chef on-the-line in the frenetic kitchen downstairs, who acts as the catalyst that causes the evening to draw to its inevitable, explosive, deadly conclusion.

Rent it, buy it, steal it,...you'll dig it.

[foodie in seattle]

Pieces of April

[pdxgastro]

+1. Loved when the Asian family rebuilt the missing turkey leg out of bread dough! :-)

[katzeye]

Goodfellas- I saw a brief mention above, but it is one of the best food movies out there. The tomato sauce scene is great, but so is the scene in prison where thay are cooking "Paulie used to slice the Garlic with a razor blade, he sliced it so thin it would liqueify in the pan."

Honorable Mentions
1) The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and her Lover-food as pornography-just like the food network.
2) Big Night
3) Babbette's Feast
4) Like Water for Chocloate
5) Tampopo
6) Delicatessen

[The Engineer]

Big Night fans in the NYC area can take a one night hands on cooking course at the Institute of Culinary Education based on that film. I took it a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. Its offered peiodically and costs a little over 100 bucks.

My faves are Big Night, Like Water for Chocolate, and The Cook, the Thief, His wife, and Her Lover. No particular order; they're all great.

ellaj- not that they need the business, but have you thought of signing up with netflix?

[Polecat]

A Big Night cooking course...does this mean we get to learn how to make Timpano (that huge heaping dish they slaved over for Louis Prima)?

[The Engineer]

yes, Timpano included! :)

[jmckee]

I just completed a course in Catholic Liturgy and Prayer, and one of my assignments was to pick a movie from a list and write a reflection on it in light of what we'd been learning; I picked Big Night because I'd always wanted to see it. I watched it, then watched it a second time taking notes. When Primo says of Timpano, "Everything that's important in the world is in there," I jumped to my feet and said, "Ahaaaa! Eucharist! He's talking Eucharist!"

Great movie. Every performance is just perfect.

[Chuckles the Clone]

"sometimes the spaghetti wants to be alone" = John 6:15

[ellaj]

Sounds like $100. well spent, what fun! Re Netflix, we do use a program at the local video store but the selection is limited. Have recently discovered the joys of interlibrary loan for movies. We use it often for books but it just didn't occur to me to request films, too. Tampopo just arrived this week from another library, haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Based on the posts here I've just requested The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover.
Thanks for the great ideas!

[ellaj]

Just watched Big Night. When Primo was telling Ann about food so good you could just die, I thought I might. Wonderful.

[Funwithfood]

1.) Babette's Feast--by FAR
2.) Mostly Martha was captivating also.
3.) The Big Night was good--albeit depressing.

Also, there was an intense art flick a couple years back about an Asian man who was kidnapped and kept for years and years, and was only allowed to eat dumplings. When he escaped (or was freed?), he searched for the restaurant who made the dumplings, as a means of locating his captors (for revenge). Excellent movie...for the life of me, I can't remember the name.

[Katie Nell]

Was it "Old Boy"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/

[Funwithfood]

Yes!

Did you see it? It was brutal, but very well done.

[Katie Nell]

No, I haven't seen it... it just sounded interesting to me, so I searched "Dumpling" and "independent film" and that came up with some hard core porno flick, so then I searched something like "only fed dumplings" and "independent film" and that worked! Thought that was kinda funny!

[Funwithfood]

Funny--never would have thought of searching that way! I'm surprised "dumplings" were mentioned in the description of the movie. I was afraid to see it after reading reviews which said it was very violent. I Went in "holding my breath", but it wasn't as bad as described. It's a very pychological film, which I like.

[Polecat]

Funny thing is...after seeing Oldboy, the first thing I did upon leaving the theatre was to go get some dumplings.

[tatamagouche]

This is old, but the scene in Old Boy where he eats the octopus, IIRC...wow.

[Passadumkeg]

Great film.
Burnt by the August Sun, a Stalinist era set Russian film has a great herring and vodka scene at the dacha. Did I say this already?

[tatamagouche]

Never heard of it! Will check it out if it's available.

We were inspired by this thread to rewatch Oldboy last night. I'd forgotten how funny it is at moments as well as brutal.

[Passadumkeg]

I'll email a list of our favorite Korean films from netflix. If you remember 2 of our sons live in Seoul.

[tatamagouche]

Ah yes. I've seen a lot because Mr. Tata is a film festival programmer, and Korean directors are among his favorite—be curious to see what the gaps in our library are. Another great film with some shocking food-related scenes: The Isle. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255589/

[pitu]

Scott123, the film is Bhaji on the Beach
good one!

[ciaogal]

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman

and 9 1/2 weeks...w/ Mickey Rourke and Kim Bassinger...
Food and Passion!

[pitu]

Big Night for sure. Spring for the DVD, whoever has the soundtrack - you won't regret it.
Tampopo
Eat Drink Man Woman
and
Goodfellas,
especially for the scene towards the end where the helicopters are circling and Ray Liotta is fussing with his red sauce

and some of the eating scenes in Wong Kar Wei movies!
I don't remember which film, but there is a wonderful miserable bit in a restaurant with mustard and steak . . . and desperate lovers.

Pieces of April was MUCH better than I expected
Like Water For Chocolate has a resonance -- it's true for me that emotions infuse cooking
Much as I like Johnny Depp, I think Chocolat was better as a novel . . .

[Polecat]

Good point about Wong Kar Wai's movies. It seems like, in every other scene of "In The Mood For Love", one or both of them is either going out for or eating noodles.

[gordon wing]

does anyone remember the movie about a young woman who has to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner for her family? she lives in an apartment - is out of some necessary items and some of her neighbors come to her aid ..... ???

[gordon wing]

I just found the movie, Pieces of April, on Google. It stars the future "Mrs. Tom Cruise" - Katie Holmes. A good indie film.....

[monkeyrotica]

Tampopo. The egg yolk scene is hot.

[vanillagrrl]

For a very authoritative list of films on food: http://www.gastronomica.org/foodfilms...

[Husky]

Le Grand Bouffe

[suzyqmit]

OMG! I saw that in Paris in the summer of '73. It is so funny (and the food looks amazing)

[cooknKate]

All these food people, chowhounds and all these posts, and not one mention of 'Chocolat'?

For shame......

[batchoy]

I was reading down the list to see if anyone mentioned it, because I was going to!

[chocolatetartguy]

The Freshman is a latterday screwball comedy revolving around a club that meets secretly to dine on endangered species. The MacGuffin and the proposed main dish is a komodo dragon. It stars Brando in an apt parody of The Godfather, Matthew Broderick doing his usual cute schtick, Penelope Ann Miller as the madcap mob heiress and previous Godfather trilogy cast members Bruno Kirby (young Clemenza) and Gianni Russo who betrayed Sonny and ended up kicking out the car windshield while being garroted.

Speaking of The Godfather, there is the scene where Clemenza tells Michael? that the secret to his tomato sauce is to add sugar. I believe that Sollozzo or Capt. McCluskey recommend the veal to Michael at their ill-fated (for the hosts) dinner meeting.

[batchoy]

How can one ever forget the line from The Godfather, where Clemenza tells an associate (after they've just completed a hit): "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." Plus, another scene where Clemenza, in shirt sleeves, is making a huge vat of spaghetti while all the men gather in the kitchen to discuss what to do next . . .

[ricepad]

Does "Eating Raoul" count? If not, I'll cast my vote for "Tampopo".

[PaulF]

Yes, yes it does count.

As does Soylent Green, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.

[coll]

Soylent Green made me appreciate food, and everything else, much more after I saw the movie. It seemed very futuristic when it came out, shocking even, but lately I think it seems a lot more real.

[CookieWeasel]

Soylent Green made me appreciate food a lot more, too. I was an extra in that movie and the director wouldn't let us break for lunch until we got the riot scene take right (we kept cracking up). The frantic, angry faces you see in that crowd sequence are all authentic-- everybody was starving and mad as #@%!

[coll]

That's so funny, was he into method acting?

[CookieWeasel]

Apparently! LOL (his name was Richard Fleischer). The food, when we finally got to have it, was actually quite good!

[buttertart]

Perfect last name, Fleischer! He was born to direct that movie.

[Parrotgal]

I have to admit that I saw Soylent Green when it first came out, before we knew what it was. In the early scenes I was watching the garbage trucks picking up bodies and I thought "if these people are starving, why can't they figure out a way to process the bodies into food?" Yeah, the secret was kind of a letdown.

[squeaks]

"The God of Cookery" (Sik San) is a hilarious food comedy from Hong Kong, by the same guy who did "Shaolin Soccer" (which is also very funny). The plot is absurd, but extremely entertaining. Definitely worth checking out, if you can find it.

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116426/

[scott123]

I like Kung Fu Hustle better than Shaolin Soccer. Both are good, though.

I wasn't aware of Sik San, thanks, I'll check that out.

[J.L.]

Stephen Chow's earlier stuff was wayyy funnier than Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle.

Agree wholeheartedly with "God of Cookery". If you're a Stephen Chow fan, you gotta also watch "Forbidden City Cop" (if you can find it).

[buttertart]

Nice avatar there, J.L.

[J.L.]

:-)

[PaulF]

I just reminded myself of the movie "Diner."

Not sure if it's my favorite food movie, but it's a good movie with a lot of food in it.

There are some great food scenes, too. Like the one wher Paul Reisser asks Steve Guttenberg if he's gonna finish his roast beef sandwich.

That movie was the first place I ever heard of french fries and gravy.

There's another good scene where SG -- he's Eddie in the movie -- tries to get his mother to make him a fried bologna sandwich.

Another good part with food is where one of the larger characters attempts to eat "the whole left side of the menu."

There's even a character named "Bagel."

And I don't think I can describe the popcorn scene here, but it's funny.

Good movie, good cast, lots of food.

[Polecat]

Diner is a great food movie, no doubt. It has a lot to say about the ritual of sitting down to eat with friends. If you'll recall, Reiser - in explaining to Guttenberg why he has problems digesting his food - says, "you have roast beef in your heart that just stays there".

The heavy set "left side of the menu" character's name is Earl. The Bagel character, by the way, pops up again in Barry Levinson's "Tin Men", itself a pretty good food movie.

[KevinB]

Barry Levinson always managed to work some great food scenes into his movies. Who can forget from "Avalon":

You cut the toikey?! You CUT the toikey!!

[Da_Cook]

The next movie to see is "What's Cooking" Mercedes Ruhl/2000/
Tagline: Thanksgiving. A celebration of food, tradition and relative insanity.
The food and cooking is excellent, see it now and you'll be eating Turkey long before Thanksgiving. The stories are funny and the acting is good
If you go to another post "Pork Shoulder On Sale Again" i mention the other great recent food movie: "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" (Antonio Banderas/ Johnnie Depp).
Pass on the movie, or just watch the scenes with Johnny Depp and his infatuation with Cochinita (Puerco) Pibil as the rest is crap. In the Special Features section is a tasty morsel titled "10 Minute Cooking School" In it, Robert Rodrigues shows you how to make the Cochinita (Puerco) Pibil that was so good it caused Agent Sands to kill the Chef. It involves tequila, banana leaves and some great technique.
I cannot recommend a better recipe that doesn't involve a smoke pit BBQ (actually I frequently cook this in my smoker, sealed tight in foil, as the gentle heat is perfect for this dish).
Mr Rodrigues goes on to promise a "10 minute Fucking School" on a later DVD but I haven't found that one yet.
Da_Cook

[scott123]

Gurinder Chadha, who directed Bend it like Beckham, has an earlier film that has some interesting insights on culture/food. What's Cooking? is the name.

[CookieWeasel]

I really enjoyed "What's Cooking." The recipes are included on the DVD, so you can cook along if you wish. Gurindar also included a special feature on the Bend It DVD that had her cooking some Aloo Gobi with her mom and auntie. I made that recipe and it was GREAT.

[coll]

I just got the recipe off another thread here about cauliflower, and it is my favorite thing right now. And I hate cauliflower usually!

[wayne keyser]

Anybody remember "Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe"?

I know it's lowbrow, but I laugh.

[Habenero]

Lowbrow? Great flick! Wish it was on DVD. Need to watch it again, it's been years, that early scene where he goes into the Veggie cafe in London is hilarious, especially since I worked as a veggie chef for years upon years...

[calabasas_trafalgar]

"Falling Down", where Michael Douglas shoots up a fast-food joint for refusing to serve him breakfast(it was 15 minutes too late!)

[axesbowledaslove]

Tampopo. It's a modern-day paean to Hollywood westerns set in Tokyo and featuring the quest for the perfect bowl of ramen.

It is the funniest movie I have ever seen, and my all-time favorite.

[DonShirer]

Five years ago I saw "Tortilla Soup" in Tucson, where the father (Hector Elizondo) was a retired chef with one rule: all his daughters had to show up for Sunday dinner. A sort of south of the border version of Ang Lee's "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." I still lust after the dishes they cooked, except oddly, Tortilla Soup itself!

[scott123]

I've got issues with Tortilla Soup. As much as I love Hector Elizondo as an actor and enjoy Elizabeth Pena in just about everything she's in... Hector Elizondo is of Puerto Rican descent and Elizabeth Pena is of Cuban ancestry. Not only is neither Mexican, neither has any Mexican-ness to them. They're NY Hispanics, not Californian Latinos. The difference between these two ethnic groups is huge and makes for a fairly ridiculous movie.

It's like when Cuban food is lumped in with Mexican food. The two are entirely unique cultures.

Henry Winkler playing Arthur Fonzerelli or Alec Guinness painting on blackface for Passage to India might have been okay 30 years ago, but in the tolerant racial atmosphere of this age... if you have a Mexican role, hire a Mexican actor.

Although it has a much heavier tone to it, Eat, Drink, Man, Woman is the better choice,imo. At least you won't be sittting there the whole time, saying to yourself "Hey, these actors aren't Chinese!"

[gfr1111]

In reviewing this thread in December 2009, I ran across Scott123's comments and wanted to make a few of my own. I didn't realize this when I went to the movies to see "Tortilla Soup," but ten minutes into the movie, I realized that it was a very close remake of "Eat Drink, Man Woman." I loved "Tortilla Soup," but thought that "Eat Drink, Man Woman" was even better.

I feel bad saying this because Hector Elizondo is also one of my favorite actors. Anyway, both movies are great movies about making food, the love of food, and (if you'll pardon the pun), the food of love.

[thirtyeyes]

Not a movie, but a TV show in Japan:

http://www.mysoju.com/shota-no-sushi/

A very good view at sushi culture. A couple of the females became big stars in Japan.

[toodie jane]

wow--thanks for the link--I'm sure I'll learn something valuable watching this if it'ss factual (you know TV...)

[toodie jane]

OH! OH!

Episode 6 part 3 of Shota No Sushi has a great nod to Tampopo when Shota begs a truck driver to take him to the pier to get a fresh fish--it's 'the Cowboy' complete with Zippo lighter. Great surprise!

[Glam Foodie]

I instantly thought of 'Tortilla Soup' when I clicked on this link! I hated the acting in the film, minus Elizondo, but the food more than makes up for it.

[ellaj]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I will save all the titles and try to see as many as I can. Love a film that makes me want to eat & drink good things. I can't read cookbooks or see such movies before noon... On second thought, it's 5:00 somewhere, right?

[stlSarah]

Big night and Tampopo- always. There wa another that was set in Italy and focusedon an extended family,possibly set in WW2. The bed ridden grandmother is in chrge of making the tiny tortelini; at some point a basket of these is spilled- I regularly tink of that scene even if I can not remember much more about the film.

[lisabrownie]

Big Night, hands down. I love the movie, I love the music and the food. I wish I had been there.

[ellaj]

I have the soundtrack to Big Night but haven't seen it yet! I keep asking our video store for it but no luck so far. Can't wait to see it.

[Loren3]

The British film "Withnail and I" has one of the best ANTI-food scenes: their kitchen sink. It put me off food, well for hours anyway.

Another interesting sort of anti-food film is Peter Greenaway's "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover". I'll spare you the details.

And there's the anti-food scene in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life".

"Babette's Feast", "Tampopo", and "Like Water for Chocolate" are the three most iconic, all excellent films.

I did see another great flick recently about a chef who is having a mid life crisis. She's a control freak and living alone and running a high-end resto, and she finally meets her culinary and romantic match in an impulsive chef who is brought in to help her out. I think it's French, and her resto is in Italy or Germany. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of it. Sorry.

[ellaj]

I think you could be referring to Mostly Marta. She's German with a new child in her life and the male chef who enters the scene is Italian.

I think I'm afraid to see the anti-food movies! After reading Jacques Pepin's autobiography, "The Apprentice", I cannot get a certain passage involving a fish in a Chinese restaurant out of my head. Still makes me shudder all these many months later. ugh. anyone read that?

[cinnamon girl]

Yes Mostly Marta. But I didn't get it was a midlife crisis. I love the way the story is allowed to unfold at a relatively normal rate instead of every thing working out after 2 weeks. And also how she turns her therapy sessions into food tasting sessions. There was a Hollywood remake with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. Pretty bad.

I loved JP's autobio . . . but I can't think of the scene you're referring to.

My faves remain Babette's Feast, Tampopo, Eat Drink Man Woman, Mostly Marta . . . time will tell if Julia and Julie makes the cut but I suspect it will.

[coll]

Just watched Dinner Rush last night for the third time; love it, the scenes in the kitchen are so real. Also Lady Liberty (La Mortadella), with Sophia Loren, about her trying to bring a mortadella into NYC and being detained by customs. Actually anything with Sophia or Marcello always has a great food scene in it.

[bropaul]

My favorite is also "Big Night". Stanley Tucci,Isabella Rossellini and a veru unknown at the time Alison Janney. I really liked "Mostly Martha" too.

[Val]

"Like Water for Chocolate" so beautiful and sensual, plus I love the Spanish language..."Fatso" which you can't find anywhere to rent or buy anymore except for on the 'net. I need to see "Tampopo." How have I missed it? I know this has been a popular theme for posts here...there are other great ones I've also missed seeing.

[melpy]

I second Fatso.

[chocolatetartguy]

Lina Wertmuller made a film about the crazed operations of a restaurant: Tutto a posto e niente in ordine (Everything's Ready, Nothing Works).

[scott123]

Tampopo. There's no other film where food plays a larger role. Food is the star.

[truliketrudat]

My god Tampopo is the perfect food movie. The first ten minutes are gastronomically overstimulating and then it keeps going on and on.

Watch it!

[lschow]

my mom is totally the little old lady who pokes all the bread and squeezes all the fruit in the grocery store scene. love that movie!

[toodie jane]

netflix doesn't have it!

[mujeresliebres]

http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Tampop...

Where were you looking?

[toodie jane]

it's been on my wish list for quite a while, notated as 'eta unknown'.

T H A N K y o u !

[CindyJ]

Try your local library. Mine's got it and I've just put a hold on it.

[rozz01]

The copy from my library was stolen... It's been in my Netflix queue for at least a year...

[pamfenway]

I just discovered Tampopo in my quick picks on Amazon this morning. Apparently the dvd was released a week ago.

[Janet]

The Big Night. I don't remember who is in it. But the whole movie is about a restuarant preparing a wonderful meal. We took a cooking class and learned to make most of the food in the movie.

And of course there is the famous food scene from Tom Jones.

[soozycue520]

"Big Night is fabulous, and really, full of "stars". Tony Shaloub {"Wings" & "Monk"}, Stanley Tucci, Marc Anthony, Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, Allison Janney.

[pamfenway]

Big Night inspired me to make TIMPANO. It's a heck of a lot of work, but it is fabulous!

[calabasas_trafalgar]

"Get Shorty" - Danny DiVito gives the waiter an elaborate order that the restaurant doesn't have on the menu, then leaves without eating it.