restaurant/food movies

[markovitch]

So for the past week Portland has been snowed/iced in, and i have done nothing but cook and rent movies. I started hunting out food related movies, but i haven't found any good ones. I have seen:

Mostly Martha, a german romance flick... but like most german romance flick the final goal is friendship not love.

Dinner Rush, starring Danny Aiello (sp?) and the head chef looks like John leguizamo

any better ones out there? am i just going to have to wait for the Kitchen Confidential movie?

edit: one day i will learn to type

Edited January 9, 2004 by markovitch (log)

[Raynickben]

Have you seen "The Cook, The Theif, His Wife and Her Lover"?

[woodford]

Some for your list:

"Big Night"

"Like Water for Chocolate"

"Chocolat"

[curlywurlyfi]

Tampopo (great noodle slurping!). And Babette's Feast, though I didn't especially like it. And - how could we forget - Delicatessen!

[cwyc]

What about:

Eat Drink Man Woman

The Scent of Green Papaya

[Toliver]

Wasn't there some sort of "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" with Robert Morley as a Food Critic?

"Moonstruck" had a lot of food-related scenes in it. I always get so hungry when I watch that movie!

[ExtraMSG]

Already some great suggestions. Tortilla Soup is a decent enough movie. I think it was based on Eat Drink Man Woman, but I could be wrong. But I love Mexican food so much that seeing the opening sequence is just awesome.

btw, drove my wife into work today (Portland) and it took us a full hour to get across the 205 bridge. Then coming back I saw 4 accidents, 3 of which happened before my eyes, including a guy shooting across the median from the other direction. Even had to get out on an overpass and push some lady's tin can mini-SUV to get her straightened out. We need some rain!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Wasn't there some sort of "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" with Robert Morley as a Food Critic?

Yes - with Jacqueline Bisset and George Segal. I recommended it to a friend just last night but she couldn't find it in her store (it is a bit older).

[Carolyn Tillie]

Here is a previous thread:

Here

[bpearis]

Tampopo (great noodle slurping!).

Tampopo is one of my all-time favorite movies, food-oriented or otherwise. I think any film where there is obvious passion about its subject matter is worth seeing. There is much passion in Tampopo. It's also very funny. Nearly perfect.

[fresh_a]

La Grande Bouffe

[Brad S]

Tortillia soup is a good one also.

[Jonathan Day]

And don't forget L'Aile ou la Cuisse? (A Wing or a Thigh?) a 1976 Louis De Funès comedy in which De Funès stars as Charles Duchemin, France's best known gourmet and publisher of the red Guide Duchemin. He is waging a war against fast food entrepreneur Jean Tricatel and seeking to preserve the traditional cuisine of France. Meanwhile his son wants to become a clown rather than a restaurant critic and he, the famous Charles Duchemin, has lost his sense of taste.

Very 1970s, mostly silly, lots of slapstick, but dead on-topic for eGullet foodie types.

[Rachel Perlow]

Wasn't there some sort of "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" with Robert Morley as a Food Critic?

Yes - with Jacqueline Bisset and George Segal. I recommended it to a friend just last night but she couldn't find it in her store (it is a bit older).

If you've got a TiVo, just do a search or a wishlist autorecord. I'm sure it airs several times a year, you'll catch it eventually. Click for movie's details.

[TrishCT]

Some of my faves have been mentioned--Big Night, Babette's Feast...

For dessert-Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory...

[Jaymes]

Eating Raoul

In which Mr. & Mrs. Bland go to great lengths with a cast iron skillet in an effort to save up enough money to open a restaurant.

[lala]

I fondly remember 'Who's killing the Great Chefs of Europe'. It's from the late 70's, when I began to get serious about cooking. Lots of great scenes in European cities, kitchens, food, lots of over the top hysterical chefs. Even then, it was unbelievable that Jacquiline Bisset (as a Pastry Chef) could waltz onto an airplane, carrying her knife kit. (heck, I had problems checking mine in my luggage at that time.). And watching her try to make a large Bombe is just too funny, as she patted away at this massive thing with a palette knife.

Funny, funny movie. See it if you can.

[Sparkitus]

Well, maybe not for the entire movie, but in the beginning of "Once Upon a Time in America" there is the most beautiful scene of a kid bringing a confection to a girl and he has to wait in the stairwell until she is ready to come out. Leone spends an entire 5-minute single-edit with this kid as he unwraps the dessert and slowly proceeds to devour the thing. Really beautiful cinematography.

[sequim]

The original french Cousin, Cousine. The couple made eating pastries so sexy. Not a food movie but food in it. .. it was french, what do you expect?!

Agree with others on Babette's Feast and Eat Drink, Man Woman.

Also there's a Chinese one called The Noodle Shop or something like that. About a woman who opens a noodle restaurant and wants to make the perfect noodle soup. Hope I'm not mangling the description of it too much...

[sput]

Certainly Babette's Feast applies, especially for the demonstration of the proper manner in which a quail head should be eaten...

[Jason Perlow]

Tortillia soup is a good one also.

I saw this on cable recently, it was excellent.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I've been passionate about food movies for a long time -- and food SCENES within otherwise non-food movies. Here are a few of my favorites:

Diva

Serge Gorodish (played by Richard Bohringer) explains to Jules (the postman, played by Frédéric Andréi) the proper way to butter a baguette. "This is my sartori," he says...

Women in Love

There is a picnic scene where Rupert Birkin (played by Alan Bates) watches Hermione (Eleanor Bron) delicately eat a fig with utensils. He then akins the fig to a woman's part and sensually rips the fig apart with his two thumbs, eating it thus.

Lives of the Bengal Lancers

Another movie with a Veuve Cliquot reference (see my signature). But there is a banquet scene where Lieutenant Forsythe (my greatest love, Franchot Tone) discusses how horrible the mutton is. Brilliant.

Titus

Well, the entire dinner sequence with Titus (Anthony Hopkins) in chef's garb is superb.

I could go on, but those are my all-time, watch over-and-over fav's...

[denise_jer]

It sounds a little like Tanpopo...

How about Hotel Splendide? I've seen that a couple times on IFC, I really like it!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Also there's a Chinese one called The Noodle Shop or something like that. About a woman who opens a noodle restaurant and wants to make the perfect noodle soup. Hope I'm not mangling the description of it too much...

It is Japanese and is Tampopo.

[Alex]

How about The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie?