Food Movies: The Topic

[Peter the eater]

What's the best food movie you've seen?

My top ten favourite food movies:

10. TAMPOPO (1985, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe) The first Japanese noodle western! Very good and very funny.

9. BIG NIGHT (Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini) “In love and life, one big night can change everything.”

7. THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER (1989, Richard Bohringer, Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon and Alan Howard) Peter Greenaway, lust...murder...dessert. Bon Appetit!

6. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (1993, Ada Carrasco, Lumi Cavazos, M. Martinez, Regina Torne, Marco Leonardi) Fantastic food film from Mexico.

5. FELICIA'S JOURNEY (1999, Bob Hoskins, Gerald McSorley, Elaine Cassidy and Claire Benedict) This is Atom Egoyan - a Canadian national treasure - at his best!

4. SUPERSIZE ME (2004. Morgan Spurlock) Wow – this should be mandatory viewing for anyone who “uses” the fast food.

3. EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1995, Sihung Lung, Chien-lien Wu, Yu-Wen Wang and Kuei-Mai Yang) An Ang Lee masterpiece.

2. BABETTE'S FEAST (1987, Ghita Norby, Thomas Antoni, Asta Esper Andersen and Gert Bastian) An Academy Award winner!

1. CHOCOLAT (2000, Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Alfred Molina) Brilliant! My fave.

Honourable mention:

TORTILLA SOUP, MOSTLY MARTHA, WHAT’S COOKING?, BREAD AND TULIPS, LA GRANDE BOUFFE, WHO’S KILLING THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE?

[Csaville]

We loved Babette's Feast and enjoyed Mondovino as well! Of course, the first episode of A Year in Provence (albeit unrealistic) is quite gorgeous as they enjoy a New Year's meal in style!

[David McDuff]

While I thoroughly enjoyed most of the films on your top ten list, Peter, for me it's a two film answer: Babettes's Feast for beautifully presenting the art, passion and community of cooking and Tampopo for pure fun.

[wkl]

Mostly Martha.

[Megan Blocker]

Eat Drink Man Woman and Chocolat are my two favorites, and I've been meaning to rent Mostly Martha for ages!

Edited February 1, 2006 by Megan Blocker (log)

[emhahn]

There's a brand new movie coming called "Waiting" that has been getting decent reviews.... It's coming out on DVD within the next week.

Here's the website: WAITING

Nobody mentioned two of the biggest ever, "Fried Green Tomatoes" and "Cocktail."

Both of those were about food or the restaurant biz.....

Eric

Restaurantedge.com

[John DePaula]

Hands down, it is CHOCOLAT for me! The story and the luminous Juliette Binoche inspired me to open a chocolate store...

[jgm]

It's hard for me to pin any one down, because they all have their moments. Babette's Feast is probably my favorite, but then there's that wonderful scene in the store window in Chocolat. . .and that glorious moment of understanding (about the ribs) in Fried Green Tomatoes. . .

As for individual scenes in non-food movies, one of my favorites is in Desperately Seeking Susan. It's been many years since I've seen it, but if I remember, Susan is missing, her friends are in a kitchen, and one of them is fixing food. Upon being questioned about food consumption in a crisis, one of them replies, "Why can't you just take a Valium like a normal person?"

[Gifted Gourmet]

This site agrees with your list by choosing pretty much the same films but then there was also a film called Dinner Rush where you can watch some clips in Quicktime ... and even find recipes from the film ...

thread on Babette's Feast with recipes ...

Indian Food Movies thread as well ...

[inventolux]

Mars Attacks and Rabbit Proof Fence

[Culinista]

I've been trying to remember a Korean movie I saw at least 10 years ago--all I remember is that the title of the American video version was the numbers of two adjoining apartments. It was about the relationship between two female neighbors, one of whom cooks. I think it ends with her cooking the neighbor.

I wouldn't call it the best food movie ever (that would be a toss-up between Babette's Feast and Tampopo, closely followed by Big Night), but there were a lot of food scenes and it bugs me that I can't remember the title.

[fudy]

God of Cookery by Steven Chou.

[Holly Moore]

Though about more than food, whenever I think of food in a movie, top of mind has to be Tom Jones.

[Toliver]

"Moonstruck"

It didn't have a lot of food in it but key scenes revolved around food.

ROSE: "Old Man, if you give another piece of my food to those dogs, I'm gonna kick you till you're dead!"

[rlibkind]

What? No one's mentioned pastrami and fake orgasms at Katz's?

[Brioche57]

I loved the dinner scene in Sideways.

[Mr Wozencroft]

Has anyone seen "La Grande Bouffe"?

Its a 70's french film about a group of men who decide to rent a villa and eat themselves to death.

Amazing! Please watch/rent!

[sandercohan]

I'm a huge fan of "Big Night". "Like Water for Chocolate" is really good too.

I also like "Eating Raoul", which I suppose is not strictly a food movie -- but about two somewhat conservative oenophiles who realize that the way to realize their dream of opening a country bed and breakfast is to kill swingers and steal their money. Pretty funny, in a really dark sort of way.

Chinese film always has some of the best food scenes, of all sorts of shades from funny to disturbing -- the food politics between the wives in "Raise the Red Lantern" for example.

sander

[KatieLoeb]

Like Water for Chocolate has to be one of the most sensual films of all time. It's awesome. The scene where she makes the Rose Petal chicken makes me weep every time. I finally figured out that the title referred to the simmering just below the boiling point passion of the characters.

I'm a little slow sometimes.

[BCinBC]

Okay if a movie with a food "scene" qualifies, you have to give nods to Titus and Hannibal. Neither is a particularly good movie, but each has a scene involving "food" that is really really memorable.

[BuzzDraft]

Okay if a movie with a food "scene" qualifies, you have to give nods to Titus and Hannibal. Neither is a particularly good movie, but each has a scene involving "food" that is really really memorable.

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Well, with those stipulations, I nominate Blazing Saddles... those campfire beans sounded good.

[docsconz]

Though about more than food, whenever I think of food in a movie, top of mind has to be Tom Jones.

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I agree.

Another movie to consider is My Dinner with Andre.

[Brad Ballinger]

Mostly Martha.

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I like this one a lot.

I'm surprised "Dinner Rush" hasn't been mentioned.

[akebono]

Tampopo

Silence of the Lambs

[NYC Mike]

Does "The Dinner Game" count as a food movie? It is the most hilarious ever!