Food Movies With reviews from members of the SCA Cook’s List, and from the website All Movie Guide (www.allmovie.com) "A Chef in Love" (1996) France / Georgia (Republic) / Germany / Belgium / Ukraine / Russia. A French-Georgian film that came out a few years ago called "A Chef in Love" (if you can't find it under the English title, the French is "Les mille et une recettes du cuisinier amoureux"). It was an Oscar nominee for best foreign film the year of its release. The scene I remember best is when the chef is being served some elaborate, exotic concoction at a restaurant, is challenged to guess all the ingredients that make it up. - Vittoria A comically accented historical drama with culinary appeal, this film introduces us to Pascal Ichac (Pierre Richard), a French chef with a nose so sensitive that he can decipher the ingredients in a sauce with a single sniff. A true renaissance man, Pascal is a genius in the kitchen and a trained operatic vocalist and former gigolo. When he decides that he's beginning to tire of his surroundings in France, he heads for Russia to find new challenges and tastes in Georgia. En route to the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi, Pascal meets Cecilia Abachidze (Micheline Presle), a princess who is charmed by the suave chef; although he is in his 50s and she in her 20s, love is soon in the air. When Pascal's keen sense of smell helps prevent the president from being poisoned, the chef is given carte blanche to open the restaurant of his dreams. The New Eldorado is soon the toast of Tbilisi, but the arrival of the Soviet Army in 1921 puts an end to the delicious grace of Pascal's eatery, and he is forced to leave Cecilia, who is in turn forced to marry an Army captain. This film was was Georgia's official 1997 entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. — Mark Deming “A Feast At Midnight” (1994) UK- This British comedy is set within the confines of the snooty Dryden Park boarding school in rural England. The story centers on a lonely 10-year old boy, Magnus, whose parents are staying in Paris and cannot even be bothered to take him to the school themselves; instead, he arrives by cab. Once at the school, Magnus must endure all sorts of humiliations and torments at the hands of the other boys and from the staff. Later when Magnus organizes a secret gourmet club to help counteract the horribly healthy food foisted upon them by the headmaster, he begins making friends. The club members, using recipes from Magnus' father, make all kinds of delicacies. One of them is a homemade alcohol-laced chocolate cake that gets the students rip-roaring drunk. The inebriated chums begin splashing around in the school pool and have great fun until the Latin teacher's lovely daughter joins them, and all hell breaks loose when they are caught. — Sandra Brennan "Babette's Feast" (1987) Danish/French - The adventures of good eating bring new life to a quiet Protestant fishing village. I love the growing sense of awe on the General's face...and the food prep scenes are wonderful. - 'Lainie Made out of humility and love, the feast is Babette's supreme artistic expression, and her hedonistic present encourages the feasters to look a little more closely at their own lives, as the magical and voluptuous feast dramatically counterpoints their puritanical existence. - Dan Jardine “Chocolat” (2000) USA– A traveling woman and her daughter end up in a small French town in 1959 that hasn’t had fun in a while, she uses her mother’s ancient recipes to create chocolate treats that loosen everybody up. "Eat,Drink,Man,Woman" (1994) Taiwan Director Ang Lee's follow-up to his surprise box-office hit The Wedding Banquet is another look at ethnic and sexual conflicts in a Chinese family, with meals as a centerpiece of the film. Master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) is a long-time widower who lovingly cooks large Sunday dinners for his three daughters, who view the meals as too traditional. - Michael Betzold "Tortilla Soup" (2001) USA. A remake of Ang Lee's family comedy Eat Drink Man Woman, Maria Ripoli’s Hispanic-American ensemble feature set in Southern California about a veteran chef named Martin Naranjo (Hector Elzondo), who is slowly losing his sense of taste. - Jason Clark Best scene – the Mother-in-law learning who the father really wants to marry. "Fried Green Tomatoes." (1991) USA Remember the secret's in the sauce! “Full Moon Lunches” ( )Japan "La Grande Bouffe" (1973) France. And don't forget that black comedy, "La Grande Bouffe", in which 4 depressed middle-aged men - Marcello Mastroianni, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli, and Ugo Tognazzi - rent a villa and proceed to eat themselves to death each in a different way. - Anahita al-shazhiyya "Like Water for Chocolate"(1993) Mexico. Food magic as a binding force in a Mexican family over the lifetime of three sisters. A wonderful food movie, the cook's emotions get transferred into the food they prepare (the main character and her nanny). Most memorable scene (for the guys, anyway), Gertrudis running away from home buck-naked. The book supplies the recipes for the magical meals... the audiobook version included a nice recipe booklet. “Lunga Vita alla Signora!”(1987) Italy. Released in the US as “Long Live the Lady!”, ”Lunga Vita alla Signora!” is an "experience vs. naivety" outing from Italian director Ermanno Olmi. The Lady (or Signora) of the title is a mysterious matron who lives in a crumbling mansion. Six catering trainees are brought to the castle upon its conversion into a resort hotel. They are ordered to prepare a special meal for the old lady, whom none of them ever seen for more than an instant. As the caterers grow in wisdom and sophistication, we learn that the lady may very well be an urbane ghost rather than a flesh-and-blood entity. “Lunga Vita alla Signora!” is a rewarding experience for those willing to give the film their full undivided attention. — Hal Erickson "Mostly Martha" (2001) Germany/ Italy/ Austria/ Switzerland. The main character is a big name chef who lives for her kitchen, etc. She's INCREDIBLY uptight, and the opening scenes are she with her shrink, talking about the perfect recipe, and why cant life be like that? Her sister dies in a car crash and suddenly her perfectly organized and orchestrated life is turned upside down when her young niece comes to live with her. She undergoes major emotional stress, and the restaurant owner decides to hire a new chef to "help", especially with the pasta. The guy’s this wonderful homey Italian cook, and proceeds to steal everyone’s heart and palate, to our uptight haute cuisine chef’s dismay. - Anne-Marie "Tampopo"/"Dandelion"/"The Noodle Shop" (1986) Japan. (all three titles for the same film). A must-see for fans of food and cooking, the Seven Samurai movies, and Japanese culture. The only funny oriental film I've ever seen. Best line "they live deeply, these vagabonds..." It is subtitled in english, and runs 110 minutes. - Christianna A gleeful thumb in the eye of Japan's money-mad 1980s culture, Juzo Itami's masterpiece subverts all that is right and proper with food and sex. Dubbed the first "noodle western," the film concerns a craggy-faced Shane-like stranger (he drives a semi instead of a horse) who aids a young widow named Tampopo as she struggles to make the best bowl of ramen noodles in town. On one level, the film works as an odd metaphor for Japan's newfound affluence, built on avid borrowings from other cultures. Each of the figures who gathers around to help Tampopo has a distinct national signifier: the belligerent, often drunk Piskin (not a common Japanese name) evokes Russia, the itinerant Noodle Master who sports a beret and speaks wistfully about French cuisine indicates France, and, of course, the cowboy hat-sporting Goro recalls the United States. Yet the film's loose structure, organized around seemingly unrelated vignettes, gives it a wider cultural resonance. From the scene in which the Man in the White Suit and his moll perform an unnatural act with raw egg to the corporate neophyte who upstages his boss with his expert knowledge of gourmet cuisine to the old woman who molests fruit in a grocery store, everyone in Tampopo is obsessed with food and uses it to stage their own quiet, often perverse protests against Japan's rigid hierarchical society. - Jonathan Crow "The Big Night" (1996) USA. Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub are the respective owner/manager and partner/chef of a dying little Italian restaurant in 1950's Atlantic City, NJ. A competitor (a Philistine food-whore who serves spaghetti and meatballs on the same plate, so obviously very successful among a distinctly food-ignorant, tasteless, tacky and wealthy clientele), supposedly doing them a favor, promises to arrange a party to be hosted by the brothers at their restaurant for Louis Prima and his band, which is supposed to suddenly transform their restaurant into a world-famous night-spot... Apart from scenes detailing the creation of a timpano di maccherone, which pretty much has to be seen to be believed, I especially love the bit where the tacky customers don't appreciate the seafood risotto (which has no actual seafood in it, only its concentrated essence), and wonder why it doesn't come with a side of spaghetti, leading to the chef's suggestion that he replace it on the menu with... "'ow you say... 'ot dog? Tee Vee Deenner?" - Adamantius "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1989) UK/ France/ Netherlands. Director Peter Greenaway. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he has recently bought. Having tired of her sadistic, boorish husband, the wife finds herself a lover (Alan Howard) and makes love to him in the restaurant's coziest places with the silent permission of the cook (Richard Bohringer). - Yuri German Most memorable scene - the lovers naked in a refrigerator truck full of butchered carcasses. Not a movie for the faint of heart or squeamish of stomach. - Christianna "The Chinese Feast" (1996) Hong Kong. Another Hong-Kong-produced chef-fu extravaganza, concerning an old restaurateur gambling to save his restaurant, the great bet being to see which chef (the evil, superhuman organized crime chef, or the recently-rehabilitated-alcoholic-failure genius chef -- think Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou as a chef) can do a better recreation of a legendary Imperial Feast menu from the Qing Dynasty. - Adamantius With a marvelously convoluted plot and featuring plenty of slapstick action, Chinese Feast is essentially a kung-fu film with a tasty twist: the combatants battle with knives, not to carve each other up but to make exquisite culinary delicacies. The story's impetus comes from a long-standing feud between cooking schools and centers on an upcoming cook-off in which two master chefs compete to present the most delicious version of the Qing & Han Imperial Feast staples — monkey brains, bear paw, and elephant trunk. — Sandra Brennan "The God of Cookery" (1997) Hong Kong. (Stephen Chiao, the man responsible for "Shaolin Soccer", doing a very mean spoof of "Iron Chef"). - Adamantius Fans of the Iron Chef and kung-fu films may enjoy this flamboyant and outrageous comedy starring flamboyant Hong Kong funnyman Stephen Chiau. Chiau plays the character of the overwhelmingly despicable and weasely God of Cookery to the hilt, gaining power-mad pleasure by humiliating and embarrassing any and all whose culinary skills he sees as lesser (or greater for that matter) than his own, until his inevitable fall from grace after a shady business deal. Playing the role of a pathetic has-been with equal zeal, Chiau actually manages to mold the previous monster into a sympathetic has-been, making his efforts to regain his rightful title an amusing and hilarious uphill battle. The final exhilarating culinary face-off — in which he struggles against his former protégé turned backstabbing adversary — must be seen to be believed, becoming a hyper-stylized battle in which egos flare and spatulas fly. — Jason Buchanan “The Joy Luck Club” (1993) USA. The film takes place in present-day San Francisco, concentrating on a group of late-middle-aged Chinese women. Ever since arriving in the United States after World War II, the women have gathered weekly to play mah-jongg and to tell stories, regaling each other with tales of their children and grandchildren, giving each other a sense of hope and renewal in the midst of poverty and hardship. Many elaborate dinners are had around big family dining tables. - Paul Brenner “301/302” (1995) South Korea. This Korean horror movie offers a feminist twist in that it centers on two female protagonists living next door to each other in a high rise apartment. The title refers to their respective apartment numbers. The story opens as one of the women, a compulsive cook, is being questioned about the mysterious disappearance of her neighbor, the other woman, a traumatized writer suffering from anorexia nervosa. The two meet when the friendly cook tries to give the writer some of her newest creation. The writer later throws the food away. Still a friendship is born and as they converse, the tragic reasons for the writer's condition come to light. Dark secrets from the cook's past are also revealed. It is she who offers up the grisly final solution to the writer's guilt and continual pain. — Sandra Brennan “Vatel” (2000) France/UK. In 1671, the Prince du Conde (Julian Glover) is a figure of French nobility who is deep in debt and suffering from gout. Hoping to buoy his fortunes and his reputation, du Conde wants to win command of the French Army in an anticipated conflict with Holland. When du Conde receives word from the Marquis de Lauzun (Tim Roth) that that King Louis XIV (Julian Sands) wishes to spend three days at his estate, du Conde is determined to pull out all the stops, and he asks Francois Vatel (Gerard Depardieu) to make the arrangements. Vatel is a master chef with a genius for arranging spectacular entertainments, and he is determined that this will be a weekend that the king will always remember. But that's before Vatel meets Anne de Montausier (Uma Thurman), a lovely courtesan traveling with the king's party. Anne is the king's new mistress, but that doesn't stop Vatel from falling in love with her, and he is determined to win her heart. Produced in both English and French language versions, Vatel was chosen to open the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. — Mark Deming A fictional account of a series of major feasts and festivities produced by Vatel, a master chef in the employ of the Prince de Conde', and served to The French Sun King Louis XIV and his huge and devious entourage. Vatel was a contemporary of people like La Varenne, Digby and Pepys. Most of what is known, historically, about Vatel is the circumstances of his death, which the movie actually obscures a bit in an attempt to flesh out the character, add social and personal motivation to the character in addition to professional ones which are known from contemporary accounts. The film manages to make this bare-bones incident a little more complex, and whether this approach is any closer to the truth I can't say, but I hope that referring to the historical figure in this way hasn't spoiled the movie for anyone. What I enjoyed most about the film was what appeared to be accurate portrayals of a modern French cuisine in its semi-infancy. Among other things, there are shots of brioche being kneaded in the traditional manner, puff pastry being made and worked with, a huge batch of duxelles being made to fill pie shells in lieu of absent meat, and a mysterious substitute for custard made from sugar and cream, which, we are assured, will whip up just like egg whites. Amazing! It's mentioned in an offhand way that this is an old recipe from Chantilly. Oh, and some absolutely stunning on-camera sugar work. It's as if Vatel is some kind of time-traveller from the era of Careme, sent back to usher in the age of modern French cookery. Of course, everybody knows that that was really La Varenne who did that. ; ) I can't think of anybody who put in a bad performance, and Tim Roth proves that his "sleazeball-in-an-ornate-powdered-wig" act, as also seen in "Rob Roy" was not a fluke. Costumes appear to my untrained eye to be excellent, and sets and props are amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in food and with a chance to see it. - Adamantius “What’s Cooking?” (2000) UK/USA. Kenyan-born, London-educated Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha follows up on her debut hit “Bhaji on the Beach” (1994) with this gentle look at multiculturalism in Los Angeles. The film details the lives of four ethnically diverse families — black, Latino, Jewish, and Asian — during one frantic Thanksgiving. The film opens with Ronald (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American who works as a spin doctor for the Republican politico; he and his wife Audrey (Alfre Woodard) are in the midst of preparing for their white dinner guests. Meanwhile, at the Latino household, young Anthony Avila (Douglas Spain) invites his womanizing father for Thanksgiving dinner, unbeknownst to his schoolteacher mother Elisabeth (Mercedes Ruehl). At the same time, the Seeling family is confronted with their daughter Rachel's (Kyra Sedwick) lesbianism, when she brings home her lover Carla (Julianna Margulies). Finally, Vietnamese immigrant Trinh Nguyen (Joan Chen) struggles to understand her Americanized children after she discovers condoms in her eldest daughter's jacket and a gun in her son's room. — Jonathan Crow "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" (1978) USA/ West Germany. Max (Robert Morley) is a wealthy, world-class conoisseur of fine food, who cannot stop himself from eating when the food is first-class. His doctors have given him stern warnings that he must lose over one hundred pounds, or he will die of heart failure. The presence of so many four-star chefs in Europe is a hazard for him. When many of these same chefs are found murdered in inventive ways, each related to the chef's specialty, it begins to appear that Max is the prime suspect in their deaths. Meanwhile, the ex-wife (Jaqueline Bisset) of a fast-food tycoon (George Segal) has earned the right to cook the dessert course at a dinner billed as "the meal of the century." Despite their profound disagreements, he is worried that she will be one of the murderer's victims. This film, which was loved by some critics and hated by others, is based on the best-selling novel Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons. — Clarke Fountain My favorite scene is the 5 French Chefs who are all convinced they will be next because they are obviously the best chef in France. So true it almost isn't funny. – Christianna “Woman on Top” (2000) USA. Love, sex, and food combine in this sensuous romantic comedy. Isabella (Penelope Cruz) is a master chef who suffers from severe motion sickness, requiring her to be in control of her movements at all times. This need extends to the bedroom, but her husband Tonino (Murilo Benicio), who owns the restaurant where she works, doesn't like to make love in the fashion suggested by the title. This is hardly the only thing about their relationship that she finds stifling, and when Isabella discovers Tonino in bed with another woman, she leaves for America, where with the help of cross-dressing friend "Monica" (Harold Perrineau Jr.), she becomes a star as the host of a TV cooking show, Passion Foods Live. Woman on Top was the first American film from Venezuelan director Fina Torres. — Mark Deming Horror/ Cannibalism: “Blood Feast” (1963) USA (on record as, officially, the world's first explicitly gory slasher movie -- the director, Herschell Gordon Lewis, actually had to invent a variety of stage blood, and order several gallons of the stuff -- you can still buy it). This movie concerns a crazed Ishtar-worshipping caterer, all set to sacrifice a composite human body, suitably cooked and decorated, made from the parts of (obviously) the 287 nubile young ladies he has eliminated over the previous 68 minutes of the movie. Actually, I don't remember if there's any actual dining. Some catering talk, though, and the absolute classic line, when the heroine's (truly, truly dumb as a box of rocks, as Joe Bob Briggs used to say) mother realizes that her caterer has been interrupted by macho police detective while in the act of murdering and mutilating her daughter atop her own kitchen counter, sums it all up with, "Oh, dear! I suppose we'll have to eat hamburgers!" And did I mention that this magnum opus was produced by one David Friedman??? (Okay, David F. Friedman, not the one we know.) – Adamantius Herschell Gordon Lewis, the acknowledged "Godfather of Gore," shattered taboos against graphic violence onscreen with this bloody horror film. Mal Arnold plays Fuad Ramses, a mad Egyptian caterer with bushy eyebrows who is gathering body parts to use in a "Blood Feast" to honor the ancient goddess Ishtar. He's been hired by the mother of young Egyptology student Suzette (Playboy Playmate Connie Mason) to cater a special party. Luckily, Mason happens to be dating a cop (Thomas Wood) who is also in her class and is on the case of a gruesome serial-killer who removes body parts from his female victims. Wood finally solves the case and chases Arnold into the back of a garbage truck, where he is bloodily compacted. Wood and Mason returned the following year in Lewis' Two Thousand Maniacs! — Robert Firsching “Delicatessen” (1991) France. A post-apocalyptic future becomes the setting for pitch black humor in this visually intricate French comedy. The action takes place within a single apartment complex, which is owned by the same man that operates the downstairs butcher shop. It's a particularly popular place to live, thanks to the butcher's uncanny ability to find excellent cuts of meat despite the horrible living conditions outside. The newest building superintendent, a former circus clown, thinks he has found an ideal living situation. All that changes, however, when he discovers the true source of the butcher's meat, and that he may be the next main course. - Judd Blaise "Eating Raoul" (1982) USA - Paul Bartel's black comedy about a middle-class couple who want to open a restaurant has become a cult classic. Bartel and Mary Woronov play a staid couple who formulate a plan to murder and rob "swingers" to finance their dream of opening a gourmet restaurant. — Michael Costello "I was just... pounding the veal." That, along with the complete lyrics to the Doggie King dog food jingle, is the most vivid memory of that movie that I have after, what, 21 years? (Probably because I had bought the soundtrack on beautiful vinyl...) – Adamantius "Fellini's Satyricon" (1968) Italy/ France. (See ‘One or two memorable food scenes’) “Motel Hell” (1980) USA. People come from far and wide to sample Farmer Vincent's distinctively flavored dried, smoked sausages, but one might well ask why there are so few people staying at his nearby motel. This horror-comedy provides the graphic answer. It seems that the good farmer only uses the highest quality, specially processed human meat in his treats. To prepare the meat, he first harvests healthy tourists from his hotel. Next he plants them into the ground up to their necks and with a sharp knife carefully slices their vocal chords. He and his portly sister then feed the victims until the meat is tender and well marbled with fat. Afterward they are promptly slaughtered, minced with a few secret herbs and stuffed into sausage casings which are then carefully aged in the smokehouse. His operation is abruptly cut off when Vincent's normal brother Bruce learns about the secret ingredients. In the end, the brothers grab chainsaws and have a hilarious, blood-soaked showdown. — Sandra Brennan When it first came out, one critic said it got 3 stars if you could laugh at cannibalism and only one if you couldn't - Morgana "Soylent Green" (1973) USA. (see Food in Scarcity) "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (1984) UK (original Broadway cast preferred; although it's the road show cast available on video). The eponymous Mr. Todd (George Hearn), an ill-tempered London barber, pursues the grisly sideline of slashing his enemies' throats, grinding up their bodies, and selling the results in meat pies! This is material for a musical? Yes, and it's terrific. The production is at its best when Angela Lansbury, as Todd's looney mistress, belts forth one of the score's 26 songs. There's also a marvelous music hall turn in "The Worst Pies in London" and delirious black comedy in "A Little Priest," as Todd and Mrs. Lovett hatch their scheme of popping people into pies. - Hal Erickson “Theater of Blood” (1973) UK. Vincent Price obviously had a great time making this wickedly funny horror-comedy, and his exuberance carried over to the rest of the cast. Price is Edward Lionheart, a deluded Shakespearean actor who believes that the local critics' circle robbed him of an acting award he deserved. Presumed dead after a suicide attempt, Price dons a variety of disguises — from a masseuse to a gay hairdresser — in order to make sure the critics meet gruesome deaths based on those in Shakespearean plays. One critic is decapitated in his bed (Cymbeline), another has a pound of flesh removed (The Merchant of Venice), a third is tricked into killing his wife (Othello), and in the most elaborate set-up, the effeminate Robert Morley is forced to eat his beloved poodles baked in pies a la Titus Andronicus. - Robert Firsching "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?" (1978) USA/ West Germany. (See Food Movies) One or two memorable food scenes: "Age of Innocence" (1993) USA. While it doesn't show the actual food being prepared, Martin Scorsese's "Age of Innocence" has a wonderful and lush banquet scene that makes my mouth water every time I see it. - Huette "A Passage to India" (1984) UK. The 3 Indian brothers(?) were trying to decide what to serve to their guest a Hindu, a Muslim & an English person. Chicken was too common for a special meal. Pork would cause the Muslim to become irate. Beef would cause the Hindu to have a Stroke. Mutton it was decided. An excellent scene well played by the actors. - Olaf "Fellini's Satyricon" (1968) Italy/ France. While not about food, it does reproduce in part the feast of Trimalchio and shows a strange kitchen (this isn't historic recreation). Also, not obvious to the viewer - the huge mosaic of Trimalchio on the wall in his fake funeral scene was made of hard candies, because Fellini like the way they looked on film better than glass. - Anahita Federico Fellini makes his most decadent, undisciplined work in this free adaptation of Petronius' famous farcical chronicle of ancient Roman life. … Along the way, we witness a parade of prostitutes in ancient Rome's pleasure quarters; watch performance by Vernacchio, an actor whose on-stage specialties include farting and public amputation; and the wonton devouring of a human corpse for financial gain. — Jonathan Crow Harry Potter movies (2001, ’02, ’04, ’05, ‘07) - I loved the feast scenes. All that food and how it was displayed! I think the camera swooping over the laden tables really showed the feasting to great advantage!! - Phillipa “I Love You to Death” (1990) USA. Starring: Kevin Kline , Tracey Ullman , River Phoenix , Keanu Reeves and Joan Plowright Directed by Lawrence Kasdan Synopsis - Joey is an Italian with a nice family, a zest for life and a lust for other women. When his wife can no longer avoid the fact that Joey is playing around, she decides to murder him with a little help from her family and barbiturate-laced spaghetti. Based on a true story. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) USA. “Snake Surprise!” “No thanks, I had bugs for lunch.” "Last Tango in Paris" (1972) Italy/ France. – go get the butter. “…If the sexual content in Last Tango is uncomfortably explicit (once seen, the infamous "butter scene" is never forgotten), the combination of Brando's acting, Bertolucci's direction, Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography, and Gato Barbieri’s music is unbeatable, creating one of the classic European art movies of the 1970s, albeit one that is not for all viewers. — Hal Erickson "My Father's Glory" (1990) France and "My Mother's Castle" (1990) France Another great movie (well, two movies, but they're halves of the same story), which aren't entirely food-related, are the films based on the autobiographies of Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974). They are rife with gorgeous scenes of life in turn-of-the-century Provence, and while not gastro centric, still include big, steaming bowls of cafe au lait, fresh bread spread thick with homemade butter and jam, a luscious baba au rhum decked out with cream and fresh fruits... -Vittoria At dinnertime outside, the family sits at a table full of orchard-fresh fruit and other local fare as the sun dims and conversation brightens. — Mike Cummings "My Favorite Year" (1982) USA. Not a food movie, but remember the great dinner scene in "My Favorite Year", featuring the infamous Meat Loaf Mindanao? "That dish takes two days to prepare. They put up some squawk, you know?" - Adamantius "9-1/2 Weeks" (1986) USA. His notions of lovemaking include blindfolds, ice cubes, chocolate syrup, and rolling around on spent peanut shells. — Hal Erickson "Royal Flash" (1975) UK. Director Richard Lester. The kitchen duel scene, still one of my favorite swordfights - not to mention the picnic scene in the same director's "The Four Musketeers"- Adamantius “Ruggles of Red Gap” (1918, 1923, 1935) A butler gets won in a poker game and ends up in the American West, where he finds love and opens a restaurant. "The Man Who Came To Dinner" (1941) USA. …contains references to calves-foot jelly and to Coca-Cola, as I recall the script of the Kaufman & Hart play.- Adamantius “Tom Jones” (1963) UK - The film follows Tom Jones (Albert Finney), a country boy who becomes one of the wildest playboys in 18th-century England, developing a ravenous taste for women, food, and rowdy adventures. Over the course of the film, Jones tries to amass his own fortune and win the heart of Sophie (Susannah York). The depiction of Tom's libidinous past was marked by the sort of carefree, liberated attitude that would soon become one of the defining attributes of the film's era. Moreover, it featured one of the most memorable demonstrations of the link between food and sex ever committed to celluloid, giving new meaning to the term "human appetite." -Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Rebecca Flint "Volere, Volare" (1991) Italy. The story line revolves around a man who is a foley artist (sound effects for movie dubbing), and a prostitute (“social assistant”) that does odd things for her clients that don't involve sex. He eventually turns into an animated character. Not a food movie, but one of her clients is a chef that wants to make a dessert of her, the scene involves her laying on her stomach on a table in the buff while he pours chocolate over her and proceeds to decorate her like a petit four. - Christianna Food in scarcity- "A Boy and His Dog" (1975) USA. Based on the novella by Harlan Ellison, A Boy and His Dog is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where canned goods are used as currency and where entertainment often consists of old porn reels. Vic (Don Johnson) is a violent, illiterate scavenger, principally interested in getting laid. He communicates telepathically with his deceptively cute-looking dog Blood (voice by Tim McIntire); Vic finds food for Blood, while Blood sniffs out girls for Vic. — Hal Erickson "A Private Function" (1984) UK. A British couple's attempts to circumvent local food-rationing regulations trigger a chaotic series of events in this satirical comedy set in post-World War II England. The couple's scheme centers on a massive hog which has been illegally raised by a local farmer. Seeing a chance to capitalize on pork's scarcity, the ambitious Joyce Chilvers (Maggie Smith) convinces her mild-mannered husband (Michael Palin) to steal the pig. Unfortunately for the Chilverses, a vigilant food inspector is on duty and determined to stop all such illegal activity. The couple's efforts to hide the pig provide much material for frantic and sometimes grotesque farce. — Judd Blaise “Delicatessen” (1991) France. (See Horror/ Cannibalism) "King Rat" (1965) UK. James Clavell incorporated a few of his own experiences as a British POW in his novel King Rat. Bryan Forbes' film version stars George Segal as the mastermind of all black market operations in a Japanese prison camp. He is called "King Rat" because of his breeding of rodents to serve as food for his emaciated fellow prisoners; the nickname also alludes to Segal's shifty personality. British officer James Fox helps Segal expand his operation to include trading with the Japanese officers. Though on surface level a thoroughly selfish sort, Segal saves the ailing Fox's life by wangling precious antibiotics from the guards. — Hal Erickson "Soylent Green" (1973) USA. - is people!!!! Richard Fleischer directed this nightmarish science fiction vision of an over-populated world, based on the novel by Harry Harrison. In 2022, New York City is a town bursting at the seams with a 40-million-plus population. Food is in short supply, and most of the population's food source comes from synthetics manufactured in local factories — the dinner selections being a choice between Soylent Blue, Soylent Yellow, or Soylent Green. When William Simonson (Joseph Cotten), an upper-echelon executive in the Soylent Company, is found murdered, police detective Thorn (Charlton Heston) is sent in to investigate the case. Helping him out researching the case is Thorn's old friend Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson, in his final film role). As they investigate the environs of a succession of mad-from-hunger New Yorkers and the luxuriously rich digs of the lucky few, Thorn uncovers the terrible truth about the real ingredients of Soylent Green. — Paul Brenner Documentary “Cooking with Porn Stars” (2002) USA. Sure you can watch Martha Stewart or Emeril Lagasse teach you how to cook on TV, but would you ever want to see them naked? Well, even if you would, you're not likely to see that anytime soon, so here's the next best thing — a video hosted by Colin Malone (star of the cable access cult hit Colin's Sleazy Friends) in which he pays a visit to several of his favorite adult-film actresses and allows them to show off their culinary specialties (ranging from Jello shots to dessert) in a clothes-optional setting. Teri Weigel, Houston, Raylene, and Chandler show they can take the heat in and out of the kitchen as they whip up their favorites (and sometimes demonstrate fun new uses for the ingredients). — Mark Deming “Cooking with Porn Stars for the Holidays” (2002) USA. “Feast” (Yanomamo documentary) Films by the great documentary maker, Les Blank: “Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers” (1980) USA.- Feature-length documentary on several different chefs' love for garlic. You will be amazed at the hundreds of uses to which that pungent herb can be put. And, for you devotees of vampire stories and asafetida bags, you'll be given a brief rundown of the ages-old "garlic mystique". It's not for nothing that Les Blank was the 1990 recipient of the award named after avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren. — Hal Erickson "In Heaven There Is No Beer" (1983) USA. - on Polka music - gotta love them accordions - not much food content, but there's beer, right? - Anahita al-shazhiyya "J'ai Eté au Bal" ("I Went to the Dance") (1989) USA. Although food is not central, if you like Cajun and Zydeco music, it’s a great full length film. - Anahita al-shazhiyya “Yum, Yum, Yum” - - a half-hour on Cajun cooking, with plenty of tasty music - Anahita al-shazhiyya TV – "Arias and Pasta." Food/film indulgence short-lived Bravo television series. In each episode the host would interview a different opera star (lots of singing included, naturally), and then they would cook dinner together. - Vittoria "Chef!" Lenny Henry's series And if you stray into the small screen, there was a delightful Columbo years ago, in which Columbo showed us his 'homey' side as he chatted with the killer chef while making something Italian in the restaurant's kitchen. Title could be ‘Murder Under Glass’, but don't bet on it... - Morgana “Iron Chef” Japan (FujiTV) – Chairman Kaga built ‘Kitchen Stadium’ to pursue his dream of the ultimate meal, has a stable of his own “Iron Chefs” and invites challengers in each episode to battle over a surprise theme ingredient with just one hour for all cooking. "Jeeves and Wooster" (1990) BBC series regarding the chef, Anatole, “The Hunger Strike” and the Midnight Raid on the Larder (they got this actor that _really_ looks like Escoffier) - Adamantius "Pie in the Sky" – TV series from England was a favorite in this house for all the time it was on. It combines two of my favorite things, cooking and murder mysteries. - Gwynydd "Tattinger's" a short-lived TV series in the late 80's, I think, made by a lot of the same people responsible for "Hill Street Blues", and I recall it was excellent: Steven Collins owned a somewhat beleaguered but elegant New York City restaurant, and it was, like HSB, sort of a semi-comic soap opera with an ensemble cast, which included great work by Jerry Stiller as a maitre d', and Mary Beth Hurt as an obvious spoof of real-life Seattle chef Cathy Casey. - Adamantius “The Spice of Life” – Edward Woodward narrates a show about a different spice each episode, taking it from it’s origins, usually some period info, through modern usages. Evidently there is a documentary by the same name: “The Spice of Life” (1989) Discover how the quest for spice has shaped the world. Books – "A Cook's Tour" - Tony Bourdain "Kitchen Confidential" -Tony Bourdain “The Bobby Gold Stories” (fiction) "Mr. Bourdain, best known as the author of "Kitchen Confidential", the behind-the-scenes tale of the restaurant industry, promotes his third novel, "The Bobby Gold Stories" (Bloomsbury, $19.95). In 12 segments, "The Bobby Gold Stories" explores the restaurant underworld to tell the story of an ex-con night club bouncer and a hard-luck saute cook. "It's a love story," quips Mr. Bourdain. "There's a considerable overlap between professional gangsters and cooks -- it's a world I know about," he adds. He also wrote two unsuccessful crime novels -- "Bone in the Throat" and "Gone Bamboo" -- in the mid-1990s, which have been published since he became a best-selling author. " "Catering to Nobody” - Diane Mott Davidson "Dying for Chocolate" - Diane Mott Davidson "Killer Pancake" - Diane Mott Davidson "The Cereal Murders" - Diane Mott Davidson "The Last Suppers" - Diane Mott Davidson "Death by Chocolate" I have read several books dealing with food, "Death by Chocolate" was good and there was a recent one with apple pies in the title. There is a series of books that is based on an Amish woman who runs an inn and it is a food and murder mystery. The author escapes me at this time. - Kirsten of Blak Rose “Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe” by Nan and Ivan Lyons "The Butter Did It" by Phyllis Richman. Murder mystery, one of a series. The "detective" is a food critic and the dead are chefs. Another series that is outstanding from the POV of a foodie, IMO, is "The Cat Who..." series- not so much from what Qwilleran eats, although he mentions some interesting meals, but more, from my POV, what he feeds his owners, those demanding cats ;-) _I_ should eat so well ;-) - Phlip Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. Granted, food is rarely the main theme of his stories, it still tends to figure prominently in most of the stories. A few though, like "Too Many Cooks" are great. - Phlip