Food in Film
Food has often been essential to cinema. A catalyst which brings people together, it can be used for dramatic confrontation, as a comic device or even a metaphor for the meaning of life. Preparing, presenting and consuming food can evoke a mood that is sumptuous, homely, seductive, disgusting or just plain funny. Eloquent in conveying complex messages, food is a perfect vehicle for expressing the subtext in drama and comedy and for revealing intricate aspects about class, emotional states or gender. Sometimes, as in the movies "Babette's Feast" and "Tampopo", it is the real star. In this compilation below, we take the high ground and take a wide view of the social and symbolic meaning of food in film..
Right: Scene from Gabriel Axel's triumphant "Babette's Feast".
Pie in the Sky: Series 3 (1996)
5.8/10
Starring: Richard Griffiths, Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair
Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths) continues to balance life as a part-time policeman with his duties as a part-time chef. Having opened a restaurant wi... Read more
The Spitfire Grill (1996)
6.9/10
Director: Lee David Zlotoff
Starring: Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden
An ex-con tries to restart her life in a small marine town where she raises a few suspicions but more importantly, helps the women who run the local d... Read more
Big Night (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
Big Night (Blu-ray) (1996)
7.3/10
Director: Campbell Scott, Stanley Tucci
Starring: Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Minnie Driver, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub
An impeccably crafted, endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restauranteurs in 1950's America. Isabella Rossellini, Ian H... Read more
Pie in the Sky: A Second Helping (1995)
7.6/10
Starring: Richard Griffiths, Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair
Tales of crime and culinary wizardry are interwoven in this drama series about a reluctant detective whose dream of turning restauranteur could be jus... Read more
The Last Supper (1995)
6.8/10
Director: Stacy Title
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Courtney B Vance, Bill Paxton, Nora Dun...
Darkly comic satire in which five liberal graduate students share their weekly dinner together with a racist red neck who threatens them. After they k... Read more
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
7.8/10
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Yu-Wen Wang
Acclaimed comedy-drama from Ang Lee ("The Wedding Banquet") about Chu, a widowed master chef facing such problems as losing his sense of taste, his th... Read more
Pie in the Sky: Series 1 (1994)
7.6/10
Starring: Richard Griffiths, Maggie Steed, Malcolm Sinclair
Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths) dreams of running his own restaurant, but his superiors are reluctant to allow him to retire. Whe... Read more
The Age of Innocence (1993)
7.2/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
Martin Scorsese revels in ravishing romantic grandeur with a tale of love and denial in 19th Century New York. Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and... Read more
Alive (1993)
7.1/10
Director: Frank Marshall
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton
Stirring true-life adventure saga about the horrific 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains where, after struggling against the elements and on the v... Read more