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Many excellent movies have been made in honor of the preparation, celebration and eating of food. As a follow-up to our 10 Best Food Documentaries list, here are the 15 best feature films about food:
15. Moonstruck (1987) [MGM]
This film, in which Cher and Nicolas Cage pursue an unlikely love affair, sets its pivotal conversations in Italian restaurants, or over breakfasts of red peppers, eggs and toast. Cher discovers the passionate, reckless Cage working the ovens in a bakery and eventually feeds him steak.
14. Soul Food (1997) [Twentieth-Century Fox]
A story of an African-American family in Chicago who is held together, against all odds, by the tradition of eating weekly Sunday dinners together, Soul Food’s family togetherness is aided by the food cooked by matriarch Mother Joe.
13. Mostly Martha (2001) [Paramount]
This delightful German film depicts a rigid chef whose life—and cooking—is affected by an unconventional newcomer in her kitchen. Charmingly, if unsurprisingly, the tale equates the characters’ attitudes about food with their philosophies about life.
12. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) [Universal]
Four talented actresses tell a multi-generational story about friendship among women, centered around delicious Southern-cuisine concoctions and the unappetizing and satisfyingly vengeful fate for one Very Bad Husband.
11. Fast Food Nation (2006) [Fox Searchlight]
Richard Linklater’s fictionalization of Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction book will never let you look at your value meal the same way again. After all, “There is shit in the meat.”
10. Delicatessen (1991) [Miramax]
A bizarre, darkly funny dystopic film about a post-World War II French apartment building under severe food rations from the government. To accommodate for the shortages, the butcher/landlord kills off his tenants one by one, selling the meat to the rest of the building via the currency of bags of dried corn.
9. Julie & Julia (2009) [Columbia]
Lost and directionless Julie embarks on a year-long project to cook every dish in Julia Child’s iconic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Killing lobsters and creating bizarre French concoctions, Amy Adams and Meryl Streep journey through the world of French gastronomy.
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You missed one of the best food movies of all time... Big Night (1996) with Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver and Stanley Tucci.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/
Seems you also missed the best one, Tampopo.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
Soylent Green makes the list but Big Night doesn't? Fail!
Big Night is an obvious miss on this list!
I whole heartedly second "Tampopo", it should be at the top of the list.
Missing "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover", which is quite significant, although just as disturbing, which may be why it hasn't made it on the list :)
Babette's Feast in Holland?? Perhaps you need another viewing. It takes place in Jutland, Denmark. The sisters belong to a strict Christian sect founded by their father.
I agree with the commenters. Amendment to the list! Add Big Night! :)
Replace Sideways (too cynical and dull to appreciate the wine) with Bottleshock (you can really feel the love in this one) and include Big Night and Ratatouille, and you're getting there.
Babbette's Feast is Danish NOT Dutch.
Thanks for the catch, folks. It's fixed now.
TAMPOPO!!
Beats all the other films on this list x one zillion. (Still, fun list! Thanks!)
Some good picks but Big Night should definitely be on there somewhere.
How could you possibly overlook Big Night?
Apparently, movies ABOUT food don't count in your "10 Best Films about food" category.
Go ahead, spend a buck and rent it -- it even has great music!
Also add Dinner Rush with Danny Aiello. Fantastic movie!
i agree that Big Night definitely deserves mention. The second-to-last scene in the movie of the whole cast feasting while waiting for Louie Prima is a fantastic celebration
That you found eight food movies better than Julie & Julia is a #fail right there. I could see four of them up there. I love Sideways - not a food movie. I love Soylent Green - not a food movie, at least not food in the common use of the word.
And Tampopo, as others are saying, is also better than half your top ten.
So you missed "Who's Killing the Great Chef's of Europe"!?
It's THE Feature film about food!
I agree! Big Night is hands down one of the best food movies ever made. And if you added Moonstruck, maybe Goodfellas should be included. Those two movies involve a lot of authentic Italian cooking and fare. I cannot resist making a big pot of sauce every time I watch either one.
With all due respect, thanks for the list, BUT:
Food or restaurant scenes featured prominently in a film DO NOT a foodie film make.
For example, Moonstruck is a good movie, with great performances from Cher, Dukakis, and the always fantastic Cage, but it is hardly a foodie film. It's a romantic comedy.
Saying Moonstruck is a foodie film is like saying Seinfeld is a foodie show because half of the scenes take place in a restaurant booth. Seinfeld fans know that the series is about NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHING!!
Much more important than the prominent appearance of food or food locations ( restaurants ), the concept of food/cooking must assume the leading role(s) in the film.
With Babette's Feast, which I saw for the second time last week, Chocolat ( seen twice ), Like Water for Chocolate, Eat Drink etc etc etc,Mostly Martha, and the classic Mexican treatise, Like Water for Chocolate, you are squarely in foodie film heaven, but have misses with several others, and missed completely with the omission of Eating Raoul, a long-standing foodie classic.
Nevertheless, good work, thanks for the list. Foodies Unite!
Conspiciously missing? The Big Night - Anthony Shaloub, Anthony Tucci and Marc Anthony try to save their failing authentic Italian restaurant with a feast fit for Louis Prima.