I was flipping through TV channels the other day and came across an HBO airing of “Ratatouille,” one of my favorite movies that celebrate food and drink. It got me thinking of others, so here are five more movies I highly recommend, all of which are available on DVD:
Big Night: Two brothers (Stanley Tucci and Tony Shaloub, pictured above) try to save their struggling Italian restaurant on the Jersey shore in the 1950s by creating a magnificent feast for legendary band leader Louis Prima. The cast of this 1996 dramedy also includes Isabella Rossellini, Allison Janney, Minnie Driver and Ian Holm.
Eat Drink Man Woman: A widowed Chinese master chef (Sihung Lung) struggles to maintain complex relationships with his three adult daughters — an old maid teacher, a commitment-phobic business executive and a free-spirited college student — in modern-day Taiwan in this 1994 drama from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee.
Tortilla Soup: Tamales are substituted for dumplings in this 2001 remake of “Eat Drink Man Woman” set in Southern California’s Mexican-American culture. The veteran Los Angeles chef is played by Hector Elizondo, and the ensemble cast also includes Racquel Welch, Paul Rodriquez, Jacqueline Obradors and Tamara Mello.
Tampopo: A truck driver (Japanese Academy Award winner Tsutomu Yamakazi) helps a widow turn her run-down noodles restaurant into one of the finest in Japan in this offbeat 1986 comedy often described as a “noodle western.” A young Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” “Letters from Iwo Jima”) plays Yamakazi’s sidekick.
Bottle Shock: This 2008 film recounts the true-life story of the famous 1976 Paris wine tasting that revolutionized the industry and established California’s Napa Valley as one of the world’s great wine-producing regions. Bill Pullman plays acclaimed winemaker Jim Barrett, and Alan Rickman is tasting organizer Steven Spurrier.
Do you have a favorite food or drink movie that’s not on this list? Let me know so I can check it out.
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