Christmas is a film fan's dream and there are usually a few Sci-Fi and Fantasy flicks on the box. There are many ways to appreciate your favourite movies. One of mine is the way food and meals appear in them. A bit odd perhaps but doing in a film what we all do everyday is a sure-fire way for a Director to relate to us all, even when the meals are nowhere near the norm.
My absolute favourite mealtime on film has to be from the opening story of Vault of Horror made in 1971. An anthology based on the comics of the same name by the groundbreaking William Gaines of EC, the opener concerns a eerie restaurant open one night in a deserted town. But it isn't any old restaurant. The key word is Clots? click on it to watch view.
Second up is an iconic mad meal from a much older film, The Old Dark House made in 1933. Starring Karloff as the Morgan the deranged butler, the meal sets the scene for dark deeds to come. The key phrase is Have a Potatoe! Click on it to view.
A more modern repast is to be found in V for Vendetta, where the masked one cooks a particular type of egg on Toast. Once more, click to view.
Similarly, in Kill Bill, David Carradine prepares a beautiful Sandwich with a huge kitchen knife, hinting at the imminent swordplay.
rather more unsavoury are the tastes of one Doctor Lector in Red Dragon. Using a recipe from Larousse's Gastronomie he prepares Sweet Breads for his guests shortly before Ed Norton's character discovers his identity after recognising the recipe ringed in the book. Oddly enough my Nephew gave me an old English copy of the cook book last week! Yikes!
Finally I have chosen the dinner scene at the Long Table in the original Tim Burton Batman from 1989. There's just something about the way posh people eat [or is it drink?] soup by scooping forwards with their spoons that fascinates me! I'm easily fascinated!
I could go on but more would be indulgent I fear. There are key mealtimes in many other films like ALIEN [pasta! yuk!], Star Wars [Luke's farm house blue milk! Yuk!], Invasion of the Body Snatchers [eating noodles on the balcony, looks tasty] and of course Bruce Lee's multiple soup scoff at the start of Way of the Dragon [yuk again!]! As if you'd forgotten that! ha ha!
So readers, as we ourselves approach the most important meal of the year, which meals in movies do you recall?
How about the space food in 2001 and then the instructions for the zero-g toilet afterwards!
ReplyDeleteI always liked the scene in "Soylent Green" where Charlton Heston and Edward G Robinson share some rare fresh food.
ReplyDeleteThe dining scene in "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" is pretty impressive too.
Love the feasting scene in "The Vikings" too.
I think my favourite though has to be Charles Laughten demolishing and eating a whole chicken in "The Private Life Of Henry VIII".
The whole scene is just brilliant, right from him pouring his wine over the bird to throwing the bones over his shoulder!
I think what I like about that scene is that Laughten looks genuinely happy, like he is really enjoying it!
The prison feast in Goodfellas is a very big deal among food enthusiasts...so much so you can even find directions online for duplicating the recipe. I personally can never slice the garlic fine enough.
ReplyDeleteI suggest a movie called"`Nothing But Trouble" with Chevy Chase,Dan Akroyd,John Candy and Demi Moore.The dinner scene at the home of "The Reeve" is as hilarious as it is disgusting.
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