Scrumptious!

Film Home

There are plenty of films out there which stimulate your taste-buds. There are also plenty of movies which may make you think twice about eating that next piece of cake! Why not have a look and borrow one of our scrumptious DVDs suggested below?

Chocolat

Based on the popular Joanne Harris novel of the same name, Chocolat was an instant success when it was released in 2001. It tells the tale of Vianne (a wonderfully cast Juliette Binoche) as a mysterious and gifted confectioner, and her impact on the old fashioned French town to which she moves. It's a terrific ensemble cast which includes the matriarchal Judi Dench and the scrumptious Johnny Depp. Whether this is your first time watching this movie, or whether you've seen it one hundred times, Chocolat is sure to please.

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Dinner Rush

Another terrific ensemble piece here, featuring Danny Aiello as Louis, a bookmaker who also owns a restaurant in New York. The film is almost entirely set in the restaurant, and details Louis' problems set over one, hectic, night which includes: irate waitresses, pretentious diners, restaurant critics and mobsters! Movie-making at its best.

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Like Water for Chocolate

We are very fond of our chocolate here at Bedfordshire Libraries, so here is another chocolately movie. Expect to feel very hungry after this absolutely beautiful film telling the story of a young Mexican woman (Lumi Cavazos) who, thwarted in love, drives all her sensual passion into her cooking. A must for all you chocolate loving romantics out there!

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Goodfellas

Now what does the mobster movie Goodfellas have to do with food? Well it does contain two of our favourite "cooking a meal" scenes of all time. Join the gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he cooks up a delicious traditional Italian meal in prison, and eventually meets his comeuppance after a fantastic scene which shows a family meal inter-cut with a drug-deal. Movies don't get any better than this.

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Tom Jones

This 1963 adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel won four academy awards including Best Picture, director and screenplay. It tells the story of Tom Jones, a foundling, who grows into a charming womanizer. The film has become famous for its hilarious extended "food-orgy" scene. A must see.

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The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook

So, once you've watched all these movies about food and eating, I'm sure you'll be hungry enough to try cooking for yourself! Join the charming pair of biker cooks as they travel around the world meeting people, seeing sights, and cooking amazing local dishes. The recipes themselves are surprisingly easy, and great to try for yourself at home.

Click here for copies of The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook

Fast Food Nation

Of course, after all that eating, there always has to be a diet, and these last two suggestion may give you the push you need to step away from the burger. This is a fictionalised account of Eric Schlosser's best selling expose of dodgy goings on in the world of the Big Mac. Director Richard Linklater obviously has a point to make, but the movie is fresh and funny enough not to come across as polemical.

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Super Size Me

This is the original movie which made us question our love of fast food. Morgan Spurlock decides to see what happens to his body if all he eats is fast-food for 30 days, with hilarious, and sometimes stomach-churning results. This is an irreverent and funny look at a serious problem. Documentary film-making at its most pleasing.

Click here for copies of Super Size Me

Page last updated: 12th September 2007