[Sca-cooks] Food Movies Revisited

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Christine Seelye-King:
>Ok, I've spent an insane amount of time working on refining this list, but
>hey, I'm having fun.
>Adamantius, there are a couple of things you contributed that I can't find
>anything about whatsoever, can you expand on your thoughts on these two:
>“Full Moon Lunches” Japan

I don't think I mentioned this one. I also can't find it in the IMDb site...

>
>and
>
>“Feast” (Yanomamo documentary) (I found a Horror film by that name, but it
>seriously doesn't look like what you were talking about)

I mentioned "The Chinese Feast", 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113475/ which is a 
comedy about organized crime trying to corner the 
Hong Kong restaurant business, pitting an evil 
chef against an old-style restaurateur, who has 
to find a chef to champion his business in a bet. 
The stakes are the restaurant itself, and the bet 
involves the recreation of a famous Imperial 
feast.

>
>Someone else also posted a list of Food in Scarcity movies, among which was
>"A Private Affair", which I can't find anything about.
>Care to give more details?

This one I know about. I think the actual title 
is "A Private Function", and it concerns the meat 
rationing in England shortly after WWII. See 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089838/ . As I 
recall it involved Michael Palin as a guy who had 
gotten hold of a live pig on the black market or 
something, and arranging a pork dinner for 
various friends, in return for political and 
business favors, and eventually the entire 
village is in on it, or is trying to be...

>I have found some interesting things surfing around the All Movie Guide
>site, including:
>
>“Lunga Vita alla Signora!”(1987) Italy.  Released in the US as “Long Live
>the Lady!”, ”Lunga Vita alla Signora!” is an "experience vs. naivety" outing
>from Italian director Ermanno Olmi. The Lady (or Signora) of the title is a
>mysterious matron who lives in a crumbling mansion. Six catering trainees
>are brought to the castle upon its conversion into a resort hotel. They are
>ordered to prepare a special meal for the old lady, whom none of them ever
>seen for more than an instant. As the caterers grow in wisdom and
>sophistication, we learn that the lady may very well be an urbane ghost
>rather than a flesh-and-blood entity. “Lunga Vita alla Signora!” is a
>rewarding experience for those willing to give the film their full undivided
>attention. — Hal Erickson

On the other hand, there's always the incredible 
1963 "Blood Feast" (on record as, officially, the 
world's first explicitly gory slasher movie -- 
the director, Herschell Gordon Lewis, actually 
had to invent a variety of stage blood, and order 
several gallons of the stuff -- you can still buy 
it). This movie concerns a crazed 
Ishtar-worshipping caterer, all set to sacrifice 
a composite human body, suitably cooked and 
decorated, made from the parts of (obviously) the 
287 nubile young ladies he has eliminated over 
the previous 68 minutes of the movie. And did I 
mention that this magnum opus was produced by one 
David Friedman??? (Okay, David F. Friedman, not 
the one we know.)

Adamantius