Ana Lopez inquires: "A colleague and I are working on a (somewhat) bizarre project and are trying to identify classic Hollywood or European films which feature food items, memorable meals, and/or the consumption or preparation of specific food items or dishes. We are looking for titles/specific scenes in which food items, preparation or consumption are not simply something that happens in the background of dramatic scenes but are actually given some weight in the narrative and/or mise en scene. . . . " I'm not sure how far afield you want to go in contemporary films, but LE GRAND BOUFFE, BABETTE'S FEAST, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN and LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE are all heavily food-based films. MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE also has a signficant food scene, as does THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN. For more "classic" films, there are of course various silent slapstick films that feature pies or other foodfights. (More recently, ANIMAL HOUSE comes to mind as a film that uses food in an obvious way.) Somewhat more subtly, Hitchcock uses food in many of his films: BLACKMAIL--bread cut with *KNIFE!* THE 39 STEPS--dinner at the crofter's cabin SECRET AGENT--a chase through a chocolate factory SABOTAGE--death during dinner SUSPICION--a glass of milk LIFEBOAT--a drink of water SPELLBOUND--anxiety at dinner, a liverwurst sandwich, a glass of milk NOTORIOUS--burnt chicken, crackers in bed, bottles of champagne THE PARADINE CASE--Charles Laughton at home REAR WINDOW--a "perfect" dinner THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY--a roadside stand THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH--Arab cuisine VERTIGO--dinner at a restaurant TO CATCH A THIEF--a master chef and a master thief NORTH BY NORTHWEST--a drink for the road, dinner on a train, death at the cafeteria PSYCHO--Marion Crane eats like a bird THE BIRDS--chicken at the diner TORN CURTAIN--death in a kitchen FRENZY--gourmet dining at home! (there is also an egg for an ashtray in TO CATCH A THIEF) Some others-- strawberry shortcake in THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS candy and hootch in TOUCH OF EVIL breakfast at the end of WOMAN OF THE YEAR Dining out in SPLASH and PRETTY WOMAN Life in a Chinese restaurant in COMBINATION PLATTER Cooking Italian in THE GODFATHER (especially II) and GOODFELLAS Mildred Pierce serves chicken at her restaurant Chaplin!--THE GOLD RUSH and MODERN TIMES, especially Preparing dishes in the kitchen in RULES OF THE GAME Food in prison camp in GRAND ILLUSION That's all for now. Hope it helps! Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN) ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]