17 Best Picture Food Scenes
With the Academy Award nominations getting announced this morning, I have one thing to say: Thank god Billy Crystal is back as host. In addition to him being a stellar emcee, the man can appreciate a good M.L.T. – that's a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. Of course, being a foodie isn't a requirement to set the stage for the Academy Awards, but it doesn't hurt. After all, so many movies that have one Best Picture have incorporated eating, drinking and, if you look a little closer, starving (and I didn't even include all the MRE scenes from Oscar-winning war flicks like Platoon and The Hurt Locker). Without further ado, here are my 17 most memorable food and drink scenes of past Best Picture winners (with links to the scenes in question).
- American Beauty At the drive-thru, Kevin Spacey discovers his wife is having a Super-Sized affair.
- Oliver! The young orphan goes back for seconds: "Please sir, I want some more."
- Forrest Gump The Alabama native learns how to cook shrimp, 21 ways.
- Gandhi Rather, a lack of food.
- Rocky As if his training regimen weren't rigorous enough, Rocky cracks raw eggs in a glass and gulps 'em down. The breakfast of champions.
- Silence of the Lambs Human liver with a side of fava beans and a nice chianti. Hannibal Lecter is the most oft-quoted cannibal of all time.
- Kramer vs. Kramer Dustin Hoffman's son is acting out in the midst of a divorce. Caught in the middle, the kid just wants some ice cream for dinner.
- Casablanca Plenty of cocktails downed by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman at Rick's Café, which serves as the backdrop for this timeless romance. The picture is so good, you gotta play it again. And again.
- Rain Man Tom Cuise learns just how gifted his idiot savant brother is when a waitress drops a box of toothpicks.
- The Godfather Pick your poison with this masterpiece. But this is the moment you always remember — Michael Corleone avenging his father's death by knocking off a rival mob boss and a crooked cop.
- My Fair Lady Booze is good. Marriage is arguably better. "Get Me To The Church On Time" is about an alcoholic struggling to stay sober enough to say "I do."
- Tom Jones Synonymous with the gluttonous dinner, Tom stuffs his face across the table from Mrs. Waters. Hunger pangs oddly turn into sexually charged glances.
- Gone With The Wind More of a declaration about food than actual eating, Scarlett O'Hara vows to never go hungry again after the Civil War ravages her home.
- Dances With Wolves Kevin Costner directs himself in this bonding scene between himself and a hungry animal co-star.
- Annie Hall One of the funniest date scenes ever, involving a pot of boiling water and some rogue lobsters.
- The Departed Leo DiCaprio, on the wagon, decides on a glass of cranberry juice at a mafia bar.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Jack Nicholson and Chief enjoy a stick of gum together.