PULP FICTION (1994)
LADY AND THE TRAMP (1955)
When hit man Vincent Vega (John Travolta) takes his mob boss’s wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) out to dinner at ‘50s-themed diner Jackrabbit Slim’s, the pair shoot the breeze on everything from foot massages to uncomfortable silences. One ‘bloody as hell’ steak and ‘five dollar shake’ later, the pair are dancing the night away to the sounds of Chuck Berry’s You Never Can Tell, before retiring home for a drug fuelled nightcap.
For what must be the most romantic first date imaginable, streetwise downtown mutt Tramp treats sheltered uptown cocker spaniel Lady to a slap-up meal at Tony’s restaurant, where the proprietor treats his canine guests to a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. The result is one of the best loved dinner scenes ever conceived; almost 60 years later, this remains the benchmark against which all other foodie film moments are measured.
RATATOUILLE (2007) In a Disney scene somehow reminiscent of a Marcel Proust novel, venomous food critic Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O’Toole) is spirited away to a bittersweet childhood memory upon tasting the eponymous dish. From the intricately detailed close-up of a delicate mouthful to the poignant, decades-spanning flashback, this is a wonderful ode to the power of food to evoke the fondest memories and warm even the coldest heart – a sheer joy to watch.
THE GODFATHER (1972)
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... (1989)
Louis Italian-American Restaurant provides the backdrop for one of the most memorable and haunting scenes in Francis Ford Coppola’s mob masterpiece. Following an assassination attempt on his father, prodigal son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) attends a ‘sit-down’ with heroin peddler Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo and corrupt cop Captain McCluskey. Pacino’s steely eyed stare and the thunderous roar of an approaching train make this bloody, harrowing revenge sequence one of cinema’s all-time greats.
One of film’s most iconic scenes sees ‘platonic’ pair Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) debate whether or not any of the former’s sexual conquests have ever faked an orgasm, with Sally proceeding to do just that – to hilariously graphic effect. A nearby patron’s famous line, “I’ll have what she’s having”, has since been immortalised in Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City where the scene was filmed.
52 - SUMMER 2014
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