Babette's Feast

Theatrical Release Date: 1988 03 04 (USA)

UPC: 027616857958

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: G   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: The Danish/French Babette's Feast is based on a story by Isak Dinesen, also the source of the very different Out of Africa (1985). Stephane Audran plays Babette, a 19th century Parisian political refugee who seeks shelter in a rough Danish coastal town. Philippa (Bodil Kjer) and Martina (Birgitte Federspiel), the elderly daughters of the town's long-dead minister, take Babette in. As revealed in flashback, Philippa and Martina were once beautiful young women (played by Hanne Stensgaard and Vibeke Hastrup), who'd forsaken their chances at romance and fame, taking hollow refuge in religion. Babette holds a secret that may very well allow the older ladies to have a second chance at life. This is one of the great movies about food, but there are way too many surprises in Babette's Feast to allow us to reveal anything else at this point (except that Ingmar Bergman "regulars" Bibi Andersson and Jarl Kulle have significant cameo roles).. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Language Film – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Language Film – null Best Foreign Language Film – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Presented – Telluride Film Festival Best Foreign Language Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Original theatrical trailer
English: mono
Danish and French: Stereo Surround
Spanish: stereo Surround
English, French, Spanish subtitles

Babette's Feast

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 01/23/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Vistavision

Audio: 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) French,English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Scene Selections
0. Scene Selections
1. Logo/Main title [1:22]
2. Two pious sisters [4:54]
3. The lieutenant [9:56]
4. The famous singer [6:04]
5. Singing lessons [7:07]
6. Babette's arrival [6:43]
7. Earning her keep [4:11]
8. The frugal shopper [3:38]
9. Unforgiving [3:01]
10. A letter from France [6:56]
11. Imported ingrediants [4:11]
12. Evil temptations [1:34]
13. The final touches [5:28]
14. Dinner is served [5:59]
15. The stars are closer [20:26]
16. 10,000 Francs/Credits [6:24]

Dan Jardine

The sophisticated and subtle screenplay for Babette's Feast, adapted by director Gabriel Axel, is based on a story written by Isak Dinesen, the writer memorably played by Meryl Streep in the biopic Out of Africa. In the film's first half, the emotional detachment of the pious characters is mirrored in the directorial approach, which allows the narrator to explain the matters before us, keeping us at a distance. When the feast begins, the narrator steps aside, Axel's direction becomes more evocative, and our participation becomes more active. Axel plays things low-key: his camera doesn't swoop or dance, but lingers lovingly over every aspect of the meal. The soundtrack includes some beautiful period music, but Axel mostly allows the sounds of the meal to become the symphony of the feast. Made out of humility and love, the feast is Babette's supreme artistic expression, and her hedonistic present encourages the feasters to look a little more closely at their own lives, as the magical and voluptuous feast dramatically counterpoints their puritanical existence. Babette's offering is a ritual sacrifice, intended to encourage the austere characters with the possibility that their material nourishment may provide spiritual sustenance as well. The film also contains a cultural context, as the political revolutions in 19th century Europe lead to Babette's displacement and the resultant cultural blending of Babette's southern European Catholic sensuality with sober northern European Protestantism. Their pact, to say nothing about the magnificence of the feast, ironically reveals the ineffable truth that Babette's artistic expression of love cannot be properly praised with words. Like the guests' spiritual values, it exists on a higher plane, where simple acts of generosity can erase personal prejudices. The film leaves us with a haunting echo of the roads not taken, as the characters must ponder the paths they have chosen and ask themselves: have they made the most of their gifts? Babette's Feast won several major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and the British BAFTA Award for Best Film of 1987. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Cay Kristiansen  Actor 
Preben Lerdorff-Rye  Actor 
Thomas Antoni  Actor 
Bernadette Lafont  Actor 
Viggo Bentzon  Actor 
Therese Hojgaard Christensen  Actor 
Gert Bastian  Actor 
Gabriel Axel  Director 
Gabriel Axel  Screenwriter 
Per Norgaard  Composer (Music Score) 
Stéphane Audran  Actor 
Jean-Philippe Lafont  Actor 
Gudmar Wivesson  Actor 
Jarl Kulle  Actor 
Bibi Andersson  Actor 
Bodil Kjer  Actor 
Birgitte Federspiel  Actor 
Ebbe Rode  Actor 
Hanne Stensgaard  Actor 
Bendt Rothe  Actor 
Vibeke Hastrup  Actor 
Lisbeth Movin  Actor 
Pouel Kern  Actor 
Michel Bouquet  Actor 
Ghita Nørby  Actor 
Tina Kiberg  Actor 
Axel Ströbye  Actor 
Ebba With  Actor 
Else Petersen  Actor 
Asta Esper Andersen  Actor 
Finn Nielsen  Actor 
Holger Perfort  Actor 
Erik Petersen  Actor 
Lars Lohmann  Actor 
Tine Miehe-Renard  Actor 

Country: Denmark,France