Search - Babette's Feast on DVD

MPAA Rating: G Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1987 DVD Release: 01/23/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: Danish, English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 43 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 35 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Family Drama

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, All Movie Guide

Stéphane Audran - Babette Hersant
Jean-Philippe Lafont - Achille Papin
Gudmar Wivesson - Lorenz Lowenhielm as a Young Man
Jarl Kulle - Lorenz Lowenhielm as an old man
Bibi Andersson - Swedish Court Lady-in-waiting
Bodil Kjer - Old Philippa
Birgitte Federspiel - Old Martina

Babette's Feast, the much-loved 1987 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, is available on DVD through MGM Home Entertainment. The DVD boasts colorful scene-selection menus and can be heard in English, French, Danish, or Spanish, with English, French, and Spanish subtitles. It is presented in 1:66:1 widescreen format with Dolby Digital Stereo Sound. The colors resonate well, resulting in a crisp, atmospheric presentation that had been somewhat lost on VHS. Also included is the theatrical trailer, which consists of celebratory quotes played over still images from the film. No other special features come with this DVD. It would have been nice to have included production notes, actor filmographies, or some sort of information on this award-winning film's history. Interestingly, the box states the film is from 1989, then states it won the 1987 Oscar, hinting at a bit of confusion on the part of the DVD manufacturers. ~ Jose Promis, All Movie Guide