Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes food is just food on screen.

Other times, it's a key ingredient for cinematic success, a telling substitute or symbol, or a perfect prop for characters who meet to eat in movies as different as "Oliver!" "Tom Jones," "Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe," "Diner" and "The Bread, My Sweet."

The change in how families eat Thanksgiving meals is shorthand for director Barry Levinson's message about how far -- or how low -- society has come in "Avalon."

Everything you need to know about Debbie Reynolds' character in "Mother" is in these food factoids: She offers her adult son (Albert Brooks) ancient orange sherbet, with its "protective ice coating," and meatloaf, even though he's a vegetarian.

In "Soul Food," when the matriarch played by Irma P. Hall takes ill, her family members no longer gather for a traditional Sunday dinner of ham, chicken, catfish, macaroni and cheese, egg pie, black-eyed peas, collard greens and other goodies, and they begin to crumble like stale cornbread.

But when it comes to films for foodies, it's hard to top "Julie & Julia," opening today in theaters and starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child, along with this batch of 10 tasty treats:

• "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971) -- Roald Dahl's 1964 book inspired this movie about a boy who lives with his parents and four grandparents in a small house tantalizingly close to Wonka's chocolate factory. When Charlie finds one of five golden tickets, he is given rare access to the factory and a lifetime supply of candy. He and the other winners learn to be careful what you wish for, even when it's a river of chocolate.

Will remind you: That, contrary to what Mae West said, too much of a good thing may not be wonderful.

• "Tampopo" (1985) -- Often described as the first "Noodle Western," this Japanese comedy chronicles the efforts of Goro, a truck driver and ramen noodle connoisseur, as he transforms the lovely Tampopo into a master noodle chef with the aid of a motley crew of food lovers. The "good guys" in this film are the people with a refined appreciation for food, whatever their place in society.

Makes you want to: Take a trip to Japan to test your new ramen-eating knowledge.

• "Babette's Feast" (1988) -- This Academy Award winner is about art, love and dreams as much as the dinner that forms the movie's centerpiece. Based on a story by Isak Dinesen, it's about a French political refugee who journeys to a small religious community in Denmark and becomes the housekeeper for two spinster sisters. Babette wins the French lottery and uses the money to prepare an elaborate feast that takes everyone by surprise.

Will inspire you: To share your table with friends, with or without the turtle soup, Russian pancakes with caviar, boneless quail and other delicacies of the movie.

• "Like Water for Chocolate" (1992) -- Based on the popular novel by Laura Esquivel, the film follows the story of Tita, a beautiful young woman who is forced to stay at home and care for her mother while her sister marries Pedro, the man Tita loves. From then on, the food that she cooks is imbued with all of the passion she feels but cannot express.

Makes you want to: Read the collected works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez for another taste of magical realism.

• "Eat Drink Man Woman" (1994) -- Master chef Chu, a long-time widower, struggles with his relationship with his three grown daughters. Each Sunday night he prepares an elaborate family meal, which is represented on screen in exquisite detail. As the three daughters find love and careers and slowly break away from the family home, Chu realizes that he, too, has to create a life for himself. "Tortilla Soup" (2001) is based on this film.

Will remind you that: There are few problems that aren't best worked out over a delicious meal. Especially one that includes dumplings.

• "Big Night" (1996) -- Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub are immigrant brothers struggling to make ends meet at their New Jersey restaurant. In the 1950s when Italian food means spaghetti and meatballs to many diners, they are ahead of their time with seafood risotto, focaccia, grilled veggies and a show-stopper called il tampano, a drum-shaped delight, but it might not be enough in their art vs. commerce battle.

Will make you want to: Find a copy of Rosemary Clooney's "Mambo Italiano" and congo to it, like the characters do. If you can score the whole soundtrack, even better.

• "Chocolat" (2000) -- Juliette Binoche is a single mother who relocates to a provincial 1950s French town, where she opens a chocolate shop -- during, mon dieu, Lent -- tempting and transforming the locals with her sweets. Johnny Depp is her gypsy love interest, Alfred Molina the self-righteous mayor, Judi Dench a crotchety landlady who melts with spicy hot cocoa and Lena Olin an abused wife who finds liberation in the business.

Will create constant cravings for: Chocolate in all its fantastic forms, from hot (perhaps with a sprinkling of chili pepper as in the movie) to cold to a fudgy topping over French vanilla ice cream to the finest dark chocolate truffle. We could go on all day although a bite of intense, sublime chocolate the size of a poker chip might be all you need.

• "Mostly Martha" (2001) -- Martha is a work-obsessed, type-A chef. Suddenly, her sister dies and Martha must make room in her tightly controlled life for her niece, Lina; while at work she must contend with a new sous chef, the passionate and playful Mario. He wants Martha to stop worrying, start eating and let other people into her life -- and he has Lina on his side. The German film inspired the American re-make "No Reservations" (2007).

Will inspire you: to cook without a recipe, using all of your senses.

• "Waitress" (2007) -- Keri Russell is a waitress unhappily married to controlling, immature Earl, played by Jeremy Sisto. When she discovers she's pregnant, she fears that she's permanently stuck, but she never lets her frustration keep her from creating whimsical, delicious pies for the diner where she works. Two unexpected affairs give Jenna (Russell) the jolt that she needs to change her life.

Makes you want to: Turn a terrible day or a memorable encounter into a pie. If the film isn't enough of a recipe, check out Julie Hasson's "The Complete Book of Pies: 200 Recipes From Sweet to Savory" (Robert Rose, 2008). Who wouldn't love Bumbleberry Crumb and Chocolate Raspberry Moon Pies?

• "Ratatouille" (2007) -- The story of a rat with a sophisticated palate who wants to be a chef sounds absurd but proves delicious, when it's animated and in the hands of Pixar. Remy believes in his culinary idol's creed that "Anyone can cook!" especially when one has his ability to identify the ingredients of any food he smells.

Will inspire you to try: The veggie dish that doubles as the title, but remember what writer-director Brad Bird told the PG: "It can look pretty tasty, but it can also look like dog food if you overcook it."

As our colleague Marlene Parrish wrote at the time of the movie's release: "Ratatouille is a marriage of Mediterranean vegetables, traditionally tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, onions and sweet bell peppers well seasoned with garlic and herbs. ... The dish is most often made in August and September at the vegetables' height of ripeness. It tastes earthy and wonderful."

You can find recipes for it at post-gazette.com (search for Traditional Roasted Ratatouille as a start).