Woody Allen used the annual holiday meal – and Mia Farrow’s actual Central Park West apartment – as a repeated motif in one of his most sophisticated romantic comedies. Suffused with urbane chat and book-lined coziness, these scenes provide instant nostalgia for a generation of New Yorkers. Bonus T-day points: The movie is actually about giving thanks – to the people who love and endure you, to the fates that keep you healthy and to the Marx Brothers for providing a reason to live.
The best Thanksgiving movies aren’t nearly as well known as the best Christmas movies – of which there are tons, all of which make us cry. Still, Hollywood has used this most American of holidays to frame several fine stories of redemption, be they Academy-Award-winning sports movies like Rocky, Woody Allen comedies like Hannah and Her Sisters or even a short horror movie by Eli Roth (which we had to include). Get your fill at the table, then check out any one of these winners. Guaranteed: There’s not a turkey in the bunch... except maybe the one about actual turkeys