Tampopo
The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle-shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous “ramen western” by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre-bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges—our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and friends to make her café a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal Tampopo is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouthwatering examples of food on film ever made.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- The Making of “Tampopo,” a ninety-minute documentary from 1986, narrated by director Juzo Itami
- New interview with actor Nobuko Miyamoto
- New interview with food stylist Seiko Ogawa
- New interviews with ramen scholar Hiroshi Oosaki and chefs Sam White, Rayneil De Guzman, Jerry Jaksich, and Ivan Orkin
- Rubber Band Pistol, Itami’s 1962 debut short film
- New video essay by filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos on the film’s themes of self-improvement and mastery of a craft
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by food and culture writer Willy Blackmore
New cover by Ping Zhu
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- The Making of “Tampopo,” a ninety-minute documentary from 1986, narrated by director Juzo Itami
- New interview with actor Nobuko Miyamoto
- New interview with food stylist Seiko Ogawa
- New interviews with ramen scholar Hiroshi Oosaki and chefs Sam White, Rayneil De Guzman, Jerry Jaksich, and Ivan Orkin
- Rubber Band Pistol, Itami’s 1962 debut short film
- New video essay by filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos on the film’s themes of self-improvement and mastery of a craft
- Trailer
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: An essay by food and culture writer Willy Blackmore
New cover by Ping Zhu
Cast
- Tsutomu Yamazaki
- Goro
- Nobuko Miyamoto
- Tampopo
- Koji Yakusho
- Man in the white suit
- Ken Watanabe
- Gun
- Rikiya Yasuoka
- Pis-ken
- Kinzo Sakura
- Shohei
- Yoshi Kato
- Noodle-making master
- Hideji Otaki
- Rich old man
- Fukumi Kuroda
- Man in the white suit’s moll
- Setsuko Shinoi
- Old man’s mistress
- Yoriko Doguchi
- Pearl diver (oyster girl)
- Masahiko Tsugawa
- Supermarket manager
Credits
- Director
- Juzo Itami
- Executive producers
- Seigo Hosogoe
- Executive producers
- Yasushi Tamaoki
- Produced by
- Juzo Itami
- Written by
- Juzo Itami
- Director of photography
- Masaki Tamura
- Film editor
- Akira Suzuki
- Art director
- Takeo Kimura
- Set decoration
- Toshiharu Ochi
- Music by
- Kunihiko Murai
- Costume designer
- Emiko Kogo
Edition introduction to Tampopo
Trailer for Tampopo
