Tampopo (1985)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Juzo Itami

Writer:

Juzo Itami (writer)

Release Date:

September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The first Japanese noodle western!

Plot:

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro who rides into town...

Plot Keywords:

Food | Noodles | Kitchen | One Word Title | Sexuality

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Goro
Nobuko Miyamoto	...	Tampopo
Ken Watanabe	...	Gun
Kôji Yakusho	...	Man in White Suit
Rikiya Yasuoka	...	Pisuken
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mario Abe	...	Resutoran no shachô
Sen Hara	...	Old woman, pressing Camembert cheese
Isao Hashizume	...	Waiter
Hisashi Igawa	...	Running man
Kensô Katô	...	Hira
Toshimune Kato	...	Young Employee
Yoshihiro Kato
Yoshi Kato	...	Noodle-making master
Fukumi Kuroda	...	Man in White Suit's Mistress
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Old gentleman
Mariko Okada	...	Supageti sensei
Hideji Otaki	...	Rich Old Man
Ryutaro Otomo	...	Râmen no sensei
Yoshihei Saga	...	Sararîman
Kinzoh Sakura	...	Shohei
Setsuko Shinoi	...	Old Man's Mistress
Hitoshi Takagi	...	Restaurant Owner
Choei Takahashi	...	Sararîman
Ei Takami	...	Homeless
Akio Tanaka	...	Sararîman
Masahiko Tsugawa	...	Sûpâ no shachô

Also Known As:

Dandelion (International: English title)
Ja sitten syödään (Finland) [fi]
Tampopo - Os Brutos Também Comem Spaghetti (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A | Singapore:R(A) | UK:18

Company:

Itami Productions

Quotes:

Man in White Suit: I'll kill you if you make that noise once the movie starts! Understand? And... I also don't like watch alarms going off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sik san (1996)

A classic of world cinema

This remains one of the better comedies of all time due to star performances, a superb script, and many, many surprises. Above all, the pacing is some of the best seen in any comedy.

Tampopo has all the qualities of good story telling: a hero, a disciple, a quest.

And when your hero is a trucker, the disciple a woman in need of help, and the quest to cook the best noodles then you know you're in for fun.

In between all this are vignettes on how food and life mingle. It is more than simple laughs there are moments of poignancy, and genuine flights of imagination.

Many directors could do well to watch the ease with which the camera is handled here: the plot flows beautifully and the switches to the small vignettes are handled with suitable aplomb.

All in all a three course meal.