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IMDbPro

Tampopo

  • 19851985
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
19K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,547
262
Tampopo (1985)
Trailer for Tampopo
Play trailer1:55
5 Videos
77 Photos
Comedy
A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
19K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
6,547
262
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Jûzô Itami
    • Writer
      • Jûzô Itami
    • Stars
      • Ken Watanabe
      • Tsutomu Yamazaki
      • Nobuko Miyamoto
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Jûzô Itami
    • Writer
      • Jûzô Itami
    • Stars
      • Ken Watanabe
      • Tsutomu Yamazaki
      • Nobuko Miyamoto
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 110User reviews
    • 80Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 4 nominations

    Videos5

    Tampopo
    Trailer 1:55
    Tampopo
    Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman Find Hope in Powerful, Eclectic Films
    Clip 8:43
    Guillermo del Toro and Neil Gaiman Find Hope in Powerful, Eclectic Films
    Tampopo
    Clip 1:26
    Tampopo
    Tampopo
    Clip 1:25
    Tampopo
    Tampopo
    Featurette 2:03
    Tampopo

    Photos77

    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)
    Tampopo (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ken Watanabe
    Ken Watanabe
    • Gun
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    • Gorô
    Nobuko Miyamoto
    Nobuko Miyamoto
    • Tampopo
    Kôji Yakusho
    Kôji Yakusho
    • Gangster in the White Suit
    Rikiya Yasuoka
    Rikiya Yasuoka
    • Pisuken
    Kinzô Sakura
    • Shôhei
    Yoshi Katô
    Yoshi Katô
    • Master of ramen making
    Hideji Ôtaki
    • Rich Old Man
    Fukumi Kuroda
    • Gangster's Mistress
    Setsuko Shinoi
    • Rich old man's mistress
    Yoriko Dôguchi
    Yoriko Dôguchi
    • Girl Oyster-fisher
    Masahiko Tsugawa
    Masahiko Tsugawa
    • Supermarket manager
    Chôei Takahashi
    • Company executives
    Akio Tanaka
    • Company executives
    Yoshihei Saga
    • Company executives
    Toshimune Kato
    • Office junior
    Isao Hashizume
    Isao Hashizume
    • Waiter
    Mario Abe
    • Ramen stand owner
    • Director
      • Jûzô Itami
    • Writer
      • Jûzô Itami
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The old name of Tampopo's restaurant, when she first meets Gorô and Gan, is Rai Rai Ken. Years later, when the first authentic râmen-ya opened in New York City, it took its name from this scene.
    • Goofs
      When the Gangster in the White Suit examines the oyster the girl has given him, it's obvious that the two shell halves are open almost an inch. This means the oyster has died and the shell is empty. Yet when the girl opens the shell, there's a plump oyster inside.
    • 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.

    • Crazy credits
      The entire closing credit sequence is a shot a woman breastfeeding her child; the camera slowly zooms in on the baby's mouth sucking his mother's breast.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Big Easy/The Fourth Protocol/No Way Out/Tampopo (1987)

    User reviews110

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Made me want to get a bowl of noodles immediately.
    I watched this movie for the first time last night and I have to say, it was awesome. This is one of those rare movies that are made with so much emotion, you can't help but be affected by what's going on before your eyes. I found the movie to be funny, touching, shocking, sensual, weird, thoughtful, cute, etc. The love of food is apparent throughout the entire movie. It kind of reminded me of Like Water for Chocolate, the way food was revered in the story. The movie is done in an interesting way. Mainly, it's about a woman named Tampopo who is left in charge of her husband's noodle shop after he dies. Having problems with maintaining a general quality to the place, especially with the cooking, she receives assistance from a rugged cowboy-type. Along with several other characters, they help to turn the place into something special. Occasionally, the story veers away from this plot to follow other characters in food-related scenes. For instance, there's a vignette about a group of girls being taught how to eat noodle soup properly by an etiquette teacher at a restaurant. They notice another patron in the restaurant, sucking at his noodles loudly but clearly enjoying them. The girls then do the same thing, prompting the teacher to follow suit, all of them sucking away at their noodles with the most exaggerated sound effects I have ever heard. This results in a scene so hilarious that I had to stop it and rewind it after it was done. Soon after, the story goes back to Tampopo and the other characters in her universe. There's other characters that are returned to periodically, like this white-suited gangster and his moll. Their scenes are erotically charged and quite striking. It was funny but at the same time it just grabbed me attention wise. There's a moment where they pass a raw egg yolk back and forth through each others mouths without rupturing it. It's done slowly and erotically, the two lovers obviously enjoying this really weird thing we're seeing. I have to say I've never really seen anything like that in a movie. All in all, I was pretty much entranced from the moment the movie began. I really didn't think I was going to enjoy it this much! It's really funny and it shows a side to Japanese cuisine and how serious it is taken there that I had never known before viewing this. I recommend this movie from top to bottom and I think it has deservedly earned a spot in my all-time faves list! If you are interested in Japanese culture and you appreciate food in the least, you owe it to yourself to track a copy of this down and watch it, especially if you like a good bowl of ramen!

    RATING: ***** out of *****.
    helpful•56
    12
    • Mr Parker
    • Jul 10, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1987 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Tampopo: A Ramen Western
    • Production companies
      • Itami Productions
      • New Century Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $224,097
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $16,410
      • Oct 23, 2016
    • Gross worldwide
      • $444,213
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

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