Tampopo (1985)

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.

Director:

Jûzô Itami

Writer:

Jûzô Itami (screenplay)

Stars:

Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Gorô
Nobuko Miyamoto	...	Tampopo
Kôji Yakusho	...	Gangster in the White Suit
Ken Watanabe	...	Gun
Rikiya Yasuoka	...	Pisuken
Kinzô Sakura	...	Shôhei
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	...	Girl Oyster-fisher
Masahiko Tsugawa	...	Supermarket manager
Chôei Takahashi	...	Company executives
Akio Tanaka	...	Company executives
Yoshihei Saga	...	Company executives

Storyline

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro, who rides into town like a modern Shane to help Tampopo set up the perfect noodle soup restaurant. Woven into this main story are a number of smaller stories about the importance of food, ranging from a gangster who mixes hot sex with food, to an old woman who terrorizes a shopkeeper by compulsively squeezing his wares.

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Plot Keywords:

waitress | ramen | food | noodles | breaking the fourth wall | 

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Taglines:

The first Japanese noodle western!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Akira Kubo listed above is not the same as the Toho star of the '50s and '60s.

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Goofs

When the gangster tickles his mistress by placing the bowl of prawns in cognac on her bare stomach, the sound of her laughter doesn't match up with her mouth movement.

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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.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The God of Cookery (1996)

User Reviews

Many unforgettable scenes

When I saw it again after many years, I discovered how many impressive, unique, unparalleled scenes are included in TAMPOPO - I remembered my astonishment when first watching them. I was astonished how surprising these scenes were, how unexpected, how strange and weird and fascinating. Try it yourself! It's unbelievable, this free flow of thoughts and odd ideas. It opens your mind. It teaches to respect your food. It makes you love Japan.

PS: listen carefully to "The Old Master". He appears very soon.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tampopo: A Ramen Western

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,410, 23 October 2016

Gross USA:

$224,097

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$375,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Itami Productions, New Century Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1