Tampopo

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Tampopo

Released Sep 1, 1986

1h 54m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Two Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles.

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Critics Consensus

Thanks to director Juzo Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Itami uses his background in commercial art: every now and then, the characters assume shiny Pop poses, and the images have the slightly crazed look of heightened reality.

Sep 13, 2023

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Anupama Chopra

Film Companion

So you're watching all this amazing food being consumed, you're getting hungrier and hungrier and you're laughing harder and harder.

May 18, 2020

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

In Tampopo, every aspect of life is filtered through the prism of food - its rituals of preparation and consumption, its role as a social unifier or divider, its many healthy uses and perverse abuses.

May 2, 2017

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Itami squeezes Japanese food customs, even as he offers a fondly humorous survey of them.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 1, 2025

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

What is it about food that brings out the best in filmmakers all across the globe?

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 10, 2022

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Pieter-Jan Van Haecke

Psychocinematography

Tampopo is a classic that shows that life, in all its diverse aspects, turns around food and the enjoyment it provides. A narrative that needs to be savoured!

Aug 11, 2020

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Ed .

Hey, it's only ramen... I enjoyed the main story. I enjoyed some of the vignettes accompanying the main story. I disliked the other vignettes. Hence, my unusual pairing of liking the film yet rating it 2.5 stars.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 54 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Japanese and English audio versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $224,100.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

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Darryl S

This movie is a pretty good example of why RottenTomatoes is so obsessively politically correct with its ratings that once you've seen a movie like this with a 100% rating, it leaves you scratching your head and wondering, "Did I see the same movie the rest of these people did?" It plods along, the plot is very incohesive and the acting, while not bad, is not particularly good either. The music soundtrack was put together quite well, though, considering the rambling nature of the plot line it was trying to accompany. Also, the cinematography was good. But even these cannot make up for the deficiencies of its story content. This is certainly not a "100%" movie - not even close. I think we'll be sticking to IMDB for our research from now on. But even their reviewers have it up there at 7.9 which, again, is inexplicable.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

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Garrett B

A solid Japanese comedy from the 1980’s, but it’s a film I’ll probably not watch again for a while

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

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Insomniac X

Whimsical, warm-hearted comedy with surrealist interludes that reflects on food as a source -- and object -- of deep human passion.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

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Shukri R

noah:says tampopo (1986) is my favourite movie!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/03/25

Full Review

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Juzo Itami

Director

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Goro

Nobuko Miyamoto

Tampopo

Ken Watanabe

Gun

Kôji Yakusho

Man in White Suit

Rikiya Yasuoka

Pisuken

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Synopsis

Two Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles.

Director: Juzo Itami
Producer: Seigo Hosogoe, Juzo Itami, Yasushi Tamaoki
Screenwriter: Juzo Itami
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Production Co: Itami Productions, New Century Productions
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 1, 1986, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 2016
Release Date (Streaming): May 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $224.1K
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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