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Tampopo

Play trailer Poster for Tampopo 1986 1h 54m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Tampopo

Tampopo

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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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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/13/2023
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. Go to Full Review Anupama Chopra Film Companion 05/18/2020
So you're watching all this amazing food being consumed, you're getting hungrier and hungrier and you're laughing harder and harder. Go to Full Review Anton Bitel Little White Lies 05/02/2017
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. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm May 1
3.5/4
Itami squeezes Japanese food customs, even as he offers a fondly humorous survey of them. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 04/10/2022
3.5/4
What is it about food that brings out the best in filmmakers all across the globe? Go to Full Review Pieter-Jan Van Haecke Psychocinematography 08/11/2020
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! Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ed . Aug 22 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. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 7 Funny in 1 hour and 54 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Japanese and English audio versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $224,100.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Copyright 1986-2025 by New Yorker Films!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Darryl S May 7 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. See more Garrett B @gmoney637 Apr 2 A solid Japanese comedy from the 1980’s, but it’s a film I’ll probably not watch again for a while See more Insomniac X Mar 3 Whimsical, warm-hearted comedy with surrealist interludes that reflects on food as a source -- and object -- of deep human passion. See more Shukri R Jan 3 noah:says tampopo (1986) is my favourite movie! See more Read all reviews
Tampopo

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Cast & Crew

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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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Tampopo

Poster Art Tampopo (1985) View more photos

Movie Info

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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