Tampopo Reviews

• If you love food and Alton Brown...

  
  By A1LYZ4AYQ45S91 on 2006-08-13
  ...you will love this movie for it explores (with hysterical results) why food becomes such an important touchstone in life.
  
  Truck driver Goro and Gun are in search of some good eats and run into a widow who is trying to run a ramen shop. Unfortunately, she's not doing too well so Goro and some unlikely guides offer her some sage advice and help her on her way to becoming a true ramenista. The story is punctuated with some vignettes about the "social aspects" of eating and our behavior with food.
  
  
  THIS EDITION NOTES: This is a "no-frills" deal with the bear minimum of subtitle options and the movie's original trailer. Although Amazon is listing the zone playability as "unknown" the jacket lists it as ALL ZONES. It played on our ancient Zenith DVD player which can only handle zone 1 DVDs and nothing else. Picture is good, but sound quality is poor. However, its definitely worth the price to see this wonderful movie once again!
  
  

• it's the real thing

  
  By A1BG2FSFM1SHOV on 2006-10-02
  I was concerned when I read the other review because I was not sure we would get the English subtitles. I was also confused by the other versions of this DVD selling for close to $300.
  
  Relax. This is a perfectly good version, with good sound (we don't have surround sound etc.) and English subtitles. Go for it. This is a great movie!
  
  

• Tampopo

  
  By A1161TO6E6L84O on 2006-11-27
  This is one of the best food films ever. Ken Watanabe as a Japanese John Wayne and noodle expert is hilarious. The director also has some great moves. I have enjoyed watching it several times to make sure that I haven't missed anything.
  
  

• Completely concerned with food. Oh, & sex & life too.

  
  By AY38JIJ0X7JYP on 2007-08-02
  This is on my top ten list of the funniest, most delightful movies of all time. The main plot line is a loving satire of the "adult" western of the fifties - "Shane" in particular - where the hero drifts into town, helps the poor widow get her life together and beat the bad guys, then drifts out again. Tampopo, the heroine, must make the best noodle soup in town to overcome the villainous other noodle houses.
  
  But what makes this movie extraordinary are the vignettes, both within the plot-line and outside it, that mingle food, sex, cultural hangups, life and death in hilarious and sometimes very touching combinations.
  
  The movie succeeds not only because of its marvellous material and fine actors but also through excellent direction and cinematography. For example, the scene toward the end where Tampopo & Goro are eating companionably in a restaurant: notice the camera movement from the food to the people; the positions of the actors conveying clearly the ambiguity of the relationship and their attitudes to each other; how at times Goro actually has his back to the camera; the cut to the symbolic passing train, nicely understated; the whole scene is an example of effective simplicity in movie-making.
  
  This movie is ultimately unclassifiable; it is itself, funny, sad (sometimes both at once), shocking, absorbing; but above all funny. I have never seen another film quite like it, and it stays in the memory like the best of Fellini.
  
  

• Careful! Japanese domain code!

  
  By AA8FYV7BLN3ZN on 2006-10-29
  Great movie, with English subtitles, but US DVD players won't play it because it's formatted for Japanese players...
  
  
• one of the best movie comedies ever
  By A2DS45FWAQHUT2 on 2007-01-16
  Nothing translates across cultural boundaries as well as food and sex. Fortunately so does the humor in this film, where everything is equally as savoury as it is sweet and sensual. This Japanese import is an excellent transfer and a Region 0 disc, so it's much better than the overpriced unfortunate Fox Lorber edition, which is fortunately out of print.
  
  
• Food, sex and history
  By A1ZIG55CIOBH3A on 2007-02-17
  This is a Japanese cult film and one which has had serious traction in the West. It contains the roots of the modern Iron Chef series and is a jewel in which is reflected many of the common-or-garden mores that make Japan such a rich and wonderful place. It is a must-see and will not be easily forgotten.
  
  It is a journey to mastery of ramen making and in this, a journey toward mastery itself. Tampopo, a 'noob' noodle chef, enlists the help of expert advisers one-by-one as she assembles the skills necessary to make a compelling ramen noodle soup in the competitive environment of Japanese ramen-ya (ramen noodle shops). Along the way she steals, bribes and cheats with the support of her advisers but, as the goal is honuorable, in good Japanese (and indeed in other nations') style, the ends justify the means.
  
  Apart from yielding the best ramen imaginable, the film is interspersed with a myriad of vignettes - all food related but otherwise unrelated apart from being elements of Japanese idiosyncrasy. These vary from an old lady who sneaks into delis to squeeze the food with a naughty abandon and then to be chased out by the bemused/confused staff to fabulous sequences with the young Iron Chef chairman as a food obsessed gangster exchanging the yolk of an egg in a kiss with his equally food obsessed lover (the roots of the Iron Chef series are clearly present in this film so if you love food ....).
  
  This is a wonderful film. It holds people for years after viewing with each remembering a different element of beauty. It drew me back after 20 years and I had to find it and see it again. Having just done this (and I cooked ramen to go with the viewing!), it lives up the memory!
  
  Alexander Roche
  
  
• a Must See movie for everyone who loves food!!!
  By A2J0QOSENCCPOZ on 2007-01-03
  This is one of my favorites ever. I had seen the movie several times some 15 years ago (I loved it then) but seeing it again: it was still good, funny, inspiring, mouth watering, moving, heart warming, good feeling. It simply is a Must See movie for everyone who loves food!!!
  
  
• Food, food, food!
  By AN6RYGJ00AT2 on 2007-08-03
  This is a total classic... a must-see for all food-lovers: and who doesn't like food? Food prep, food enjoyment, food and sensuality, food and business, food as a martial art/budo... It's all here. Enjoy!
  
  
• Funny, Sexy, Delicious
  By A15J07RXB3W0YX on 2008-06-24
  This is a delightful punning play on the theme of a spaghetti western. The main story revolves around the tale of a threatened noodle shop and its widowed owner. A very broadly drawn cowboy rides into town in this pickup truck (complete with horns on the hood) and saves the day. Side plots include a society of homeless gastronomes, an example of mother-love gone way too far and the best use of a shrimp by a gangster in any movie ever.
  
  The serious underside is that this is a mouth-watering depiction of the love of food and it would be a rare gourmet who didn't have to stop the dvd at least once to grab a snack.
  
  Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG
  
  
• An all-time favourite.
  By A3VZUMSIX0DCRB on 2007-03-14
  If you like ramen and Japanese humour, this is for you. I think it's brilliant and highly recommended.
  
  
• Delicious!
  By A35LX10XM6J5UJ on 2007-04-29
  A delightful noodle Western. A widowed mother of one finds unlikely allies in her grail-like quest for the best ramen noodles and soup. This, contrary to what one might believe, is serious business. It requires dedication, perseverance, artistry, risk and even espionage. If you love food, comedy, films that poke fun at popular culture, kitsch romance, high cinema; if you revel in a great story served with a healthy dash of mushy love and more than a sprinkling of burly machismo; if, above all, you love a happy ending, you'll love Tampopo. Perfectly balanced. Now, if only they'd come out with the companion recipe book - I am dying to try the rice omelet and the ramen soup with pork!
  
  
• Distinctive, Warm and Wonderful
  By A1PP7NM0TEDY6X on 2007-08-07
  Tampopo is a rare thing indeed: a film with a brain, a heart - and a stomach!
  
  Milk truck driver Goro and his friend Gun stumble across a sleepy noodle bar while out working. The owner of Lai Lai is the widow Tampopo, for whom times are hard. She's not helped by the fact that, frankly, her noodle soup isn't so good. So, in the spirit of Shane, Goro decides to help Tampopo make the perfect noodle soup.
  
  This is the main thread of the story, but weaved in amongst it are a succession of stories that show the role of food in Japanese society. Some are funny, some touching and some revel in the sensual pleasure that eating can bring.
  
  Standouts include lunch in a French restaurant for a group of salarymen, a teacher at a finishing school showing a group of young women how to eat spaghetti Western style, a family sharing their last meal with their ding mother and the infamous scene with the gangster, his girlfriend and a raw egg yolk.
  
  Each scene is insightful in some way about the role of food in Japanese life. The role of women in this is also explored too;each time something positive or good happens, somewhere a woman is involved.
  
  I first saw this film nearly twenty years ago and am glad to have finally found a chance to watch it again. I recalled it as one of my favourite films and time has, I'm glad to say, not dimmed that recollection: it's every bit as good as I remember. Sound and picture quality are pretty good overall, with english subtitles available. There are few extras (only really the trailer) and the chapter menus, for example, are entirely in Japanese, suggesting that little has been done to the release when brought into the US. This is not a bad thing, to be honest, and adds something to the disc's character.
  
  
  
  
• Excellent movie, excellent version
  By A1CSS41T4A9NIN on 2007-11-26
  American "Tampopo" seekers, search no more. This is an excellent version--no quality problems at all. Enjoy!
  
  
• Simply Great!
  By A2UUWJ390GTDUR on 2008-08-03
  For anyone interested in food or the Japaneses culture this is great.
  Will whet the appetite for a great bowl of ramein and keep you laughing through every scene.
  
  
• a classic
  By A2Q8Y2M6PMYFEP on 2008-08-07
  Japanese comedy in all its glorious complexity, Tampopo irreverently combines sex and food in a search for the Holy Grail: the perfect soup! I don't know one person who has not enjoyed this film. Meet the hero: a cowboy/samurai truck driver type. Meet the damsel in distress: Tampopo, a single mom trying to make her lunch bar succeed. And the bad guy? A yakusa-type bad boy wannabe who unveils his very tasteful interior decorating skills and pitches in to help the pretty widow. Then there is the unforgettable "professor", the con man, the dying mother who manages to get up from her death bed to make one last meal for her family, the dentist (and a sexy dentist assistant). They are all intertwined, inexplicitly, with a fedora-wearing gangster in search of the perfect meal.
  
  
• Fantastic Food Film
  By AZWP97BZPJI1D on 2008-08-29
  Tampopo is one of the true classics of culinary cinema. It's all foolishness of one kind or another, but the performances are very sincere and charming and draw you into the seemingly nonsensical quest.
  
  This secondhand DVD plays quite well, though there is one glitchy segment, fortunately brief and very fortunately not in an essential spot.
  
  
• Down Right Eye Opening
  By A3GI2S25ASU464 on 2008-10-07
  I had read about Tampopo and became instantly intrigued so I set out to watch in hope it was as interesting as I had built it up to be in my head from the brief synopsis. While watching this movie I quickly realized it was quite different than anything I had seen.
  This movie is hysterical from beginning to end it is genius how such a simple story line can be done so well I cannot imagine it being done any better. This is the movie that really spawned my love and interest in Japanese films. I recommend this movie to everyone.
  
  
• truly delicious
  By A1XSRUNFFCX4KR on 2007-04-06
  I decided to see this film after seeing it mentioned in a lonely planet book about Japanese foods. Intrigued & as a lover of good food, I got it & truly enjoyed the film.
  
  It's a wonderful primer about making good ramen & what it takes to make a truly good ramen. The dedication could be applicable to other foods such as a good burger etc. Since I have not been to Japan & not had japanese ramen noodles, I can't vouch for accuracy but it certainly stimulated a desire to try.
  
  The movie also highlights the observation of John Pawson, the noted minimalist architect, that simplicity is the hardest thing to accomplish & this movie shows that making good ramen takes a lot of effort.
  
  There was a scene where a dying gourmand gangster described that was truly memorable: Hungry wild boars consuming yams during winter are hunted & their intensines are cooked over an open fire. The cooked intensines become yam sausages.This observation was an eye-opener..
  
  The movie also draws a connection between food & eroticism that may not be suitable for children under 13. One scene was quite similar to the food scenes in 9 1/2 weeks but more erotic & inventive.
  
  There is a sense of non-linearity[snippets of stories not connected to main characters] to the story that I enjoyed but other people make not like due to hollywood sensibilities. I liked it also bec it gave a time-stamp of Japan & its people that probably doesnt exist anymore.
  
  People who enjoy cooking & IRON CHEF Japan will really enjoy this movie.
  
  
• fantastic and truly distinctive.......
  By ADS5APY1NKTL4 on 2007-04-14
  I am a great fan of the food film genre. This includes everything from LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE (from Mexico) to EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (from Taiwan). TAMPOPO is a (more than) 20 year old Japanese film about the culture's love affair with and cultural connection to food. Particularly, ramen is showcased here (among other entrees). The film follows the chance encounter that two truck drivers, Goro (Tsutomo Yamazaki) and Gun (Ken Watanabe) have with Tampopo (translation: "Dandelion") (Nobuko Miyamoto), the owner of a small, failing noodle restaurant that they patronize one stormy night. Goro, the older, more experienced driver, agrees to help coach Tampopo in the art of gourmet noodle production, so she is truly a contender with her competition. Noodle making (and consumption) is truly a fine art, as well as a competitive sport. The provocative sub-plot juxtaposed with the plight of Tampopo is the relationship between a yakuza gangster (Koji Yakusho) and his mistress (Fukumi Kuroda). Food is central in their relationship, as well as in their love for one another. It is, both, metaphor and appetizer......
  
  TAMPOPO's style is really hard to articulate in a simple review. Director Juzo Itami made this film a valentine and spoof of, both, the genre of spaghetti westerns (this, being the first "noodle" western of its kind--literally) as well as Japanese yakuza gangster films. It is at once satirically funny and poignant. Also, nothing is really what it seems. This I will say--you will want to grab a good bowl of soup afterwards.......I'm thinking soba, with a rich broth and maybe even some green onion on the side.
  
  
• classic
  By A1A9QIEEM5NZ7Z on 2007-06-13
  this movie is great fun. almost perfect. the only problem i find is the weird dentist office scene crowbar'd into the middle. otherwise it's a great escape. the film totally lacks cynicism but is not 'soft'...and bonus if you like ramen.
  
  
• simple and sweet
  By ANV9DCR07B5MV on 2007-06-27
  this is all you need for this film. simply english subtitles. I love this movie so much! it's the monty python of Japan. :)
  
  
• Great Movie
  By A2YOVHLFKNAUG2 on 2007-07-27
  I really enjoyed the movie. At first it seemed a little cheesey, but after having a few scenes explained to me, I thought it was hilarious. This is a great movie no matter what language you speak.
  
  
• you'll never again see an egg yolk w/out thinking of this!
  By AFY3UYAOC8PCP on 2007-08-31
  Well, maybe you will but there are lots of scenes that frequently come to mind and I haven't seen it in more than a dozen years.
  
  This review is of the movie - NOT the DVD. I'm waiting for a better release but I saw it twice in the theater and once on VHS. I can wait another couple of years.
  
  
• TAMpopo!
  By A309YE3EFAOE2X on 2007-09-30
  It's a fun and soulful look into the influence of food in Japanese society...especially their noodles. Lot's of stories weaved together, (including one in the style of a western, and one in the style of a 'Mafioso' getting his 'just deserts') for one message! I always enjoy seeing this film, and in the end, I'm always full!
  
  
• A classic
  By AWTM3VS9CJXDO on 2007-10-12
  Truly a cult classic. The unique style in how this film was presented was fabulous for its time. Seeing the cultural aspects of a different society was special indeed. Yet it cuts straight to our basic human instincts. The viewer cannot help but to be drawn into a whole new world. Light-hearted and insightful.
  
  
• Not for you.
  By A1KYS3M22KTAM6 on 2007-11-15
  This movie is based on a silly plot about ramen which could have been written by any 13 year old boy. Lots of meaningless and boring scenes about people who never become a part of the overall storyline. Random sequences of trite and pointless food discussions abound. Only very eccentric and oddball characters truly seem to like this movie, otherwise this is probably... not for you. If you are looking for funny, humorous, light-hearted, personality-driven characters, stick to Mel Brooks and Adam Sandler. You'll definitely be happier.
  
  
• If you love to eat
  By A3BYNBSIJP8JC5 on 2008-01-12
  In my opinion there is no movie that writes with more passion about food. The main story is about a woman trying to upgrade her mediocre noodle restaurant to the best noodle place in town. In her quest to find out about the perfect noodle soup she teams up with a variety of characters, one even more colorful than the next.
  
  Throughout the movie also run a bunch of other food-related stories. Especially the side tale about a Yakuza mobster and his mistress is beautiful and unforgettable with scenes of pure art.
  
  Overall the movie is great fun and full with love for food and life in general. This should be watched by all of you who have a passion.
  
  
• Tampopo
  By A2Z1R484ATVZID on 2008-01-18
  I still havnt received Tampopo
  ................................... and im longing for it One of the moovies I never forget.
  
  
• Tampopo
  By A7U9DT09U2H1T on 2008-02-20
  My husband and I have seen this movie several times on the IFC channel and enjoy it immensely. I was thrilled to find the DVD. There are several version listed and this is the only one I've seen. It is a story of a women whose goal is to learn how to make to best bowl of soup ever. There is some subtle humor in this and you find yourself really rooting for the main character. It is definitely a different type of movie, but I have encountered many people over the years that rave about this movie. I wouldn't consider a cult classic, though some people do. There is overtones of discrimination as she is a woman and is trying to do a man's job. I love the trials and tribulations she goes through to perfect her craft. This is an entertaining movie and makes me laugh ever time.
  
  

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