Tampopo (The Criterion Collection)

Review

The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous “ramen western” by Japanese director Juzo Itami is an entertaining, genre-bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges, our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) and friends to make her café a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal Tampopo is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouthwatering examples of food on film ever made.

TWO-DVD SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
-New 4K digital restoration
-The Making of “Tampopo,” a ninety-minute documentary from 1986, narrated by director Juzo Itami
-New interview with actor Nobuko Miyamoto
-New interviews with ramen scholar Hiroshi Osaki; food stylist Seiko Ogawa; and American chefs Sam White, Rayneil De Guzman, Jerry Jaksich, and Anthony Bourdain
-Rubber Band Pistol, Itami’s 1962 debut short film
-New video essay by Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos on the film’s themes of self-improvement and mastery of a craft
-Trailer
-New English subtitle translation
-PLUS: An essay by food and culture writer Willy Blackmore