Tampopo

Criterion has brought out a new 4k version of Juzo Itami's classic Tampopo (1985) in a new Bluray package with several extras. Itami's classic holds up to the test of time well-essentially the story of how Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) studies under Goro ((Tsutomu Yamazaki) to become the best ramen chef she can. There are several food related diversions along the way as Itami draws a parallel between food, sex, life, and death. Much of this is with the man in white-played by Kojii Yakusho and his mistress, Fukumi Kuroda. A well-made and entertaining film about craftmanship and food. The Bluray extras include new 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray, The Making of “Tampopo,” a ninety-minute documentary from 1986, narrated by director Juzo Itami, new interview with actor Nobuko Miyamoto, new interview with food stylist Seiko Ogawa, new interviews with ramen scholar Hiroshi Oosaki and chefs Sam White, Rayneil De Guzman, Jerry Jaksich, and Ivan Orkin, Rubber Band Pistol, Itami’s 1962 debut short film, new video essay by filmmakers Tony Zhou and Taylor Ramos on the film’s themes of self-improvement and mastery of a craft, trailer, new English subtitle translatiomn, and an essay by food and culture writer Willy Blackmore.