Tampopo Blu-ray

Runtime: 115 min

Director: Jūzō Itami

Cast: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho, Rikiya Yasuoka

Studios: New Century Producers, Itami Productions

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.

Special Features:

New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

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 Osaki 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 translation

PLUS: An essay by food and culture writer Willy Blackmore