Happy Birthday, Jūzō Itami! Born today in 1933 as Yoshihiro Ikeuchi, this Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director, throughout his career, directed eleven films, all of which he wrote himself.
Among his credits, Itami is best known for writing, co-producing and directing the 1985 Japanese comedy/Western film 'Tampopo' (literally "Dandelion").
The film follows two Japanese milk-truck drivers named Goro (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and Gun (Ken Watanabe). They later help a restaurant owner, Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles in order to create the perfect ramen.
Throughout, 'Tampopo' puns off stereotypical American movie themes, characters, music and camera set-ups and shots. It was this film that earned Itami international exposure and acclaim.
The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Western (films about the American Old West made by Italian production studios).
American film critic, historian, journalist, screenwriter and author Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars.
He commented that "Like the French comedies of [French mime, filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter] Jacques Tati, [('Mr. Hulot's Holiday', 'Mon Oncle', 'Playtime')] it's a bemused meditation on human nature in which one humorous situation flows into another offhandedly, as if life were a series of smiles."
'Tampopo' has received unanimous praise from critics, with a 100% approval rating and average score of 8.53/10 from Rotten Tomatoes, based on fifty-two reviews.
The site's critical consensus states, "Thanks to director Jūzō Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture."
A number of ramen restaurants around the world have also been named Tampopo.
On May 22, 1992, six days after the release of his 1992 Japanese comedy film 'Minboō no Onna' (also known by the titles 'Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion', 'The Gangster's Moll' and 'The Anti-Extortion Woman').
Itami's subsequent stay in a hospital inspired his next film. This was his 1993 Japanese drama film 'Daibyonin' (lit. "patient in serious condition"; known as 'The Last Dance' or 'The Seriously Ill). The film was a grim satire on the Japanese health system.
During a showing of this film in Japan, however, a cinema screen was slashed by a right-wing protester.
Itami passed after falling from the roof of the building where his office was located.
On his desk was found a suicide note stating he had been falsely accused of an affair and took his life to clear his name; two days later, a tabloid magazine published a report of such an affair.
On his desk was found a suicide note stating he had been falsely accused of an affair and took his life to clear his name; two days later, a tabloid magazine published a report of such an affair.
However, none of his family members believed that he would so take his life or that he would be mortally embarrassed by a real or alleged affair.
In 2008, a former member of the Goto-gumi faction told American journalist, crime writer and blogger Jake Adelstein “We set it up to stage his murder as a suicide. We dragged him up to the rooftop and put a gun in his face. We gave him a choice: jump and you might live or stay and we’ll blow your face off. He jumped. He didn’t live."
Itami passed in Tokyo, Japan on December 20, 1997. He had been married to Japanese actress Nobuko Miyamoto, his second wife, from 1969–1997. Itami was 64.
Itami had been active from 1961–1989.
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