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Over the last handful of years, repertory cinema has found a new life. With an increasing number of distributors not only restoring classic, foreign and ostensibly forgotten masterpieces, but also giving them great runs in theaters across the country, even smaller markets outside of New York and La are getting a chance to see what’s truly going on in the world of film restoration. But there are still few names as influential and important as that of Janus Films. A label synonymous with the very best in truly important cinema, Janus Films has seen new runs of films as iconic as The Dekalog, to as niche as John Waters’ Multiple Maniacs this year. And they aren’t done just yet.

October 21 sees the New York premiere of a new, gorgeous, 4K restoration of Juzo Itami’s masterpiece Tampopo. Long rumored to become part of the DVD and Blu-ray catolog of Janus’ home video arm,...

The saying goes that some people eat to live, and some people live to eat. Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” is the rare serving of food porn that brings both groups to the table. First released in 1985 (and now returning to theaters with a delectable new 4K restoration), this timeless Japanese classic begins with a petulant gangster bringing a full picnic into a movie theater, and ends with a hungry infant instinctively suckling on his mother’s breast. In between, Itami’s fiercely beloved film unfolds like a prix fixe tasting menu of strange comic delights, the director’s fabulist sensibilities feeding into an episodic foodie fantasia about all of the things that give life its flavor and make it worth savoring.

The only movie ever made that could accurately be described as a cross between “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” “Babette’s Feast,” and “Songs From the Second Floor,...

One of the most beloved, fun and mouthwatering Japanese movies of the 1980s, Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” has been sitting in the fridge for far too long. Fortunately, with Janus Films’ stunning 4K restoration set to open at Film Forum on Friday (whetting appetites for the inevitable Criterion Collection release to follow), people can finally get another taste of the one and only “ramen western.”

A glorious stew that combines the best parts of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly,” “Amélie” and “Babette’s Feast,” Itami’s classic tells the savory story of a widowed restaurant owner named Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamato) who’s down on her luck and in desperate need of some new recipes. But Tampopo’s luck begins to change when a pair of ronin-like truck drivers — including a young Ken Watanabe — stop for a bite at her place and rededicate their lives to spicing up her noodles.

Exclusive: Yuji Kanda’s film just wrapped shooting in Tokyo.

Japan’s Bees Connexion has announced But Life Goes On, starring Collin Chou from the Matrix series, has been picked up for international sales by Toronto-based 108 Media Corporation.

Written and directed by Yuji Kanda, the Japanese arthouse film just wrapped shooting in Tokyo.

Kanda previously directed The Story Teller’s Apprentice, a humorous film adapted from a hit theatre play. He was also an associate producer on Seijun Suzuki’s Princess Raccoon and Pistol Opera.

Based in La and Beijing, trilingual action talent Collin Chou is known for playing Seraph, protector of the Oracle in The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Reloaded. He plays the lead in But Life Goes On, as a taxi driver suffering from a traumatic event whose past catches up with him.

Ryo Ebe, director, Asia, at 108 Media Corporation explained their decision to pick up the film: “Japanese movies are having a very...

In our writers' favourite film series, Richard Vine finds his appetite is sated by Juzo Itami's classic 'ramen western'

Does this review have all the right ingredients? Or is it a recipe for disaster? Dish up your own verdict here or in the comments below

In the years since first stumbling across Tampopo, I've rewatched many other films many more times, but Juzo Itami's "ramen western" has always stayed in my mind. It was the first film I'd ever seen that seemed to want to do something more than stick to one linear story, that played with the language of film as it tried to do it all: to be a comedy and a drama, to show death, sex and food all together – sometimes in the same scene.

On the surface, it's a simple story – a cook tries to find the perfect recipe for making noodles – but along the way...