Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (film)
| Perfume: The Story of a Murderer | |
|---|---|
 USA Poster | |
| Directed by | Tom Tykwer |
| Written by | Patrick Süskind (novel) Andrew Birkin Bernd Eichinger Tom Tykwer |
| Produced by | Bernd Eichinger |
| Starring | Ben Whishaw Dustin Hoffman Alan Rickman Rachel Hurd-Wood Jessica Schwarz Karoline Herfurth John Hurt Corinna Harfouch Simon Chandler |
| Narrated by | John Hurt |
| Cinematography | Frank Griebe |
| Edited by | Alexander Berner |
| Music by | Tom Tykwer Johnny Klimek Reinhold Heil performed by Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Simon Rattle |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures (USA) Constantin Film (Germany) Pathé (UK) Summit Entertainment (international sales) 20th Century Fox (Argentina) Buena Vista International (Italy) |
Release dates | September 14, 2006 (Germany) - December 27, 2006 (US Release date) |
Running time | 147 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $63,700,000 (est.) |
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 2006 German film directed by Tom Tykwer based on the novel Perfume by Patrick Süskind.
Synopsis
Based on the Patrick Süskind novel Perfume, the plot tells the story of the misanthropic, psychopathic, olfactory genius Grenouille and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent, ending in his macabre death engineered by his own masterly powers of influencing people through scents.
Cast
- Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the young man without a scent of his own but a strong sense of smell. He murders more than a dozen women to attain the perfect scent.
- Dustin Hoffman as Giuseppe Baldini, the man who employs Grenouille at his perfume shop. He teaches Grenouille how to capture smells and create perfume.
- Rachel Hurd-Wood as Laura Richis, the daughter of the powerful Antoine Richis and the subject of Grenouille's attention. Her scent, he feels, will complete his collection.
- Alan Rickman as Antoine Richis, Laura's father. He fears for his daughter's safety but finds it hard to protect her.
- John Hurt provides an extensive narration in voice-over.
- Corinna Harfouch Madame Arnulfi
- Karoline Herfurth as the Plum Girl, Grenouille's first victim. Grenouille is forever haunted by the fact that in killing her, he lost the sublime beauty that was her scent.
Reception/box office
As of October 2006, the film had received mixed reviews by critics. Reuters described the movie as "visually lush, fast-moving story," stating as well that the director "has a sure sense of spectacle, and despite its faults the movie maintains its queasy grip." "You may not savor it," Roger Ebert wrote, "but you will not stop watching it, in horror and fascination."[1] Rottentomatoes.com lists a 56% "rotten" rating quoting, "A visual feast with an antihero that's impossible to feel sympathy for."[2] The movie was an incredible success in Europe making over $100 million[citation needed] worldwide. It was deemed unmarketable for American audiences and released in a very limited number of theaters in North America where it took a modest $2,208,939.[citation needed]