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IMDbPro

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

  • 20062006
  • RR
  • 2h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
248K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,088
760
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Home Video Trailer from Paramount Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:33
1 Video
78 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
248K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,088
760
  • Director
    • Tom Tykwer
  • Writers
    • Andrew Birkin(screenplay)
    • Bernd Eichinger(screenplay)
    • Tom Tykwer(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ben Whishaw
    • Dustin Hoffman
    • Alan Rickman
Top credits
  • Director
    • Tom Tykwer
  • Writers
    • Andrew Birkin(screenplay)
    • Bernd Eichinger(screenplay)
    • Tom Tykwer(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ben Whishaw
    • Dustin Hoffman
    • Alan Rickman
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 619User reviews
    • 230Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 15 wins & 20 nominations

    Videos1

    Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
    Trailer 2:33
    Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

    Photos78

    Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Dustin Hoffman in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Dustin Hoffman and Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Alan Rickman in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Rachel Hurd-Wood in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Ben Whishaw in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
    Alan Rickman and Rachel Hurd-Wood in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ben Whishaw
    Ben Whishaw
    • Jean-Baptiste Grenouilleas Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
    Dustin Hoffman
    Dustin Hoffman
    • Giuseppe Baldinias Giuseppe Baldini
    Alan Rickman
    Alan Rickman
    • Richisas Richis
    Francesc Albiol
    • Court Officialas Court Official
    Gonzalo Cunill
    • Guard 1 Dungeonas Guard 1 Dungeon
    Rachel Hurd-Wood
    Rachel Hurd-Wood
    • Lauraas Laura
    Andrés Herrera
    Andrés Herrera
    • Door Guardas Door Guard
    Simon Chandler
    Simon Chandler
    • Mayor of Grasseas Mayor of Grasse
    David Calder
    David Calder
    • Bishop of Grasseas Bishop of Grasse
    Richard Felix
    • Chief Magistrateas Chief Magistrate
    Birgit Minichmayr
    Birgit Minichmayr
    • Grenouille's Motheras Grenouille's Mother
    Reg Wilson
    Reg Wilson
    • Customer Fishmarketas Customer Fishmarket
    Catherine Boisgontier
    • Woman Fishmarketas Woman Fishmarket
    Núria Casas
    Núria Casas
    • Woman 2 Fishmarketas Woman 2 Fishmarket
    Carlos Gramaje
    • Police Lieutenant Fishmarketas Police Lieutenant Fishmarket
    Sian Thomas
    Sian Thomas
    • Madame Gaillardas Madame Gaillard
    Michael Smiley
    Michael Smiley
    • Porteras Porter
    Walter Cots
    • Driveras Driver
    • (as Walter Cots Wangüemert)
    • Director
      • Tom Tykwer
    • Writers
      • Andrew Birkin(screenplay)
      • Bernd Eichinger(screenplay)
      • Tom Tykwer(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Fish Market scenes were shot in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. Two and a half tons of fish and one ton of meat was used over the course of the shoot, and people as far away as six miles reported a bad smell in the air.
    • Goofs
      The method of enfleurage that Grenouille is first seen practicing is called cold enfleurage - placing live botanicals in a layer of lard or tallow set in a frame. However, this method of enfleurage was not developed until the 1800's. The movie is set in the mid 1700's.
    • Quotes

      Narrator: He still had enough perfume left to enslave the whole world if he so chose. He could walk to Versailles and have the king kiss his feet. He could write the pope a perfumed letter and reveal himself as the new Messiah. He could do all this, and more, if he wanted to. He possessed a power stronger than the power of money, or terror, or death - the invincible power to command the love of man kind. There was only one thing the perfume could not do. It could not turn him into a person who could love and be loved like everyone else. So, to hell with it he thought. To hell with the world. With the perfume. With himself.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Painted Veil/Miss Potter/Perfume: The Story of a Murderer/Notes on a Scandal/The Curse of the Golden Flower/Pan's Labyrinth (2007)
    • Soundtracks
      Tarentelle
      (Traditional)

      Performed by Saboï and its Members

      Asta Coulomb, Christian Coulomb, Sebastien Coulomb, François Hecquet, Bertrand Mercier, Nicolas Pillard,

      Edo Pols, Jocelyn Raulet, Simon Staelens, Remi Tran-No

      By arrangement: Christian Coulomb

    User reviews619

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Dark grungy beauty
    The movie opens with Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) being sentenced to a gruesome punishment during the 18th century cheered on lustily by the crowd. He was born in the putrid 1738 Paris fish market, found in the pile of fish guts, and his mother sent to the gallows. He's put in the overcrowded orphanage where the other kids immediately try to kill him. He unnerves the other kids with his strange superior ability to smell. He is sold to the tannery at the age of 13. When he grows older, he is entranced by the smells of the city and the smell of the Plum Girl. He accidentally kills her leaving him with a desire to preserve the intoxicating scent of the girl. While delivering leather, he impresses perfumer Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin Hoffman) who is now too old and out of touch. So much so that Baldini purchases the young man. Grenouille is obsessed with a way to replicate. Baldini tells him of the mysterious art of enfleurage found in Grasse. While walking on a country road, he is overtaken by the smell of Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood). Her father is Antoine Richis (Alan Rickman).

    This would be a great movie for smell-o-vision. The style is doing the next best thing. It is grungy, dark and ugly. The ugliness pushes the senses of the audience. Ben Whishaw is wonderfully creepy. He does a scary stone-faced intensity. His character is isolated. He's obsessed. This is the essence of the movie. It's about his obsession and his amoral pursuit of it. He brings no judgment to his life other than to satisfying the obsession. I would say the movie has a sexual sense if not for the fact that it is done in such a gruesome manner. This is a movie unlike most others. This movie is deliciously horrible.
    helpful•10
    4
    • SnoopyStyle
    • Sep 29, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 5, 2007 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • France
      • Spain
      • United States
      • Belgium
    • Official sites
      • Le parfum
      • Official site (Russia)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Perfume
    • Filming locations
      • Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes, France
    • Production companies
      • DreamWorks
      • Constantin Film
      • Bernd Eichinger Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,223,293
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $37,079
      • Dec 31, 2006
    • Gross worldwide
      • $135,039,924
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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