Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Short description
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born into the stench and squalor of eighteenth-century Paris, a child nobody wants. What sets him apart is his sense of smell, an ability so acute that he can identify and separate every scent he encounters. He grows up obsessed with capturing and keeping odors, and his search leads him to a perfumer's workshop, where he learns the trade and shows a talent far beyond that of his teacher. But the fragrances he wants most cannot be bottled easily, and his pursuit of a perfect scent draws him toward acts that put him at odds with everyone around him, including a wealthy man and his daughter.
The film is an adaptation of Patrick Süskind's novel, directed by Tom Tykwer and released in 2006, after Run Lola Run and Heaven in his filmography. Ben Whishaw plays Grenouille, with Dustin Hoffman as the perfumer Baldini, Alan Rickman as Richis, Rachel Hurd-Wood as Laura and John Hurt providing narration. Bernd Eichinger produced and co-wrote the screenplay with Tykwer and Andrew Birkin. Budgeted at around 64 million USD, it took roughly 135 million USD worldwide.
Audience responses are positive but not unanimous: it holds 7.5/10 on IMDb from some 278,000 votes and 7.4/10 on TMDB, while a critics' rating of 6.5/10 from 131 reviews is noticeably lower, suggesting a warmer reception among viewers than among reviewers. The 147-minute running time and 62 credited cast members point to a large-scale literary adaptation.
What's left behind the scenes
- Tim Burton and Ridley Scott were both considered as potential directors for "Perfume."
- Top model Ruslana Korshunova, who tragically died later, auditioned for the role of the main character.
- Director and screenwriter Tom Tykwer believed that the orgy scene needed to be carefully scripted and staged, so he invited the Spanish theater group «La Fura Dels Baus». He selected 50 principal performers from its members, who were positioned directly in front of the cameras, and then another 100 people for the background and periphery. Together with 600 extras, these 150 performers made up the total number involved in the scene – 750 people.
- Scenes at the Fish Market were filmed in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter. 2.5 tons of fish and a ton of meat were brought in for the filming, and passersby complained about the stench even from a distance of almost 10 km from the Gothic Quarter.
- Among those who wanted to direct “The Perfume” were Martin Scorsese and Miloš Forman. Stanley Kubrick also considered adapting the novel for the screen, but ultimately came to the conclusion that Patrick Süskind’s work was unfilmable.
- During pre-production, director and screenwriter Tom Tykwer, cinematographer Frank Griebe, production designer Uli Hanisch, and costume designer Pierre-Yves Géraud studied the works of Caravaggio (1571-1610), Rembrandt (1606-1669), and Joseph Wright (1734-1797) to more accurately convey the atmosphere of 18th-century France.
- During the filming of the Paris scenes, Tom Tykwer paid close attention to ensuring that the dirt looked exactly like the dirt in Paris, leading the film's creative team to nickname him the 'Lord of the Dirt'.
- As is well known, Patrick Süskind was extremely skeptical about the film adaptation of his cult novel. His experience dealing with Bernd Eichinger and other enterprising producers desperately trying to acquire the adaptation rights was depicted in the satirical film "Rossini" (1997). Süskind wrote the screenplay for this film himself, with the main character being the eccentric writer Jacob Windisch. The character of Oskar Reuter was modeled after Bernd Eichinger. Most of the other characters in "Rossini" are caricatures of representatives of the Munich media business.
- The orgy scene was filmed in Barcelona, and the shooting took over a week. The scene involved 750 people, who were assisted by 40 makeup artists, and 35 costume design assistants were constantly on hand.
- In the scene of the prostitute's murder in Grace, we clearly see Jean-Baptiste cutting off her hair (which Drew later finds buried in the workshop), however, when the police remove the body in the morning, a clump of black hair is dangling from the stretcher.
- The film's budget (50 million euros) was the highest in the entire history of German cinema at that time.
- Before giving the go-ahead for costume creation, Pierre-Yves Guero spent 15 weeks studying costumes from the corresponding historical period. A total of over 1,400 costumes were created. When they arrived from Bucharest, the costumes still needed to be “aged” and slightly dirtied (so they wouldn't look brand new). Tom Tykwer insisted that the actors and actresses actually wear the appropriate costumes and dresses and not take them off for several days in a row (and even sleep in them, as was customary in that era).
- Before settling on Spanish Barcelona, the film crew traveled through eight countries in search of a city that could pass for Paris in the 18th century.
- For many years, Patrick Süskind refused producer Bernd Eichinger’s request to acquire the rights to film the novel. It was only in 2001 that the parties were able to reach an agreement. The price was 10 million euros.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
