Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (film)

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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

US theatrical release poster

Directed by

Tom Tykwer

Produced by

Bernd Eichinger

Screenplay by

Andrew Birkin
Bernd Eichinger
Tom Tykwer

Based on

Perfume
by Patrick Sskind

Starring

Ben Whishaw
Alan Rickman
Rachel Hurd-Wood
Dustin Hoffman
Karoline Herfurth
Simon Chandler

Narrated by

John Hurt

Music by

Tom Tykwer
Johnny Klimek
Reinhold Heil

Cinematography

Frank Griebe

Edited by

Alexander Berner

Production

VIP Medienfunds 4

company

Neff Productions
Castelao Productions

Distributed by

DreamWorks Pictures
Constantin Film(Germany)
Metropolitan Filmexport(France)

Release dates

September 14, 2006(Germany)

October 4, 2006 (France)
November 24, 2006(Spain)

Running time

147 minutes[1]

Country

Germany
Spain
France

Language

English

Budget

$60 million[2]

Box office

$135,039,943[3]

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a German 2006 thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer, written by Andrew
Birkin, Bernd Eichinger and Tykwer and starring Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood and Dustin
Hoffman. Tykwer, with Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, also composed the music. It is based on the 1985
novel Perfume by Patrick Sskind. Set in 18th century France, the film tells the story of Jean-Baptiste
Grenouille (Whishaw), an olfactory genius, and his homicidal quest for the perfect scent.
Producer Bernd Eichinger bought the film rights to Sskind's novel in 2000 and began writing the screenplay
together with screenwriter Andrew Birkin. Tom Tykwer was selected as the director and joined the two in
developing the screenplay in 2003.Principal photography began on July 12, 2005 and concluded on October 16,
2005; filming took place in Spain, Germany, and France. The film was made on a budget of 50 million, making it
one of the most expensive German films.
Perfume was released on September 14, 2006 in Germany, December 26, 2006 in the United Kingdom and
December 27, 2006 in the United States. It grossed over $135 million worldwide, of which over $53 million was

made in Germany. Critics' reviews of the film were mixed; the consensus was that the film had strong
cinematography and acting but suffered from an uneven screenplay.
Contents
[hide]

1 Plot

2 Production

2.1 Development

2.2 Casting

2.3 Design

2.4 Filming

2.5 Post-production

2.6 Music

3 Release
o

3.1 Marketing

3.2 Box office

3.3 Home media

4 Reception
o

4.1 Critical response

4.2 Accolades

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Plot[edit]
The film begins with the sentencing of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw), a notorious murderer. Between
the reading of the sentence and the execution, the story of his life is told in flashback, beginning with his
abandonment at birth in a French fish market. Raised in an orphanage, Grenouille grows into a strangely
detached boy with a superhuman sense of smell. After growing to maturity as a tanner's apprentice, he makes his
first delivery to Paris, where he revels in the new odors. He focuses on a redheaded girl selling plums (Karoline
Herfurth), following her and repeatedly attempting to sniff her, but startles her with his behavior. To prevent her
from crying out, he covers the girl's mouth and unintentionally suffocates her. After realizing that she is dead, he
strips her body naked and smells her all over, becoming distraught when her scent fades. Afterwards, Grenouille
is haunted by the desire to recreate the girl's aroma.
After making a delivery to a perfume shop, Grenouille amazes the Italian owner, Giuseppe Baldini (Dustin
Hoffman), with his ability to identify and create fragrances. He revitalizes the perfumer's career with new
formulas, demanding only that Baldini teach him how to preserve scents. Baldini explains that all perfumes are
harmonies of twelve individual scents, and may contain a theoretical thirteenth scent. Grenouille continues

working for Baldini but is saddened when he learns that Baldini's method of distillation will not capture the scents
of all objects. Baldini informs Grenouille of another method that can be learned in Grasse and agrees to help him
by providing the journeyman papers he requires in exchange for 100 new perfume formulas. En route to Grasse,
Grenouille discovers that he has no body odor, and is therefore worthless. He decides that creating the perfect
perfume will prove his worth.
Upon arrival in Grasse, Grenouille catches the scent of Laura Richis (Rachel Hurd-Wood), the beautiful,
redheaded daughter of the wealthy Antoine Richis (Alan Rickman) and decides that she will be his "thirteenth
scent", the linchpin of his perfume. Grenouille finds a job in Grasse under Madame Arnulfi (Corinna Harfouch)
and learns the method of enfleurage. He kills a young lavender picker and attempts to extract her scent using the
method of hot enfleurage, which fails. After this, he attempts the method of cold enfleurage on a prostitute he
hired, but she becomes alarmed and tries to throw him out. He murders her and successfully preserves the scent
of the woman. Grenouille embarks on a killing spree, targeting beautiful young women and capturing their scents
using his perfected method. He dumps the women's naked corpses around the city, creating panic. After
preserving the first twelve scents, Grenouille plans his attack on Laura. During a church
sermon excommunicating him, it is announced that a man has confessed to the murders. Richis remains
unconvinced and flees the city with his daughter. Grenouille tracks her scent to a roadside inn and sneaks into
her room that night, murdering her.
Soldiers capture Grenouille moments after he finishes preparing his perfume. On the day of his execution, he
applies the perfume on himself, forcing the jailers to release him. The executioner and the crowd in attendance
are speechless at the beauty of the perfume; they declare Grenouille innocent before falling into a massive orgy.
Richis, still convinced of Grenouille's guilt, threatens him with his sword, before being overwhelmed by the scent
and embraces Grenouille as his "son". Walking out of Grasse unscathed, Grenouille has enough perfume to rule
the world, but has discovered that it will not allow him to love or be loved like a normal person. Disenchanted by
his aimless quest, he returns to the Parisian fish market where he was born and pours the remaining perfume
over his head. Overcome by the scent and in the belief that Grenouille is an angel, the nearby
crowd devours him. The next morning, all that is left are his clothes and the empty bottle, from which one final
drop of perfume falls.

Production[edit]
Development[edit]

Producer Bernd Eichingerwas denied the rights to the film when he first tried to obtain it in 1985

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is based on the 1985 novel by Patrick Sskind which has sold over 15 million
copies worldwide.[4] Sskind reportedly thought that only Stanley Kubrick and Milo Forman could do the book
justice and refused to let anyone else make a film adaptation of it.[5] Bernd Eichinger, the film's producer, read the
novel when it was first released and immediately approached Sskind, who was also a friend of his, to obtain the
film rights Sskind refused.[4] In 2000, Sskind relented and sold Eichinger the rights.[4] Eichinger had to take
out a personal loan because the supervisory board of Constantin Film refused to approve the selling price.[6] He is
rumored to have paid 10 million for the film rights.[7] The author had no involvement in the project.[8]
Eichinger and screenwriter Andrew Birkin began to write a draft script.[4] Eichinger says that their biggest problem
was a narrative one, "The main character doesn't express himself. A novelist can use narrative to compensate for
this; that's not possible in film. An audience can usually only get a feeling for a character if the character speaks",
said Eichinger. Eichinger said, "With material like this it is especially important for a director to get involved in the
script."[4] Eichinger met with a number of directors but felt that only Tom Tykwer was really in tune with the

material.[5] In 2003, Tykwer was invited to join Eichinger and Birkin in adapting the novel.[5] The screenplay went
through over 20 revisions to get to the final shooting script.[9] The three writers worked hard to create a faithful
adaptation that captured the atmosphere and climate of the novel, yet, at the same time, have a specific and
individual perspective, in terms of the story and the main character.[10]
The film had a production budget of 50 million (US$63.7 million),[11] making it one of the most expensive German
film productions.[5] The film wasfinanced by Constantin Film, which Eichinger was the former CEO of;
billionaire Gisela Oeri and VIP Medienfonds. Perfume is Oeri's first investment into a film and she also served as
a co-producer.[4] The film received 200,000 in funding from the German Federal Film Board (FFA)'s German
French Agreement fund.[12] Eurimages also granted the film 600,000 in co-production funding.[13] The film
received 400,000 in funding from the German Federal Film Board.[14] The film received production funding of
1.6 million from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, 1 million from the German Federal Film Board and 750,000 from
Filmstiftung NRW.[15] The film received distribution funding of 205,000 from FilmFernsehFonds Bayern,
[16]
180,000 from the German Federal Film Board[15] and 150,000 from the Bavarian Bank Fund.[16]
Andreas Schmid, CEO of VIP Medienfonds and one of the film's executive producers, was arrested in October
2005 on suspicion of fraud and tax evasion.[17][18] The resulting investigation revealed some irregularities in the
financing of Perfume. According to documents Schmid filed to tax authorities, VIP invested 25 million into the
film. But according to Constantin Film's ledgers, VIP only put up 4.1 million. The remainder of the 25 million
was banked to collect interest, secure bank guaranties and used to pay back investors their share of the film's
revenue.[19][20] As VIP claimed the whole 25 million was used to produce the film, its investors were also able to
write off their entire contribution against tax. Perfume also received 700,000 in state subsidies from Filmstiftung
NRW based on the 4.1 million figure.[19] In November 2007, Schmid was found guilty of multiple counts of tax
evasion and sentenced to six years in prison. He had already served more than two years in jail since his arrest.
[21]

Casting[edit]

Ben Whishaw playsJean-Baptiste Grenouille, a young man with a powerful sense of smell.

Filming was originally planned to begin in the third quarter of 2004 but the filmmakers had trouble finding the right
actor to play the protagonist Grenouille.[22] The search to find an actor to play Grenouille took nearly a year.[9] On
casting agent Michelle Guish's advice, Tykwer went to see Ben Whishaw perform as Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's
production of the play. Tykwer immediately felt that he had found the actor for the role.[4] An audition followed
which convinced Eichinger of Whishaw's potential as well.[4] Eichinger described Whishaw as embodying both
"the innocent angel and the murderer."[4] Regarding his search to find an actor, Tykwer said "it only really seemed
plausible to choose someone for this role who was completely unknown. You could also say a 'nobody' who is to
become a 'somebody' - because that's what the story is about too."[4]
When it came to casting the role of Baldini, the washed-up perfumer who first teaches Grenouille how to capture
smells and create perfume, Tykwer immediately thought of Dustin Hoffman. "When I took on this project I knew
straight away that there was no one who could play Baldini better," said Tykwer.[4] Hoffman had wanted to work
with Tykwer since he saw Run Lola Run and Tykwer had always wanted to get Hoffman for a part.[4] Hoffman and
Whishaw had a week of rehearsal and a crash course in perfume-making prior to the start of principal
photography. The scenes between the two actors were shot in sequence, allowing them to follow the natural
progression of their characters' relationship.[4]

Alan Rickman was Tykwer's first choice to play Richis and the role was not offered to anyone else.[4] Tykwer and
Eichinger looked through hundreds of audition tapes to find the right actress for the role of Richis' daughter
Laura. Tykwer believed he had found the right actress on a tape with 15 actresses but couldn't remember exactly
which was the one he liked. Eichinger looked through the tape and found what he thought was a suitable person.
It turned out that both men had chosen the same actress, Rachel Hurd-Wood. Tykwer went to London to cast her
personally. A new tape was recorded and she was given the role.[4] A suitable actress could not be found for the
role of the plum girl in England and the United States so Tykwer decided to look at actresses in
Germany. Karoline Herfurth, who had twice worked with Tykwer, was asked to do a screen test with Whishaw, in
costume. Herfurth proved herself to Tykwer and her role was expanded.[4]
A total of 5,200 extras were used for the film, sometimes with nearly a thousand at once. The orgy scene at the
film's climax required 750 extras. 50 key players from the dance theater group La Fura dels Baus and 100
relatively experienced talents formed the core of the crowd. The remaining 600 extras were arranged around this
group of 150 performers.[4]

Design[edit]

The interior of Baldini's workshop. The film's production design was inspired by the work of chiaroscuropainters.[4]

To help define the film's look the crew watched period films such as Sleepy Hollow, Amadeus, Oliver Twist, Barry
Lyndon, From Hell, The Elephant Man, Dracula, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Vidocq and Les Misrables.
[23]
Cinematographer Frank Griebe said that of all the films they watched that had been shot on location, none of
them really had the dirt and grit of the city that they desired for Perfume. "We needed a filthy city to get the real
feel for the smells of it", said Griebe. Tykwer wanted to recreate 18th-century Paris, as seen through the eyes of
the lower-class Grenouille and said that he wanted to shoot the film "as if we were thrown into a time machine
with a camera."[5]
Tykwer describes the film as having "a distinctly dark aesthetic", due to both the lack of adequate lighting during
the film's time period and the nature of its storyline.[4] The filmmakers took inspiration from painters that
specialized in darkness with few sources of light such asCaravaggio, Joseph Wright of Derby and Rembrandt.
[4]
The film begins with a cool, monochromatic color palette, and as Grenouille discovers more scents, the palette
warms and opens up. In the scenes where Grenouille goes to Paris for the first time, the filmmakers subtly added
more powerful colors in the sets, costumes, props and lighting to represent Grenouille's experience of the new
smells.[23]
One of the main challenges of making the film was to convey the smells and the world of scents that Grenouille
experiences. Tykwer said that to him Perfume "was much more a film about the importance of smell in our life
than a film that tries to be smelly."[5] The filmmakers strived to convey smell visually without the use of colors or
special effects,[4] Griebe says "people see the fish market full of raw, bloody fish, and they know it stinks; they see
a field of lavender and know it smells wonderful. We show Grenouille taking in smells by cupping his nose, and
by doing close shots of his nose, and that's it!"[23]
"Sskind's gift is in his ability to let his readers, through language, experience Grenouille's world, which is revealed solely
through his sense of smell. We have done the same with a different language, one composed of sound, music, dialogue and, of
course, image."
Bernd Eichinger, producer[4]

Pierre-Yves Gayraud, the film's costume designer, spent 15 weeks researching 18th century fashion. Production
of over 1,400 costumes, in addition to the preparation of shoes, hats and other accessories were completed
within three months by workshops in and around Bucharest in Romania.[4] The costume department had to make
the clothing look worn and dirty. Additionally, the actors were required to wear the costumes and more or less live
in them prior to shooting.[4] The character Grenouille was not given any white clothing and wore bluish overgarments throughout most of the film because the filmmakers wanted to depict him as a shadow and
a chameleon.[4] Instead of dressing the character of Laura in the colorful regional dress that was the tradition of

the time, she was dressed in the less vivid tones of a Parisian damsel to highlight her social aspirations as well
as her red hair.[4]

Filming[edit]
Although the filmmakers needed an 18th-century French setting, shooting the film in its original setting of Paris
was unlikely due to the extensive modernization of the city in the 19th century.[23][24] Croatia was initially considered
as an alternative because of its earthy scenery and pristine old-world towns,[4] but even though the price was
right, the distance between locations proved to be disadvantageous.[23] In the end, the filmmakers opted to shoot
most of the film in Spain which, although more expensive than Croatia, offered locations which were closer to
each other.[23]
Principal photography began on July 12, 2005 and concluded on October 16, 2005. The first 15 days was spent
entirely on the largest stage of Bavaria Film Studios in Munich, shooting the scenes between Baldini and
Grenouille in the former's workshop.[4] All of the scenes with Hoffman were completed within the first eleven days.
[22]
Most of the remaining scenes were shot in Spain, specifically in Barcelona, Girona and Figueres. The streets
of Barcelona stood in for that of Paris. El Gtic, Barcelona's historic town center, was converted into a Parisian
fish market. The Poble Espanyol, an open-air museum in Barcelona, was the location for the climactic orgy
scene. To create an authentic dirty look, the film's crew included a "dirt unit" of about 60 people whose job was to
distribute detritus over the city. Two and a half tons of fish and one ton of meat was dispersed over El Gtic.
[4]
Several mountain and forest scenes were shot in the environs of Girona. The city also provided the location of
the home and studio of Madame Arnulfi.[4] Sant Ferran Castle in Figueres provided the location for the tannery,
the Paris city gates and the dungeon which Grenouille is imprisoned in.[4] The cave in which Grenouille discovers
he has no scent was also located in Figueres.[4] Some landscape shots, including those used as Grasse's
lavender fields, were filmed in Provence, France in late June 2005, before principal photography started.[4]
The cinematographer for Perfume was Frank Griebe, who Tykwer has worked with on all of his films.[23] The film
was shot on Arri cameras and lenses. For sequences which required the camera to be extremely close to its
subject, Griebe used the Kenworthy/Nettman Snorkel Lens System.[25] Griebe shot the film on 3-perf Super 35 film
using threeKodak Vision2 film stocks 500T 5218, 200T 5217 and 100T 5212.[23] 5218 was used for all the night
scenes and the choice between the other two were determined by weather conditions 5212 when it was very
sunny and 5217 whenever it was overcast.[23] Tykwer and Griebe originally discussed shooting Perfume in the
traditional Academy 1.33:1aspect ratio, but they decided against it because of the difficulty of theatrical exhibition.
"We felt 1.33:1 was perfect for many aspects of this story, but today you can't release a 1.33 film in theaters,"
said Griebe.[23]

Post-production[edit]
Post-production took place in Munich and required nine months to complete, concluding in the third quarter of
2006.[4][8] Film editor Alex Berner was present at all the shooting locations and was on set with Tykwer. Berner also
cut dailies as filming progressed which, according to Tykwer, saved a lot of time later. Tykwer said they had to
work this way due to the film's tight schedule (the European release dates had already been locked).[26] On every
night of filming, Tykwer and Griebe would take screenshots from the dailies and make notes for the film
laboratory on what sort of tone and palette they wanted, and the level of brightness and contrast they wanted for
the prints.[27] A digital intermediatewas used for the film. About three months was spent grading the film.[26] Digital
grading tools were used to improve the color of the lavender fields because the film crew had arrived a week
early and the flowers were not in full bloom.[28] In the scene where Grenouille murders the plum girl, selective
coloring was used to take the tone of the dead body's flesh from its natural color to a pale white color.[28]
Visual effects work, of which there were about 250 shots, was carried out by Universal Production Partners
in Prague.[26] Much of the visual effects work for the film consisted of minor CGI corrections, such as wire
removals; and a lot of crowd manipulation and set extensions.[24][29] Scale models were used to create the shots of
the Seine river bridge with houses on it.[26]

Music[edit]
As with all of Tykwer's films since 1997's Winter Sleepers, the musical score for Perfume was composed by
Tykwer and two of his friends Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil. The score was performed by the Berlin
Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Simon Rattle.[4] Tykwer began composing the score with Klimek
and Heil the very day he started working on the screenplay.[10] Tykwer said, "I feel like I understand very much
about the structure and the motivations of the characters when I'm writing the script, but I really do understand
the atmosphere and the emotional and the more abstract part of the film when I'm investigating the music, and
when I'm planning the music for it. ... When I then come to the shooting, having worked for three years on the
music and three years on the script, I really feel like I know exactly the two worlds and how to combine
them."[10] By the time it came to shooting the film, a substantial portion of music had been composed. Tykwer hired
a small orchestra and recorded them performing the score. Tykwer played the recorded music on set so people
could explore the atmosphere and the acoustic world of the film while they were acting in it.[30] The music was also
used instead of temp musicduring editing.[31]

Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
To coincide with the film's release, clothing and fragrance company Thierry Mugler released a 15-piece perfume
coffret. The perfumes were a collaboration between Thierry Mugler's Vera Struebi and Pierre Aulas
and International Flavors & Fragrances' Christophe Laudamiel and Christoph Hornetz.[32] Laudamiel read the
novel in 1994 and began recreating odors from it in 2000; Hornetz joined the project in 2002.[33] 14 of the
fragrances were inspired by the novel and film, the 15th works as a fragrance enhancer but can also be worn on
its own. Smells represented by the perfumes include Paris in 1738, a virgin's navel, a clean baby and leather.
The coffret was released as a limited edition of 1,300 sets which sold for US$700 each; all 1,300 sets were sold.
[34]

Box office[edit]
The film was a financial success, especially in Europe, earning $135,039,943 worldwide.[35] It opened in Germany
on September 14, 2006 and was number one on the box office charts in its first three weeks.[36] The film made
$9.7 million in its opening weekend[37] and an estimated 1.04 million people saw the film in its first four days of
release in Germany.[38] The film ended up selling over five million tickets[39] and grossed $53,125,663,[40] the highest
German gross for a dramatic film.[41] The film's strong performance in Germany was attributed in part to a large
marketing campaign and numerous premieres throughout the country.[38]
By comparison, the film performed poorly in North America. The film had a three-theater limited release on
December 27, 2006 before being expanded to 280 theaters on January 5, 2007.[42][43] The film completed its
theatrical run in North America on March 1, 2007, taking in a modest $2,223,293 overall.[35] Roger Ebert attributes
its poor US box office performance to the film "getting lost in the Christmas rush."[44]

Home media[edit]
The film was released on DVD (in three configurations) and HD DVD in Germany by Highlight on March 15,
2007. The standard edition DVD and the HD DVD contain the film and three audio commentary tracks one by
Tykwer, one by production designer Uli Hanisch and his assistant Kai Karla Koch, and one by Griebe and editor
Alexander Berner.[45]The two-disc special edition DVD's extra features include the same audio commentary tracks
as on the standard edition, a making-of, interviews with the cast and crew, and six featurettes.[46] The DVD was
also released in a numbered, limited edition "Fascination of Smell" configuration which came in a wooden box
containing five small bottles of the Thierry Mugler perfumes in addition to the same material as the special edition
DVD. Only 7,777 units were available and it was sold exclusively by Mller.[47][48] A Blu-ray Discversion of the film,
which contained the same extra features as the special edition DVD, was released on November 8, 2007.[49] The
DVD sold 300,000 units in its first 14 days of release in Germany and sold 600,000 units by May 22, 2007.[50] As
of May 15, 2009, 1.15 million DVD and Blu-ray units of the film have been sold in the country.[51] In the United
States, 387,520 DVD units have been sold as of the latest figures, translating to $7,547,755 in revenue.[52]

Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The film divided critics. Based on 122 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval
rating from critics of 57%, with an average score of 6.2/10.[53]Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score
out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 56 based on 30 reviews. [54]
The Hollywood Reporter's Bernard Besserglik described the film as a "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".
[55]
Dan Jolin of Empire gave the film four out of five stars and said "The odd conclusion renders it somewhat
oblique, but Perfume is a feast for the senses. Smell it with your eyes..."[56] A. O. Scott of The New York
Times gave the film a negative review, saying "Try as it might to be refined and provocative,Perfume: The Story
of a Murderer never rises above the pedestrian creepiness of its conceit." Scott also said that Whishaw "does not
quite manage to make Grenouille either a victim worthy of pity or a fascinating monster. [...] In the film he comes
across as dull, dour and repellent."[57]
James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net gave the film two and a half out of four stars, saying "There's a mesmerizing
appeal to the director's in-your-face style, even if the images he displays are often repugnant. Unfortunately,
Tykwer is working with a flawed screenplay and even the most arresting visuals cannot compensate for the
movie's schizophrenic story."[58] Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and wrote "It took imagination to
tell it, courage to film it, thought to act it, and from the audience it requires a brave curiosity about the peculiarity
of obsession."[59] Ebert later named Perfume as "the most underappreciated movie of the year".[44]
Boyd van Hoeij of European-Films.net said "Tykwer's sane decision to prefer traditional craftsmanship over
computer-generated imagery and a highly intelligent screenplay that hews very close to the spirit of the novel

put Perfume way ahead of its competitors." Van Hoeij later named Perfume: The Story of a Murderer one of the
ten best films of 2006.[60]Variety's Derek Elley said the film was an "extremely faithful" adaptation, but felt the film
was slightly too long and "more liberties should have been taken to make the novel work on the screen".[61]
Reviews of the cast were mixed. Whishaw's performance was praised by many critics.[56][61][62] Boyd van Hoeij said
Whishaw was "a revelation in a very difficult role that is mostly mute and certainly ugly." [60] The San Francisco
Chronicle's Mick LaSalle said "Whishaw succeeds in making the repulsive protagonist thoroughly repulsive,
which is probably a testimony to his acting ability."[63] The casting of Dustin Hoffman as Baldini was criticized by
several critics.[58][61][64][65][66] The Los Angeles Times' Carina Chocano called his performance "disconcertingly kitsch
and over the top".[67] Conversely, Rickman's performance as Richis was well received.[58][63][65][66]

Accolades[edit]
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer was nominated for five Saturn Awards at the 33rd Saturn Awards Best
Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Director (Tom Tykwer), Best Writing (Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger, Tom
Tykwer), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and Best Music (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold
Heil).[68] At the 2007 European Film Awards, Frank Griebe won the award for Best Cinematographer and Uli
Hanisch won the European Film Academy Prix d'Excellence for his production design work.[69] The film also
received nominations in the People's Choice Award, Best Actor (Ben Whishaw) and Best Composer (Tykwer,
Klimek, Heil) categories.[70] At the 2007Germany Film Awards, the film won the Silver Best Feature Film award
and the awards for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best
Sound.[71] It also received nominations for Best Direction and Best Film Score.[72] At the 2007 Bavarian Film
Awards, Tykwer and Hanisch won awards for Best Director andBest Production Design categories, respectively.
[73]
Eichinger, Tykwer and Whishaw received the award for their work on Perfume, which won the 2006 Bambi
Award in the Film National category.[73]

See also[edit]
Film portal

2006 in film

Cinema of Germany

List of films based on crime books

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "PERFUME - THE STORY OF A MURDERER(15)". British

Board of Film Classification. September 4, 2006. Retrieved November
22, 2012.

2.

Jump up^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=perfume.htm

3.

Jump up^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=perfume.htm

4.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac adae af ag ah ai "Perfume: The

Story of a Murderer Production Notes" (RTF) (Press release). Path
Distribution. Archived from the original on December 11, 2009.
Retrieved December 11, 2009.

5.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Applebaum, Stephen (December 29,

2006)."'Perfume': How a director filmed the unfilmable novel". The
Independent (London). Archived from the original on December 11, 2009.
RetrievedDecember 11, 2009.

6.

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External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Perfume:
The Story of a Murderer.

Official website

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at the Internet Movie Database

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at AllMovie

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at Box Office Mojo

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at Rotten Tomatoes

[hide]

Films directed by Tom Tykwer

Feature films

Deadly Maria (1993)

Winter Sleepers (1997)
Run Lola Run (1998)
The Princess and the Warrior (2000)
Heaven (2002)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
The International (2009)
Three (2010)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
A Hologram for the King (TBA)

Short films
Writer only

Producer only

Paris, je t'aime (2006; segment "Faubourg Saint-Denis")

60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero (2011; segment)
Life is All You Get (1997)
Absolute Giganten (1999)
A Friend of Mine (2006)
Soul Boy (2010)
Nairobi Half Life (2012)

Categories:

2006 films

English-language films

2000s fantasy films

2000s thriller films

French films

French fantasy films

French thriller films

German films

German fantasy films

German thriller films

Spanish films

Spanish thriller films

Films directed by Tom Tykwer

Screenplays by Tom Tykwer

Films about capital punishment

Films about orphans

Films about psychopaths

Films set in the 1730s

Films set in the 1740s

Films set in the 1750s

Films set in the 1760s

Films set in France

Films set in Paris

Films shot in Barcelona

Films shot in Spain

Films shot in France

Films shot in Germany

Films based on German novels

Psychological thriller films

Serial killer films

Path films

Constantin Film films

DreamWorks Pictures films

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