Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) - Tykwer's fabulous 18th century serial killer sensory bombardment

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+ Breakthrough Actor of the Year: Ben Whishaw + Best Crime Drama of the Year + Best Serial Killer Movie of the Year

 

An unnaturally red-haired, beautiful fair woman lies outstretched in a pose that suggests that she may be deceased on this sensual poster for Tom Tykwer's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

An orphan boy with an extraordinary sense of smell later in life begins the criminal hobby of enfleuraging women, essentially meaning that he murders them in order to make perfumes out of them.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is written by Andrew Birkin (King David (1985)), co-writer/producer Bernd Eichinger (Die Eltern (1974, TV movie)) and great German filmmaker, co-writer/director/co-composer Tom Tykwer (Friday Afternoon (1986)), adapting Patrick Süskind's (Das Kontrabass (1981)) same-titled 1985 novel.

A highly unusual story, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is an epic crime drama narrated wonderfully by John Hurt (Jackie (2016)), with the attractive Ben Whishaw (Surge (2020)) portraying the murderer Jean Baptiste. There are plenty more of Christian connotations in the film, especially towards the end of it, and ending which is highly ambiguous; at the same time seemingly pleading the case for love - and limitless, decadent aestheticism. 

Dustin Hoffman (Boychoir (2014)), Alan Rickman (The Butler (2013)), the music (by Tykwer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek (Deadwood: The Movie (2019, TV movie), both)) and the images (cinematography by Frank Griebe (Sense8 (2015, TV-series))) are also large enjoyments in this stunning film. 

Related posts:

 

Tom Tykwer: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Run Lola Run/Lola Rennt (1998) - Tykwer's zeitgeist amuck run 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 63.7 mil. $

Box office: 135 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.11 times its cost)

[Perfume: The Story of a Murderer premiered 7 September (Munich, Germany) and runs 147 minutes. Eichinger had attempted to buy the film rights from Süskind since his bestseller's publication, but he had resisted for many years, explaining that only Stanley Kubrick and Milos Forman were appropriate to film it. Eventually Eichinger got the rights, reportedly for a gigantic 10 mil. € paycheck. 19 companies and support bodies cooperated in the financing and making of the film. CEO of VIP Medienfonds Andreas Schmid was later found guilty of multiple counts of tax evasion connected to the financing of the film and given a 6 year prison sentence. The huge budget made the film one of the costliest German films ever made. Shooting took place from July - October 2005 in France and Spain. 3.5 tons of fish and meat were reportedly used in the fish market scene. The film opened #48 to a 37k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #24 and in 280 theaters, grossing 2.2 mil. $ (1.6 % of the total gross). The film's biggest markets were Germany with 53.1 mil. $ (39.3 %), where it was #1 for 3 weeks, selling more than 5 mil. tickets; Spain with 9.9 mil. $ (7.3 %) and Russia with 9.2 mil. $ (6.8 %). The film won 2/5 European Film award nominations, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The film made more than 7.5 mil. $ on the North-American home video market and much more in Germany. Tykwer returned with The International (2009). Whishaw returned in I'm Not There (2007). Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is rotten at 59 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer?

The Final Conflict/Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) - Sam Neill gets diabolical in the 2nd unremarkable Omen sequel

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Sam Neill enveloped in a ring of fire and US state and satanic symbols looking dubious on this poster for Graham Baker's The Final Conflict

Devil child Damien has become an adult and the leader of Thorn Industries, when he is appointed the new US ambassador to London, and star formations show that the second coming is getting near. - The antichrist must be stopped!

The Final Conflict is written by Andrew Birkin (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)), following Richard Donner's orignal masterpiece The Omen (1976) and turkey sequel Damien: Omen II (1978), and is directed by debuting Graham Baker (Born to Ride (1991)).
It is a bit better than the preceding, ridiculous Omen II: Sam Neill (Tommy's Honour (2016)) is good as Damien, - although his speeches about the Nazarene are a bit long. Final Conflict also has a production size and several fine ideas, which made me want to pay attention to it. Lisa Harrow (Sunday (1997)) is also good as the journalist character. And Jerry Goldsmith's (Mulan (1998)) score does its part for the film.
The Final Conflict has a dog attack scene that is severely involuntarily comedic.

Related post:

Omen franchise: Damien: Omen II (1978) - Mimicking follow-up is a true turkey

Watch a 30 second TV ad for the film here

Cost: 5-6 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: 20.4 mil. $ (North America only)
= Big hit (returned 3.4 times its cost in North America alone)
[The Final Conflict was released 20 March (USA) and runs 108 minutes. Shooting took place in England, including London, and in Wisconsin and Washington DC in and around May 1980. SPOILER Reportedly the scene in a TV studio of the death of a priest, who burns while trapped in melting plastic, was the hardest to shoot, taking 2 weeks to get right. Stuntman Vic Armstrong did the backwards 100 foot fall from a bridge for the film, calling it the most frightening stunt of his career. The story changes the franchise's chronology to make Damien's adulthood in 1981 possible. It opened #1 to a 5.5 mil. $ first weekend in 918 theaters in North America, where its gross dipped 6 mil. $ from the previous film's earnings. Globally, a conservative gross estimate might be 30-35 mil. $. The franchise returned only many years hence with Omen IV: The Awakening (1991, TV movie), a flop, and was attempted rebooted later with financially successful but critically panned The Omen (2006). Baker returned with Impulse (1984). Neill returned in Attack Force Z (1981). The Final Conflict is rotten at 32 % with a 4.43/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Final Conflict?