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Smoke
RRP: £14.99
Our Price: £3.68 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's refreshing to see a film in which the writer receives equal credit with the director, showing that the dialogue actually means something. So it is with Smoke, a film about a New York quilt of contemporary characters who cross paths in a corner smoke shop, told in straightforward way by a talented acting group. Author Paul Auster and director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) worked on the story for years before it reached the screen. Their characters include Paul (William Hurt, in a good role again), a grief-stricken novelist; Auggie (Harvey Keitel), the shop's owner with a secret passion; Ruby (Stockard Channing), Auggie's long-ago girlfriend; and Rashid (Harold Perrineau Jr), a teenager who is befriended by Paul and seeks his estranged father (Forest Whitaker). All the characters are great storytellers, whether it be out of loneliness, necessity or just nature. Like Auster's The Music of Chance, the film has accomplished an amazing feat: it makes us feel as if we are reading a serious novel, not watching a movie. --Doug Thomas
The weight of smoke
Review date: 2006-10-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
Harvey Keitel may have run off with what plaudits there were for this hidden gem of a movie, but for me it is the performance of William Hurt that infuses the film with it's thoughtful, mellow, non-idealogical flavour.
There are a couple of scenes which Keitel and Hurt perform memorably together, one involving a collection of photographs and the final scene of the movie which is 'Augie Wren's Christmas Story' originally written by Paul Auster, and the creative spark behind the writing of the script. If you were to watch these two scenes alone I'd still recommend buying this film.
The dialogue is sharp and the direction leaves the actors to act, allowing them time to deliver as much with body language as with the spoken word. All of the cast shine (even Forrest Whittaker!) and apart from a slightly unconvincing eye patch the movie is absolutely flawless.
If you are at all interested in good contempory cinema this is an essential watch, and then a must have DVD. Enjoy it, it's a rare thing.
Similar Products
- Blue In The Face [1996]
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- Mystery Train [1989]
- Auggie Wren's Christmas Story
- Broken Flowers [2005]
Reviews
If you only watch one more film, make it this one!
Review date: 2006-09-08 Rating: 10 out of 10
I'm going to find it very difficult to express in words how much this film means to me; not because of any deep, personal involvment, but simply becasue it is so utterly watchable. This is one of those offbeat, quirky little films that simply blows you away, without you knowing why or how exactly. Keitel and Hurt's performances are wonderfully subtle and underplayed, and I found it was the little, irrelevant things that fasinated me so - such as the way Hurt's character draws his little Dutch cigars through his lips before lighting it, and the fact that Auggie (Keitel's character), despite being a cigar connoisseur, smokes simple filter cigarettes.
This film won't appeal to all, but if you like your American films to come with a little less 'Crash, Bang, Whallop!' and a bit more intelligence, then you just have to buy this dvd.
THOUGHTFUL ENTERTAINMENT: Excellent Keitel/Hurt pas de deux
Review date: 2006-08-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is the kind of off beat film that begins far away from its main point. So in a sense, it takes you on a journey. Especially, if you've grown up in very large urban centers where there were local neighborhoods with ancient, musty old small stores run by engaging proprietors this scene and story will resonate with you. But even if you did not enjoy the benefits of New York City's inner city, many of the characters can be similarly identified in daily rural life in Arkansas.
The grizzled and contemplative cigar store proprietor Auggie Wren is masterfully played by Harvey Keitel. He plays a man hanging on to his business while trying to sqeeze out of the dreariness of each day some kind of meaningful life. He doesn't go out to meet life ... it comes to meet him in his cigar store. A customer and not quite neighborhood friend played to its understated fullest by William Hurt, is a formerly celebrated novelist Paul now struggles with his tragic life and getting back to writing. The thread which connects the action is pulled through the film by a street wise teenage "black kid" calling himself "Rashid" is very well acted by Harold Perrineau Jr.
Everyone is searching for something in SMOKE. Rashid, his father; Paul his lost interest in life; and Auggie his lost meaning of life. Not all of the movie takes place in the cigar store ... b ut a lot of it does, and perhaps like Hitchcock in REAR WINDOW or THE ROPE, the photography and direcrting make it work. But there are many other scenes on sites to provide both variety and action.
This film not only works it is a terrific journey that promises to take you through many ideas and situations that are familiar and some bizarre. But they are always interesting and enjoyable. That's what entertainment is about. It is a good idea to see this movie in a settled-in-for-the-night state. Full enjoyment in it requires attention that inevitably gives way to immersion.
I agree with those reviewers who wrote that at least Keitel and the screen adaptation of this film earned its 1995 Academy Award nominations. See for yourself.
The Art Of Storytelling
Review date: 2004-05-18 Rating: 10 out of 10
This film is all about the storytelling. It deserves to be a bigger film than it was because it doesn't need to rely on explosions and action to be great. Its mainly due to the superb script which was written by some dude who i've never seen one of his other movies or even heard of any. But when you got 3 of hollywoods finest in the cast (Harvey Kietel, William Hurt & Forest Whitaker) then your always gonna end up with a film of the highest standards. If your looking for something that you can follow, that relys more on its story and its characters, then this is just about as good as it gets. recommended viewing.
Excellent stuff
Review date: 2002-03-03 Rating: 10 out of 10
I havn't seen this film since it first came out and can barely remember anything it, except that it is a great film. One of my favourites. A few things that I do remember are that I watched it on tv one morning and had a load of homework to do and knew that I should have been doing that but couldnt drag myself away from this piece of art. Thats what it is, art! Also, I hardly ever get emotional about films, but there is one scene at the end when the guy spends Christmas or Thanksgiving at this old ladies house because she thinks he is her son. Very touching.
I dont smoke and I like this film! Theres another great scene that I like where the two friends are looking through the photo albums of the corner outside the shop. That scene made me want to take up photography, and I did. Such an influential film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Harvey Keitel
José Zúñiga
Giancarlo Esposito
Stephen Gevedon
Jared Harris
Creators:
Giancarlo Esposito (Primary Contributor)
José Zúñiga (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm
EAN: 5017188811361
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-03-07
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 108 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1995-06-09
Language: English (Original Language)