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Smoke
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 4019236001893
Format: PAL
Languages: German (Original Language), Analog
Theatrical Release Date: June 09, 1995
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Editorial 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 movie has accomplished an amazing feat: it makes us feel as if we are reading a serious novel, not watching a movie. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - This "Smoke" Doesn't Stink
This little gem is one of the unsung classics of the nineties. Director Wayne Wang and co-director and scenarist Paul Auster have crafted a film that at turns funny, poignant, and tragic in a way that will always stay with you. Some may be turned off because the film centers on a Brooklyn tobacco shop and for sure there is a lot of casual smoking here but that's just a starting point for a script that follows a variety of interesting characters and many intriguing story twists. Harvey Keitel as ... Read More
Rating: - the story within the story
there's nothing i can add to the wonderful NY reviewers' comments here, except to say that if you enjoy this movie, watch for "auggie wren's christmas story" - the story within the film of auggie tracking down the magazine thief using the lost wallet. like "smoke," (also based on a story by auster) it's available in book form, and its charming small size makes it an excellent stocking stuffer. i heartily recommend ALL of auster's novels to those who appreciate downhome writing, NY style. auster is ... Read More
Rating: - Best of the genre
Slice o' life. Not too heavy, not too light. Absolutely believable. Very moving, but doesn't pander to cheap emotionalism. Even the dialogue is recognizable as something you might actually hear in real life. Substitutes a story for the usual violence, sex and high-decibel action. Acting, character presentation superb. For those not too cynical to enjoy a great, yet realistic feel-good movie, this is a good one. I use other high-rating picks of Amazon Five-Star reviewers of this movie as a rough guide ... Read More
Rating:  - A neatly pulled-together story
I tried to rent this from three separate video stores. No luck. What a shame; more people should have the opportunity to see this movie. Paul Auster and Wayne Wang have a curious treatment of race, but I otherwise enjoyed this well-thought-out film.
Rating: - Harvey Keitel... as a GOOD guy!
Smoke (Wayne Wang, 1995)
Wayne Wang has had a kind of up-and-down career over the years, but Smoke is definitely one of his up moments. Not to say there couldn't have been some things done better here, but Wang takes Paul Auster's script and a fantastic stable of actors and just lets them loose. By all reports, Auster's script ended up taking quite a beating at the hands of the actors-- how much of the movie's dialogue is improvised has been a hotly-debated topic for years, but even the most ... Read More
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