A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.
Writer:
Paul Auster
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Title: Smoke (1995)
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9 wins & 8 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Giancarlo Esposito | ... | ||
| José Zúñiga | ... |
OTB Man #2, Jerry
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| Stephen Gevedon | ... |
OTB Man #3, Dennis
(as Steve Gevedon)
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| Harvey Keitel | ... | ||
| Jared Harris | ... | ||
| William Hurt | ... | ||
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Daniel Auster | ... | |
| Harold Perrineau | ... |
Rashid Cole
(as Harold Perrineau Jr.)
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| Deirdre O'Connell | ... |
Sue the Waitress
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| Victor Argo | ... |
Vinnie
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| Michelle Hurst | ... |
Aunt Em
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| Forest Whitaker | ... | ||
| Stockard Channing | ... |
Ruby McNutt
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Vincenzo Amelia | ... |
Irate Customer
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| Erica Gimpel | ... |
Doreen Cole
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
The plot of this movie, like smoke itself, drifts and swirls ethereally. Characters and subplots are deftly woven into a tapestry of stories and pictures which only slowly emerges to our view. This film tries to convince us that reality doesn't matter so much as aesthetic satisfaction. In Auggie's New York smoke shop, day by day passes, seemingly unchanging until he teaches us to notice the little details of life. Paul Benjamin, a disheartened and broken writer, has a brush with death that is pivotal and sets up an unlikely series of events that afford him a novel glimpse into the life on the street which he saw, but did not truly perceive, every day. Finally, it's Auggie's turn to spin a tale.... Written by Tad Dibbern <[email protected]>
Taglines:
Where there's smoke... there's laughter! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
9 June 1995 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Dim See more »Box Office
Budget:
$7,000,000 (estimated)Gross:
$8,349,430 (USA)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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OTB Man #1, Tommy: I'm gonna tell you why they aren't going anywhere.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Why aren't they going anywhere?
OTB Man #1, Tommy: Management.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Aw jeez.
OTB Man #1, Tommy: Those guys are walkin' around with the head up their asses.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Right, yeah. Well ya know, they made some good trades too ya know. Carter and Manis. Without them two there never woulda been a World Series.
See more »
Written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (as Jay Hawkins) and Irv Nahan
Performed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The name of William Hurt's character, Paul Benjamin, is a reference to writer Paul Auster whose second forename is Benjamin: Paul Benjamin Auster. See more »Goofs
When Ruby (Stockard Channing) and Augie (Harvey Keitel) meet in the tobacco shop for the first time, Ruby's left eye can occasionally be seen underneath the black eye patch. The character is said to have lost her glass eye. See more »Quotes
[first lines]OTB Man #1, Tommy: I'm gonna tell you why they aren't going anywhere.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Why aren't they going anywhere?
OTB Man #1, Tommy: Management.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Aw jeez.
OTB Man #1, Tommy: Those guys are walkin' around with the head up their asses.
OTB Man #3, Dennis: Right, yeah. Well ya know, they made some good trades too ya know. Carter and Manis. Without them two there never woulda been a World Series.
See more »
Soundtracks
Hong KongWritten by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (as Jay Hawkins) and Irv Nahan
Performed by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Courtesy of Epic Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
See more »
Wayne Wang's "Smoke" is one of those perfect little movies that knows not to aim any higher than it needs to. Like Mike Leigh's "Life is Sweet" a few years back, it closely observes the day-to-day lives of a handful of people, in this case the patrons of and workers in a Brooklyn cigar shop, and leaves it at that. Don't expect The Moral to come creeping into the dialogue; the fact that the lives of Auggie Wren (Harvey Keitel, in another example of why he's the best actor working today) and his friends are compelling IS the point. Writer Paul Auster, basing his script on his op-ed story in The New York Times, keeps on chugging out smartly-written people even up to the seventh and eighth character. It's a rare treat to have an ensemble movie in which there isn't a single weak performance, and even rarer to have one supported by writing and directing that are up to the task. All of these elements come together come together in "Smoke," an artful story about the art of storytelling.