Smoke (1995)
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93% of critics liked it
(28 reviews) -
87% of users liked it
(10,039 ratings)
A Brooklyn cigar shop is the setting for this drama from director Wayne Wang that interweaves the stories of several characters that have fractured family relationships in common. Harvey Keitel is Auggie Wren, poetic owner of the Brooklyn Cigar Company, a store that he considers the center of the… More A Brooklyn cigar shop is the setting for this drama from director Wayne Wang that interweaves the stories of several characters that have fractured family relationships in common. Harvey Keitel is Auggie Wren, poetic owner of the Brooklyn Cigar Company, a store that he considers the center of the world -- a place where all of humanity eventually parades through. One of his regular customers is Paul Benjamin (William Hurt), a writer and a broken shell of a man whose pregnant wife was shot and killed near the store. When Paul's life is saved one day by a young black man named Rashid (Harold Perrineau, Jr., the writer and his rescuer strike up a friendship and begin searching for Rashid's long-lost father (Forest Whitaker). At the store, Auggie is surprised by the appearance of Ruby (Stockard Channing), an ex-girlfriend who informs him that her pregnant, drug-addicted daughter Felicity (Ashley Judd) may also be his -- and is in dire need of help. Screenwriter Paul Auster based the script for Smoke on a 1990 short story he wrote for "The New York Times." He also wrote and directed the film's sequel (of sorts), Blue in the Face (1995). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- Wayne Wang, Paul Auster
- Written By
- Paul Auster
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 9, 1995 Wide
- Studio
- Miramax
Critic Reviews
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A deceptively quiet film that celebrates ordinary life as well as the art of storytelling.
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Clint Morris, Moviehole
You just want to draw it....and never let it out. Great movie.
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
brilliantly evocative
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Puff away, and breathe in the smoke while it lasts.
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Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Quirky, offbeat treat.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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William Hurt
as Paul Benjamin
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Harvey Keitel
as Auggie Wren
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Forest Whitaker
as Cyrus Cole
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Harold Perrineau Jr.
as Thomas (Rashid) Cole
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Victor Argo
as Vinnie
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Erica Gimpel
as Doreen Cole
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Stockard Channing
as Ruby
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Giancarlo Esposito
as Tommy
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Mel Gorham
as Violetta
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Peggy Gormley
as Sue
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Baxter Harris
as First coroner
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Jared Harris
as Jimmy Rose
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Karen Robert Jackson
as A Brooklyn resident
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Ashley Judd
as Felicity
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Murray Moston
as Waiter
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Deirdre O'Connell
as Waitress
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Clarice Taylor
as Grandma Ethel
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Mary B. Ward
as April Lee
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Malik Yoba
as The Skunk
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John Lurie
as A musician
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Paul Geier
as Second coroner
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Michelle Hurst
as Aunt Em
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Jose Zuniga
as Jerry
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RuPaul
as A dancer
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Billy Martin
as A musician