# Perfume, Story of a Murderer - biggest film orgy ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303 "2007-09-24T14:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/1 "2007-09-24T14:48:40Z")
Last night the family sat down for some wholesome family film watching. The choice - Perfume, The Story of a Murderer. The whole family enjoyed it considerably. Had everything you might desire in good clean family entertainment - sex, murder, maggots, cannibalism… But for the purpose of this thread my question is, was that the largest orgy scene ever filmed? If not, what film exceeds it in number of naked bodies? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/2 "2007-09-24T16:37:25Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Last night the family sat down for some wholesome family film watching. The choice - Perfume, The Story of a Murderer. The whole family enjoyed it considerably. Had everything you might desire in good clean family entertainment - sex, murder, maggots, cannibalism… But for the purpose of this thread my question is, was that the largest orgy scene ever filmed? If not, what film exceeds it in number of naked bodies? [/QUOTE] How many naked bodies are we talkin’ about? I’d bet that **Caligula** has more than **Perfume**. And if we want to include plain ol’ porn, I’m sure that there have been orgies on film of 100+ people… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/3 "2007-09-24T18:00:42Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] How many naked bodies are we talkin’ about? I’d bet that **Caligula** has more than **Perfume**. And if we want to include plain ol’ porn, I’m sure that there have been orgies on film of 100+ people… Joe [/QUOTE] I dunno how much of it was CGI, forced perspective, or what, but it sure looked like well over 100. In fact, I’d guess it was several hundred. Unboxed spoiler since the movie is a year old: Movie is set in 1800s France. Near the end of the movie there is a crowd gathered in a square to watch an execution. Execution platform in the middle, balcony with town elders on one side, temprary platform with church and other officials on the other. Looks to be a pretty good sized square - at least a hundred feet or more on a side - tho I imagine they could give that impression through perspective. But it is pretty much filled with onlookers. Events transpire such that they all decide to get nekkid and get it on. I noticed that it appeared to be fewer people when they were naked and lying down, than when they were clothed and standing elbow to asshole. But still, an impressive sea of flesh. Would have loved to see the casting call for extras… ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/4 "2007-09-24T18:23:13Z")
[Here](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0396171/01_1288.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0396171&seq=38) is one photo. Gives an idea of the number of people involved. The guy in blue is standing on a platform in the middle of the square, so there are about as many people behind him as this image shows in front of him. To the right of this image, it looks kinda sparsely peopled, which led me to suspect some creative editing/camera angles to give the impression of more people than wer, in fact, swapping sweat. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/5 "2007-09-24T21:48:00Z")
I do not even remember hearing about this movie but boy-howdy I’m going to rent it. Sex, murder, orgies AND cannibalism. This might possibly be the best movie ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/6 "2007-09-24T22:00:33Z")
Googling “largest orgy scene ever filmed” gives, um, interesting results. Don’t try it at work. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/7 "2007-09-24T22:03:23Z")
I found that scene to kind of taint the ending a bit. When I recommends it to people now, I tell them to think of the story as more of a fairy tale. I really liked the movie though. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/8 "2007-09-24T22:03:54Z")
[QUOTE=Dinsdale] Near the end of the movie there is a crowd gathered in a square to watch an execution. \ Events transpire such that they all decide to get nekkid and get it on. [/QUOTE] Oh, _that_ old cliche. How many times do we have to see that one? Sheesh. Sorry, I can’t actually answer your question. Although I’m with **wheresgeorge04** that there must be porn movies that top this. I, of course, can neither confirm nor deny the existence of such movies. ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/9 "2007-09-25T00:10:51Z")
Slight hijack… I was enjoying the movie until that scene which I thought was stupid and the antithesis of sexy. The idea was evidently folks were so overcome with whatever it was, they were almost compelled to have sex with whomever was within arms reach, be they young, old, attractive, ugly, priestly etc. So may be that’s why I noticed that, while there were multiple (and I mean multiple) depictions of women having sex with women, there wasn’t even a HINT of man on man action. I’m not a fan of it myself but I thought it a curiously prudish decision to make cinematically. Just my opinion, of course, but did anyone else notice that? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/10 "2007-09-25T00:24:19Z")
I’ll second Caligula. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/11 "2007-09-25T00:24:40Z")
[QUOTE=wonder9] there wasn’t even a HINT of man on man action. I’m not a fan of it myself but I thought it a curiously prudish decision to make cinematically. [/QUOTE] Thank the MPAA for that. Depictions of man-on-man action would likely have earned an NC-17 rating. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/12 "2007-09-25T00:27:29Z")
[QUOTE=wonder9] The idea was evidently folks were so overcome with whatever it was, they were almost compelled to have sex with whomever was within arms reach, be they young, old, attractive, ugly, priestly etc. [/QUOTE] What, they didn’t even have the benefit of Emperor Wang’s Sex Ray?! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/13 "2007-09-25T00:57:57Z")
[QUOTE=Tahssa] I do not even remember hearing about this movie but boy-howdy I’m going to rent it. Sex, murder, orgies AND cannibalism. This might possibly be the best movie ever made. [/QUOTE] Needs car chases. ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/14 "2007-09-25T01:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=Ellis Dee] Thank the MPAA for that. Depictions of man-on-man action would likely have earned an NC-17 rating. [/QUOTE] Okay, that’s just…well, I don’t know what it is. Hypocritical? Silly? Homophobic? Why is that okay? Oh, right. It’s straight men making those decisions. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/15 "2007-09-25T03:43:13Z")
They made a movie of **Perfume**? How did I not know this? It’s a great book. Y’all should read it. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/16 "2007-09-25T06:43:49Z")
[QUOTE=wonder9] …Oh, right. It’s straight men making those decisions. Carry on. [/QUOTE] Slight correction. It’s suits making those decisions. Calling them anything which might imply they’re even remotely human is giving them far more credit than they’re entitled to. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/17 "2007-09-25T08:37:54Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] They made a movie of **Perfume**? How did I not know this? It’s a great book. Y’all should read it. [/QUOTE] Just out of curiosity: Is there male-on-male sex in the scene in question in the book? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/18 "2007-09-25T10:13:06Z")
Hmmm…how many people were in the big orgy scene in _Shortbus_? We know, at least, that it wasn’t filmed with CGI/double exposures/other camera tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/19 "2007-09-25T13:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=wonder9] while there were multiple (and I mean multiple) depictions of women having sex with women, there wasn’t even a HINT of man on man action. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I noticed that as well. Not saying there couldn’t have been some guys getting it on in the background, but certainly all of the closeups were hetero or girl/girl. In our family, both parents and 2 teens (boy and girl) all enjoyed the movie. Not all that common that everyone agrees about a movie to that extent. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perfume-story-of-a-murderer-biggest-film-orgy-ever/420303/20 "2007-09-25T15:29:19Z")
[QUOTE=Ranchoth] Hmmm…how many people were in the big orgy scene in _Shortbus_? We know, at least, that it wasn’t filmed with CGI/double exposures/other camera tricks. [/QUOTE] Going just from memory, I’d say 20-30.