Remember when people used to make fun of spacey perfume ads? A bunch of shots of drapes and then Liz Taylor’s fogged eyes over a whispered “whiiiiteee diaaaamonds”? Lately some of them have been starting to seem kind of awesome? I guess, fairly, this trend probably begins with that insane Baz Luhrmann ad for Chanel with Nicole Kidman (“I love to dance!”) but they’re kind of like little concentrated movies now.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet reunites with Audrey Tatou for Chanel’s No. 5:

Sofia Coppola with Nathalie Portman for Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie (Coppola’s other Dior commercial is pretty good too):

They’re not all hits, of course. Matthew McConaughey totally mcconaugheys a spot for D&G’s The One. You would think Wong Kar-wai directing Eva Green for Dior’s Midnight Poison would be unbeatable, but the result falls flat:

Wong Kar-wai’s done a bunch. I’d like to see Paul Verhoeven for Versace’s The Dreamer. Anthony Minghella probably would have done a good piece for Histoires de Parfums’ 1828, that’s the Perfume Ad You Get To See In Heaven.