Profumo di donna (1974)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Dino Risi

Writers:

Giovanni Arpino (novel)
Ruggero Maccari (writer)

Release Date:

20 December 1974 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

An army cadet accompanies an irascible, blind captain on a week-long trip from Turin to Naples. The captain...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Black Comedy | Female Nudity | Commedia All'italiana | Blindness

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Vittorio Gassman	...	Il capitano Fausto Consolo
Alessandro Momo	...	Giovanni Bertazzi, aka Ciccio
Agostina Belli	...	Sara
Moira Orfei	...	Mirka
Franco Ricci	...	Raffaele
Elena Veronese	...	Michelina
Lorenzo Piani
Stefania Spugnini	...	Candida
Torindo Bernardi	...	Vincenzo
Marisa Volonnino	...	Ines
Carla Mancini	...	Nun
Alvaro Vitali	...	Vittorio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergio Di Pinto

Also Known As:

Scent of a Woman (USA)
That Female Scent (UK)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:18 | Chile:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Company:

Dean Film

Quotes:

Il capitano Fausto Consolo: You know what I am?
Giovanni Bertazzi, aka Ciccio: No.
Il capitano Fausto Consolo: The eleven of spades.
Giovanni Bertazzi, aka Ciccio: It doesn't exist.
Il capitano Fausto Consolo: That's the point. A card that's not in the pack. Good for no game.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lista de espera (2000)

Soundtrack:

Il canotto

You don't have to speak Italian to love this one!

I have seen the remake with Pacino a few times, and I do like it. Even though it is almost too sentimental, I like it. I especially like the tango scene. There is one ludicrous scene where a blind Pacino is driving a Ferrari in Manhattan at high speeds - PLEASE. I'm willing to suspend disbelief for enjoyment of a movie, but this was too much to ask. There would have been an accident! In spite of this and other flaws, it is a moving film.

OK, I just saw - finally - the original Italian version with Vittorio Gassman. It is better, way better. It makes the statement about loneliness, self pity, the handicap of blindness, in a simpler, purer way. It is just as touching, but less heavy-handed. Gassman is a brilliant actor, and frankly, better looking and sexier than Pacino in my humble opinion. (Also a lot taller!) But the main difference in the films: this one is FUNNY. Humor is used to make the point about the tragedy of the Captain. He is impossible in a way that is funny--outrageous-- and you can't help but laugh. The version with Pacino had no humor, or very little.

See this one, read the subtitles, and enjoy a masterpiece.