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Scent of a Woman More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 265 reviews in total |
137 out of 156 people found the following review useful:
Character over glamour, 22 December 2003
Author:
Rick Jones (RickJones@seznam.cz) from Prague, Czech Republic
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The Scent of a Woman is the kind of film that many would think belongs to
a
bygone era. While it is frank and contemporary without sugar coating it
illustrates the value of character over glitz and how small acts can have
long lasting consequences.
The film pits two characters who are diametrical opposites. Al Pacino
plays
the world weary retired Army Lt. Colonel who through a stupid accident
looses his sight and his way of life. Chris Donnelly is a young prep
school
kid on a scholarship whose way of life may be coming to an end owing to
the
acts of richer kids at the exclusive prep school who pull a stupid
stunt.
The blind Lt. Colonel needs an escort so that he can go to NYC and have a
rip roaring time before he makes a fateful decision. The poor preppy
needs
to earn a few bucks to travel and is in desperate need of some advice on
how
to get through his crisis at school.
The interplay between the two characters is mind boggling. It is more
riveting than the best Grisham novel.
Both characters are asked to make life and death decisions that call for
them to reach deep into their inner core. The right decision is unhappily
the tougher decision to make.
Two terrific scenes that are not to be missed. The first is in the New
York
ballroom where the blind Lt. Colonel teaches the actress Miss Anwar to
dance
the tango. It is so smooth and dramatic that even a couch potato is
tempted
to reach for the Yellow Pages in search of dance lessons. The second and
most profound is the speech that Al Pacino makes in defense of Chris
Donnelly at the prep school disciplinary hearing. It has to go down as
one
of the great orations of all times.
The Scent of a Woman is very satisfying on many levels. The character
development is superb, dialogue terrific, glamorous locations and a story
line that requires the characters to show themselves to be the people they
really are. The film has a lot of funny lines and great drama. This film
is almost a 10 out of 10.
100 out of 111 people found the following review useful:
Modern classic, 9 July 1999
Author:
Altaira from Dresden, Germany
One of the most overall pleasing movies I've seen, Scent of a Woman wins
on
all levels--emotional and intellectual. Of course the primary reason it
succeeds is Al Pacino, whose Oscar was well-deserved, needless to say.
Chris
O'Donnell doesn't overplay his part, and in doing so is realistic and
natural. The tango scene, the Ferrari scene, the pseudo-courtroom scene
are
excellent. Pacino is wholly believable, and although at first he seems
overly gruff and nasty, we grow to sympathize with him--especially when
that
twerp Randy insults him cutthroat-style at Thanksgiving. It's obvious
that
while Slade acts like he doesn't care, his repetitious "hoo-ha" response
makes it obvious he does.
My favorite line comes during the Ferrari scene (I was laughing so hard
when
the cop left, failing to realize Slade is blind.)
As Slade careens down the street at 70 mph, Charlie yells, "You're going
to
get us killed!" Slade answers, "Can you blame me? I'm blind!"
On that note, Pacino succeeds marvellously in portraying a blind man. We
never doubt for a second that he does, in fact, live in total darkness.
Yet
others, like the cop, probably the spectators in the restaurant in the
tango
scene, don't realize it. Ironically enough, Slade acts as though he
doesn't
want to be treated as the proverbial blind man who needs a cane and a
guiding arm. However, in the final scene, he emerges with a
never-before-seen pair of dark glasses (after which follows the
charismatic
speech.) I wonder, was this to throw them off guard??
This movie is a modern classic. Some find it too long, but I enjoyed
every
minute and didn't acutely notice the 2 1/2 hrs gone by. A wonderful film
that I recommend to all.
101 out of 133 people found the following review useful:
One of Pacino's best!, 13 May 2001
Author:
mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ
Thank God! Pacino FINALLY received the Oscar statue he so rightfully
deserved in all the years he was in the acting business. It's nice to know
the Academy finally came to their senses, and awarded him a Best Actor Oscar
for this landmark role. This is one of his most memorable performances, and
I'm sure when people think Pacino they think about his portrayal of the
blind Colonel Slade. Hoo ha!
The movie itself is not, technically, great. Very good, but not great. The
plot is quite predictable and driven via patented Hollywood devices. The
courtroom climax contains one of Pacino's most powerful monologues.
However, its outcome is melodramatic.
Personally, I thought the whole idea of Pacino being more perceptive of the
world than any man or woman with perfect eyesight was far-fetched and
sometimes more implausible than stunning. I'm sure there are blind men in
the world who ARE in fact very perceptive to what goes on in the world, but
few--if any--who can recall a whole history triggered simply by the sound of
one's voice. How is he able to tell Chris O'Donnell has pimples? He's not
handicapped by blindness; this guy has psychic powers! He doesn't need
sight!
I do have to say that some of the most memorable lines come from this movie.
Pacino says some original and wildly funny monologues involving subject
matter I cannot discuss in this message. And of course there's the timeless
quote: "Hoo ha!" Which later became a Pacino trademark.
"Scent of a Woman" is a somewhat flawed, but effective and entertaining
film. It's a must-see for Pacino fans everywhere! It's not everyday you
can catch a performance this powerful!
My score: 8 (out of 10)
78 out of 90 people found the following review useful:
It.s one of the most beautiful movies ever, 12 September 2005
Author:
Gabriel Irwin from Venezuela
I think this incredible movie leaves a legacy of life, it makes us appreciate life an also understand that a life can be lived in a minute just like Al Pacino says in one of this movie's most beautiful scenes, it also talks about values, integrity, and moral principles, by sides of this movie's wonderful script it's incredible cast makes it one of the most outstanding movies I have ever seen. The incredible scene of tango, the deep arguments about life between Al Pacino's character and Chris O'Donnell's, and also those scenes when Al Pacino's character senses women's scent and tells them the name of the perfume or the name of the soap it's really amazing, all of this with the sarcastic sense of humor of this movie, it's really great. I TRULY RECOMMEND TO SEE IT
81 out of 105 people found the following review useful:
Scent of a Woman, 24 March 1999
Author:
Tim Cox from Marietta, OH
Pacino's Col. Slade is a portrait of turmoil. Not
because
he's blind, but because he's never been able to rise above
the blindness and still find peace with himself and with
the world. One of the great tragic characters of recent
years.
His story is much like Hickey's in "Iceman Cometh" or Howard
Beale's in "Network." They never think they do good in
the
world with what they have, so they find themselves in this
dark hole and they stay there. No one can help them out. No
one
looks after them. No one feels what they feel. As years
go on and opportunities are lost, the dark hole gets filled
with
a lot anger, sorrow and possibly regret. Can they be healed?
Do they want to be healed?
In "Scent of a Woman," Pacino presents this dark, gloomy character
perfectly in his Oscar winning performance. He overwhelms you with his
constant bellowing and ordering of O'Donnell's Charlie. He's a man who never
left the Military. My guess is that you can never take the military of out
the man, only the man out of the military. He doesn't blame anyone
or
anything for his blindness. He's man who thinks that somehow,
he was destined to "tour the battlefield" this way.
46 out of 48 people found the following review useful:
Old Men Won't Cry- Scent of A Woman, 26 November 2007
Author:
l_JohnOwens_l from Boston
Why is Pacino such a beast acting? I'll tell you why. His passion.
Passion that overwhelms all surrounding him. His voice starts roaring
and he forgets that he is Al Pacino. He suddenly becomes his character,
he stops seeing around him and he is now a prisoner in his role.
The movie is about Pacino. His acting is grand, superb, majestic,
heart-wrenching, deep, emotional, so forth. His portrayal of a blind
man dangling in the rope of his life, is not only credible but
immensely touching. We see directly, through his crystalline
performance all of the pain that griefs on his character. Any other
actor would have given a corny, over the top performance. Pacino is the
Ace.
Chris O' Donnell gives also a fantastic performance, shy and unsure
will start to understand Colonel Frank Slade in a short trip that will
change their future lives. This movie is not Hollywood Rubish. Martin
Brest directs a movie that hits no cheap feelings and floods on great
emotions that immediately contact the viewer. You have to be rock solid
to not be touched.
A masterpiece, one of the best studies on man's desperation, helped by
wonderful performances and and a stirring, poignant script, with no
wasted lines. You will raise goosebumps with scenes like the tango
scene, you will laugh, you will cry, you will feel empathy, sorrow,
anger. Isn't this movie the Holy Grail of Emotions.
Don't miss it. One of a kind.
50 out of 65 people found the following review useful:
The two best syllables in the world are...hoo-ha!, 25 April 1999
Author:
Kelly Konda (banky316@aol.com) from Wichita, KS
Movies often have lines that become part of our culture. The line from
this one is
hoo-ha! I don't know why for sure Pacino says that. He does though and
it's
great. Whenever I ask anyone about this movie, those who have seen it 99%
of the time answer with a hearty hoo-ha!
As for the performances: Pacino, I dare say, gave his best performance
ever. It was also the riskiest. We're not supposed to like him, but we
do.
We can tell he doesn't think that Charlie is a moron. We can tell that
he
likes him in fact as a son. It strikes us as sad though. We can sense
that this man has always been lonely. But then he lost his sight because
of
his mere stupidity and fondness for booze. He became even more lonely and
sarcastic. Mean in fact, but funny. I was laughing my $ss off when he
drove the Fararri, yelling hoo-ha! at every turn. Charlie has what Slade
attempted to achieve his whole life: integrity. As he says, Slade did
stuff
just to do stuff. Charlie does it because he means it. Chris O'Donnell,
as
Charlie Simms, is good. Albeit a bit understated. As I said before,
Pacino
is masterful. The actor who played the rich boy George is funny too.
When I first saw this, I thought the ending ruined it. It seems a bit
trite and cliche ridden, but the final speech is good.
Brilliant, in fact. Pacino's character comes to his own realizations and
ultimately his climax in the speech. Brilliantly acted by Pacino, I may
add. He takes several stupid lines in the speech and makes them forceful.
This is a good movie. Great really. It ranks on my top 10 of all
time. Number 1 being Saving Private Ryan. If you want to see what
Academy
voters are swayed by, see Unforgiven. If you want to see a masterful
movie
that contains one of what I consider to be the best performance by an
actor
ever(the real best being Charles Sheen in Major League 2)see Scent of a
Woman. The script does have its errors. The time duration is often
unclear. Slade tells Charlie that his gun is not a gun, but a weapon or a
piece. Seconds later, Charlie asks for it and Slade refers to it as his
gun. Just little stuff like that are the reasons why the Academy didn't
give it their vote. I don't care about that though. See it. Remember,
the
two best syllables in the world are....oh wait. I can't print that. If
you've seen the movie, you get the joke.
39 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
This is a terrific movie!, 20 July 2000
Author:
Rosemea D.S. MacPherson from US
Al Pacino (The Godfather, Looking for Richard) won an Oscar for Best Actor
for his outstanding performance as Lt. Col. Frank Slade. I have the tape
and have watched it a bazillion times. I have seen many other actors playing
a blind man but Pacino outwits them all. I have watched it closely just to
watch his eyes. He is terrific! Every time we watch the movie we spend at
least two days going: "Oo-rah!"
I like prep school movies and I have two movies where Chris O'Donnell
(Circle of Friends) Charlie Simms is in a prep school. I guess it goes with
his type. I like the part of
Charlie who is doing the best he can with the weekend he has to face. One
of the most difficult things for people is to feel is useless. That is how
Lt. Co. Frank Slade feels. He also has a cynicism about life that in a sense
is funny because of its irony. He meets Charlie and has everything planned
out. The Colonel has extremely good taste. Meeting young Charlie, who is
in a very difficult situation, the outspoken Lt. Col. found a reason to live
and to feel useful again, even enjoying the smell of the perfume of
Charlie's teacher. I did not see the 1974 Italian film "PROFUMO DI DONNA,"
but would love to see the performance of the late Vittorio Gassman, one of
the most well known actor of the Italian Theater and Cinema.
My Favorite Scenes: Lt. Col. driving in New York city, dancing tango, and
giving a speech before the student body, to clear up Charlie's name. This is
a great movie!
My Favorite Quotes: Lt. Col. Frank Slade: "Oo-rah!" ..." But there isn't
nothing' like the sight of an amputated spirit, there is no prosthetic for
that.." "There are two kinds of people in this world, Charlie. The first
group are the people that face the music; the second group are those who run
for cover. Cover is better."
48 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
A Speech Everyone Likes, 21 July 2006
Author:
ccthemovieman-1 from United States
This was a different type of story with excellent acting by Al Pacino,
who makes a speech at the end of the film that many people think is one
of the coolest speeches they've ever heard on film.
Pacino's character, "Lt. Cl. Frank Slade," is a turnoff for awhile
because he's so gruff, but he grows on you and becomes fascinating to
watch as a blind man who doesn't act like a blind man. Chris O'Donnell,
as "Charlie Simms," plays the opposite: a nice, young college kid whom
Pacino winds up taking under wing. The only part I didn't care for was
the beginning with Charlie's obnoxious friends, but that ties in later
with Pacino's memorable speech.
A different kind of story, marred only by a little too much profanity.
If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out. You'll enjoy it
52 out of 86 people found the following review useful:
Delicious high-class drama, 26 July 2001
Author:
Keith F. Hatcher from La Rioja, Spain
I do not tend to go along with Hollywood-created cult figures, that kind of
hero-worship, idol-making, whatever: you can have your Julia Roberts and
such like making endless and mindless blockbuster hits with such insipid
nonsense as `Pretty Woman', `Notting Hill' and so on, but it has to be
something more serious like Joel Schumacher's `Dying Young' or even Steven
Soderbergh's `Erin Brockovich' to convince me that Ms Roberts can/might be a
good actress.
The same goes for Al Pacino. Until the arrival of `Scent of a Woman' he was
just merely another actor of those who come out of the Hollywood
mass-manufacturing industry. `Scent of a Woman' changed all that: here
Pacino shows he is a grand master, a brilliant actor. It is not important
that this film is a redoing of an Italian original, or even whether this
film won him an Oscar: the film stands up for its own merits, and Pacino
reaches colossal heights in this well-directed drama, ably and willingly
aided by a refreshing Chris O'Donnell. Very much a two-man film as the
characterisation centres masterfully on these two leading characters, Pacino
had to carry out a truly theatre-like interpretation of a blind retired
colonel; Bo Goldman's dialogues are up to the challenge, creating some
magnificent monologues which Pacino so superbly enacted.
My rating is somewhat higher than the surprisingly low IMDb user rating: a
memorable and classic piece of serious cinema which puts Pacino into a very
high category.
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