Scent of a Woman (1992)

A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers:

Giovanni Arpino (novel), Bo Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Lt. Col. Frank Slade
Chris O'Donnell	...	Charlie Simms
James Rebhorn	...	Mr. Trask
Gabrielle Anwar	...	Donna
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	George Willis, Jr. (as Philip S. Hoffman)
Richard Venture	...	W.R. Slade
Bradley Whitford	...	Randy
Rochelle Oliver	...	Gretchen
Margaret Eginton	...	Gail
Tom Riis Farrell	...	Garry
Nicholas Sadler	...	Harry Havemeyer
Todd Louiso	...	Trent Potter
Matt Smith	...	Jimmy Jameson
Gene Canfield	...	Manny
Frances Conroy	...	Christine Downes

Storyline

Frank is a retired Lt. Col. in the US Army. He's blind and impossible to get along with. Charlie is at school and is looking forward to going to university; to help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to look after Frank over Thanksgiving. Frank's niece says this will be easy money, but she didn't reckon on Frank spending his Thanksgiving in New York.

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Plot Keywords:

blind character | private school | tango | philogyny | loss of eyesight | 

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Taglines:

Col. Frank Slade has a very special plan for the weekend. It involves travel, women, good food, fine wine, the tango, chauffeured limousines and a loaded forty-five. And he's bringing Charlie along for the ride.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Filmnegah.com (Persian)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perfume de mujer

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$357,468, 23 December 1992, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$63,895,607

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,895,607

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, City Light Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

156 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In addition to winning the Best Actor Oscar, Al Pacino was nominated for Supporting Actor for Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) the same year.

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Goofs

Col. Slade says "I used to dream about them when I was at Fort Huachuca. Bread's no good west of the Colorado." Fort Huachuca is in southeast Arizona, east of the Colorado River. Col. Slade may have been referring to the Continental Divide in general or, less likely, the Colorado River in Texas.

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Quotes

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: [Randy brings Frank a glass of whiskey] Thank you Randy. You still with Snowqueen Sugar?
Randy: Snowflake. How come you always get that wrong?
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Because it's not important for me to get it right.

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Alternate Versions

The heavily edited network TV version was disowned by director Martin Brest, and credits "Allen Smithee" as director.

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Connections

Referenced in Burn Notice: Breaking and Entering (2008)

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Soundtracks

El Relicario
Written by José Padilla
Performed by The Tango Project

User Reviews

One of Pacino's best!

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)