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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scent of a Woman

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$357,468, 27 December 1992

Gross USA:

$63,095,253

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,095,253

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

Al Pacino says "hoo-ah" or a variation of it exactly ten times throughout the movie.

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Goofs

In the hotel scene following the Thanksgiving family scene, Frank is assembling his .45. When Charlie calls the .45 a "gun," Frank corrects him, saying it is a "piece" or a "weapon," but "never a 'gun'". A few moments later, Frank tells Charlie "I'm a Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army, I'm not giving my f***ing gun to anyone! Now, what are you drinking?"

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Quotes

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Ooh, but I still smell her.
[inhales deeply through nose]
Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Women! What can you say? Who made 'em? God must have been a fuckin' genius. The hair... They say the hair is everything, you know. Have you ever buried your nose in a mountain of curls... just wanted to go to sleep forever? Or lips... and when they touched, yours were like... that first swallow of wine... after you just crossed the desert. Tits. Hoo-ah! Big ones, little ones, nipples staring right out at ya, like secret searchlights. Mmm....

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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

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Physically Disabled Movie Characters (2015)

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Soundtracks

A media luz
Written by Edgardo Donato and Carlos Lenzi (as Carlos Cesar Lenzi)
Performed by The Tango Project

User Reviews

Scent of a Woman

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.