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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar rehearsed their tango for 2 weeks. The scene took 3 days to shoot.

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Goofs

While Slade is explaining to Charlie the proper way to perform the military salute, he says the right hand should be positioned "at the hairline." Doing this would result in a ridiculous-looking salute. The proper position for the hand is adjacent to or just above the right eye. Additionally, in a proper salute the arm is raised and lowered in a fluid motion. The right arm is never "snapped" to or from the right eye as the salute is rendered. Finally, the outside of right hand is always canted towards the individual receiving the salute, in accordance with Army custom. Slade does not cant his hand properly when he salutes Charlie.

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Quotes

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: You've been the sugar business for so long, you've forgetten the taste of real honey!

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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 Two and a Half Men: 818-jklpuzo (2009)

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Soundtracks

El Relicario
Music by José Padilla
Performed by The Tango Project

User Reviews

Good film with a great over the top performance

At this point in his career, Pacino was starting to change a little his acting techniques and still remain great, but it wasn't only a great over the top performance, he also portrayed a blind person like no other actor i ever seen it.

The movie is simple and good, Pacino is the one who elevated the whole material, the tango scene is great and the entire scene when Pacino gives his speech at the school is amazing .

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

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 Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1