Scent of a Woman (1992)

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers (WGA):

Giovanni Arpino (novel)
Bo Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Blind | Ex Military | New York City | Prep School | Colonel

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Lieutenant Colonel 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

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

157 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:18 (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Quebec) | Brazil:Livre | USA:R (certificate #32138) | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Finland:K-3 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

City Light Films

Trivia:

Frank and Charlie's driver of the limousine is called Manny, as well as Manolo. Al Pacino's left hand in his movie Scarface (1983) was also called Manny, and Manolo.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the driving scene, a left turn is made and a the rear of the car begins to drift. Application of counter steer (to the right) can be observed from the external shot, and then on the next camera angle from the inside of the vehicle, Al Pacino's character is seen recovering the steering wheel from the left.

Quotes:

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Can't believe they're my blood. I.Q. of sloths and the manners of banshees. He's a mechanic, she's a homemaker. He knows as much about cars as a beauty queen, and she bakes cookies, taste like wing nuts. As for the tots, they're twits.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scent of a Cow (2009)

Soundtrack:

El Relicario

The two best syllables in the world are...hoo-ha!

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.