Scent of a Woman (1992)

Director:

Martin Brest

Writers (WGA):

Giovanni Arpino (novel)
Bo Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 joulukuu 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:

Thanksgiving | Blind | Colonel | Headmaster | Prank

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's bizarre habit of yelling "hoo-wah!" is an actual United States Army battlecry, although he is saying it wrong. He places far too much of a "W" sound on the second syllable. The real version is closer to "hoo-ah!"

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Frank mispronounces "espresso" as "expresso" - extremely unlikely for an Italiophile.

Quotes:

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Uh-oh, we got a moron here.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Adiós muchachos

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.