Scent of a Woman is a 1992 American drama film produced and directed byMartin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a short-term job near Thanksgiving as a companion and assistant to a retired Army lieutenant colonel who is blind, depressed, and irritable.
The film was adapted byBo Goldman from the Italian novelIl buio e il miele (Darkness and Honey) byGiovanni Arpino. This novel previously was adapted byDino Risi for his 1974 Italian filmProfumo di donna.
The film was shot primarily around New York State and on location at Princeton University. Scenes were shot at theEmma Willard School, an all-girls school in Troy, New York and at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel and theFieldston School in New York City.
Charlie Simms is a scholarship student at Baird, an exclusive preparatory school. Karen hires him to watch her uncle, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, duringThanksgiving weekend. Charlie accepts so he can buy a plane ticket home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas. He meets Frank, a highly decorated, blind, Vietnam War veteran who has become a cantankerous and cynical alcoholic.
Charlie and student George Willis Jr. witness three classmates set up a prank to damage the headmaster, Mr. Trask's sports car and humiliate him. Afterward, Trask learns of the witnesses, and unsuccessfully presses them to name the perpetrators. He privately offers Charlie virtually guaranteed acceptance to Harvard University if he informs on the other students. Trask schedules a meeting of the school disciplinary committee to take place on the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend.
Frank Slade unexpectedly takes Charlie on a trip to New York City and arranges their stay at theWaldorf-Astoria hotel. During dinner in theOak Room at the Plaza Hotel, Frank reveals that the goals of his trip are to stay at a luxurious hotel, enjoy good food and wine, visit his older brother, and have sex with a "terrific" woman. Afterward, he intends to die by suicide.
On Thanksgiving Day, they visit Frank's brother at his home in White Plains, New York. Frank provokes everyone at dinner, which ends up in a confrontation with his nephew Randy, who reveals that Frank was not blinded heroically in combat, but in an accident that occurred when he drunkenly juggled live grenades to show off for a group of younger officers. Frank assaults Randy for repeatedly calling Charlie "Chuck", a name Charlie despises, revealing his growing affection for Charlie.
As they return to NYC, Charlie mentions his problem at school. Frank advises he turn informant, warning that George will probably submit to Trask's pressure, so he should act first so he can attend Harvard. While at a restaurant, Frank identifies the scent of a young woman waiting for her date. He introduces himself and offers to teach her the tango. The evening ends with Frank having sex with a high-class escort, completing the stated objectives of his trip.
Despondent the next morning, Frank is uninterested in any suggestions for the day until Charlie suggests going for a ride. Frank talks a Ferrari salesman into letting them take a convertible for a test ride. When on the road, Frank becomes depressed again until Charlie allows him to drive. When they are pulled over by a policeman, Frank convinces the officer to let them go without revealing that he is blind.
After returning the car, Frank again becomes despondent. He jaywalks into rushing traffic on Park Avenue and narrowly escapes being struck by multiple cars. When they return to the hotel, Frank sends Charlie to buy cigars. Charlie leaves but becomes suspicious and returns to find Frank donning his dress uniform, preparing to end his life with his service pistol. Frank backs down after Charlie convinces him that he has much to live for and should courageously face his circumstances.
On Monday morning, Charlie and George appear before the Baird disciplinary committee with the whole student body in attendance. Frank unexpectedly arrives and sits with Charlie. George Jr. provides tentative identifications but claims he was not wearing his contact lenses, so he cannot be positive.
Charlie refuses to confirm George Jr.'s identification, so Trask recommends his expulsion. Frank gives a speech defending Charlie, denounces Baird for not living up to its own standards, and urges the committee to value Charlie's integrity. The disciplinary committee places the instigators on probation, denies George credit for naming them, and excuses Charlie from the proceedings.
As Charlie escorts Frank to his limousine, political science professor Christine Downes, a member of the disciplinary committee, commends Frank for his speech. He flirts with her, impressing her by recognising her perfume. Charlie accompanies Frank home, where Frank happily greets his niece's children.
The rights to remakeDino Risi'sProfumo di donna were purchased byOvidio G. Assonitis and first slated for presale by Ronald DeNeef's Rainbow International at MIFED in October 1988.[4] When Assonitis became chairman ofCannon Pictures Inc. in 1989, he announced that his films currently in development and production, including the remake ofScent of a Woman, would be made and released under the Cannon banner.[5]
By May 1990, Cannon Pictures had entered into an agreement withUniversal Pictures to produce the film.[6] In 1991,Bo Goldman was hired to write the screenplay. He later said, "If there is a moral to the film, it is that if we leave ourselves open and available to the surprising contradictions in life, we will find the strength to go on."[7]
Martin Brest was approached to direct the film in April 1991, and chose this film over another potential remake with which he was presented, a remake ofDeath Takes a Holiday (which he later made asMeet Joe Black, released in 1998.[8] By early August, Brest had officially signed, and Al Pacino was being sought for the lead.[9] Pacino officially signed on the following month.[10]
Pacino painstakingly researched his part inScent of a Woman. To understand what it feels like to be blind, he met clients of New York's Associated Blind, being particularly interested in accounts by those who had lost their sight due to trauma. Clients traced the entire progression for him—from the moment when they knew that they never would see again to the depression and through to acceptance and adjustment. TheLighthouse, an advocacy group for the blind also in New York, schooled him in techniques that a vision impaired person might use to find a chair and seat themselves, pour liquid from a bottle, and light a cigar.[7]
Production onScent of a Woman began on December 3, 1991, in New York City,[16] and ran until April 1992.[17] It was filmed in the following US locations.[18]
The film opened at number 20 at the US Box Office.[20] It would go on to earn $63,095,253 in the US and Canada and over $71 million internationally (excluding Italy), totaling $134,095,253 worldwide.[21][22][23][24]
As of 2025, the film holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 50 reviews. The site's consensus states: "It might soar on Al Pacino's performance more than the drama itself, but what a performance it is – big, bold, occasionally over-the-top, and finally giving the Academy pause to award the star his first Oscar."[25] The film holds a score of 59 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "mixed reviews".[26]
Two critics criticized the film for its length.[27]Variety's Todd McCarthy stated it "goes on nearly an hour too long".[28]Newsweek's David Ansen writes that the "two-character conceit doesn't warrant a two-and-a-half-hour running time".[29]
Al Pacino won anAcademy Award for Best Actor, the first of his career afterfour previous nominations for Best Actor. It was his eighth overall nomination.Ovidio G. Assonitis, who had originated the project and chose to go uncredited on the final cut of the film, took out a full-page advert inVariety congratulatingTom Pollock, Universal Pictures, and Martin Brest for making the adaptation successful and praising Pacino on his Oscar win.[30]
^Schickler, David (2013).The Dark Path. Riverhead Books.ISBN978-1594486456....an instrumental recording ofPor una Cabeza used in the filmsScent of a Woman andTrue Lies. The original version of the song, a hit from the 1930s by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo La Pera...
