Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183080 in DVD
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: German, English, French, Spanish, Polish, Czech
• Subtitled in: German, English, French, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Portuguese

Amazon.com essential video
Hoo-ah! After seven Oscar nominations for his outstanding work in films such as The Godfather, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon, it's ironic that Al Pacino finally won the Oscar for his grandstanding lead performance in this 1992 crowd pleaser. As the blind, blunt, and ultimately benevolent retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, Pacino is both hammy and compelling, simultaneously subtle and grandly over-the-top when defending his new assistant and prep school student Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) at a disciplinary hearing. While the subplot involving Charlie's prep-school crisis plays like a sequel to Dead Poets Society, Pacino's adventurous escapades in New York City provide comic relief, rich character development, and a memorable supporting role for Gabrielle Anwar as the young woman who accepts the colonel's invitation to dance the tango. Scent of a Woman is a remake of the 1972 Italian film Profumo di donna. In addition to Pacino's award, the picture garnered Oscar nominations for director Martin Brest and for screenwriter Bo Goldman. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com
Hoo-hah! After seven Oscar nominations for his outstanding work in films such as The Godfather, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon, it's ironic that Al Pacino finally won the Oscar for his grandstanding lead performance in this 1992 crowd pleaser. As the blind, blunt, and ultimately benevolent retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, Pacino is both hammy and compelling, simultaneously subtle and grandly over-the-top when defending his new assistant and prep school student Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) at a disciplinary hearing. While the subplot involving Charlie's prep-school crisis plays like a sequel to Dead Poets Society, Pacino's adventurous escapades in New York City provide comic relief, rich character development, and a memorable supporting role for Gabrielle Anwar as the young woman who accepts the colonel's invitation to dance the tango. Scent of a Woman is a remake of the 1972 Italian film Profumo di donna. In addition to Pacino's award, the picture garnered Oscar nominations for director Martin Brest and for screenwriter Bo Goldman. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Director Martin Brest and screenwiter Bo Goldman labor mightily to design a holiday-season heart-warmer about a middle-aged blind man and a troubled teen-ager (Chris O'Donnell), but fortunately their low intentions are undone by the star, Al Pacino, whose performance taps emotions too complex and too frightening to be resolved by the simple moral victory that ends the picture. His Frank Slade, a retired Army officer and former aide to L.B.J., is a bitter, misanthropic, profoundly depressed man, and the actor makes us feel the full weight of the character's hopelessness. This is acting that chills the heart beyond any possibility of warming. The filmmakers may dismiss the audience with a banal lesson written on the blackboard-"Smell the roses" is the gist-but by the end we're not paying much attention. We're still sorting out the ambiguities and uncomfortable truths that Pacino's great performance has let us in on. He has led us to the heart of darkness, and there's no quick route back. Also with James Rebhorn and Gabrielle Anwar. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Simply Riveting
Of all the movies that I have seen that has moved me, Scent of a Woman was the one that did it. A highly emotional movie which starred Academy Award Winning Actor, Al Pacino who portrayed Ret. Lt. Col. Frank Slade, and Chris O'Donnell as the young fresh faced student of the prestigious Baird School, Charlie Simms.

Charlie(O' Donnell) takes a job caring for Slade(Pacino), a washed-up, decorated military man who clings to his Jack Daniels, so he can earn enough money to go home for the Christmas Holidays. Along the way, Slade takes the young man through different turns during the Thanksgiving Day weekend in New York City not knowing what the boy will expect. While the unpredictable occurs, Charlie contemplates his fate with his school honor--a conflict of interest with who is your real friends and who are not.

The entire movie wraps around relationships and how strangers can make a difference in a little over 2 hours and 37 minutes. For one weekend, Charlie and Slade discover that they need each other more than they thought, with different circumstances. You'd have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about, especially the finale.

The director, Martin Brest(Beverly Hills Cop and Meet Joe Black), has the knack of bringing out the best in the characters even in unpleasant situations. The soft sides always show in those who don't appear to have it.

If this film had a theme it would be, living is worth living.

By far my favorite movie
When I first heard of this movie, I had no clue what it was about. My friend and I saw a teaser poster with Al Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar dancing the tango labeled "Scent of a Woman". Putting two and two together, we went into the theater thinking we were watching a love story until the movie started. Whoops. Despite my misgivings in the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised. What I found was a riveting story of mentor-mentee relationship. I love movies that involve the master taking young grasshopper under his wing. Except master is not Mr. Perfect himself. Both the student and the teacher learn from each other's weaknesses. And despite Lt Col Slade's struggle with his misfortunate blinding accident, his Army core values were still in tact. Hard-working and willing to give up a Thanksgiving weekend to look after an embittered retiree, Slade sees an underlying goodness in Chris O'Donnell's fragile, fence-sitting character, Charlie. Like most young men his age, he was susceptible to peer pressure and could easily choose the wrong path as his friends had. Slade is blind but easily sees the temptation to compromise the boy's integrity and future. "This old bat has sharper radar than the Nautilus" Slade tells his young league. He lays all the cards out for Charlie to see, but knew instinctively it was up to the boy to make his own decision. Charlie eventually shows his true colors in the face of adversity. Like a good soldier, he never leaves his commander's side even when the danger is self-inflicting. Character like that is a rarity in anyone and must be preserved! This prompts Slade to reciprocate his support for Charlie who is enrolled in a prestigious school reknowned for producing some of the most important figure heads in America. "Be careful what type of leaders you're making," he warns the school staff. Charlie learns lessons in life that no school could teach him.

Underneath the tough exterior, there was a softer side to Slade. He definitely had a thing for the ladies. Instead of playing up a macho cassanova, "Mac-Daddy" persona predominate in a lot of films today, Slade is quite the charmer and gentlemen. He's cultured, sophisticated, genteel and surprisingly knowledgeable about women's perfume. Hence the film's title. I find that warrior-poet quality incredibly sexy and appealing. You can't resist a man who makes the tango look so easy and doesn't mind getting "all tangled up" with you. A beautiful role played by Pacino earning him a well-deserved oscar which probably was most credited for by his empowering monologue in the end. This is by far his best role in a movie.

Lovely film. Sweet, sad, romantic yet uplifting. This is truly a classic for the ages.

Excellent
There has already been 33 reviews written of this movie. What more do I hope to (or can I possibly)add? Well, I don't know, but here goes my two cents...

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Al Pacino at one of his very best moments. Playing a role unlike any other of his career. Chris O'Donnell at a perfect stage--before he his head became too big to fit through doorways (as the result of such travesties as Batman or The Bachelor).

This is a very moving movie. One that never fails to endear itself further to me. I've seen it more times than I care to remember, but just yesterday, happened to catch it again on TNT. The channel surfing stopped there, and I watched what (little) remained.

I wager you will love this movie as well. One can't help but love it as they watch an aging, blind Pacino come from despair to....well, I won't give away too much for those of you who haven't seen it.

But, a few scenes to look for that are, by themselves, worthy of the price of this beauty: (a) the tango; (b) the test-drive; and (c) the speech. Hopefully that is cryptic and vague enough to not give anything away. However, those in the know, know very well what I speak/write of.

Get it. Enjoy it a million times over.