One wishes that Scent of a Woman’s ending was more truthful than the fictional fantasy it has become in the thirty years since its release. The rousing confrontation of elitism and privilege masking a rotting moral compass has gotten more prescient, and truthful, in those intervening years. The film and its rousing speech by Academy Award Winner Al Pacino are as much a battle cry now than ever before. What may have felt a bit overwrought then and even until the last few years is a sobering battle cry beyond the prep school Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Pacino) rallies against as they persecute Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) a scholarship kid out of his depths because of a prank his much richer fellow students pull against the school headmaster (James Rebhorn).
Scent of a Woman directed by Martin Brest and written/adapted by Bo Goldman is like Brest’s previous effort Midnight Run defies categorization. Yes, Scent of a Woman is a coming-of-age film of sorts coupled with a road trip buddy comedy, but it is so acutely aware of the fact that life is messier than the clean lines of a genre. The film’s central relationship between the blind Slade and the young innocent Charlie is the push and pull drama of the film. Yes, Charlie’s quandary as wither to sell out his rich prep school counterparts is a moral quandary, but it isn’t the center of the story. We know that Charlie is going to make the right decision as he’s faced with a bribe to sell out those who will not face reciprocity. It’s will Charlie be able to pull Slade out of his downward spiral and ultimate plan is the real soul of the film.
Three decades outside of the win for Best Actor the work is still a great performance from the second half of Pacino’s career. Those that critique the over-the-top nature of the performance are not looking at the simmering anger under those moments. Slade is a proud man, one that is in the depths of not just alcoholism but depression. Those two make for a heady combination that anyone that has had to deal with someone like that on Thanksgiving will attest that Pacino’s performance isn’t far from the truth. The way that Pacino is able to navigate those waters and by the end also show that the man has not changed, maybe by millimeters, is one of the beautiful aspects of a mannered and complex performance.
There is a reason why Chris O’Donnell got an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this role. As Charlie the actor takes something that could have been a one-note performance and gives it complexity beyond the “moral center” of the film. There’s a wonderfully comedic in over his head charm that O’Donnell shows as Charlie that makes you instantly feel sympathy for him as he truly doesn’t understand anything about the world. Not just with Slade but with the elites that he’s dealing with at his prep school.
Scent of a Woman’s secret weapon is its supporting cast. Phillip Seymour Hoffman shows even at an early age was a magnetic actor of uncommon talent. Adding Rebhorn, Bradley Whitford, Ron Elard, and Frances Conroy into the mix with small but vital roles that make impressions. Though it’s Gabrielle Anwar in the showstopping Tango Scene that sets the film afire. One watching the centerpiece of the film can see why Anwar was cast in everything for a time – wanting to cash in on the utter charm and magnetism she radiates in the film.
Though ultimately, it’s Pacino’s film. What a grand film and performance it is. Anyone that feels that the film and performance is over the stop – owes themselves a rewatch with 2025 optics. One will find that the power of Scent of a Woman and Pacino’s impassioned performance renewed. Though it has always been and will be a Classic.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative supervised by Director Martin Brest presented in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) is an excellent example of what a new 4K scan with HDR encoding can do for a thirty-year-old film. The film was released by Universal in 2012 on Blu-ray. The 4K UHD disc is a remarkable upgrade when compared to the DNR wiped Blu-ray from over a decade ago. The disc use of HDR is a demo disc example of how amazing and often subtle UHD is and how close it gets us to the theatrical experience. There isn’t a blemish, scratch or fleck of dirt on the flawless transfer. The grain structure, the clarity, the color are all perfectly balanced resulting another excellent reference quality disc for Shout Studio and their 4K UHD releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
NOTE: The special features reside on the Blu-ray disc of the set.
NEW One Last Tour Of The Battlefield: Directing Scent Of A Woman – A Retrospective Interview With Director Martin Brest
NEW Just Tango On: Editing Scent Of A Woman – An Interview With Co-Editor Michael Tronick
One Last Tour Of The Battlefield: Directing Scent Of A Woman (51:06) – in this all-new interview with director Martin Brest begins with after the success of Beverly Hills Cop how he began to develop Midnight Run – with a sidetrack developing and leaving Rain Man – eventually going back to Midnight Run. The director goes on to discuss the making of Midnight Run – moving over to Universal from Paramount, and how the original Italian film that was the basis for Scent of a Woman; the development of Scent of a Women – and how Bo Goldman became attached out of Brest’s want and need that Col. Slade be smarter than him; the personal touches that Goldman brought to the development of the characters; the nine month writing process; how much the script was “nailed down” – unlike Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run which were famously in flux through the entire production; they wrote the part specifically for Jack Nicholson – and he wouldn’t read the script and even went as far as Goldman reaching out to him; how the casting of Al Pacino came about; how they went about casting the role of Charlie – which eventually went to Chris O’Donnell – and the reason why he was cast; the casting of the other prep students – and how they found Phillip Seymour Hoffman; stories from the actors screentests with Al Pacino; a great story from the first day of filming; the various locations that they used to create the prep school; a discussion of the various locations and why they chose these iconic NYC spots they did; the similarities between his films and what draws him to these types of stories; a discussion of the tango scene – finding the music, choregraphing the dance and working with the Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar; how composer Thomas Newman was brought on; a larger discussion and anecdotes throughout from directing this film and Midnight Run; and much more. In lieu of a commentary track, this interview does more than fill the job of giving you a goldmine of information about the making of not just Scent of a Woman but other films that Brest has made. Brest has talked so little about his work this is a must watch special feature for any fan of his classic films.
Just Tango On: Editing Scent Of A Woman (21:18) – in this all-new interview with Co-Editor Michael Tronick begins with how he was brought on as a third editor during Midnight Run – how Brest agreed because Tronick cut All That Jazz. The Editor goes on discuss the first scene he cut for Brest on Midnight Run – which reveals the obsessive nature of Brest and his shooting style and editorial style; how he came onto the editing staff after Brest let go of the original editor; how the post-production was divided up between the three editors – including how and why he was tasked to cut the Tango scene; a discussion of how he cut the tango scene – and the large amount of coverage they had; the tenuous post-production process under Brest – how it brought out the best in his editing; and much more. Another great interview that gives insight into making this very special film.
The Final Thought
Shout Studio’s Scent of a Woman upgrade to 4K UHD is everything you want with a beautiful restoration and insightful extras. Highest Recommendations!!!
Al Pacino takes a flame thrower and the Best Actor Oscar in Scent of a Woman. Shout Studio has released the Academy Award winning film on 4K UHD fully restored supervised by director Martin Brest.
The Film
One wishes that Scent of a Woman’s ending was more truthful than the fictional fantasy it has become in the thirty years since its release. The rousing confrontation of elitism and privilege masking a rotting moral compass has gotten more prescient, and truthful, in those intervening years. The film and its rousing speech by Academy Award Winner Al Pacino are as much a battle cry now than ever before. What may have felt a bit overwrought then and even until the last few years is a sobering battle cry beyond the prep school Lt. Col. Frank Slade (Pacino) rallies against as they persecute Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) a scholarship kid out of his depths because of a prank his much richer fellow students pull against the school headmaster (James Rebhorn).
Scent of a Woman directed by Martin Brest and written/adapted by Bo Goldman is like Brest’s previous effort Midnight Run defies categorization. Yes, Scent of a Woman is a coming-of-age film of sorts coupled with a road trip buddy comedy, but it is so acutely aware of the fact that life is messier than the clean lines of a genre. The film’s central relationship between the blind Slade and the young innocent Charlie is the push and pull drama of the film. Yes, Charlie’s quandary as wither to sell out his rich prep school counterparts is a moral quandary, but it isn’t the center of the story. We know that Charlie is going to make the right decision as he’s faced with a bribe to sell out those who will not face reciprocity. It’s will Charlie be able to pull Slade out of his downward spiral and ultimate plan is the real soul of the film.
Three decades outside of the win for Best Actor the work is still a great performance from the second half of Pacino’s career. Those that critique the over-the-top nature of the performance are not looking at the simmering anger under those moments. Slade is a proud man, one that is in the depths of not just alcoholism but depression. Those two make for a heady combination that anyone that has had to deal with someone like that on Thanksgiving will attest that Pacino’s performance isn’t far from the truth. The way that Pacino is able to navigate those waters and by the end also show that the man has not changed, maybe by millimeters, is one of the beautiful aspects of a mannered and complex performance.
There is a reason why Chris O’Donnell got an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this role. As Charlie the actor takes something that could have been a one-note performance and gives it complexity beyond the “moral center” of the film. There’s a wonderfully comedic in over his head charm that O’Donnell shows as Charlie that makes you instantly feel sympathy for him as he truly doesn’t understand anything about the world. Not just with Slade but with the elites that he’s dealing with at his prep school.
Scent of a Woman’s secret weapon is its supporting cast. Phillip Seymour Hoffman shows even at an early age was a magnetic actor of uncommon talent. Adding Rebhorn, Bradley Whitford, Ron Elard, and Frances Conroy into the mix with small but vital roles that make impressions. Though it’s Gabrielle Anwar in the showstopping Tango Scene that sets the film afire. One watching the centerpiece of the film can see why Anwar was cast in everything for a time – wanting to cash in on the utter charm and magnetism she radiates in the film.
Though ultimately, it’s Pacino’s film. What a grand film and performance it is. Anyone that feels that the film and performance is over the stop – owes themselves a rewatch with 2025 optics. One will find that the power of Scent of a Woman and Pacino’s impassioned performance renewed. Though it has always been and will be a Classic.
The Transfer
The all-new 4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative supervised by Director Martin Brest presented in Dolby Vision (HDR-10 Compatible) is an excellent example of what a new 4K scan with HDR encoding can do for a thirty-year-old film. The film was released by Universal in 2012 on Blu-ray. The 4K UHD disc is a remarkable upgrade when compared to the DNR wiped Blu-ray from over a decade ago. The disc use of HDR is a demo disc example of how amazing and often subtle UHD is and how close it gets us to the theatrical experience. There isn’t a blemish, scratch or fleck of dirt on the flawless transfer. The grain structure, the clarity, the color are all perfectly balanced resulting another excellent reference quality disc for Shout Studio and their 4K UHD releases.
The Extras
They include the following;
NOTE: The special features reside on the Blu-ray disc of the set.
One Last Tour Of The Battlefield: Directing Scent Of A Woman (51:06) – in this all-new interview with director Martin Brest begins with after the success of Beverly Hills Cop how he began to develop Midnight Run – with a sidetrack developing and leaving Rain Man – eventually going back to Midnight Run. The director goes on to discuss the making of Midnight Run – moving over to Universal from Paramount, and how the original Italian film that was the basis for Scent of a Woman; the development of Scent of a Women – and how Bo Goldman became attached out of Brest’s want and need that Col. Slade be smarter than him; the personal touches that Goldman brought to the development of the characters; the nine month writing process; how much the script was “nailed down” – unlike Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run which were famously in flux through the entire production; they wrote the part specifically for Jack Nicholson – and he wouldn’t read the script and even went as far as Goldman reaching out to him; how the casting of Al Pacino came about; how they went about casting the role of Charlie – which eventually went to Chris O’Donnell – and the reason why he was cast; the casting of the other prep students – and how they found Phillip Seymour Hoffman; stories from the actors screentests with Al Pacino; a great story from the first day of filming; the various locations that they used to create the prep school; a discussion of the various locations and why they chose these iconic NYC spots they did; the similarities between his films and what draws him to these types of stories; a discussion of the tango scene – finding the music, choregraphing the dance and working with the Pacino and Gabrielle Anwar; how composer Thomas Newman was brought on; a larger discussion and anecdotes throughout from directing this film and Midnight Run; and much more. In lieu of a commentary track, this interview does more than fill the job of giving you a goldmine of information about the making of not just Scent of a Woman but other films that Brest has made. Brest has talked so little about his work this is a must watch special feature for any fan of his classic films.
Just Tango On: Editing Scent Of A Woman (21:18) – in this all-new interview with Co-Editor Michael Tronick begins with how he was brought on as a third editor during Midnight Run – how Brest agreed because Tronick cut All That Jazz. The Editor goes on discuss the first scene he cut for Brest on Midnight Run – which reveals the obsessive nature of Brest and his shooting style and editorial style; how he came onto the editing staff after Brest let go of the original editor; how the post-production was divided up between the three editors – including how and why he was tasked to cut the Tango scene; a discussion of how he cut the tango scene – and the large amount of coverage they had; the tenuous post-production process under Brest – how it brought out the best in his editing; and much more. Another great interview that gives insight into making this very special film.
The Final Thought
Shout Studio’s Scent of a Woman upgrade to 4K UHD is everything you want with a beautiful restoration and insightful extras. Highest Recommendations!!!
Shout Studio’s 4K UHD edition of Scent of a Woman is out now
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