Scent of a Woman - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Scent of a Woman



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Back when I was growing up in the 90s, the last thing I wanted to watch was a seemingly feel-good movie called Scent of a Woman. 10-year-old me was more interested in watching Jackie Chan movies or Power Rangers on TV. And besides, girls smelled gross and smelled cooties, so why would I want to watch it? Fast forward to college when the girl I desperately wanted to ask out brought it to our apartment for a movie night, and I was singing a different tune (yeah, 19-year-olds will do most anything for a cute brunette). So here I am, a 19-year-old sophomore in college, and I was trying to hold back tears as a young Chris O’Donnell talks an old man down from ending it all, and the rest is history.

For whatever reason, I can not think of a more perfect dichotomy than Pacino’s two greatest roles in history being him playing a smooth talking gangster in The Godfather series, and a foul mouthed, crass, and brutally honest Lt. Colonel going out for one big party before he takes his own life after losing everything that he held dear (Heat is a GREAT film, but personally I didn’t find Pacino’s performance to be as legendary as this and The Godfather). Pacino’s later films had him hamming things up to level 11 with that rasping voice of his, but in Scent of a Woman he manages to dial it back to where he’s definitely over the top, but still restrained and serious enough to where his character is believable, and resonates with the audience in a way that garnered him an academy award for best Actor.

The film itself follows young Charlie Simms (Chris O’Donnell), a student at Baird University, looking to make a couple of hundred bucks over the weekend so that he can go home to see his family. Unlike the rest of the rich snobs at Baird, Charlie is a poor kid whose family can barely make tuition even with assistance. Thus, he takes the role of caretaker for a blind Army Lt. Colonel by the name of Frank Slade (Al Pacino). Frank is not what you would consider an easy assignment for anyone, having ostracized himself from his family, living out back of his Niece’s house, drinking himself to death. Not to mention, he doesn’t exactly take no from anyone, let alone an upstart college kid like Charlie.

The second his niece and her family exit to go to Thanksgiving with her family, Frank is up and at 'em, grabbing Charlie by the hair and yanking him halfway across the country to New York City for a swanky night on the town. Beautiful escorts, a classy restaurant that serves $24 hamburgers (back in the 90s, that was a lot of money for a burger...*sob), and of course, get tailored to nines by a world-class tailor. And while Charlie is doing his best to keep up with the Lt. Colonel as he lives his fantasy of hobnobbing with the elites once more, there is a dark truth hidden under the surface. You see, Frank isn’t here just because he likes to live up life, but rather because this is his last hurrah. The accident that caused him to go prematurely blind has been worsening to the point that Frank can’t even see shadows anymore, and what little pride and manhood he felt he had left has rapidly vanished. Frank’s goal for this extravagant night on the town guided by Charlie is less about living life to its fullest, but taking advantage of what little pleasures life has to offer the aging army man before he finishes off the weekend by putting a 45 caliber bullet in his head to end it all.

While seemingly droll and dreary with the intended ending spelled out within the first half an hour, Scent of a Woman is anything but. Kind of like Martin Brest’s previous effort (Midnight Run), Scent of a Woman defies categorization. It’s a drama, a coming-of-age story for Charlie, and a near comedy at times. Frank is a bull in a china shop personality-wise, and poor Charlie is forced to play the straight man to Frank’s bullish humor. Like all coming-of-age stories, what makes the narrative stick with the audience is the life lessons they learn along the way, and the true fulfillment of male friendship. Whether it be Stand by Me or Scent of a Woman, the theme of male bonding and friendship across multiple barriers is one of the most satisfying genre quirks that resonates with the audience. Sure, Charlie and Frank are about as alike as apples and whiskey, but their bonding is something deeper than your average bros hanging out. Each one learning a bit from the other, and more importantly, sacrificing for the other. The scene where Charlie talks Frank down from eating a round from his 1911 is probably one of the tear-jerking and emotionally real scenes relating to suicide that I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t romanticize the concept, nor does it make it overly syrupy and dark. It simply takes the pain of both Frank and Charlie on screen and makes it feel REAL. Like these two men are baring their souls to each other as best they know how in a desperate last-ditch effort to be seen. Honestly, while most people laud the final speech Pacino gives to the Baird university as the most impactful of the movie, but I disagree and consider that talk down speech between Frank and Charlie to be the crowning moment of the movie where I think Pacino deserved that award, and where Chris O’Donnell separated himself from the fuddy duddy personna he had played the entire film.




Rating:

Rated R for Language




4K Video: Video:

I never watched the 2012 release Blu-ray from Universal, so I can’t comment on the quality difference between the two versions, but Shout! Studios took a brand new master from the OCN (and overseen by director Martin Brest himself), and the results are exactly what most of us hope a 1990s film remaster would look like. Shot entirely on 35mm film, Scent of a Woman is an absolutely gorgeous affair. Given those cool autumn tones that were so common in the early 90s, the film just looks rich and incredibly textured. Ranging from the brown wood tones of Baird University, to the lavishly lit dance room where Frank dances with the lovely Donna (played by a 21-year-old Gabrielle Anwar), filled with bright primary shades. Skin tones and facial details can be a bit ruddy at times, but overall takes on a more neutral hue throughout most of the film. Black levels are incredible with the Dolby Vision, and while the colors aren’t SUPER enhanced and popping due to the filming style, I noticed a distinct increase in saturation levels for primary shades (such as the red Ferrari). Grain structure is nice and tight, giving the entire production a very organic “feel” that is so authentically 90s. Simply put, this is how I would want every '90s film to be restored if they could be. Nearly flawless.







Audio:

I have no idea if Shout! Studios did any remastering or re-encoding of the audio mix for this release, but going off of history (and my lack of access to the 2012 Blu-ray), I’m going to guess that this is a direct port of the Universal Studios Blu-ray. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is not going to wow anyone with a shock and awe mix, but rather offer a very subtle and solid dramatic mix that does just about everything right without ever giving that “wow” to us. The 5.1 track is well done, with great dialog replication up in the front of the room, and Thomas Newman’s score softly rippling throughout the surrounds and mains. Fidelity is crisp and sharp as a tack, with the sound of cab horns honking in the distance, or the distinctly soft clicking of heels on the dance floor coming throughout perfectly. Bass response is mostly relegated to Newman’s score (and of course with the plane taking off and landing), and while this isn’t going to shock and awe audiences, it is a perfect example of a well-done dramatic track that isn’t designed to be flashy.







Extras:

• 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
• NEW 4K Scan From The Original Camera Negative Supervised By Director Martin Brest

Final Score: ​

Scent of a Woman still stands up proud and tall over 30 years past its theatrical debut, and for good reason. I’ve heard that it comes off as a little preachy (and it does in the final speech at the Baird hearing committee, in my opinion), but I think most people who take that stance aren’t SEEING the seething anger from Frank Slade. He’s an incredibly proud man who has taken an incredible blow to his machismo over the years, and while he may sound preachy and a bit overbearing, it fits his character to a T. He’s proud, almost haughty, and he KNOWS that he’s messed up in life. But at the same time, he’s trapped inside his cycle of toxicity, desperately looking for a way out. So his teachings may come across as over the top as a result. The reality is, he IS that toxic and arrogant, so while he means well, his actions can be seen as overly dramatic and cheesy until you look at the character he’s playing and you realize just how well that type of portrayal fits these people. Shout! Studios has done a wonderful job with the new 4K scan from the OCN, and while I was a bit sad to see only a couple of extras, it certainly beats the Universal disc, which was completely barebones. Great Watch at the end of the day.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar, Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Directed by: Martin Brest
Written by: Giovanni Arpino, Bo Goldman, Ruggero Maccari
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Shout! Studios
Rated: R
Runtime: 157 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 27th, 2025

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'll take a flame thrower to this place!

One of the great all-time monologues.

Great cast - great flick. A Classic!