Scent of a Woman

Scent of a Woman

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

Genre: Drama
Director(s): Martin Brest
Production: Universal Pictures
  Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 14 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.0
Metacritic:
59
Rotten Tomatoes:
88%
R (Restricted)
Year:
1992
157
64,451 Views

Freddie Bisco:
Yeah, this is a valid Oregon driver's license. And we let appropriate customers test-drive the Testarossa. But you're seventeen years old and you're riding with a blind companion. That we don't do. This is a $190,000 piece of machinery; I'm not letting it out this door.

Charlie:
Well, how about this one over here?

Freddie:
That's a Cabriolet t; the same deal! You think I'm gonna let an unaccompanied kid get behind the wheel of a $110,000 car?

Col. Slade:
He will not be unaccompanied. I'll be with him. I'm his father.

Freddie Bisco:
You're his father?

Col. Slade:
Yeah.

Freddie Bisco:
I have an idea. Why don't I take your father for a test drive?

Col. Slade:
What's your quota, Freddie?

Freddie Bisco:
Don't worry about my quota, I do very well.

Col. Slade:
How many Ferraris you sold this month?

Freddie Bisco:
That's not relevant to this discussion.

Col. Slade:
Freddie, the Eighties are over. You tryin' to tell me these things are just walkin' outta the store?

Freddie Bisco:
This is a Ferrari, sir. This is the finest piece of machinery made in the automobile industry.

Col. Slade:
Well, if you like it so much, why don't you sleep with it? Why are you selling it?

Freddie Bisco:
I'd love to accommodate you, but-

Col. Slade:
If this car performs the way I expect it to, you will get a certified check of $101,000 and change when you come in here tomorrow morning.

Freddie Bisco:
That's $109,000 plus $950, plus tax.

Col. Slade:
Freddie, for you- one-oh-seven, all in. Plus a case of champagne. Go with your leftover turkey. Whaddya say? Don't worry about the boy. He drives so smooth, you can boil an egg on the engine. When we bring the car back, I'll peel the egg for you.

Freddie Bisco:
Listen, you've made me laugh, but I can't let the car go out.

Col. Slade:
Want a deposit?

Freddie Bisco:
This is not an installment item, sir.

Col. Slade:
[Takes Bisco aside] Freddie. You're no spring chicken, are you?

Freddie Bisco:
Well, you know what they call me at the home office. "The Gray Ghost." You know why they still keep me around? There's no kid here who can move a Ferrari like I can. I'm known from coast to coast like butter and toast. Ask anybody about Freddie Bisco. When I get a Ferrari- [Snaps his fingers] -out the door.

Col. Slade:
Ha! You just made me laugh, Freddie. [Holds up a folded set of bills] $2,000. Unless you take it you're gonna make me cry. [Bisco hesitates, then takes the money.] I'm a Gray Ghost, too.

Col. Slade:
You break my heart, son. All my life I stood up to everyone and everything because it made me feel important. You do it... because you mean it. You got integrity, Charlie. I don't know whether to shoot you, or adopt you.

Charlie:
Not much of a choice, is it, sir?

Col. Slade:
Oh, don't get cute, son.

Charlie:
Colonel, could you please put the gun away?

Col. Slade:
I asked you a question. Do you want me to adopt you, or don't you?

Charlie:
Please, I mean... you're just in a slump right now.

Col. Slade:
Slump? No slump, Charlie. I'm bad. I'm not bad, no; I'm rotten.

Charlie:
You're not bad. You're just in pain.

Col. Slade:
What do you know about pain? You little snail dart from the Pacific Northwest? F*** you know about pain?

Charlie:
Lemme have the gun, Colonel.

[Charlie steps forward; Slade c*cks the M1911.]

Col. Slade:
No time to grow a dick, son.

Charlie:
Just-just gimme the gun, all right, Colonel?

Col. Slade:
I'm talkin' a parade ground. Ten-hut! [Charlie moves forward again.] Soldier, that was a direct order.

Charlie:
The gun.

Col. Slade:
You can stay or you can leave.

Charlie:
I'm staying.

Col. Slade:
Either way, I'm gonna do this thing. Now why don't you leave, and spare yourself?

'Charlie:
Let me have the gun, Colonel.

Col. Slade:
I'm gonna give myself a count. You need a count for balance. Five... four... three... two... one... F*** it. [As Slade raises the M1911 to his temple, Charlie charges him, and the two struggle over the pistol. Slade quickly overpowers Charlie and pins him against a wall.] GET OUTTA HERE!

Charlie:
I'm staying right here!

Col. Slade:
GET OUTTA HERE!

Charlie:
I'm staying right here!

Col. Slade:
I'm gonna blow your f***in' head off!

Charlie:
Then do it! You wanna do it, do it! Let's go!

Col. Slade:
Get outta here!

Charlie:
So you f***ed up, alright? So what?! Everybody does! Get on with your life, would you?!

Col. Slade:
WHAT LIFE?! I GOT NO LIFE! I'm in the dark here, understand?! I'm in the dark!

Charlie:
Then give up. You wanna give up? Give up. 'Cause I'm givin' up, too. You said I'm through; you're right, I am through. We're both through, it's all over. So get on with it. Let's f***in' do it! Let's f***in'- pull the trigger, you miserable, blind motherf***er!

Col. Slade:
Here we go, Charlie.

Charlie:
I'm ready.

Col. Slade:
You don't wanna die.

Charlie:
Neither do you.

Col. Slade:
Give me one reason not to.

Charlie:
I'll give you two. You can dance the tango and drive a Ferrari better than anyone I've ever seen.

Col. Slade:
[Lowers the pistol] You haven't seen anyone do either.

Trask:
I'm going to recommend to the Disciplinary Committee... that you be expelled, Mr. Simms. You are a coverup artist and you are a liar.

Col. Slade:
But not a snitch!

Trask:
Excuse me?

Col. Slade:
No, I don't think I will.

Trask:
Mr. Slade...

Col. Slade:
This is such a crock of sh*t!

Trask:
Please watch your language, Mr. Slade. You are in the Baird School, not a barracks. Mr. Simms, I will give you one final opportunity to speak up-

Col. Slade:
Mr. Simms doesn't want it. He doesn't need to be labeled, "still worthy of being a 'Baird Man.'" What the hell is that? What is your motto here? "Boys, inform on your classmates, save your hide. Anything short of that, we're gonna burn you at the stake."? Well, gentlemen! When the sh*t hits the fan, some guys run and some guys stay. Here's Charlie, facing the fire, and there's George, hiding in Big Daddy's pocket. And what are you doing? You're gonna reward George, and destroy Charlie.

Trask:
Are you finished, Mr. Slade?

Col. Slade:
No, I'm just gettin' warmed up. I don't know who went to this place, William Howard Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell, whoever. Their spirit is dead; if they ever had one, it's gone. You're building a rat ship here, a vessel for sea-going snitches. And if you think you're preparing these minnows for manhood, you better think again. Because I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills! What a sham! What kind of show are you guys puttin' on here today? I mean, the only class in this act is sittin' next to me. And I'm here to tell you, this boy's soul is intact. It's non-negotiable. You know how I know? Someone here — and I'm not gonna say who — offered to buy it. Only Charlie here wasn't selling.

Mr.Trask:
Sir, you're out of order! [Bangs his gavel]

Col. Slade:
Out of order? I'll show you out of order! You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too f***in' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order?! Who the hell you think you're talking to?! I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see! And I have seen- boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off! But there is nothin like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is... no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot-soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executing his soul! And why? Because he's not a "Baird man". Baird men. You hurt this boy, you're going to be Baird bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there- f*** you, too!

Mr. Trask:
[Bangs his gavel repeatedly] Stand down, Mr. Slade!

Col. Slade:
I'm not finished! As I came in here, I heard those words, "cradle of leadership". Well, when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here, it has fallen! Makers of men, creators of leaders- be careful what kind of leaders you're producing here. I don't know if Charlie's silence here today is right or wrong; I'm not a judge or jury. But I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his future! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. [pause] Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was; without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too...damn... hard. Now here's Charlie, he's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle, that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey. You hold this boy's future in your hands, Committee! It's a valuable future. Believe me! Don't destroy it! Protect it. Embrace it. It's gonna make you proud one day, I promise you. [sits down, round of applause from audience] How's that for cornball?


Share your thoughts on Scent of a Woman's quotes with the community:

2 Comments
  • Mark Berry
    Mark Berry
    Is there a line in this movie about Frank's family just waiting for him to die?
    LikeReply5 years ago
  • Gbenga Ojo
    Gbenga Ojo
    Best movie quotes ever
    LikeReply 25 years ago

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