Scent of a Woman: The Al Pacino Classic Makes Its 4K Debut (4K/Blu-ray)

The Film:

33 years ago, Director Martin Brest delivered a film that many consider to be the highlight of his career, "Scent of a Woman" (adapted by Bo Goldman from the Italian novel "Darkness and Honey"), a popular work that has a rather interesting reputation. At the time, the film was quite the awards darling, receiving four Golden Globe nominations (winning three for Motion Picture - Drama, Screenplay, and Actor) and four Oscar nominations (winning just one for Best Actor, which finally gave Al Pacino a win after several previous nominations), but strangely enough, it received a surprisingly mixed reaction from critics.

That said, the film seems to have enjoyed a strongly positive reaction from the public over the decades (after all, it was a pretty big box office hit in 1992 and has great viewer ratings), which is no doubt why Shout! Studios has opted to add it to their "Shout Select" series and give it a wonderful 4K upgrade for a new Collector's Edition release. So now, as usual, it's time to go back and revisit this intriguing classic to see how well it's held up over all these years.

The film opens by introducing us to Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a student on a scholarship at the prestigious Baird prep school. In order to make some money for a plane ticket back home for Christmas, he takes a weekend job that involves looking after Frank Slade (Al Pacino), a retired Lt. Colonel who's blind, contentious, and has a drinking problem. Shortly before he takes the job, Charlie finds himself in a sticky situation where he witnessed a few fellow students put together a prank that they pulled on the headmaster. He believes Charlie saw who did it and even attempts to bribe him with admission to Harvard, which gives the young man a lot to think about over the coming Thanksgiving weekend.

What Charlie thought was going to be a somewhat easy gig ends up getting rather complicated because, as soon as his family leaves, Frank has them both on a plane headed to New York City. After they settle into their room at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, they go to dinner, where Frank reveals his intentions, which include staying at a luxurious hotel, having a nice meal & wine, making love to a beautiful woman, visiting his brother, and finally, committing suicide, adding another major problem to Charlie's already-worrisome situation. With a disciplinary board meeting waiting for him first thing on Monday, Charlie must carefully navigate the rest of the weekend in an effort to solve both dilemmas.

"Scent of A Woman" is one of those films that I've seen a couple of times over the years, and have fond memories of watching, so it's wonderful to have the excuse to revisit it after so long. Seeing it again after so many years shows that it's just as enjoyable as it ever was, though perhaps not without a flaw or two, but even so, its main delight lies in watching this intriguing relationship develop between a cantankerous retired Army officer and a young man facing a difficult situation. Sure, it's not a relationship that holds many surprises, as you can tell that it's going to lead to a special friendship with mutual respect, but the characters themselves, with their own specific issues, help significantly in making it one that holds the audience's attention.

Also helping quite a bit in that endeavor is Al Pacino's outstanding, Oscar-winning performance as a man who's grown tired of how his life has turned out, seeking to end it all after a few days of final hoorahs (or should that be final "hoo-ahs"?). His character transformation is somewhat subtle throughout, but the change is there, brought about by his experiences in New York City with Charlie, and ultimately leading to the aforementioned special connection that develops between the two. His Oscar win may have been slightly controversial to some (there are those who think that it was more a "career Oscar" than a deserved win, while other believe that Denzel Washington should've won for "Malcolm X"), but as far as this critic is concerned, the accolade was very much earned.

As far as the criticisms against the film, the main one that stands out as having some merit is that it does indeed run a little too long at over two and a half hours. There wasn't really any reason for a film like this to be anywhere near that long, especially when there are several sequences that feel like they were deleted scenes that were left in the final cut for some reason, including sequences where Frank & Charlie go out and test drive a Ferrari, and another where Frank tangos with a random woman they encounter while out for dinner. Scenes like this clearly could've been cut to bring it down to a more reasonable runtime, but even with their inclusion, they don't end up hurting the impact of the film too much.

Other criticisms have been made about its pacing (which ties back into its somewhat excessive length) and Frank's lack of growth as a character (which doesn't really hold up as a valid assessment), but whether you believe any of these to be true or not, they certainly haven't stopped audiences from enjoying the film for the last 33 years, and for good reason. It's a captivating story with characters that actually make you care, featuring a commanding, unforgettable performance from the legendary Al Pacino. It may have a slightly excessive runtime, but when all is said and done, it's two and a half hours that are definitely well-spent.

Video/Audio:

The Collector's Edition of "Scent of a Woman" comes with the film on both 4K (2160p, UHD) and Blu-ray (1080p, HD) in 1.85:1 transfers of outstanding quality. The new 4K scan from the original camera negative, supervised by director Martin Brest himself, presents a picture that's beautifully sharp & clear, making the film look new again. Likewise, the 5.1 Surround & 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue and music in excellent quality. Overall, Shout! Studios has done a wonderful job in both areas for this new release of the film.

Special Features:

One Last Tour of the Battlefield: Directing Scent of a Woman (51 Minutes): An excellent extensive retrospective with director Martin Brest in which he discusses his career and the film.

Just Tango On: Editing Scent of a Woman (21 Minutes): A fascinating look back with co-editor Michael Tronick in which he discusses his work on the film.

Conclusion:

Martin Brest's "Scent of a Woman" may run a little too long at 157 minutes, but that doesn't stop it from being a rather captivating story, featuring intriguing characters that form a special bond of mutual respect, as well as a commanding, unforgettable, and Oscar-winning performance from the legendary Al Pacino, ultimately making it a classic that continues to be well-worth revisiting.

Score: 3.5/5

Available on 4K/Blu-ray starting today.

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