Parfum de femme

It is some time since I have seen both versions of the film, but Dino Risi's original left an indelible mark, unlike the lightweight Hollywood incarnation. The dark, atmospheric "Profumo di Donna" showcases a powerful performance by Vitorrio Gassman - "non sono un leone" reverberates with the tragic realisation of a strong man defeated. Hollywood is so adept at picking a good story well told and churning it out in the familiar mould - big budget, big name lead - but, hey - horses for courses! Most English speaking viewers can't be discomfited to read subtitles and, unless a film is dubbed, would gladly deny its virtue.

Profumo di Donna might seem like a cheesy Italian romance and it does have its overly melodramatic moments, but due to the subtle acting of Gassman and the great chemistry between Gassman and Momo the movie has a well-balanced narration. It cannot simply be reduced to sex jokes and lewdness, although Fausto's jokes sometimes are rather crude. The writing is spot on and the message of a broken old army captain is fantastically presented against the backdrop of some of Italy's most beautiful cities.

Overall 7/10 Full review on movie-discourse.blogspot.de

I don't necessarily want to slam the Hollywood re-make of this, which was a decent film in its own right that finally gave Al Pacino a long-deserved Academy Award, but frankly this is the better film. Vittorio Gassman doesn't necessarily give a better performance than Pacino as the blind, disabled,and sex-obsessed military man, but his is a somewhat more low-key one that involves a little less scenery chewing. Moreover, Gassman's character comes off as more tragic and more realistic since this version really doesn't have misguided "redemptive" courtroom scene that the re-make did.

While largely unknown, the young Italian actor Alessandro Momo is far, far better than the deservedly washed-up Chris O'Donnell, who is the real weak link in the American film. Then there's Agostina Belli. Both Gabrielle Anwar in the re-make and Belli in this are achingly beautiful girls, but whereas Anwar has little more than a cameo in the Hollywood film, Belli has a much meatier role (not to mention some nice nude scenes). Basically where the re-make relies on Pacino's considerable acting talents and dialogue to "tell" about the character's haunting obsession with the "smell" of a female sex that is forever lost to him, this movie does a lot better job because it is not afraid to actually "show" it.

Finally, there is director Dino Risi, who American director Martin Ritt is frankly not fit to pull focus for. Risi is one of those unfortunate Italian directors (like Salvatore Samperi, Pasquale Festa, Massimo Dallamano, and Alberto Lattuada) who was not QUITE in the class of Fellini, Pasolini, or the Antonioni, and has therefore been undeservedly condemned to obscurity. Risi made at least two other very good films I've seen, both also with Gassman--the 60's film "Il Sorpasso" and the later genre film "Anima Perse"--but this is generally considered his masterpiece.

Even when they have someone as talented as Pacino on board, American re-makes sometimes equal but rarely improve on an original film like this because its originality is inevitably lost in the rush to "Americanize" it. I'd actually recommend EITHER of these movies to anybody, but make no mistake, this is the better one.

Only 2 User comments available at the time I decided to write this one and both of them negative. Both of them Typical American reaction to a European movie. A big misunderstanding. Yes, the Remake with Pacino is a good movie and nothing else. The original one, "Profumo di Donna" is a great masterpiece, and it makes a big difference. My piece of advice : do not try to watch "Profumo di Donna" with a Hollywood eye.

I just wanted to outline that Vittorio Gassman has been one of the most famous and skilled and talented Italian actor ever. Dino Risi has made a great direction, but I guess it has been easy with Gassman. Al Pacino is a great actor, but in this case, if we should make comparisons between the two, Gassman in the original and Pacino in the remake...Gassman is much more powerful. All characters in this original version seem to be much more real and strong, and seem to be much more appropriate to fit where this story comes from, the novel of Arpino. The soundtrack then is something no one should miss to notice: Trovaioli has been almost forgotten indeed.