The Aviator
(
2004)
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Martin Scorsese
John Logan (written by)
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Genre:
Drama
Tagline: Some men dream the future. He built it.
Plot Outline: The script begins as a young Hughes directs one of Scorsese's favorite films,
Hell's Angels. Hughes was so obsessed with perfection in the aerial sequences that he waits forever for perfect
conditions, right down to cloud formations. The Aviator ends in 1946, when Hughes was still a dashing young man
and romancing actresses like Ava Gardner and Katharine Hepburn.
User Comments: Ambitious, Impeccably-Acted, DELIVERS
User Rating:
7.6/10 (17,982 votes)
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Leonardo DiCaprio
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Howard Hughes |
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Cate Blanchett
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Katharine Hepburn |
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Kate Beckinsale
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Ava Gardner |
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John C. Reilly
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Noah Dietrich |
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Alec Baldwin
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Juan Trippe |
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Alan Alda
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Senator Ralph Owen Brewster |
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Ian Holm
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Professor Fitz |
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Danny Huston
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Jack Frye |
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Gwen Stefani
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Jean Harlow |
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Jude Law
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Errol Flynn |
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Adam Scott
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Johnny Meyer |
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Matt Ross
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Glenn Odekirk |
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Kelli Garner
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Faith Domergue |
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Frances Conroy
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Mrs. Hepburn |
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Brent Spiner
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Robert Gross |
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MPAA: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity,
language and a crash sequence.
Runtime: 170 min
Country:
USA /
Japan /
Germany
Language:
English
Color:
Black and
White /
Color
Sound Mix:
DTS /
Dolby Digital
/
SDDS
Certification:
Argentina:13 /
Australia:M /
Brazil:12 /
Canada:14A
(Ontario) /
Canada:G
(Quebec) /
Canada:PG
(Alberta/British Columbia) /
Chile:TE /
Czech
Republic:15 /
Finland:K-11 /
Germany:12 /
Hong
Kong:IIA /
Ireland:12
(video rating) /
Ireland:15
(original rating) /
Netherlands:12 /
Norway:11 /
Philippines:PG-13
/
Singapore:PG /
Switzerland:10
(canton of Geneva) /
Switzerland:10
(canton of Vaud) /
Switzerland:14
(canton of Zurich) /
UK:12A
(original rating) /
UK:12
(video rating) (2005) /
USA:PG-13
(certificate #41156)
Trivia:
Michael Mann was originally going to direct the film, but having
directed back-to-back biopics
The Insider (1999) and
Ali (2001), he decided to produce instead, and offered the
script to
Martin Scorsese.
Goofs: Anachronisms: When Hughes meets Katharine Hepburn, she is filming a movie with Cary
Grant. Later, we see his record flight of 1935. Hepburn made no movies with Cary Grant before 1935.
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User Comments:
Ambitious, Impeccably-Acted, DELIVERS,
6 December 2004
Author:
gmorgan-4
from New York, New York
Martin Scorsese's most recent ambitious project does not disappoint.
I just saw this film in a special preview for NYU film students, with Martin Scorsese there to discuss
and answer questions after, and I must say, it was pretty phenomenal. It is Martin Scorsese's best work since
Goodfellas (this is obvious) and most probably his best work since Raging Bull. DiCaprio's character study of
Howard Hughes, and his devotion to this role, is exquisite and reminiscent even of Robert De Niro's in Raging
Bull. The film is lengthy, but this compliments it, for the story is riveting and the production is practically
flawless (even the combination of computerized processes and more traditional photography was smooth and
effective).
The presentation of the film, in an evolving color (from two-tone Technicolor, as Martin explained it to
us, to three-tone, to modern by the later sequences) is absolutely stunning, and the cinematography by renowned
Robert Richardson, ASC, is some of the best I've seen (and, in my opinion, deserving of an Oscar).
Cate Blanchett was impeccable as Katharine Hepburn, though, at times, I felt that the complexity of her
character was never really deeper than a surface analysis.
She did her role flawlessly, but this is not to say that it really Alec Baldwin portrayed one of the
flattest villains I've seen in a major motion picture, but, again, this is about Howard Hughes, and DiCaprio's
performance is worthy of an Oscar nod at least, and perhaps an Oscar Win (certainly the best performance I've
seen all year).
One of my few complaints, though, is the lengthy sequences featuring Howard Hughes as a solo aviator.
Though interesting, entertaining even, the film was long enough already, and did not require such an exhaustive
analysis of individual flight procedures.
Also, it seems that some of the themes were almost too redundant, such as the ways in which Hughes'
psychological problems were performed. Much of the Hollywood history is good, even interesting, but it also
sometimes seemed a bit self-indulgent, to the point where you questioned the necessity of ALL of those
nightclub sequences in the film.
But, besides those relatively few complaints, it is a spectacular film.
In all: do not miss it.
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