An epic biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920's to the mid-1940's.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085393893927
Amazon.com:
From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction and costume design suggests an impassioned pursuit of craftsmanship from a bygone era; every frame seems to glow with gilded detail. And while DiCaprio bears little physical resemblance to Hughes during the film's 20-year span (late 1920s to late '40s), he efficiently captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy essence, and his tragic descent into obsessive-compulsive seclusion. Bolstered by Cate Blanchett's uncannily accurate portrayal of Katharine Hepburn as Hughes' most beloved lover, The Aviator is easily Scorsese's most accessible film, inviting mainstream popularity without compromising Scorsese's artistic reputation. As compelling crowd-pleasers go, it's a class act from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Features In his commentary track, director Martin Scorsese offers his own impressions of Howard Hughes and rattles off his memories of experiencing Hughes's films. He mentions how he made Cate Blanchett watch every Katharine Hepburn film from the '30s on the big screen, and observes that Kate Beckinsale had "a real sense of the stature of a Hollywood goddess." But in general he doesn't talk much about the craft of making the film. That area is covered better by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who also appears on the commentary track, and producer Michael Mann makes a few appearances (all were recorded separately). The picture is brilliant, but the 5.1 sound is not as aggressive in the rear speakers and subwoofer as one might expect, other than some nice surround effects in the Hell's Angels flying sequence.
The second disc collects almost three hours of features. There's one unnecessary deleted scene, and an 11-minute making-of featurette that's basically the cast and director heaping praise on each other. More interesting are the short featurettes on visual effects (including the XF-11 scene, of course), production design, costumes, hair and makeup, and score, and Loudon Wainwright discusses his and his children's musical performances. Historical perspective is provided by spotlights on Hughes's role in aviation and his obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a 43-minute Hughes documentary from the History Channel (part of the Modern Marvels series, it focuses on his mechanical innovations and spends less than a minute on his movies). More unusual are DiCaprio and Scorsese's appearance on an OCD panel, and a half-hour interview segment DiCaprio did with Alan Alda. --David Horiuchi
The Personalities of The Aviator
Click the links to explore more movies by these stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes "Sometimes I truly fear that I... am losing my mind. And if I did it... it would be like flying blind."
Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn Howard Hughes: "You're the tallest woman I have ever met." Katharine Hepburn: "And all sharp elbows and knees. Beware."
Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner Howard Hughes: "Does that look clean to you?" Ava Gardner: "Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best, right?"
Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow Jean Harlow in Hell's Angels: "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?"
Jude Law as Errol Flynn Errol Flynn in Captain Blood: "Up the riggings, you monkeys! Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's carrying us all to freedom!"
Director Martin Scorsese "You get a sense of Howard Hughes being Icarus with the wax wings. Those wings were great for a while, but he flies too close to the sun." --Martin Scorsese
Other Movies by The Aviator's Oscar® Winners
Production Designer Dante Ferretti Film Editor Thelma Schoonmaker Costume Designer Sandy Powell Cinematographer Robert Richardson See all the Oscar® winners at Oscar Central
The Aviator at Amazon.com
The Aviator soundtrack
The Screenplay
Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator
Howard Hughes movies
Great movies of the 1930s
The films of Martin Scorsese
Customer Reviews:
Rating: Date: 2008-07-01 One of the Greatest Bio-Pics... I can't believe this movie receives so many poor reviews. While it is not Scorsese's best, it is still very impressive and quite epic. Howard Hughes remains a mysterious character whose biographies are usually based on speculation rather than truth. Scorsese has done an amazing job of showing one adaptation of Hughes' life from his ambitious beginnings as a filmmaker to his later contributions to the world of aviation. Due to another impressive performance from DiCaprio, Hughes' obsessive-compulsive disorder is shown as both his biggest fault and at times his biggest asset. But the most impressive acting in the film is Cate Blanchett's role as Katherine Hepburn, one of the most famous (and yet still mysterious) actresses in movie history. Blanchett is very convincing as Hepburn, almost as if she had found some way to become possessed by Kate Hepburn's spirit as she frolicked through each of her scenes with biting wit and attractive charm that is shared by both Hepburn and Blanchett, winning her the Oscar she deserved for this role. All together a great film with some stunning visuals, outstanding performances, and a time capsule glimpse into movie history, a film you may want to watch again and again.
I can't believe this movie receives so many poor reviews. While it is not Scorsese's best, it is still very impressive and quite epic. Howard Hughes remains a mysterious character whose biographies are usually based on speculation rather than truth. Scorsese has done an amazing job of showing one adaptation of Hughes' life from his ambitious beginnings as a filmmaker to his later contributions to the world of aviation.
Due to another impressive performance from DiCaprio, Hughes' obsessive-compulsive disorder is shown as both his biggest fault and at times his biggest asset. But the most impressive acting in the film is Cate Blanchett's role as Katherine Hepburn, one of the most famous (and yet still mysterious) actresses in movie history. Blanchett is very convincing as Hepburn, almost as if she had found some way to become possessed by Kate Hepburn's spirit as she frolicked through each of her scenes with biting wit and attractive charm that is shared by both Hepburn and Blanchett, winning her the Oscar she deserved for this role.
All together a great film with some stunning visuals, outstanding performances, and a time capsule glimpse into movie history, a film you may want to watch again and again.
Rating: Date: 2008-06-21 Amazing..... An incredible film that I have found very re-watchable. A brilliant cast, who I am sure, received brilliant direction from Martin Scorcese. Leonardo Dicaprio did an outstanding job in his portrayal of Howard Hughes. This is a thorougly engrossing film that comes highly recommended.....a SOLID 5 stars.
Rating: Date: 2008-05-24 Aviator I bought this DVD for my husbands birthday and he loved it. Recieved on time and brand new
Rating: Date: 2008-05-07 Marty & Leo make Hughes fly! This is probably a milestone in Leonardo DiCaprio's acting history!! Outside of this being his second film with Scorsese, the film marks a definite maturity in his acting that I haven't seen even in their first colloboration, the flawed "Gangs of New York" (though Day-Lewis was superb in it). Especially in HD DVD, the scenes are glitzy and the sound is phenomenal especially in the near fatal plane crash of Hughes which the director filmed to perfection. If you loved the era of the 30's and 40's (I'm sure Scorsese does too), you'll love the details in this off-beat bio. Cate Blanchette is superb also in her Oscar winning role as Katherine Hepburn. So 4 stars for cast & director and 5 for the HD transfer. In total 4 and half stars!! Also take note of how Scorsese changes the color transfer from old 2-strip Technicolor to the more conventional color scheme of today--this is meant to quell people who complain of his use of color in their criticisms of this fine film.
Rating: Date: 2008-02-29 Inspiration Howard Hughs is a total inspiration. He had so many blocks in his life, but he did not let them destroy him. He had his dreams and nothing would stop him from achieving them. I watch this movie when I feel that life is blocking me. If Howard could do it, I can, too.
If you'd rather see information unrelated to the aviator (two-disc special edition), try a Search.
From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction and costume design suggests an impassioned pursuit of craftsmanship from a bygone era; every frame seems to glow with gilded detail. And while DiCaprio bears little physical resemblance to Hughes during the film's 20-year span (late 1920s to late '40s), he efficiently captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy essence, and his tragic descent into obsessive-compulsive seclusion. Bolstered by Cate Blanchett's uncannily accurate portrayal of Katharine Hepburn as Hughes' most beloved lover, The Aviator is easily Scorsese's most accessible film, inviting mainstream popularity without compromising Scorsese's artistic reputation. As compelling crowd-pleasers go, it's a class act from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon
