The Aviator Movie Review 2004

Scorsese's sweeping, rich biopic of eccentric movie producer/aviation pioneer Howard Hughes soars on many levels. The film follows Hughes from maverick producer taking Hollywood by storm in the '20s through his successes in aviation and the founding of TWA, and finally battling Pan Am and Congress in the '40s. Di Caprio, in full-on movie idol mode, captures the drive and intensity of Hughes, letting the audience see glimpses of the coming breakdown, but mostly keeping it bubbling below the surface (until a slightly over-the-top sequence about 90 minutes in). Blanchett also shines in a dazzling portrayal of Katharine Hepburn. Scorsese's eye for detail and love of Old Hollywood serve the proceedings well, providing fascinating peeks into the workings of the old studio system, the testing and building of experimetal aircraft, and the wheeling and dealing of high-stakes politics.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 166 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Biopics: Showbiz, True Stories, L.A., Showbiz Dramas, Period Piece: 1930s, Period Piece: 1940s, At the Movies, Period Piece: 1920s, Capitol Capers

Screenplay

John Logan

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, Jude Law, Adam Scott, Matt Ross, Kelli Garner, Frances Conroy, Brent Spiner, Stanley DeSantis, Edward Herrmann, Willem Dafoe, J.C. MacKenzie, Kenneth Walsh, Amy Sloan, Kevin O'Rourke

Cinematography

Robert Richardson

Director

Martin Scorsese

Music

Howard Shore

Other

Petur Hliddal, Thelma Schoonmaker, Luca Trachino, Sandy Powell, Dante Ferretti

Producer

Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, Charles Evans, Forward Pass Productions, Initial Entertainment Group, Miramax

Awards

Oscars 2004: Art Dir./Set Dec., Cinematog., Costume Des., Film Editing, Support. Actress (Blanchett); British Acad. 2004: Film, Makeup, Support. Actress (Blanchett); Golden Globes 2005: Actor--Drama (DiCaprio), Film--Drama, Orig. Score; Screen Actors Guild 2004: Support. Actress (Blanchett).