The Aviator

[Kay Scarpetta]

Thoughts? Anyone see it? I wrote a review on it


Howard Hughes was one extraordinary and fascinating character, to say the least, and Leonardo DiCaprio did, in my opinion, a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination with his depiction of Hughes. DiCaprio, with the help of some apparently great makeup artists, took the Hughes character from young, vibrant, dynamic and enthusiastic to stressed, aged and literally freaked out by the onset of a compulsive disorder, among other mental disorders.

The portion of the story of Hughes' life that The Aviator delves into is a lot to work with. On top of that, though, director, Martin Scorsese, adds class to the movie by taking advantage of the fact that Hughes lived during a time when Hollywood was in it's Golden Era. Scorsese exploits and recreates Prime-Hollywood by giving us a delightful glimpse into the glitz and glamour of the gone-by era, and he does it with the advantage of today's technology, which makes the movie all that much more beautiful and interesting to watch.

Other fine performances I enjoyed in the film: Cate Blanchett as a glamorous but confused Audrey Hepburn. Kate Beckinsale as a beautiful, funny and charmingly assertive Ava Gardner. Alec Baldwin. Alan Alda as Senator Brewster (one of Hughes nemesis' who got his due slap-in-the-face and dethroning for crossing Hughes), and John C. Reilly as Hughes long time friend and business partner, Noah Dietrich

As historical/fictions go this one proves to be more accurate than most. If you are either only slightly acquainted with the story of Howard Hughes, or not at all acquainted with it, I'll post and recommend a web site to read if you would like to know more before going to see the movie. Or even if you have already seen The Aviator you might still find the site an interesting read.

Link about Hughes
http://www.channel4.com/history/micr...-h/hughes.html

[Nighthawk76]

It has been just a little more then a week since I saw Martin Scorsese's new film The Aviator. As a huge admierer of Scorsese's work, this was the film of 2004 that I looked forward to seeing more then any other. Scorsese is known for his gritty realistic approach to filmmaking that can be seen in such classics as Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990). His films are deeply personal explorations into the darker corners of life and center on the lives of disturbed personalities. Even his more mainstream movies like the 1986 sequal to The Hustler, The Color of Money and the 1991 Steven Spielberg-executive produced remake of Cape Fear still served up a dark look at the world around us.
In 2002 Scorsese directed his first big budget Hollywood film with The Gangs of New York starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a man out to avenge his father's death. Though flawed, as a result of a rather bland performance from DiCaprio, The Gangs of New York was still enjoyable. This is not the case with The Aviator. Costing over 100 million dollars to produce, The Aviator costed more them Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas put together. Sure enough the money is up there on the screen with stunning production design, thrilling action sequences (the film's most exciting moment is when Hughes crashes a plane into a Beverly Hills home) and period specific costumes. The Aviator is bigger then life in its dipiction of the golden age of Hollywood (ironic that Scorsese's only other real diaster was 1977's old styled musical New York, New York, which was also meant to pay homage to Hollywood's golden years) and features an over the top performance from DiCaprio as Howard Hughes.
I should probably admit upfront that I am not a fan of DiCaprio. When you think of all the great actors that Scorsese has worked with from his eight film callaboration with Robert De Niro to Harvey Keitel, Nicolas Cage, Joe Pesci, Paul Newman and Tom Cruise I wonder what he sees in DiCaprio who comes across to me as nothing more then a Hollywood pretty boy. I've never been able to buy into any part that he has ever played because he is never convincing in any part.
Back to the film though. The Aviator perfectly captures the glitz of Hollywood. The fact that this film so well captures the glitz and glamor of Hollywood shows how made up and phony that Hollywood really is. The biggest problem with The Aviator is that it is so glitzy and glamouris that it doesn't feel like a Martin Scorsese film. The film lacks his New York filmmaker sensibilities, it lacks his gritty realism and most of all it lacks his passion. If I could sum this film up in one sentence it is that The Aviator is a beautifully produced but passionless film.

[Mijada]

I loved the film. The entire cast was very good. I especially liked Cate Blanchetts portrayal of Katharine Hepburn. I was wondering if she would be able to pull it off of not. She did a great job IMO.

[Janice]

I saw The Aviator today, and I really enjoyed it. I don't think it needed to be as long as it was though. Leonardo DiCaprio delivered an incredible performance. He's very talented. I've always enjoyed his work. He was nominated for an Oscar at age 16 for What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

For anyone who needs proof of DiCaprio's acting talent, look no further than Basketball Diaries, This Boy's Life, Marvin's Room, Catch Me If You Can, etc, etc. I'd love to see him win the Best Actor Oscar for The Aviator.

The Aviator has wonderful production values. If it's nominated for set design or costume, it should win. The film captured the essence of the 30s and 40s perfectly.

[Cactus Jack]

I havent seen it yet but Im going to soon!