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The
Aviator
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Produced by: Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, Charles
Evans Jr.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale,
Alec Baldwin, John C. Reiley, Alan Alda, Gwen
Stefani, Jude Law
Released by: Warner Bros.
Pictures and Miramax Films
In
Short: Brilliant entertainment piece
loosely representing the life of equally
brilliant Howard Hughes. |
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Soaring
Sensation
Ambitious
Aviator Goes the Distance
By
Cherie Saunders
Leonardo
DiCaprio teams with director Martin Scorsese for another
outstanding picture, which won five Academy Awards for
Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing
and Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett. DiCaprio stars
as billionaire industrialist, movie producer and aviator
Howard Hughes, one of the most compelling figures of the
20th century, who became even more noted for his odd behavior
near the end of his years.
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Following his life from the mid-1920s through the 1940s,
“The Aviator” begins on the set of his groundbreaking
film, “Hell’s Angels.” Barely out of
his teens, Hughes used the inherited fortune from his
dad’s drill bit company to fund the World War I
dogfight-themed epic. The movie broke new ground in filmmaking,
and plunged him into the world of celebrity. His revolving
door of starlet paramours included a feisty Katherine
Hepburn, captured beautifully by Cate Blanchett, and a
strong-willed Ava Gardner, portrayed with grace by Kate
Beckinsale. Pop singer Gwen Stefani makes a brief appearance
as Jean Harlow, Hughes’ date to his first movie
premiere.
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His obsession with being grandiose in his filmmaking and
romantic life also presented itself in his aviation ambitions.
Founding Hughes Aircraft Company and breaking several
speed records, Hughes also became the most prolific American
flyer since Charles Lindbergh. He buys TWA airlines in
the 1930s and does battle with Pan American Airways’
head, Juan Trippe, played by Alec Baldwin. Intent on moving
America into the Jet Age, his obsession with being bigger
and better also fuels his attempt to build the largest
plane in the world. Sadly, his fiercely competitive personality
was rooted in an undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder
that led to a number of phobias and his ultimate retreat
from the world.
Scorsese, who directed DiCaprio in 2002’s “Gangs
of New York,” gets another breathtaking performance
from the 30-year-old actor, while using cinematic innovations
to bring the time period to life. Also starring Jude Law
as Errol Flynn, “The Aviator” simply soars,
taking the careers of DiCaprio and his co-stars to thrilling
new heights.
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How
do you bash a movie that garnered five Academy Awards?
Well, if you are a fan of aviation and an admirer
of Howard Hughes, it’s quite easy. “The
Aviator” is a total disgrace and an insult
to one of the greatest men of the last century,
and contains mostly erroneous information and anachronisms
when it comes to flying. There is so little in fact
about Hughes’ aviation achievements (he possessed
most aviation records of that time, including his
around the country and world flights, as well as
numerous inventions and patents) that one wonders
how the producers dared name the movie “The
Aviator.” Certainly aviation and air transport
would not be what they are today without Hughes’
contributions. Important details about his life
were also omitted, like the fact that he was married
when he arrived in Los Angeles and that despite
his illnesses and phobias, he continued to develop
businesses and grow richer in his reclusive days.
Hughes achieved all this short of a miracle, considering
the ample airplane and automobile crashes he suffered
causing severe head injuries. There is not doubt
that for entertainment purposes the movie did well,
but…
Book
recommendation: Should you want to read about the
real Howard Hughes, here are a couple books to set
you in the right direction:
  Howard
Hughes' Airline: An Informal History of TWA
by Robert J. Serling
Howard
Hughes: Aviator
by George J. Marrett
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