The Aviator
Germany, United States
2004
170 Min
Color, Black and White
2.35:1
English
Synopsis
The Aviator is a biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It is the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, drawn largely upon numerous sources including a biography by Charles Higham. The film centers on Hughes’ life from the late 1920s to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate while simultaneously growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Aviator was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning five, including one for actress Cate Blanchett. –Wikipedia
Director
Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese was born in New York City and soon developed a passion for cinema and a particular admiration for neo-realist cinema which inspired him and influenced his view or portrayal of his Sicilian heritage. After graduating from NYU Film School in 1966 and making a number of shorts, he shot his first feature-length film Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1968) with fellow student, actor Harvey Keitel, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom were to become long-term collaborators. Mean Streets followed in 1973 and provided the benchmarks for the ‘Scorsese style’. After Scorsese directed Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the trio was reunited for the dark journey of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. After New York, New York Scorsese released Raging Bull. The acclaimed biography of middleweight fighter Jake LaMotta was followed by exploration of fans as pariah in The King of Comedy, dark-comic dreams in After Hours and pool sharks in The Color of Money. Scorsese outraged some religious… read more
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Mike
2Mar12
The final scene is one of the finest moments in Scorsese's filmography. Howard, vocalizing his alienation with maddened repetition, is submerged in the darkness of the womb that tainted him. Scorsese frames DiCaprio in inescapable closeness, so that we cannot avoid his desperation. "The way of the future" is also the way of the past. Howard is lost in a psychological loop that has no clear beginning or end.
Mario Coelho likes this
David Grillo
13Feb12
This film is an incredible chronicle of a man who created a world all to his own. On the commentary track Scorsese talks about Icarus his interpretation being that Howard couldn't escape the labyrinth because the labyrinth was himself. This makes me think of the scene just before the ending when Noah Dietrich (John C. Riley) tells Howard " but Howard everybody works for you". They all did accept for the woman in his life for me it's what made it so extraordinary to see him so up against Hepburn, senator brewster , or that spruce goose.
Liam Brennan
20Jan12
Continuing with Scorsese/DiCaprio and their second outing. Scorsese delves deep into the dark demons which became the ruin of Howard Hughes. DiCaprio gives a wonderful performance and has strong support in another blindingly colourful epic. However it is Cate Blanchett who simply becomes Katharine Hepburn and was fully deserving of her Oscar. Quite a long movie but a wonderful character study all the same. 8/10
Lucyd likes this
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