The Aviator (2004)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer (WGA):

John Logan (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

For some men, the sky was the limit. For him, it was just the beginning.

Plot:

A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | WWII | Aviation | 1920s | Fight

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 64 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Howard Hughes
Cate Blanchett	...	Katharine Hepburn
Kate Beckinsale	...	Ava Gardner
John C. Reilly	...	Noah Dietrich
Alec Baldwin	...	Juan Trippe
Alan Alda	...	Senator Ralph Owen Brewster
Ian Holm	...	Professor Fitz
Danny Huston	...	Jack Frye
Gwen Stefani	...	Jean Harlow
Jude Law	...	Errol Flynn
Adam Scott	...	Johnny Meyer
Matt Ross	...	Glenn Odekirk
Kelli Garner	...	Faith Domergue
Frances Conroy	...	Mrs. Hepburn
Brent Spiner	...	Robert Gross

Also Known As:

Aviator (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and a crash sequence.

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | France:U | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:12 | Ireland:12 (video rating) | Ireland:15 (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2005) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41156) | Indonesia:Dewasa | Sweden:11 | South Korea:15 | Denmark:11

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Forward Pass

Trivia:

Several changes were made in the movie to the relationship between Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes. Hepburn did not in fact leave Howard for 'Spencer Tracy'. The two broke up long before she had met Spencer Tracy. And lastly, Katharine Hepburn's brother committed suicide when she was little, not during her years as a star.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Howard rolls out the "Spruce Goose" at the dinner party, the plane's eight engines are shown with propellers spinning, then seen from a different angle they are not spinning, and then back to a head-on shot they are spinning again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Allene Hughes: Q-u-a-r-a-n-t-i-n-e.
Young Howard Hughes: Quarantine. Q-u-a-r-a-n-t-i-n-e. Quarantine.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "HBO First Look: The Departed: Facing a Loaded Gun (#13.15)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Blue Skies

The Katharine Hepburn Show.

Before Howard Hughes was a recluse so reclusive as to out-Salinger J.D. Salinger, he was a big time stud, who made big movies, flew fast planes, and courted gorgeous ladies; so say Martin Scorsese and John Logan, architects of this latest Hollywood biopic.' Leonardo DiCaprio continues his trend of turning in great performances with great directors, playing Howard Hughes between 1927 and 1947, the years where Hughes conquered the worlds of film and aviation, making room for romance with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). In later years, Hughes's mental problems would become legendary; at this stage in the game, he suffers only from pronounced germ phobia and mild obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is all expertly depicted by Scorsese, Logan, and DiCaprio. Stealing all her scenes is Cate Blanchett, who should start making room on her mantle for her Best Supporting Actress Oscar. It couldn't have been easy to play an iconic movie star like Katharine Hepburn, but Blanchett aces it. Kate Beckinsale, Kelli Garner (Faith Demorgue), and Gwen Stefani (Jean Harlow) are the other women in Howard's life, although none are as clearly defined as Blanchett/Hepburn. The villains of the piece are Alec Baldwin and Alan Alda, playing, respectively, Pan-American Airways CEO Juan Trippe and Trippe's bought-and-paid-for politician, Senator Ralph Owen Brewster. Both excel, with Alda coming off as both slimy and goofy at the same time. Alec Baldwin, like Cate Blanchett, steals every scene he has, playing Trippe as a delightfully suave villain. In his final scene he delivers a wonderful monologue on the future of Hughes's Trans-World Airline, and caps it off with the most hysterical use of the F word in many years. Also appearing: the dependable John C. Reilly as Hughes's business manager Noah Dietrich; Jude Law, who apparently can't go two weeks without seeing himself in a different movie, as movie legend Errol Flynn; Brent Spiner (yay!) as airplane executive Robert Gross; and Willem Dafoe as a photographer. "The Aviator" is overlong, and drags in places, but it is a great movie. I rate it a 9/10.