IMDb > The Aviator (2004)
The Aviator
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The Aviator (2004) More at IMDbPro »

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The Aviator (2004) -- A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.
The Aviator (2004) -- A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.
The Aviator (2004) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   75,517 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writer (WGA):

John Logan (written by)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Aviator on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA) more

Genre:

Biography | Drama more

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 64 nominations more

User Comments:

Ambitious, Impeccably-Acted, DELIVERS more (729 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Aviator (Germany)
more

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

170 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

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

Company:

Forward Pass more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

During a love scene between Katharine and Howard, the song "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" plays in the background. This is likely an in-joke/homage to Bringing Up Baby (1938), in which Katharine Hepburn sings the same song to a leopard. more

Goofs:

Continuity: Hughes inspects a rudder while talking to Dietrich, but neither he or Dietrich are in the shot when we cut to a frontal view of the plane, even though we still hear Hughes talk. more

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.
more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006) more

Soundtrack:

Ou Est Tu, Mon Amour? more


FAQ

Is "The Aviator" a true story?
more
237 out of 389 people found the following comment useful.
Ambitious, Impeccably-Acted, DELIVERS, 6 December 2004
8/10
Author: gmorgan-4 from New York, New York

Martin Scorsese's most recent ambitious project does not disappoint.

I just saw this film in a special preview for NYU film students, with Martin Scorsese there to discuss and answer questions after, and I must say, it was pretty phenomenal. It is Martin Scorsese's best work since Goodfellas (this is obvious) and most probably his best work since Raging Bull. DiCaprio's character study of Howard Hughes, and his devotion to this role, is exquisite and reminiscent even of Robert De Niro's in Raging Bull. The film is lengthy, but this compliments it, for the story is riveting and the production is practically flawless (even the combination of computerized processes and more traditional photography was smooth and effective).

The presentation of the film, in an evolving color (from two-tone Technicolor, as Martin explained it to us, to three-tone, to modern by the later sequences) is absolutely stunning, and the cinematography by renowned Robert Richardson, ASC, is some of the best I've seen (and, in my opinion, deserving of an Oscar).

Cate Blanchett was impeccable as Katharine Hepburn, though, at times, I felt that the complexity of her character was never really deeper than a surface analysis.

She did her role flawlessly, but this is not to say that it really Alec Baldwin portrayed one of the flattest villains I've seen in a major motion picture, but, again, this is about Howard Hughes, and DiCaprio's performance is worthy of an Oscar nod at least, and perhaps an Oscar Win (certainly the best performance I've seen all year).

One of my few complaints, though, is the lengthy sequences featuring Howard Hughes as a solo aviator. Though interesting, entertaining even, the film was long enough already, and did not require such an exhaustive analysis of individual flight procedures.

Also, it seems that some of the themes were almost too redundant, such as the ways in which Hughes' psychological problems were performed. Much of the Hollywood history is good, even interesting, but it also sometimes seemed a bit self-indulgent, to the point where you questioned the necessity of ALL of those nightclub sequences in the film.

But, besides those relatively few complaints, it is a spectacular film.

In all: do not miss it.

3.5/4

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