Product Description
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Aviator, The (DVD) (WS)
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes, the billionaire, the
filmmaker, the recluse and The Aviator. After inheriting his
her's machine tool company, the young Howard Hughes discovers
he can combine his passions--flying, moviemaking and women--by
coming to Hollywood. In 1930, while building one of the world's
largest aviation companies, Hughes produces Hell's Angels, a
perfectionist's homage to World War I flyers. The man who
eventually produces almost 30 films shocks society with The
Outlaw, starring buxom Jane Russell, builds the world's largest
airplane, sets the world speed record and invents the half-cup
bra.
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From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering
conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator
celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old
school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is
evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his
prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his
technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical
filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using
state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight
scenes (including one of the most spectacular ces ever
filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction and
costume design suggests an impassioned pursuit of craftsmanship
from a bygone era; every frame seems to glow with gilded detail.
And while DiCaprio bears little physical resemblance to Hughes
during the film's 20-year span (late 1920s to late '40s), he
efficiently captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy
essence, and his tragic descent into obsessive-compulsive
seclusion. Bolstered by Cate Blanchett's uncannily accurate
portrayal of Katharine Hepburn as Hughes' most beloved lover, The
Aviator is easily Scorsese's most accessible film, inviting
mainstream popularity without compromising Scorsese's artistic
reputation. As compelling crowd-pleasers go, it's a class act
from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Features
In his commentary track, director Martin Scorsese offers his own
impressions of Howard Hughes and rattles off his memories of
experiencing Hughes's films. He mentions how he made Cate
Blanchett watch every Katharine Hepburn film from the '30s on the
big screen, and observes that Kate Beckinsale had "a real sense
of the stature of a Hollywood goddess." But in general he doesn't
talk much about the craft of making the film. That area is
covered better by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who also appears on
the commentary track, and producer Michael Mann makes a few
appearances (all were recorded separately). The picture is
brilliant, but the 5.1 sound is not as aggressive in the rear
speakers and subwoofer as one might expect, other than some nice
surround effects in the Hell's Angels flying sequence.
The second disc collects almost three hours of features. There's
one unnecessary deleted scene, and an 11-minute making-of
featurette that's basically the cast and director heaping praise
on each other. More interesting are the short featurettes on
visual effects (including the XF-11 scene, of course), production
design, costumes, hair and makeup, and score, and Loudon
Wainwright discusses his and his children's musical performances.
Historical perspective is provided by spotlights on Hughes's role
in aviation and his obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a
43-minute Hughes documentary from the History Channel (part of
the Modern Marvels series, it focuses on his mechanical
innovations and spends less than a minute on his movies). More
unusual are DiCaprio and Scorsese's appearance on an OCD panel,
and a half-hour interview segment DiCaprio did with Alan Alda.
--David Horiuchi
The Personalities of The Aviator
Click the links to explore more movies by these stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/14008011/ref=d_ap_av_5 ) as Howard
Hughes (
/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/3UMCUHMUTXPK9/ref=d_ap_av_6
)
"Sometimes I truly fear that I... am losing my mind. And if I
did it... it would be like flying blind." Cate Blanchett (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/413338/ref=d_ap_av_7 ) as Katharine
Hepburn ( /exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/427736/ref=d_ap_av_8 )
Howard Hughes: "You're the tallest woman I have ever met."
Katharine Hepburn: "And all sharp elbows and knees. Beware."
Kate Beckinsale ( /exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/412392/ref=d_ap_av_9 )
as Ava Gardner ( /exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/424422/ref=d_ap_av_10 )
Howard Hughes: "Does that look clean to you?"
Ava Gardner: "Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best,
right?" Gwen Stefani (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00064AEJW/ref=d_ap_av_11 ) as Jean Harlow (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/426916/ref=d_ap_av_12 )
Jean Harlow in Hell's Angels: "Would you be shocked if I put on
something more comfortable?" Jude Law (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/432806/ref=d_ap_av_13 ) as Errol Flynn (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/423352/ref=d_ap_av_14 )
Errol Flynn in Captain Blood: "Up the riggings, you monkeys!
Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's
carrying us all to freedom!" Director Martin Scorsese (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/461884/ref=d_ap_av_15 )
"You get a sense of Howard Hughes being Icarus with the wax
wings. Those wings were great for a while, but he flies too close
to the sun." --Martin Scorsese
Other Movies by The Aviator's O® Winners
Production Designer Dante Ferretti (
/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/3UN3G1RK1ZDJI/ref=d_ap_av_1
)
Film Editor Thelma Schoonmaker (
/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/2XH4SNN5OKHZX/ref=d_ap_av_2
)
Costume Designer Sandy Powell (
/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/177KXADRI0JRW/ref=d_ap_av_3
)
Cinematographer Robert Richardson (
/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/148OUCXI80J1Y/ref=d_ap_av_4
)
See all the O® winners at O Central (
/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/549390/ref=d_ap_av_22 )
The Aviator at .com
The Aviator soundtrack (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006IINQE/ref=d_ap_av_16 )
The Screenplay ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/1401359701/ref=d_ap_av_17 )
Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00064AF64/ref=d_ap_av_18 )