Aviator [Blu-ray] DVD

The Aviator
Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale Biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the 20th century, Howard Hughes. The Aviator follows Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) as the twentysomething millionaire, having already made a fortune improving the design of oil-drilling bits, comes to Hollywood with an interest in getting into the picture business. It doesn't take long for Hughes, with his passion for airplanes, to jump from producer to director of his first major film project, a World War I air epic called Hell's Angels, which took three years to complete thanks to the shift from silent to sound filming and Hughes' relentless perfectionism. However, the film was a massive hit, and the eccentric inventor became a mogul in Hollywood, making Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani) a star and enjoying a romance with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). But Hollywood's old-boy network never fully accepted Hughes, and in time his passion for flying began to reclaim his attentions as he began designing new planes, setting air speed records, flying around the world, and risking his life testing aircraft. Hughes also found time to romance Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and founded his own airline, Trans-World Airlines, though as his ideas became bolder, his approach became more eccentric, and he gained many powerful enemies, including the head of Pan-American Airlines, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), who attempted to prove that Hughes' radical design ideas were actually part of an effort to bilk taxpayers for millions of dollars through government contracts. The Aviator's star-studded cast also includes John C. Reilly, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, and Frances Conroy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe Alan Alda as Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster Ian Holm as Professor Fitz Danny Huston as Jack Frye Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow Jude Law as Errol Flynn Adam Scott as Johnny Meyer Matt Ross as Glenn Odekirk Kelli Garner as Faith Domergue Frances Conroy as Mrs. Hepburn Brent Spiner as Robert Gross Stanley de Santis as Louis B. Mayer Edward Herrmann as Joseph Breen Willem Dafoe as Roland Sweet Kenneth Walsh as Dr. Hepburn J.C. MacKenzie as Ludlow

Crew Luca Tranchino - Art Director Réal Proulx - Art Director Martin Gendron - Art Director Michele Laliberte - Art Director Robert Guerra - Supervising Art Director Claude Pare - Supervising Art Director Lucie Robitaille - Casting Sandy Powell - Costume Designer Joseph P. Reidy - First Assistant Director Martin Scorsese - Director Rob Legato - Second Unit Director Thelma Schoonmaker - Editor Chris Brigham - Executive Producer Howard Shore - Composer (Music Score) Dante Ferretti - Production Designer Robert Richardson - Cinematographer Charles Evans, Jr. - Producer Graham King - Producer Sandy Climan - Producer Michael Mann - Producer Leonardo DiCaprio - Producer William J. Law III - Set Designer Petur Hliddal - Sound/Sound Designer Doug Coleman - Stunts Coordinator Jean Frenette - Stunts Coordinator R. Bruce Steinheimer - Special Effects Supervisor John Logan - Screenwriter Philip Pfeiffer - Second Unit Camera Tom Fleischman - Re-Recording Mixer Philip Stockton - Supervising Sound Editor Eugene Gearty - Supervising Sound Editor Francesca Lo Schiavo - Set Decorator

The Aviator
The Aviator is a rousing entertainment that does not shy away from the darkest aspects of Howard Hughes' life. The first hour of The Aviator feels like the most fun Martin Scorsese has had behind a camera in over a decade. The extended sequence of Hughes attempting to get Hell's Angels completed to his detailed ideal is the closest Scorsese himself has ever come to an onscreen biography of his own work habits. A notorious obsessive, Scorsese recognizes those traits in Hughes and with the assistance of a never-better Leonardo DiCaprio creates an affectionate but realistic look at Hughes' successes and demons. Though the film feels a bit overlong, it never loses the audience's interest, thanks in large part to DiCaprio's determined blue eyes. Those eyes are always able to communicate the intensity of Hughes' feelings -- be it his passion for women and aviation, or his fear of losing control. He is matched in the early part of the film by an as always first-rate Cate Blanchett, who manages to embody Katharine Hepburn without turning her into a caricature, showcasing her intelligence and humor without shying away from her own faults. They make arguably the most sympathetic couple in a Scorsese film since Kris Kristofferson and Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. From his decision to replicate the look of the old two-strip Technicolor process (hence the blue peas and the blue golf course), to his first ever use of CGI effects, Scorsese utilizes every tool at a filmmaker's disposal. But for all of the filmmaking pyrotechnics, it is the clear-eyed empathy Scorsese brings to The Aviator that makes it one of the most emotionally rewarding films of his career. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

Alan Alda: Academy, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Alan Alda: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) Cate Blanchett: Academy, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Cate Blanchett: Boston Society of Film Critics, Best Supporting Actress [Runner-up] (winner) Cate Blanchett: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Cate Blanchett: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Cate Blanchett: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Cate Blanchett: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress [Runner-up] (winner) Cate Blanchett: National Society of Film Critics, Best Supporting Actress (Runner-up) (winner) Cate Blanchett: Screen Actors Guild, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Dante Ferretti: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Dante Ferretti: British Academy Awards, Best Production Design (winner) Dante Ferretti: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Production Design (winner) Francesca Lo Schiavo: Academy, Best Art Direction (winner) Howard Shore: British Academy Awards, Best Film Music (nominated) Howard Shore: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Score (winner) Howard Shore: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Original Score (winner) Howard Shore: Golden Globe, Best Score (winner) John Logan: Academy, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) John Logan: British Academy Awards, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) John Logan: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) John Logan: Writers Guild of America, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Joshua Logan: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Screenplay (nominated) Leonardo DiCaprio: Academy, Best Actor (nominated) Leonardo DiCaprio: British Academy Awards, Best Actor (nominated) Leonardo DiCaprio: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Actor (nominated) Leonardo DiCaprio: Golden Globe, Best Actor - Drama (winner) Leonardo DiCaprio: Screen Actors Guild, Best Actor (nominated) Martin Scorsese: Academy, Best Director (nominated) Martin Scorsese: British Academy Awards, Best Director (nominated) Martin Scorsese: Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Director (winner) Martin Scorsese: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) Martin Scorsese: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) Martin Scorsese: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Director [Runner-up] (winner) Petur Hliddal: Academy, Best Sound Mixing (nominated) Robert Richardson: Academy, Best Cinematography (winner) Robert Richardson: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Robert Richardson: British Academy Awards, Best Cinematography (nominated) Robert Richardson: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Cinematography (winner) Sandy Powell: Academy, Best Costume Design (winner) Sandy Powell: British Academy Awards, Best Costume Design (nominated) Thelma Schoonmaker: Academy, Best Editing (winner) Thelma Schoonmaker: British Academy Awards, Best Editing (nominated) Tom Fleischman: Academy, Best Sound Mixing (nominated)

Academy, Best Picture (nominated) American Film Institute, Best Film (winner) British Academy Awards, Best Make-up and Hair (winner) British Academy Awards, Best Picture (winner) British Academy Awards, Best Sound (nominated) British Academy Awards, Best Special Visual Effects (nominated) Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Picture (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Drama (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) Producers Guild of America, Best Picture (winner) Screen Actors Guild, Best Ensemble Acting (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: Commentary by Martin Scorsese Additional scene Making the Aviator The Role of Howard Hughes in Aviation History Modern Marvels: Howard Hughes, a History Channel documentary The Affliction of Howard Hughes: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder The Visual Effects of The Aviator Constructing The Aviator Costuming and scoring The Aviator The Aviator and the Age of Glamour An Evening with Leonardo DiCaprio and Alan Alda Still Gallery Theatrical Trailer (in High Definition) DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1: 2.40:1 MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 170 min