The Aviator DVD Review

"THE AVIATOR" reviews

DVD

THE AVIATOR

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-27 22:16:49

Provider

DVD Review

Leonardo DiCaprio proves once and for all that he's got the acting skills to go with his looks in Martin Scorsese's epic biopic of the eccentric film-maker and airman Howard Hughes.

But it's Cate Blanchett who steals the show with a fantastic performance as Hollywood legend Katherine Hepburn. The Australian actress plays Hepburn, with whom Hughes lived during the thirties, with exactly the right mix of eccentricity and hauteur, lighting up every scene she's in.

Scorsese directs with typical brio, emphasising Hughes' immense personal bravery and kamikaze business sense while glossing over his less appetising character traits, such as his alleged extreme right-wing politics and fondness for hiring starlets as his personal concubines.

There's no escaping Hughes' descent into madness though, and DiCaprio handles brilliantly repetitious scenes stood scrubbing his hands with his own personal bar of black soap. The story ends in 1947, after successfully fighting off a Senate investigation committee (shades of Godfather 2), before he retreated to the top floor of a Las Vegas hotel.

The Aviator skips the unhappy ending, but everything else about it is big and bold, self-consciously important, but thrillingly entertaining.

The multitude of extras on this mesmeric DVD include: Deleted scenes; A Life Without Limits The Making Of; The Role Of Howard Hughes; Howard Hughes, A Documentary By The History Channel; The Affliction Of Howard Hughes; OCD Panel Discussion With Leonardo DiCaprio Martin Scorsese and Howard Hughes' widow Terry Morre; The Visual Effects Of The Aviator; Constructing The Aviator; Costuming The Aviator; The Age Of Glamour, The Hair And Makeup Of The Aviator; Scoring The Aviator; The Wainwright Family; Soundtrack Spot; stills gallery and An Evening With Leonardo DiCaprio And Alan Alda.