The aviator - Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, Martin Scorsese
Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities
Movie propaganda
Some men dream the future. He built it.
The story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), the eccentric billionaire industrialist and Hollywood film mogul famous for romancing some of the world's most beautiful women. The drama recounts the years of his life from the late 1920s through the 1940s, an epoch when Hughes was directing movies and test flying innovative aircraft he designed and created. It also chronicles Hughes' struggle with his physical disabilities and phobias, and his increasingly erratic, obsessive-compulsive behaviour that led him ultimately to isolate himself from his associates and withdraw from the world.
Persons of interest
- Leonardo DiCaprio .... Howard Hughes
- Cate Blanchett .... Katharine Hepburn
- Kate Beckinsale .... Ava Gardner
- Adam Scott .... Johnny Meyer
- Kelli Garner .... Faith Domergue
- Alec Baldwin .... Juan Trippe
- Gwen Stefani .... Jean Harlow
- Ian Holm .... Professor Fitz
- Alan Alda .... Senator Ralph Owen Brewster
- Emma Campbell .... Helen Frye
- Frances Conroy .... Kit Hepburn
- Vincent Laresca .... Jorge
- Jude Law .... Errol Flynn
- Jane Lynch .... Amelia Earhart
- Stanley DeSantis .... Louis B Mayer
- John Logan .... Screenwriter
- Martin Scorsese .... Director
Cinematic intelligence sources
- The aviator official movie site
- The aviator production notes
- The aviator QuickTime movie trailers
- Awards and film festivals:
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars) 2005: Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Cate Blanchett), Best Achievement in Art Direction (Dante Ferretti, Francesca LoSchiavo), Best Achievement in Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Achievement in Costume Design (Sandy Powell); Nominated: Best Achievement in Directing (Martin Scorsese), Best Achievement in Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Achievement in Sound (Tom Fleischman, Petur Hliddal), Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Alda), Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (John Logan)
- American Cinema Editors, USA 2005: Nominated: Eddie: Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic (Thelma Schoonmaker)
- American Society of Cinematographers, USA 2005: Nominated: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Robert Richardson)
- Art Directors Guild 2005: Nominated: Excellence in Production Design Award: Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Film (Dante Ferretti)
- Australian Effects and Animation Festival (AEAF) 2005: Nominated: Feature Film VFX
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) 2004: Won: Best Film, Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Production Design (Dante Ferretti), Best Make Up/Hair (Morag Ross, Kathryn Blondell); Nominated: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Alan Alda), David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction (Martin Scorsese), Best Screenplay - Original (John Logan), Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Howard Shore), Best Sound, Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
- Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Won: Best Composer (Howard Shore), Best Director (Martin Scorsese); Nominated: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Writer (John Logan)
- Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2004: Won: Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Original Score (Howard Shore)
- Cinema Audio Society, USA 2005: Nominated: Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures
- Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2005: Nominated: Best actor - Female (Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn)
- Costume Designers Guild Awards 2005: Nominated: Excellence for Costume Design for Film - Period/Fantasy (Sandy Powell)
- Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese)
- Directors Guild of America, USA 2005: Nominated: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Martin Scorsese)
- Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) 2004: Won: Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Performance By An Actor - Drama (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Original Score - Motion Picture (Howard Shore); Nominated: Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Screenplay (John Logan), Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role (Cate Blanchett)
- International Press Academy Golden Satellite Awards 2004: Won: Visual Effects (Rob Legato, Pete Travers, Matthew Gratzner, Bruce Steinheimer); Nominated: Actress In A Supporting Role - Drama (Cate Blanchett), Motion Picture - Drama, Director (Martin Scorsese), Screenplay - Original (John Logan), Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker ACE), Sound - Editing and Mixing (Tom Fleischman, Petur Hliddal, Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty), Art Direction and Production Design (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo), Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Original Score (Howard Shore)
- Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 2005: Won: Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
- Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Won: Sierra Award: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Costume Design (Sandy Powell), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2004: Won: Best Production Design (Dante Ferretti)
- Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA 2005: Nominated: Golden Reel Award: Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features: Dialogue/ADR, Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features: Sound Effects/Foley, Best Sound Editing in a Feature: Music, Feature Film
- MTV Movie Awards 2005: Won: Best male performance (Leonardo DiCaprio); Nominated: Best action sequence (Beverly Hills Plane Crash)
- Online Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Won: Best Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett); Nominated: Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Original Score (Howard Shore)
- PGA Golden Laurel Awards 2005: Won: Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award (Michael Mann, Graham King)
- Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2004: Won: Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Picture, Best Production Design
- San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2004: Won: Best Production Design (Dante Ferretti)
- Screen Actors Guild Awards 2005: Won: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Cate Blanchett); Nominated: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Kate Beckinsale, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, Jude Law, John C Reilly, Gwen Stefani), Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio)
- Seattle Film Critics Awards 2004: Won: Best Music (Howard Shore)
- Visual Effects Society Awards 2005: Nominated: Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (Robert Legato, Ron Ames, David Seager, Peter G Travers - The Hell's Angels), Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture (Matthew Gratzner, Scott Schneider, Adam Gelbart, Leigh-Alexandra Jacob - The XF11 crash), Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film (Leonardo DiCaprio), Outstanding Special Effects in Service to Visual Effects in a Motion Picture (Robert Spurlock, Richard Stutsman, Matthew Gratzner, Roy Goode), Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture (Robert Legato, Ron Ames, Matthew Gratzner, Peter G Travers)
- Writers Guild of America, USA 2005: Nominated: Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (John Logan)
- See also A beautiful mind
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
The aviator is a biographical picture. Unfortunately it is about a dude whose life is relatively uninteresting. He would have made it into today's tabloids as often as he did the tabloids of yore but you don't need to be interesting to do that.
I can see why Cate Blanchett received so many awards and nominations for her performance as the "outdoorsy" Katherine Hepburn - she's a hoot! - but Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't go much beyond his performance of Frank Abagnale Junior in Catch me if you can (which was ok but never reached the heights of The Craft™).
There are some good plane crashes.
Security censorship classification
M (Mature themes, low level coarse language)
Surveillance time
170 minutes (2:50 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
Film: 10 February 2005
Cinema surveillance images
