The Aviator Totally Explained

Everything about The Aviator totally explained

The Aviator is a 2004 American biographical drama film, directed by Martin Scorsese, and based largely on the book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life by Charles Higham. It tells the story of the eccentric aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, following his life from the late 1920s through the 1940s, a time when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies as well as test-piloting his own groundbreaking new aircraft. The film also illustrates Hughes' descent into severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and reclusiveness.

Plot

The Aviator has no opening credits other than the title. The film begins with nine-year old Hughes being bathed by his mother, who warns him of disease: "You are not safe."
The film next shows him in 1927, as a 22-year old preparing to direct Hell's Angels. Hiring Noah Dietrich (John C. Reilly) to run Hughes Tool Co, while he oversees the flight sequences for the film, Hughes becomes obsessesed with shooting the film realistically, even re-shooting the dogfight himself. By 1929, with the film finally complete, when The Jazz Singer is released, Hughes re-shoots the film for sound, costing another year and $1.7 million. Nevertheless, Hell's Angels is a huge hit, and Hughes makes Scarface and The Outlaw. However, there's one goal he relentlessly pursues: aviation. During this time, he also pursues Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). The two go to nightclubs, play golf and fly together, and as they grow closer, move in together as well. During this time Hepburn becomes a major support and confidant to Hughes, and helps alleviate the symptoms of his obsessive-compulsive disorder. As Hughes' fame grows, he's seen with more starlets. Hughes takes an interest in commercial-passenger travel, and purchases majority interest in Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA), the predecessor to Trans World Airlines. In 1935, he test flies the H-1 Racer but crashes in a beet field; "Fastest man on the planet," he boasts to Hepburn. Three years later, he flies around the world in four days, shattering the previous record by three days. Meanwhile, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), owner of Pan American Airlines, and Senator Owen Brewster (Alan Alda) worry over the possibility that Hughes might beat them in the quest for commercial expansion. Brewster has just introduced the Commercial Airline Bill, which will give world expansion solely to Pan Am. Trippe advises Brewster to check to the "disquieting rumors about Mr. Hughes." Hepburn and Hughes eventually break up, but he soon has a new interest: 15-year old Faith Domergue (Kelli Garner) and later, Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). He also fights the Motion Picture Association of America over the steamy scenes in The Outlaw. He learns of Pan Am's efforts to run TWA off the map yet secures contracts with the Army Air Force on two projects, a spy plane and a troop transport. By 1946, Hughes has only finished the XF-11 reconnaissance aircraft and is building the H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose") flying boat. With the strain of meeting deadlines and budgets, Hughes starts to show signs of alarming behavior, repeating phrases over and over and exhibiting a phobia over dust and germs. That July, he takes the XF-11 for a test flight. One of the propellers malfunctions, causing a crash in a Beverly Hills neighborhood. Rushed to the hospital, he slowly recuperates but learns the Spruce Goose is no longer needed but orders production to continue. When he's discharged, the whole TWA fleet is built and ready to go, but he's in danger of being bankrupted by the airline and his flying boat. Afraid of the media trying to find him, Hughes places microphones and taps Ava's phone lines to keep track of any suspicious activity. After being confronted by Gardner, he returns home to find the FBI searching his house for incriminating evidence that he embezzled government funds. The incident is both a powerful trauma for Hughes and gives his enemies knowledge about his condition. Hughes meets with Brewster, who offers to drop the charges if Hughes supports the CAB Bill and sells the TWA stock to Trippe. Hughes sinks into a deep depression afterwards, shutting himself in his screening room, growing ever more paranoid and detached from reality; terrified of germs, he urinates into dozens of empty milk bottles. Hepburn tries to visit him, but is unable to help. Trippe then pays Hughes a visit, but an enraged Hughes vows he'll never sell TWA. Trippe warns Dietrich that the world will see what Hughes has become if he goes to the Hearings. After nearly three months, Hughes finally emerges and prepares to face the Senate, with encouragement from Ava Gardner, who helps him get cleaned up. Hughes arrives at the Hearings, and starts off with counter-claiming Brewster's charges: "Why not tell the truth, Senator? Why not tell the truth that this investigation was really born on the day that TWA first decided to fly to Europe?" Humiliated and enraged by this turn of events, the Senator formally states that Hughes charged the Defense Department $56 million for aircraft that never flew. Hughes defends himself and reveals that Trippe essentially bribed Brewster to hold the hearings.
Hughes successfully test flies the flying boat himself. After the flight, he talks to Dietrich and his mechanic Odie (Matt Ross) about a new jetliner for TWA and makes a date with Gardner at a celebration party on the Long Beach shoreline. Hughes seems free of his inner demons until he sees three attendants in business suits and white gloves edging towards him, which triggers an obsessive-compulsive fit as he begins repeating "The way of the future." Dietrich and Odie take Hughes in a bathroom and hide him there, while Dietrich fetches a doctor and Odie stands outside guarding the door. Alone inside, Howard has a flashback to his boyhood, being washed by his mother and resolving he'll fly the fastest aircraft ever built, make the biggest movies ever and become the richest man in the world. As the film ends he mutters "the way of the future... the way of the future" into a darkened mirror.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):]

Production

Style

For the first 50 minutes of the film, scenes appear in shades of only red and cyan blue; green objects are rendered as blue. This was done, according to Scorsese, to emulate the look of early two-color movies, in particular the Multicolor process, which Hughes himself owned. Many of the scenes depicting events occurring after 1935 are treated to emulate the saturated appearance of three-strip Technicolor. Other scenes were stock footage colorized and incorporated into the film. The color effects were created by Legend Films.

Movie models

In Aviator, Howard Hughes’ HK-1 Hercules (he hated the nickname “Spruce Goose” and only referred to the "Flying Boat" to confidantes) lifts off impressively off the waves in Long Beach Harbor. The short but much heralded flight on 2 November 1947 was recreated by using a remarkable flying scale model. When Martin Scorsese began planning his aviation epic, a decision was made to film flying sequences with scale models rather than CGI (computer-generated image) special effects. The critical reaction to the CGI models and their lack of realism in Pearl Harbor (2001) had been a crucial factor in Scorsese's decision to use full-scale static models and scale models in this case. The building and filming of the flying models proved both cost-effective and timely.
The remote controlled Spruce Goose flying boat model was one of series of movie models made by Joe Bock and his team of model builders from Aero Telemetry (Aero F/X) Inc. in Huntington, California. Aero Telemetry’s primary business was in building UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and satellite telemetry systems for the government and defense contractors. Bock and his team were given only three months to complete three movie models. The 375 lb, 25 ft wingspan Spruce Goose was joined by 30 ft wingspan, 750 lb XF-11 and 18 ft wingspan, 450 lb H1 Racer. The models were shot with forced perspective against backdrops of the original locations at Long Beach and other California sites from helicopter platforms. The film grossed $102M at the U.S. box office and $111M at the foreign box office. Film critic Roger Ebert, described the film and its subject Howard Hughes in these terms:
Box office

USA	US$ 102,610,330 (48.0%)
Other	US$ 111,131,129 (52.0%)
World	US$ 213,741,459

DVD

The film was released in DVD in a two-disc-set in widescreen and full screen versions. The first disc includes commentary with director Martin Scorsese. The second disc includes "The Making of The Aviator," "Deleted Scenes" as well as 11 other special features.
The film was later released in Blue-Ray and HD DVD on November 6, 2007.

Awards

Academy Awards record
1. Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
2. Editing
3. Cinematography
4. Art Direction
5. Costume Design
Golden Globe Awards record
1. Picture - Drama
2. Drama Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio)
3. Original Score
BAFTA Awards record
1. Picture
2. Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett)
3. Production Design
4. Make-up/Hair

The Aviator was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won five, including Best Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett. It also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film.

Further Information

Get more info on 'The Aviator'.

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