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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"Another masterful epic from a superb director. Now if only Oscar would try to not snub Scorsese ...Again." --from the review ------------- Sidebar :: ------------- Another Gangs of New York...? To me that's a good thing, but: no, it isn't. That said; let's hope this film isn't treated by Oscar night the same way Gangs of New York was: i.e.; snubbed entirely. ...
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The Aviator
Click picture to order this DVD A Techtite ReviewThe FIlm: Was there any life as grandiose as that of Howard Hughes? If you don't know how to answer that, I implore you to go see The Aviator. This is one of those films that is so epic and perfect, one wonders why so few films have actually been made about a man whose life was so very fascinating. I've seen Oscar snub Martin Scorsese before, but I'm serious; if he gets snubbed again after a film like this, I demand a recount of the ballots. That's just not right. This is genius. So, why did it take so long for me to write this review, long after the release of this picture? Probably because it's an epic film that's hard to summarize. Sure, you can shrug it off as a simple bio-pic about Howard Hughes, as played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Yet there's a lot more layers to this film than that. To shrug this off as simply being about a rich guy who spends money left and right, is to not have truly grasped the impact of the story. Sure, Howard is portrayed as a millionaire paying millions to achieve his dreams, back in an age where most people felt paying hundreds was extravagant. Yet it's truly astounding how many of his dreams he achieved with such extravagance. He built a plane the size of a 747, back in an age when large planes were completely unheard of. He even built it out of wood (at a time when metal was reserved for military use during World War 2), and actually got it to fly. More historically; he fought the bureaucrats who wanted planes to be flown only by one monopolized business...and won. Imagine how changed flight travel would be had he failed. Yet the true impact of the picture is how three dimensional the portrayal of Howard Hughes is. This is partly thanks to a superb portrayal by Leonardo DiCaprio, but it's also thanks to director Martin Scorsese, who so deftly summarizes such an elaborate life in just one epic-length film. Not only do we see Hughes' exploits in the world of plane travel, but we also get to see his personal life, including the romance between Howard Hughes and a then quite young Katherine Hepburn (played brilliantly by Cate Blanchett). We also see the inner demons his obsessive compulsive disorders forced him to endure, particularly when up against a rival plane company's bigwig (Alec Baldwin), who has some of the biggest voices of Congress in his back pocket. Even at around three hours, it's impressive how little is left out of this story of his life, yet never does the film get boring. True, Howard Hughes was also a bit of a playboy; an understatement as grand as that gigantic "Hercules" plane he flew in 1947. Yet at no point does this film simply resort to cheap cameo tactics, as if to say: "Look! That's the actress playing Hepburn! Look! That's the actress playing Ava Gardner!" Just about every life touched by Howard Hughes is shown in a three dimensional light. These are characters, not simple caricatures. Yet such characterizations take time to build in cinema. Just 10 minutes shy of a full three hours, this is no easy film to sit through for those modern sort of theater patrons who prefer The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. Personally, I loved every minute of this movie, although those of us who like fast food and even faster storytelling may squirm in their seats a little. That, sorry to say, is their loss. This picture is just perfect. What really makes me impressed about an epic-length film is when even the bit players are well cast. Both DiCaprio and Blanchett will receive many an acting nomination for their work in this film, but there are more than a few supporting actors that should've been on the Best Supporting Actor roster as well. Alan Alda is perfect as a congressional blowhard whose wind, as it were, is fueled by money he gets from a big businessman. Comparatively, Kate Beckinsale could've easily been just the pretty face they cast for the role of Ava Gardner, yet portrays the actress extremely well. Likewise for Alec Baldwin, who plays the role of Hughes' air travel rival Juan Trippe perfectly well. In a parting thought I must confess it helps a viewer of this film if they like the overall Scorsese style. Personally, I loved Gangs of New York and was absolutely struck with disbelief when it barely earned a single Oscar nomination. There are many separate emotions I will have towards the Academy if they similarly do not give this the awards it deserves. Respect for Oscar's decision making processes is not one of them. The Aviator was the best film of 2004. Period.
The DVD: Interesting: this DVD has audio tracks in English and French, but not Spanish. Okay; maybe that isn't what you're looking for in a review of the DVD's bonus features. It's just interesting. Of course, a two-disc DVD set is more interesting than just that. Commentary, for example, is offered by Martin Scorsese. That alone is worth the price of the whole disc, to hear Scorsese himself comment on the film as it goes along. Assisting him on this audio commentary track is editor Thema Schoonmaker and producer Michael Mann. Maybe I'm just a diehard Scorsese fan but this is one of the more intriguing audio commentaries I've ever heard included on a DVD. The deleted scenes are a little limited, as in "deleted scene," where Howard Hughes tells Ava about his car accident. Yet maybe there were just too many featurettes to include every possible deleted scene that there may have been...? There's the plainly titled "The Making of The Aviator," plus the equally self explanatory "The Role of Howard Hughes in Aviation History." This isn't even getting into a History Channel documentary --preserved on this DVD set forevermore-- about the real Howard Hughes. Additional featurettes are of individual aspects of the film, including visual effects, hair and make-up, costuming, set construction, and the riveting musical score. Rounding off disc number two are a bunch of added video clips that they didn't really need to add, yet enhances the DVD when they're there. One featurette discusses Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. An additional featurette is titled, "An evening with Leonardo DiCaprio and Alan Alda," which I'll leave up to fans to find out what that's like. An additional feature is about "The Wainwright Family," including Loudon, Rufus and Martha. As if all this video isn't enough, there's also a still gallery. In a parting note, I would've probably recommended buying this DVD regardless of the extras, because I truly feel this was the best film of 2004. Regardless of a better publicity machine for Million Dollar Baby, there's an epic feel to this film that was not present in any other 2004 film. What's more; it didn't rely on cheap shock value sales trickery to "shock" you in the finale into thinking it deserved an Oscar. The life of Howard Hughes was the only sales pitch this film ever needs.
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