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*** Official THE AVIATOR Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

Patrick Sun

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Given the way the films unfolded, I thought the deafness came from repeated exposure to the loud engines from the airplanes without proper ear protection.
 

Robert Crawford

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Katherine Hepburn in "Kate Remembered" stated that Hughes started having hearing problems when he was about 15 years old, long before he started to fly airplanes. However, his flying didn't help and probably contributed to his hearing loss even moreso.






Crawdaddy
 

MichaelPR

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I saw this movie today and I thought it was excellent! I really enjoyed it! I thought the flying scenes were simply amazing. And I loved that old shcool hollywood feel the movie had
 

Chris Harvey

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I just found out that apparently Howard Shore's score is not eligible for an Oscar.... I assume this is because he incorporated elements of HELL'S ANGELS into it?

Or does the Academy just have it out against him? :)
 

Patrick H.

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What?! That's ridiculous! I noticed ONE quote of the 'Hell's Angels' theme in there...it's about ten seconds long! The Academy's "original score" criteria has been extremely weird over the past few years. If memory serves, they ruled Shore's Two Towers score ineligible since it contained themes from its prequel, then reversed that ruling just prior to nominations being announced. Since 'The Aviator' is another excellent score and it just picked up a Golden Globe, perhaps they're just trying to open up the playing field a bit as he'd likely win again.

All that aside, this picture was phenomenal! I was compelled to see it twice last week...the first time I liked it, the second time I was utterly blown away. As a dramatic saga rooted in history, I thought it was superb in every detail and performance. Scorsese's Lawrence of Arabia.

EDIT: Or perhaps Citizen Kane would be a better analogy. :)
 

Rob Willey

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Saw this yesterday and thought it was a real treat to see shots from Hell's Angels and The Jazz Singer on the big screen for the first time. Definitely a different impact than on the screen at home.

While I usually detest colorization, I liked the stock newsreel footage of the Hell's Angels premiere in color.

I really noticed the two-strip Technicolor when Hughes and Hepburn were playing golf. The grass was distinctly blue and I doubt they were in Kentucky. :)

Rob
 

Ray H

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The two-strip Technicolor thing got me a little worried. Since i decided to watch the film about a month after it started showing, I was afraid the print had started fading. Nice to see my worries were unfounded. I didn't notice greens in the picture until he goes to meet the Hepburn family. :)
 

Brandon Conway

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I loved this movie (saw it in mid-December), and my favorite part was when Hughes has locked himself up in his projection room. Specifically, when Hell's Angels is projected onto his body, mixing the violence in the projected film with Hughes' own mental/physical ailings. Just brilliant.
 

Claire Panke

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Speaking of two-strip Technicolor, I *loved* the turquoise peas all lined up on HH's plate.

This movie is just gorgeous in so many ways - it "sings".
 

Robert Crawford

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This is a good film, but not a great one. I've seen at least three other films this past year that were much better.





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Thomas S

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Scorsese is, and will remain a master of his craft. The "popularity" of his stuff is something that sometimes has escaped him, however I think this film will be an award winner for him and should be. I DO NOT like Leonardo, however he did impress me in this one. I still am a huge fan of Goodfella's and did like Gangs. What seperates him from others is that he has PASSION for his craft. I expect to see more great stuff from him in the future.
 

Patrick Sun

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I think the problem with this film is the screenplay, with it being this 4-act structure that loses momentum for my viewing experience.
 

Haggai

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I enjoyed this movie, though I didn't think it was quite great. Something that could have helped would have been dropping the whole Faith Domergue subplot--which I didn't think added much of anything significant--in favor of developing the Ava Gardner relationship. As it was, I got very little idea of how they ended up as a couple (as opposed to the very nicely developed Hepburn relationship), and that also weakened her return later on when she got him into shape to testify before Congress.
 

Jan H

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I'm a little late to the game because I've got a pretty damn good HT system and I don't go to the theater much anymore, but I try to see all the Oscar nominees before the big show. I still need to see Sideways, Finding Neverland and M$B and will try to see at least one of them before Sunday. Anyways, caught 'The Aviator' today and came out with a few impressions:

1. The look and feel of the period is perfectly rendered. It should win many technical Oscars.

2. Cate Blanchett was superb (as always). Even though she only bears a passing resemblance to Kate, her mannerisms, accent, independent streak, and tenderness were spot-on. I think she's a shoo-in for her first Oscar.

3. Leo was better than expected. Not perfect, but better. When he dons the facial hair, his performance improves. Speaking of which...

4. I felt Scorsese's presence was pretty anonymous throughout most of the proceedings, with the exception of the OCD episodes (which were vintage Marty). The special effects sequences were well done, but you'd have a hard time telling the difference between him and Michael Bay during those.

All in all, a good film. But I think it's a testament that 2004 was the weakest movie year in decades in that only a 'good' film will walk away with multiple Academy Awards. Again, haven't seen 3 of the others. Sideways I'm looking forward to, M$B not so much. A friend of mine who knows film saw it and a had breathtakingly vitriolic reaction to it that may have clouded my expectations. In any case, I'd like to see Scorsese get the Oscar. There is enough craftsmanship and love for the era that would merit it. Besides, the Academy owes him. :)
 

Edwin Pereyra

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If the Academy Awards is your only gauge whether a given year has put out a number of good films, then I can see how you are arriving at the conclusions the way you did. Some of the better films in some years don't even get an Academy Award nomination.

~Edwin
 

Jan H

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Good point, Edwin. Oscars are definitely not the only barometer, and I've only seen 40% of the nominees. As I said, I'll try to see M$B and Sideways this weekend. I've seen a huge number of non-nominees this year, and the only ones that really left an impression were Collateral, Garden State, Motorcycle Diaries and Maria Full of Grace. But to be honest, I'm not sure if any of them are Oscar material either. It was just one of those years.
 

Ernest Rister

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But I think it's a testament that 2004 was the weakest movie year in decades in that only a 'good' film will walk away with multiple Academy Awards.


I thought 2004 was a very good year. Most of my favorite films were not nominated for Best Picture -- but that's rare, anyway.
 

Seth Paxton

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Err...


Anyway, I just wanted to say that apart from many other good things in the film, I was really pleasantly surprised with Alda's effort. I thought he deserved his S. Actor nom and had a nice though small role.

I'm not knocking M$Baby (or others) when I say that Aviator is one of my most looked forward to DVDs. I really enjoyed the film, though it never felt strongly "Scorsese" to me. Its a fascinating character played expertly by Leo, an actor that like Depp used to be is underappreciated and still considered a pretty face more than an actor. I bet that also like Depp it won't remain that way. Him hooking up with Scorsese is a great thing.
 

Joe D

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I thought Leo made a big leap in terms of his acting ability with The Aviator.

When I first heard that Marty had cast Leo for Gangs of New York I was pretty upset, but he pulled it off pretty well.

But with The Aviator I absolutely adored every minute with Leo as Howard Hughes.

Plus The Aviator had one of the best moments I've experienced in film where Howard was shooting in his airplane: when Howard's plane was hit by another plane he was filming I actually ducked in the theater. You could say I was really into the movie at that point. I felt kind of embarassed that I had done that but I knew that I was enjoying a heck of a piece of filmaking.

Seth, that's an excellent comparison between Depp and Leo.
 

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