The Aviator (DVD)

'The Aviator' has been called the film in which Martin Scorsese went Hollywood, and surely its large, A-list cast makes it seem that way, but at its heart The Aviator has much more in common with both the big budget epics of the old studio days, and with Scorsese's classics such as Raging Bull and the more recent Gangs of New York. The Aviator is and will stand through time as an immense motion picture. Everything about it, from its subject matter to its scenes of flight and airliners resting in various stages of assembly in huge hangers displays an immensity of scale seldom seen in the movies or in life.

Telling the story of the glory years of Howard Hughes from the 1920's to the 1940's, The Aviator displays once again that its star is much more than just another industry "it boy". Leonardo DiCaprio is a talented actor, and here he joins the select few (Val Kilmer in The Doors, Gary Busey in The Buddy Holly Story) who almost seem to become possessed by the figure they are portraying. DiCaprio nails the accent, appearance, and the idiosyncratic mannerisms of the tormented billionaire Hughes, and really should have taken home the Oscar last year, as did his co-star Cate Blanchett, whose respectful but never worshipful turn as Katharine Hepburn all but upstaged even DiCaprio.

The Aviator reaches great heights and mixes in feel good moments with episodes of darkest despair. We root for the bizarre Howard Hughes and cheer him in his victories, even as we recoil and hate to look on as he falls into and the terrible living hell of mental illness. The most rousing scenes are of course the most dramatic, and the twin plane crashes should have anyone on the edge of his seat, just as Hughes' famous victory over Pan-Am's pocket Senator and his efforts to give that airline a monopoly on international flight make for a cheer-worthy climax to the film's nearly three-hour length.

The Aviator shows a director working well with his star(s) and it demonstrates exactly how good American cinema can still be. It was fun to watch and makes a worthy addition to any collector's movie library.

There was no mention that this DVD was the Spanish version of this DVD with English sub titles and I feel that I was grossly mislead.From the seller's feedbacks other buyers had experienced the same problem.I was offered a refund but without the original postage and I would have incurred additional postage in returning the DVD.