The Aviator (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) Review
Sometimes it seems that neither Scorsese nor DiCaprio can do wrong. When I first learned of their intentions towards this film, I anticipated an intricate character study with Scorsese's eye for detail. An old-Hollywood homage was expected, with tuxedos and gowns, cigarette holders and champagne glasses, all the glamour on which the industry was built. Maybe even a monocle or two. What I didn't expect for it to be a completely epic, entirely engrossing adventure into a reclusive billionaire, a troubled genius, a man who chased dreams into the clouds while embracing the individual capitalist opportunities available to all willing Americans.
After watching this film again recently, I was reminded why there is nearly no doubt that, in my opinion, Scorsese is the greatest American director of all time and DiCaprio is the best actor of his generation. Each of Scorsese's shots and directorial choices are perfect. Every movement, tic, and cough from DiCaprio is compelling. As ambitious as Hughes himself, the production design is fitting for such an incredible movie. At 3-hours, it could feel a bit long in tooth for some. For most, however, it simply rushes by without being rushed.
If broken down into vignettes, milestone moments of the film could have each hooked me into History channel biographies, if not full length films. The adventures in love, aviation, movie making, and Senate scandals are all the stuff of story books and legends. Howard Hughes lived enough in his early years that his later, more depressing years are just about ignored without being insensitive or incomplete. A brilliant choice of editing.
This dazzling biopic of Hughes' rise to fame and fortune pairs perfectly with Scorsese because he manages to do what most others think can't be done: He created a 3-hour epic that flies by...just like the Spruce Goose. Bravo to all involved.
Jason Elin
The Aviator (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) Overview
An epic biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920's to the mid-1940's.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary: Commentary by Scorsese
Deleted Scenes:Deleted scene: Howard Tells Ava About His Car Accident
Documentaries:Modern Marvels: Howard Hughes-- a 45 minute Documentary By The History Channel
Documentary:2 Music Featurettes: Scoring The Aviator: The Work Of Howard Shore The Wainwright Family - Loudon, Rufus And Martha
Featurette:A Life Without Limits: The Making of The Aviator The Role Of Howard Hughes In Aviation History An evening with Leonardo DiCaprio and Alan Alda The Affliction of Howard Hughes: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD Panel Discussion With Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, And Howard Hughes' Widow Terry Moore
Other:2 Behind-the-scenes featurettes: The Age Of Glamour: The Hair And Makeup Of The The Visual Effects Of The Aviator
Photo gallery
The Aviator (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) Specifications
From Hollywood's legendary Cocoanut Grove to the pioneering conquest of the wild blue yonder, Martin Scorsese's The Aviator celebrates old-school filmmaking at its finest. We say "old school" only because Scorsese's love of golden-age Hollywood is evident in his approach to his subject--Howard Hughes in his prime (played by Leonardo DiCaprio in his)--and especially in his technical mastery of the medium reflecting his love for classical filmmaking of the studio era. Even when he's using state-of-the-art digital trickery for the film's exciting flight scenes (including one of the most spectacular crashes ever filmed), Scorsese's meticulous attention to art direction and costume design suggests an impassioned pursuit of craftsmanship from a bygone era; every frame seems to glow with gilded detail. And while DiCaprio bears little physical resemblance to Hughes during the film's 20-year span (late 1920s to late '40s), he efficiently captures the eccentric millionaire's golden-boy essence, and his tragic descent into obsessive-compulsive seclusion. Bolstered by Cate Blanchett's uncannily accurate portrayal of Katharine Hepburn as Hughes' most beloved lover, The Aviator is easily Scorsese's most accessible film, inviting mainstream popularity without compromising Scorsese's artistic reputation. As compelling crowd-pleasers go, it's a class act from start to finish. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Features
In his commentary track, director Martin Scorsese offers his own impressions of Howard Hughes and rattles off his memories of experiencing Hughes's films. He mentions how he made Cate Blanchett watch every Katharine Hepburn film from the '30s on the big screen, and observes that Kate Beckinsale had "a real sense of the stature of a Hollywood goddess." But in general he doesn't talk much about the craft of making the film. That area is covered better by editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who also appears on the commentary track, and producer Michael Mann makes a few appearances (all were recorded separately). The picture is brilliant, but the 5.1 sound is not as aggressive in the rear speakers and subwoofer as one might expect, other than some nice surround effects in the Hell's Angels flying sequence.
The second disc collects almost three hours of features. There's one unnecessary deleted scene, and an 11-minute making-of featurette that's basically the cast and director heaping praise on each other. More interesting are the short featurettes on visual effects (including the XF-11 scene, of course), production design, costumes, hair and makeup, and score, and Loudon Wainwright discusses his and his children's musical performances. Historical perspective is provided by spotlights on Hughes's role in aviation and his obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a 43-minute Hughes documentary from the History Channel (part of the Modern Marvels series, it focuses on his mechanical innovations and spends less than a minute on his movies). More unusual are DiCaprio and Scorsese's appearance on an OCD panel, and a half-hour interview segment DiCaprio did with Alan Alda. --David Horiuchi
The Personalities of The Aviator
Click the links to explore more movies by these stars.
 | Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes
"Sometimes I truly fear that I... am losing my mind. And if I did it... it would be like flying blind." |
 | Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn
Howard Hughes: "You're the tallest woman I have ever met."
Katharine Hepburn: "And all sharp elbows and knees. Beware." |
|  | Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner
Howard Hughes: "Does that look clean to you?"
Ava Gardner: "Nothing's clean, Howard. But we do our best, right?" |
 | Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow in Hell's Angels: "Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" |
 | Jude Law as Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn in Captain Blood: "Up the riggings, you monkeys! Break out those sails and watch them fill with the wind that's carrying us all to freedom!" |
 | Director Martin Scorsese
"You get a sense of Howard Hughes being Icarus with the wax wings. Those wings were great for a while, but he flies too close to the sun." --Martin Scorsese |
Other Movies by The Aviator's Oscar® Winners
Production Designer Dante Ferretti
Film Editor Thelma Schoonmaker
Costume Designer Sandy Powell
Cinematographer Robert Richardson
See all the Oscar® winners at Oscar Central
The Aviator at Amazon.com
The Aviator soundtrack | 
The Screenplay | 
Howard Hughes: The Real Aviator |
Howard Hughes movies | 
Great movies of the 1930s | 
The films of Martin Scorsese |
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 03, 2010 17:25:05
It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color) Review
My wife had been looking for this movie, in general, for quite sometime. Searching on Amazon and finding a few different versions, I ran accross this nice double-disc version that not only contained an updated color version, but the original black-and-white as well. The item came rather quickly in the mail, in great protective packaging, and my wife's eyes lit up once she had opened it! And to put the cherry on top of the sundae, it came with a little collectors Christmas ornament, which my wife loves to collect during the season. The version was literally "the whole package" for any fan of the movie! It even includes original trailers and behind the scenes footage. Great stuff!
It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color) Overview
George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?
It's A Wonderful Life (Two-Disc Collector's Set) (B/W & Color) Specifications
Now perhaps the most beloved American film,
It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement.
It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic.
--Robert Horton
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 01, 2010 20:01:04
Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Review
I think Quentin creates films that are masterpieces of creativity, just like Kubrick uses imagery. This film has really great characters who just come across with dialog that doesnt so much ring with wit but with imagination. The film uses actors who just turn their roles into scene stealers again and again. It is about gangsters who work for the big boss Maurice. Maurice doesnt show up too much except for a cat and mouse run that turns into a trial of shame and pain for this heavyweight criminal. Willis doesnt say too much, but he reflects his nonverbal as stoic until he turns into a baby talker with his uniquely attractive french girlfriend with a very round apple face. The two main thugs are Fishburne and Travolta, they both do a good job. I like the way Fishburne uses his speech and articulates so eloquently, he finally feels his bible verse during a murder raid, which will change his life. He decides to become a savior to another mixed up couple during a coffee shop burgler gone wrong. Travolta and Thurman are the most inventive and I loved when they share an intimate outing with drugs overtaking the real connection. They do the twist at a rock a billy diner with the old caddy cars as booths for the lucky few. Keitel plays an organized yuppie sweeper almost seen as godlike by his fame of handling dirty jobs so perfectly. He has a short take but its another creme de le creme character. The things I liked were the cool connection of the Travolta and Thurman, the twist and the fun of showing off their style. I liked Thurmans camera director meeting with him. She displays this air of creativity and in the moment fun even though on a high. Filming is fun, I liked to do little short character takes or shooting your friends like an interview. It was different. I liked the coffee shop. I liked the motel with the anonimity and intimacy they shared, with the overcast skies. I liked the thought of a big breakfast with blueberry pancakes and sausages with lots of maple syrup. I liked that they could go anywhere and experience great adventures like Bora Bora. I liked that Willis went back to help the oppressor out of so much degradation. I liked the way Fishburne wanted to walk the planet, meeting others sharing moments and being open to life. A must see flick.
Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Overview
Critics and audiences worldwide hailed PULP FICTION as the star-studded picture that redefined cinema in the 20th Century! Writer/director Quentin Tarantino (Academy Award(R) Winner -- Best Original Screenplay, 1994) delivers an unforgettable cast of characters -- including a pair of low-rent hit men (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson), their boss's sexy wife (Uma Thurman), and a desperate prizefighter (Bruce Willis) -- in a wildly entertaining and exhilarating motion picture adventure that both thrills and amuses!
Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Specifications
With the knockout one-two punch of 1992's
Reservoir Dogs and 1994's
Pulp Fiction writer-director Quentin Tarantino stunned the filmmaking world, exploding into prominence as a cinematic heavyweight contender. But
Pulp Fiction was more than just the follow-up to an impressive first feature, or the winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, or a script stuffed with the sort of juicy bubblegum dialogue actors just love to chew, or the vehicle that reestablished John Travolta on the A-list, or the relatively low-budget ( million) independent showcase for an ultrahip mixture of established marquee names and rising stars from the indie scene (among them Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Julia Sweeney, Kathy Griffin, and Phil Lamar). It was more, even, than an unprecedented 0-million-plus hit for indie distributor Miramax.
Pulp Fiction was a sensation. No, it was not the Second Coming (I actually think
Reservoir Dogs is a more substantial film; and P.T. Anderson outdid Tarantino in 1997 by making his directorial debut with two even more mature and accomplished pictures,
Hard Eight and
Boogie Nights). But
Pulp Fiction packs so much energy and invention into telling its nonchronologically interwoven short stories (all about temptation, corruption, and redemption amongst modern criminals, large and small) it leaves viewers both exhilarated and exhausted--hearts racing and knuckles white from the ride. (Oh, and the infectious, surf-guitar-based soundtrack is tastier than a Royale with Cheese.)
--Jim Emerson
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 01, 2010 07:02:04
Kalifornia (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) Review
One of the first times I noticed Brad Pitt and if anyone wants to see Brad in a role that was overlooked by critics, this is it. Solid movie still after all this time, even if it has a lot of the mid 90s in it. Great performance.
Kalifornia (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) Overview
Excitement, adventure and unimaginable terror await on the road to
Kalifornia. "Brad Pitt is outstanding" (Rolling Stone) and "Juliette Lewis is utterly, heartbreakingly convincing" (Boxoffice) in this chilling psychological thriller co-starring David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes. When urban intellectuals Brian (Duchovny) and Carrie (Forbes) set out on a cross-country trip to research a book about serial killers, they share the ride with a couple they barely know, Early Grace (Pitt) and his girlfriend, Adele (Lewis). Locked in a car hurtling westward, the four travelers struggle to find some common ground. But when they finally do connect, Early's violent nature abruptly emerges, and the terrified Brian and Carrie realize that they don't need to go very farto learn about ruthless killers...because they're already face to face with one!
Kalifornia (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) Specifications
David Duchovny is a blocked author with a fascination for outlaw killers who hatches a plan to road trip through America's mass-murder landmarks to finish his book. He enlists his frustrated photographer girlfriend Michelle Forbes, who desperately wants to leave the East Coast for L.A., to illustrate the tome, and they advertise for riding partners. Luckily for them, they wind up with a veteran killer, the greasy trailer-park ex-con Brad Pitt, who decides to skip parole with his cowering child-woman girlfriend Juliette Lewis. Duchovny is enamored by gun-toting Pitt's recklessness and lawless disregard for, well, everything; he's simultaneously terrified and thrilled by Pitt's brutal beating of a barfly. Meanwhile, Pitt's leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.
Directed with a cool remove by Dominic Sena (Gone in 60 Seconds 2000), Kalifornia falls somewhere between Badlands and Natural Born Killers. Pitt brings a ferocious magnetism to his part, but it's still hard to buy genial Duchovny's odd attraction; Juliette Lewis conveys a terrifying sense of victimization with her poor dumb creature. Despite the film's best efforts, it never really plumbs the psyche of Pitt's simmering psycho--he's just plain bad, you know--but it does fashion an effective little thriller out of the tensions brewing in the restless quartet. --Sean Axmaker
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 27, 2010 13:45:05
Bullitt (Two-Disc Special Edition) Review
I was about to give 5 stars to this movie and to say it's the best thriller I've ever seen, but... after reading a few reviews by other people here at Amazon a changed my mind somewhat. First off, I still like the movie very much. But I have to admit that the plot is standard and predictable, there's nothing special about the story of a corrupt politician, hired killers, mafia connections and a good cop who wins in the end against all odds.
The script is average at best, the cast is good but nothing spectacular, except McQueen, who doesn't really perform much, one has to admit. Yes, he looks great for this role, but the role does not require much more than good looks.
So what's so great about this film? I think Peter Yates directed everything in this movie, even average things, with such a lot of taste, to the absolute perfection. Especially camerawork, late Technicolor age obsession with color, perfect eye for the detail, street scene, so much mid-60's spirit in everything on screen - this makes even secondary frames, which might not make sense in a different movie, absolutely necessary in "Bullitt".
Scenes in the bar, in the airport (I'm not mentioning the car chase quite intentionally) are so natural and un-natural at the same time with this Technicolor overdose that images from this movie would be with me forever. Strangely, it brought to my mind "The Blast of Silence", the 1961 B&W noir by Allen Baron. Surely McQueen is much more modern than Baron (who directed the film and played Frank Bono, the main character), but there's something about the two movies which brings them together for me, maybe zeitgeist captured with such a great skill and attention to detail.
So - five stars to Bullitt after all. And yes, I saw The Getaway. To my taste Bullitt is beyond comparison.The Getaway is just entertainment. Two Lane Blacktop must be mentioned too when talking about Bullitt, surely.
Bullitt (Two-Disc Special Edition) Overview
His new assignment seems routine: protecting a star witness for an important trial. But before the night is out, the witness lies dying and cool, no-nonsense Detective Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) won't rest until the shooters and the kingpin pulling their strings are nailed. From opening shot to closing shootout, Bullitt crackles with authenticity: San Francisco locations, crisp dialogue and to-the-letter police, hospital and morgue procedures. An Oscar winner for Best Film Editing (1968), this razor-edged thriller features one of cinema history's most memorable car chases. Buckle up and brace for unbeatable action.
DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Commentary by Director Peter YatesDocumentaries:The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing Steve McQueen: The Essence of CoolFeaturette:Vintage Featurette -- Bullitt: Steve McQueen's Commitment to Reality
Bullitt (Two-Disc Special Edition) Specifications
Peter Yates's 1968 cop drama has its existentialist pretensions, but there is something seductive about its strained seriousness and Steve McQueen's intentionally stoic performance as a San Francisco police detective on the trail of a murderer. A couple of key action sequences boost the film's stature, the most memorable of which is a vertiginous car chase that Yates almost approaches as a dance. Jacqueline Bisset provides window dressing as Bullitt's girlfriend--worried about how much his job strips away his humanity--and Robert Vaughan is almost reptilian as an opportunistic politician.
--Tom Keogh
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 09, 2010 10:08:05
