Quick Movie Recommendation
My wife and I just finished watching The Aviator.
Very good movie. Excellent cinematography, screenplay, and acting. I'm not sure what my expectations really were going in, but this far exceeded them.
Now I want to go learn more about the real history of Howard Hughes. What a larger-than-life person. Texan, naturally. Many scenes in this movie recalled scenes from Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
I loved seeing Hughes put Kate Hepburn (portrayed by the lovely Cate Blanchett) in her place: "you're only a movie star!" Also worth the price of admission just to see Hughes put the senator (Alan Alda) in his place at the committee hearings toward the end. And note that Alec Baldwin did a great job playing the sleazy Pan Am boss.
(Geeky Aside: I remember a few years ago on the Star Wars fan sites there was a nasty rumor that Leonardo diCaprio would be playing Anakin Skywalker. You know what? He would have been excellent in that role. Watching his descent into OCD madness in this movie was a good example of how he could have portrayed the fall of Anakin.)
Oh, I agree: The Aviator is a really good movie. Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Juan Trippe did a lot towards rehabilitating Mr. Baldwin in my estimation. Blanchett's rendition of Katharine Hepburn was really good, except that she apparently nailed the accent, which was like nails on a chalkboard. "Golllllllllleeee, Howaaaaahd!" Yikes. When you could understand what she was saying, it was somewhat terrifying to behold.
The one thing that I was waiting for during the Senate hearings was the quip of something to the effect that, "During the war, I got 1% of the contracts. Now, I'm getting 99% of the investigation", but maybe Hughes never actually said that. I never knew that Pan Am had made an effort at being the American international air carrier by law rather than default.
And of course Hughes had the wisdom to choose the most beautiful piston-engined airliner ever made, the Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation. Ditto its longer-legged cousin, the L-1649A Starliner. That counts for something in my book.
Posted by: The Country Pundit at September 20, 2005 07:58 AM