The Aviator

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Director Martin Scorsese brilliantly portrays the life of billionaire Howard Hughes. Hughes was considered the richest man in the country and possibly the world (Katherine Ramsland). He had inherited his wealth first through his father’s business and then film making and aviation. Martin Scorsese accurately depicted Hughes’ image, health problems, airplanes, and the Brewster Senate Hearings with few inaccuracies.

Leonardo Dicaprio held the look and persona of Howard Hughes accurately. His hair was slicked back and parted which had been the most common style of Hughes’ life and the time period. This simple act helped create the character and gave Hughes a civilized look. Another signature trait of Howard Hughes was his mustache. The mustache was grown to cover a scar that he had received crashing the XF-11, July 7, 1947 (Anonymous-Check-Six). Scorsese did not add the mustache until later and this added accurate depictions. The hair style and mustache were used in Hughes’ times of sanity. There were times throughout his life when his illnesses and anxieties overcame him and his appearance became uncivilized. His hair, beard, and fingernails all grew and he rarely wore clothing and this added a parallel to Hughes’ life (Ramsland). Scorsese kept Hughes’ style and character during the film which helped accurately show the life of Howard Hughes.

Scorsese kept Hughes’ looks, and also showed the side affects from Hughes’ mental illnesses. Since Howard was a young boy, he had been suffering from Hypocondrism (Anonymous-Famous Texan). Hughes was greatly afraid of germs and was constantly washing his hands. He would refrain from shaking hands or coming near others. He was also known for burning his clothes because he c...

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...tyles. His health troubles were shown through uncommon traits and characteristics; Scorsese’s airplanes looked exactly like those made in the lifetime of Howard Hughes. Scorsese rarely threw false information into the motion picture and when he did, it was slight and miniscule.

Works Cited

Anonymous, "Crash of the XF-11". Check-Six. March 10, 2010 .

Anonymous, "Howard Hughes". Famous Texan. March 10, 2010 .

Ramsland, Katherine. "The Mystery of Howard Hughes". Psychological Autopsy for Death Investigation. March 10, 2010 .

McCaffery, Bob. "Senate Hearings". The Aviator Howard Hughes. March 10, 2010 .

The Aviator. Martin Scorsese

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