OK, so I don't like boxing movies, but what's not to like about a flick about one of the great figures in aviation history?

Well, a few things, actually. I saw The Aviator last night on DVD. It was a watchable movie, but despite his best efforts, and he is a good actor, I just couldn't buy DeCaprio as HH. He just seemed too young, and I doubt if Hughes' voice had that high a pitch.

Kate Blanchett captured the voice and mannerisms of Kate Hepburn pretty well, but she didn't really physically resemble her, so that was a little jarring as well. On the other hand, I didn't immediately recognize her as Kate Blanchett, so that's something.

The thing I liked least about it though was too little emphasis on his technological achievements, and too much on his mental debilities. It was hard to believe that he could go from urine-collecting naked nutcase to someone who embarrassed a Senate Chairman in a hearing just a few days later. But that's probably just my bias--perhaps Scorcese emphasised (and overdramatized) what worked best for a mass audience.

Aviator=Beautiful Mind.

I was going to say that you can't have a Hollywood bio of a role model white male unless he's also depicted as totally nuts. But
Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man" makes a liar of me.
Way to go, Ron.

Seeing DiCaprio as Hughes in the trailer, my mind flashed to a remark Major Burns made about Radar on M*A*S*H: "I can't stand that pimply voice." Not that DiCaprio's voice is unpleasant - it just doesn't fit HH. As out of place as dubbing Hoss Cartwright in Japanese.

I thought the movie was excellent, the aviation scenes were reasonably accurate and well done, and even Hughes' descent into near madness also well done. The portrayal of his mental illness made him look even more heroic, the way he pulled himself together when he absolutely had to.

As for DiCaprio, he didn't look much like Hughes in the beginning (although much closer in the later part of Hughes' life), but what he absolutely nailed was Hughes' penetrating gaze, which I always thought was his more compelling visual feature. If you look back at old photos of Hughes or old newsreels, any time he looks at the camera you get a sense that he's looking right through you. The intensity is amazing. There were times in the movie when DiCaprio managed that exact look, and at those moments I thought I was simply looking at Howard Hughes. Great job.

DiCaprio's most convincing role was in "...Gilbert Grape."

I have not seen the film so I'm just going on the basis of the trailers-- but from what I've seen there I thought DiCaprio was a good choice- and generally it should be easier to age a person through makeup than 'youthen' a person through makeup.
But here's two more comments about the voice that I don't quite get. It's been awhile since I've seen any, but in the old newsreels & such it always sticks in my mind that Hughes had a weird high-pitched voice that did not quite go with his image. Seems to me even Noah Dietrich commented on that in his '70's bio.