A movie of proportions befitting Howard Hughes

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2005)

This is one of the few movies of recent times that I came out of wanting to see again. While in no way a thorough docudrama of Howard Hughes' life (I recommend viewers at least read the IMDb biographic details of him before seeing the movie) we get a good insight into his complex nature, aspirations and mental problems. His two most most extravagant projects, the movie "Hells Angels" and the Hercules aircraft get the major attention as we would expect, but it is a pity that his role in producing "Scarface" receives only passing mention. Unfortunately I agree with those who say Leonardo di Caprio was the wrong person to cast as Hughes, but he does put in a good performance, while everyone else is superb; I particularly liked Alec Baldwin. Gorgeous sets, costumes and cinematography make it all a sumptuous visual delight which at no time becomes tedious. A must see.