Flashback: Leonardo Dicaprio Flying Blind in The Aviator

Martin Scorsese directing Leonardo Dicaprio in The Aviator (2004)

Doing a little googling this weekend, I happened upon Leonardo Dicaprio's list of awards and nominations. He's got 63 nominations, 24 of those are awards in his pocket (yet none of them are an Oscar...yet). Now, I've seen quite a few Leo films thus far, so it surprised me when I noticed a film I've never seen. And more importantly, a film Dicaprio has won a Golden Globe for. The Aviator, a biopic directed by Martin Scorcese depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career. Scorsese + Dicaprio = I was sure this film would be good.

Leonardo Dicaprio as Howard Hughes in The Aviator

Movie Moment: The projector room scene (aka the "Come in with the Milk" scene). This scene truly is exemplary of Scorcese as an artist. Particularly, I was captivated by the shots where Hughes' body seem to transform into a screen or canvas as the projected images of his film "Hell's Angels" blanket him. Planes shoot across his body, as if his skin were the sky. In this moment, the self-destructing Hughes becomes one with the madness of the crashing planes. Both are flying blind. The imagery of this moment demonstrates just how infinite the layers of storytelling can be. And how film can go from art to masterpiece.  

Did you have a movie moment during The Aviator?