Customer Reviews

The American Aviator - The Howard Hughes Story

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For those interested in the life of Howard Hughes, this is a better deal.

It is an unvarnished, straight documentary which tells Hughes' story without bells and whistles.

AND, as a real "easter egg," you get the entire released version of "The Outlaw" at no extra charge. See for yourself what all the fuss was about! (Hint: not really too much, at least by today's standards.)

The historian used here for credibility and gravitas is a little overly dramatic or sarcastic, but the narrator is great. The footage, though not as plentiful as in the other Hughes DVD for sale today, is very well-inserted and presented without distracting frills.

ENjoy!

This DVD is a real find. It consists of old balck and white footage of Hughes, his women, his planes, his tool company, and more. I was fascinated by the constnt successes and failures of this infamous man who could dream so big, but seemed obcessed to fail over and over again.

Dvd was interesting--enough excitment to keep the viewer's attention. Well worth the money and time. Historical and educational.

The story of Howard Hughes told in this DVD is far removed from his time and the journalists and newspaper tycoons of his time who had a larger control of fame. Hughes rose to fame during the Hearst newpaper years. Since the time my father was an aviator/war pilot who worked for TWA (under Hughes ownership), I was captivated by the man. This is a balanced, though cynical look at the man as if he was bottled on the shelf for awhile, taken from the shelf and diluted down by later "insider" information by those who endured his Elvis-like secluded years. Imagine this: both Elvis and Howard Hughes, both self-made, (though controlled by handlers and drugs) resided a short distance from one another while Hughes was encamped at "The Desert Inn."(Elvis-Caesar's Palace) This DVD makes up for the later inclusion of unsavory aspects of Hughes declining years of medical neglect (as drugs exploded in our country)with some incredible flying footage and early Washington D.C. testimony; the speed records alone make Howard Hughes a legend in his time. My only criticism of this DVD would be that it includes few of Hughes's contemporaries or employees when he was brilliantly daring, at the top of his game. It more than suggests the corruptive aspects of power and money, more than suggests the corrosive influence on politics.But it also suggests how the locusts will come at you if you are slightly off-form or you ruffle the wrong feathers in high places.While it is true that if you climb higher than others your descent can be even faster. Yet,I am still curious about the man and long to know more.

The final legacy of Howard Hughes is left off completely here, covered in a "60-Minutes" segment a few years ago: The Hughes Medical Research facility on the east coast is the largest independent, fully-funded facilty in the country as if unconsciously, Howard Hughes wanted the rest of the country to avoid a similar catastrophic decline.