I recently watched The Aviator (2004), directed by Martin Scorsese, and Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, both of which I saw in theatrical release. Both are films about captains of industry, but very different men in different industries.
The Aviator is about Howard Hughes, who was born to wealth and privilege and became a film director and aviation pioneer. He was enormously successful, and became quite wealthy, eventually endowing the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. But that was after the mid-century period covered by this film, which leaves Hughes after he had successfully defended himself from a politically-motivated Senate investigation instigated by an industry rival. The films ends with him retreating into his mental illness.
Preston Tucker’s story is set at roughly the same time and even has a scene where he meets with Hughes, who gives him some good advice at a difficult time. Tucker is the target of a SEC investigation motivated by politically-connected executives in the automotive industry who see Tucker’s automotive innovations as a thread. Tucker triumphs at trial, but is unable to save his company.
Hughes was a playboy, Tucker a family man. Both were engineers, entrepreneurs, and innovators, and both were opposed by vested interests. Tucker failed in business where Hughes succeeded. Hughes retreated from the world while Tucker died of cancer. One is the story of a Big Guy who went up against the Establishment while the other is the story of a Little Guy who went up against the Establishment. We have similar themes and concerns, but ultimately very different films.
To what extent is the difference that between Scorsese and Coppola?
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