Passes the Bechdel test

The Aviator

Name: The Aviator
Released: 2004

2004. Directed by Martin Scorsese, written by John Logan.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
23 women characters. 8 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 99.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Biopic of billionaire Howard Hughes, starting with his early filmmaking years as owner of R.K.O. Pictures, but mostly focusing on his role in designing and promoting new aircraft. Hughes was a risk-taker spending several fortunes on designing experimental aircraft and eventually founding TWA as a rival to Pan Am airlines owned by his great rival Juan Trippe. When Trippe's politico Senator Ralph Owen Brewster accuses Hughes of being a war profiteer, it's Hughes who gains the upper hand. Hughes also had many women in his life including a long relationship with Katharine Hepburn. From an early age, however, Hughes was also germophobic and would have severe bouts of mental illness.

Released: 25 Dec 2004
Genres: Biography, Drama
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 7.5 / 10
Metascore: 77 / 100
Awards: Won 5 Oscars. 89 wins & 131 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Howard 499 lines, man
Kate 98 lines, woman
Glenn 64 lines, man
Ava 56 lines, woman
Brewster 53 lines, man
Noah 41 lines, man
Trippe 40 lines, man
Jack 35 lines, man
Johnny 13 lines, man
Mrs. Hepburn 13 lines, woman

Full cast, 77 people

Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes
Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn
Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner
John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich
Alec Baldwin as Juan Trippe
Alan Alda as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster
Ian Holm as Professor Fitz
Danny Huston as Jack Frye
Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow
Jude Law as Errol Flynn
Adam Scott as Johnny Meyer
Matt Ross as Glenn Odekirk
Kelli Garner as Faith Domergue
Frances Conroy as Mrs. Hepburn
Brent Spiner as Robert Gross
Stanley DeSantis as Louis B. Mayer
Edward Herrmann as Joseph Breen
Willem Dafoe as Roland Sweet
Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Hepburn
J.C. MacKenzie as Ludlow
Jacob Davich as Howard Hughes (9 yrs old)
Amy Sloan as Howard Hughes' Mother
Sam Hennings as HELL'S ANGELS Stunt Coordinator
Joe Chrest as HELL'S ANGELS Director of Photography
Rufus Wainwright as Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #1
Harry Standjofski as Crony of Louis B. Mayer
Vince Giordano as Cocoanut Grove Band Member
Josie Maran as Cigarette Girl
Justin Shilton as HELL'S ANGELS Pilot
Arthur Holden as Radio Announcer
Raymond Ducasse as Roscoe Turner
Joseph P. Reidy as Aide to Howard
Stéphane Demers as Maitre d'
Yves Jacques as Waiter
Loudon Wainwright III as Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #2
Jason Cavalier as Cocoanut Grove Patron
Chris Ufland as Engineer
Al Dubois as Pan Am Executive #1
Alan Toy as Man on Crutches
Sebastian Tillinger as Timer
Francesca Scorsese as Little Girl
Charlotte Scott as Little Girl
James Bradford as Uncle Willy
Joe Cobden as Another Guest #1
Linda E. Smith as Another Guest #2
Alan Fawcett as Chairman MPA
Jordan St. James as Hughes' Aide at Censor Hearing
David Purdham as Emcee
Kevin O'Rourke as Spencer Tracy
Lisa Bronwyn Moore as Noah's Wife
Emma Campbell as Jack Frye's Wife, Helen
Martha Wainwright as Cocoanut Grove Vocalist #3
Vincent Laresca as Jorge
Matt Holland as Hughes' Staff Person
Dennis St John as Custodian
Keith Campbell as Marine
Al Vandecruys as Doctor
James Rae as FBI Agent
Kathleen McAuliffe as Brewster's Maid
Nellie Sciutto as Secretary
Terry Haig as Another Senator
James McNamara as James McNamara (voice)
John Koensgen as Pan Am Executive #2
Vladimir Kuznetsov Smith as Caretaker
Mark Akeson as Caretaker
Jason Pollard as Caretaker
Heather Petrone as Vivien Leigh (uncredited)
Danielle Franke as Esquire Starlet (uncredited)
Meghan Elizabeth as Starlet (uncredited)
Elizabeth DeCicco as Starlet (uncredited)
Elisa Dyann as Coat Check Girl (uncredited)
Isabelle Champeau as Editor (uncredited)
Al Coronel as Bi-Plane Mechanic (uncredited)
Gerardo Lo Dico as Military Officer (uncredited)
Anne V. Coates as Howard Hughes' Film Editor (uncredited)
Brian T. Lynch as Ground Crewman
Antonella Elia as (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 99

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 3	7	7
4 to 6	3	61
7 to 9	0	53
10 to 12	0	8
13 to 15	0	16
16 to 18	2	13
19 to 21	14	8
22 to 24	22	68
25 to 27	0	5
28 to 30	0	4
31 to 33	1	6
34 to 36	16	21
37 to 39	3	4
40 to 42	7	6
43 to 45	22	48
46 to 48	9	17
49 to 51	1	6
52 to 54	8	42
55 to 57	2	16
58 to 60	1	46
61 to 63	0	28
64 to 66	18	20
67 to 69	0	21
70 to 72	0	18
73 to 75	0	51
76 to 78	10	38
79 to 81	1	3
82 to 84	1	46
85 to 87	12	50
88 to 90	19	9
91 to 93	5	70
94 to 96	5	44
97 to 99	0	5

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

KATE: You know fame is supposed to be my turf. AVA: Don't worry, Howard, she's just working th~ room ... AVA: It's her job, baby.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 18 are women's.

189 lines from women, 858 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

23 women and 49 men in the cast. 8 women and 34 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 119 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (2,088), men 84% (11,034). Women have 18% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

4 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 31% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese (man)
Written by: John Logan (man)
Produced by: Sanford R. Climan (man), Charles Evans Jr. (man), Graham King (man), Michael Mann (man), Matthias Deyle (man)
Shot by: Robert Richardson (man)
Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker (woman)
Music by: Howard Shore (man)
Production design by: Dante Ferretti (man)
Costumes by: Sandy Powell (woman)
Cast by: Ellen Lewis (woman), Lucie Robitaille (woman)