Leonardo DiCaprio is a con man and Tom Hanks is the FBI agent who pursues him in this charming entertainment from director Steven Spielberg, based on the memoir of Frank Abagnale. DiCaprio plays Abagnale, whose elaborate ruses include impersonating a doctor and an airline pilot, all while wooing a string of women (played by such rising stars as Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks, and Jennifer Garner). Christopher Walken was nominated for his touching supporting performance as Abagnale’s father, and John Williams was nominated for his effervescent score, which recalls his early years as a jazz musician and Mancini-esque comedy composer. 

DIRECTED BY: Steven Spielberg. WRITTEN BY: Jeff Nathanson. WITH: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen. 2002. 140 min. Color. USA. English. Rated PG-13. 35mm. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.