Always (1989)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers (WGA):

Jerry Belson (screenplay)
Dalton Trumbo (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 December 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

They couldn't hear him. They couldn't see him. But he was there when they needed him... Even after he was gone.

Plot:

A romantic adventure about a legendary pilot's passion for dare-devil firefighting and his girl.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Forest Fire | Falling In Love | Ghost | Firefighting

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Richard Dreyfuss	...	Pete Sandich
Holly Hunter	...	Dorinda Durston
Brad Johnson	...	Ted Baker
John Goodman	...	Al Yackey
Audrey Hepburn	...	Hap
Roberts Blossom	...	Dave
Keith David	...	Powerhouse
Ed Van Nuys	...	Nails
Marg Helgenberger	...	Rachel
Dale Dye	...	Don
Brian Haley	...	Alex
James Lashly	...	Charlie
Michael Steve Jones	...	Grey
Kim Robillard	...	Air Traffic Controller
Jim Sparkman	...	Dispatcher

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Spain:T | South Korea:15 | Brazil:Livre | Portugal:M/12 (Q) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Iceland:L | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bull Lake, Montana, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

When Pete is first strolling through the charred woods, the song he's whistling is the theme song from "Leave It to Beaver" (1957).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ted gives CPR to the bus driver, he is clearly pretending to perform chest compressions and breathe into him. Doing real compressions on a beating heart can actually cause the heart to stop.

Quotes:

Dorinda Durston: ...so he sees this building on fire and then just outside of town is this reservoir, so what he does is...
Ted Baker: He takes a plane, he goes over the reservoir, fills it with water, dumps it, puts the fire out.
Dorinda Durston: No! He missed. He hit the post office next door. Knocked it on its butt! It took him three tries. The town was awash; the groceries were burnt. It was fire, flood and famine. If he could have managed plague, it would have been the four horsemen of the apocalypse in one PBY. I mean he was unique.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Terror Firmer (1999)

Soundtrack:

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

A film worth revisiting

It has been a while since I have seen this 'Always.' The years, I should say, have done this film justice.

A noted cinephile, I know when to eat my words, and this is one is for the books. Sincere. Honest. Touching. Obviously sparked with a late-eighties, Spielbergian hyper-real, cinematic extensions and flair, these elements do not bog the film downs as, say, with '1941' or 'The Color Purple.' And why should we expect modern filmmakers to be like those of the forties or fifties? Modern filmmakers are just that -- modern.

Holly Hunter is a walking dream and she has talent in droves. I have long had a crush on her and her funny mouth. She is simply enchanting and steals the show. Goodman, for once, is kept under control. Dreyfuss, with the thankless role of revisiting his past and commenting on the future, is the weakest link but only just. Sumptuously photographed by deftly edited, this story of unrequited love is as universal as mothers and babies. If it doesn't bring tears to your eyes, shame on you. The best advice to view this film is to forget it is a Spielberg film. Enjoy it for the love story that it is and sink into its voluptuous and charged charm.

We should all hope we become angels in the mist, able to return to Earth to right all the wrongs of the world.

This may be one Spielberg's most romantic films, next to A.I., which is a supremely magnificent film and, also, equally dismissed when it first arrived on the scene.

I urge all to give this film a second chance.