Always (film)
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| Always | |
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| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring | Richard Dreyfuss Holly Hunter Brad Johnson John Goodman Audrey Hepburn |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures United Artists |
| Release date(s) | December 22, 1989 (United States) |
| Running time | 122 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $29,500,000 (estimated) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Always is a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. Audrey Hepburn makes her final film appearance as an angel. The film was distributed by Universal Studios and United Artists.
The film concerns aerial firefighters who fly war-surplus aircraft dropping fire retardant slurry on wildfires. The movie is set in Kootenai National Forest, Montana.
The script is based somewhat on the 1943 movie A Guy Named Joe in that one of the pilots dies and returns as an angel to mentor a new pilot, only to find the new pilot falling in love with his former girlfriend.
[edit] Synopsis
Pete (Dreyfuss) and Dorinda (Hunter) have the kind of love that appears all too rarely. After another of Pete's overly "heroic" and risky flying stunts, all the pilots, mechanics and firemen are hanging out at the saloon. Pete surprises Dorinda with a stunning new pink dress for her birthday, although (typical of their relationship) it turns out to be the wrong day. She puts on the dress anyway and all the guys rush to wash their hands so they get a turn dancing with her (Pete holds the towels for them), to the lovely melody of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.
His friend, Al (Goodman), sits him down for a beer and likens their situation to wartime England (Quonset huts, warm beer, and hotshot pilots flying bombers) in order to emphasize the key difference:
Pete, there ain't no war here. And this is why you're not exactly a hero for taking these chances you take. You're more of what I would call a dickhead.
Dorinda confronts Pete:
I could at least understand how you fly if you were risking yourself for civilization. If you were putting your life on the line for another life, anybody's life. (I love you, Pete, but I'm not enjoying it.)
The two flyers call each other “Al the Pal” and “Peter St. Peter,” eponymous call signs which reflect their roles with heavy irony. Al is Pete's pal, a big trustworthy guy who really cares about Pete's well-being and is an enthusiastic booster of his relationship with Dorinda. No trace of jealousy or envy mars the purity of his friendship.
After deciding to take Al's advice and take a safe job training pilots in Flat Rock Colorado, Pete risks his life one last time. While on a bombing run, one of the engines on Al's Catalina water bomber catches on fire, and Pete makes a dangerously steep dive to extinguish it with slurry. He saves Al, but his A-26 bomber flies so low it hits one of the burning trees, catches fire and explodes.
The next thing he knows, he's getting his hair cut in a beautiful forest setting, although six months have elapsed in the real world. His barber, Hap (Audrey Hepburn in her final screen role) — who is actually an angel — explains Pete's new role. Just as he was inspired when he needed it most, now he in turn is going to provide Spiritus ("the divine breath") to others. As she puts it, “They hear you inside their own minds as if it were their thoughts.”
Pete is a guardian angel now (“We don't send back the other kind”) and is assigned to guide the true-hearted but awkward new pilot, Ted (Brad Johnson), who's falling in love with Dorinda. This becomes Pete's biggest challenge: to say goodbye to Dorinda instead of selfishly hanging on to a love which can no longer be.
Ted volunteers for an extremely dangerous mission, one that is vital to save some firefighters surrounded by flames. Unable to bear the thought of losing another loved one, Dorinda steals Ted's plane and completes the job, with Pete's inspiration. On the way back, he tells her all the things he wanted to say, but never got around to while he was alive. When they land, he releases her heart, so that Ted can take his place, saying “That's my girl… and that's my boy.”
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Always at the Internet Movie Database
Duel • The Sugarland Express • Jaws • Close Encounters of the Third Kind • 1941 • Raiders of the Lost Ark • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom • The Color Purple • Empire of the Sun • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade • Always • Hook • Jurassic Park • Schindler's List • The Lost World: Jurassic Park • Amistad • Saving Private Ryan • Artificial Intelligence: AI • Minority Report • Catch Me if You Can • The Terminal • War of the Worlds • Munich • Indiana Jones 4 • Lincoln • Interstellar
Feature films: Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948) • Laughter in Paradise (1951) • Young Wives' Tale (1951) • One Wild Oat (1951) • The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) • Monte Carlo Baby (1951) • We Will All Go to Monte Carlo (1952) • The Secret People (1952) • Roman Holiday (1953) • Sabrina (1954) • War and Peace (1956) • Funny Face (1957) • Love in the Afternoon (1957) • Green Mansions (1959) • The Nun's Story (1959) • The Unforgiven (1960) • Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) • The Children's Hour (1961) • Charade (1963) • Paris, When It Sizzles (1964) • My Fair Lady (1964) • How to Steal a Million (1966) • Two For The Road (1967) • Wait Until Dark (1967) • Robin and Marian (1976) • Bloodline (1979) • They All Laughed (1981) • Always (1989) (cameo)
Television: Mayerling (1957) • Love Among Thieves (1987) • Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn (1993)
