Always (film)
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| Always | |
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| Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring | Richard Dreyfuss Holly Hunter John Goodman Brad Johnson Audrey Hepburn |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Editing by | Michael Kahn |
| 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) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Always is a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. This is also Audrey Hepburn's final film appearance. The film was distributed by Universal Studios and United Artists.
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[edit] Genesis
The premise is based on the 1943 movie A Guy Named Joe and follows the same basic plot line.[1] with basic plot similarities 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. Spielberg did not treat the film as a direct homage to the earlier World War II melodrama but it is significant that A Guy Named Joe is aired in a scene in Poltergeist (which like A Guy Named Joe was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, currently sister studio to United Artists, which co-produced Always).
During production, Spielberg confided that while making Jaws in 1974, he and Dreyfuss had traded quips from A Guy Named Joe. Dreyfuss had seen the 1944 melodrama "at least 35 times."[2] For Spielberg, who recalled seeing it as a child late at night, "it was one of the films that inspired him to become a movie director,"[2]creating an emotional connection to the times that his father, a wartime air force veteran had lived through.[3][4] The two friends quoted individual shots from the movie to each other and when the opportunity arose, years later, were resolved to recreate the wartime fantasy.[2]
[edit] Plot
Pete Sandich (Dreyfuss) is one of a group of aerial firefighters, who fly war-surplus aircraft dropping fire retardant slurry to put out forest wildfires. He and Dorinda Durston (Hunter), a pilot who doubles as a dispatcher, have an unusual relationship. After another of Pete's unnecessarily risky flying stunts, the pilots, mechanics and firemen are hanging out at the saloon. Pete surprises Dorinda with a stunning white dress for her birthday, although 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, to the lovely melody of the couple's song, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
Al Yackey (Goodman) 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. He sits Pete 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.
Al recommends Pete take a safer job which has just opened up, training firefighting pilots in Flat Rock, Colorado.
Dorinda reinforces the message, telling 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.
After deciding to take Al's advice, Pete risks his life one last time. While on a bombing run, one of the engines on Al's Catalina water bomber catches fire. In desperation, Pete makes a dangerously steep dive to extinguish it with slurry. He saves Al, but his own A-26 bomber flies so low it hits one of the burning trees, catches fire and explodes.
The next thing he knows, he is 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 promoted to guardian angel (“We don't send back the other kind”) and is assigned to guide a true-hearted, but awkward new pilot, Ted Baker (Brad Johnson), who falls 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 a crew of firefighters surrounded by flames. Unable to bear the thought of losing another loved one, Dorinda steals Ted's aircraft and completes the job, with Pete's inspiration. On the way back, she sees his image one last time, and 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 ” and Pete finally enters heaven.
[edit] Cast
As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):[5]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| 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 |
A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile.[5]
[edit] Production
The movie is set in Kootenai National Forest, Montana, with some scenes filmed in and around Libby, Montana. Some 500 people from nearby Libby, Montana were recruited for the movie as extras to act as wildland firefighters.
In the opening scenes the forest fires were created by Pathfinder Helicopter Inc.. They were hired by the Forest Service to burn some clearcuts near Libby Montana that were filmed for the movie. Helicopter Pilot was Steve Tolle and Ground Crew Manager was Jim Leighty.
The Libby airport was used to double as the Forest Service Headquarters in the movie.
Two A-26 fire bombers (No. 57- N9425Z and No. 59 N4818Z) were prominently featured in the film, Always.[6] The flying for the movie was performed by well-known movie pilot Steve Hinton[7] and Dennis Lynch,[8] the owner of the A-26s.
[edit] Reception
The movie opened at #5 grossing $3,713,480, competing with Christmas Vacation, Tango & Cash (opening the same weekend), The War Of The Roses and Back To The Future Part II. Although now considered a "box office flop" when compared to other Spielberg properties, the movie brought back modest returns, grossing $43,858,790 in the U.S. and $30,276,000 on foreign territories, for a $74,134,790 worldwide total.[9] More importantly, Always was considered a departure from the usual Spielberg blockbuster magic and was not critically acclaimed. Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times considered it "dated" and more of a "curiosity,"[2] while Variety gave it a more generous accolade: "Always is a relatively small scale, engagingly casual, somewhat silly, but always entertaining fantasy."[10] Today's modern viewers have been slightly more charitable and rank the movie as pleasant fare.[11]
[edit] Awards and nominations
Although unsuccessful, Always was nominated in 1991 for the Saturn Award as Best Fantasy Film while Jerry Belson was nominated for the Best Writing category of the award at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (USA). A number of critics have now considered the film as the progenitor of a new crop of "ghost" genre films including Ghost (1990).[12][13]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Always (1989) Quote: "His film is a remake of A Guy Named Joe (1943), which was watched on television in Poltergeist (1982), which was co-written by director 'Spielberg, Steven'."
- ^ a b c d Always review by Roger Ebert, December 22, 1989
- ^ Steven Spielberg as a Role Model
- ^ Steven Spielberg
- ^ a b Always (1989) Full credits
- ^ Farmer 1990
- ^ Filmography - Steve Hinton. IMDB [1] Retrieved: 13 March 2007.
- ^ Filmography - Dennis Lynch. IMDB. [2] Retrieved: 13 March 2007.
- ^ Directors Hall of Fame
- ^ Variety Review: Always (1989)
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes Viewer reviews: Always (1989)
- ^ Always 1989 Review by Colin Jacobson
- ^ Always (1989)
[edit] Bibliography
- Crawley, Tony. The Steven Spielberg Story. New York: William Morrow, 1983. ISBN 0-68802-510-2.
- Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
- Farmer, James H. "The Making of Always." Air Classics, Volume 26, No. 2, February 1990.
- Freer, Ian. The Complete Spielberg. New York: Virgin Books, 2001. ISBN 0-75350-556-8.
- Sinyard, Neil. The Films of Steven Spielberg. London: Bison Books, 1986. ISBN 0-86124-352-8.
[edit] External links
- Always at the Internet Movie Database
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