Always (1989)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

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 | True Love | Grief | 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

Also Known As:

Siempre (Argentina) (dubbed version) (Mexico) [es]
Além da Eternidade (Brazil) [pt]
Always - Der Feuerengel von Montana (West Germany) [de]
Always - Pour toujours (France) [fr]
Always per sempre (Italy) [it]
Daima (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Gia panta (Greece) [el]
Ikuisesti (Finland) [fi]
Na zawsze (Poland) [pl]
Para siempre (Spain) [es]
Per sempre (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Pour toujours (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]
Sempre (Portugal) [pt]
Zawsze (Poland) [pl]

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 | 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:

The tune Pete Sandich whistles when he's nervous is an Irish jig titled "Garry Owen". This song was the official song of the Seventh Cavalry of the U.S. Army - General Custer's cavalry. When he is nervous, Pete whistles the theme song of a doomed man.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the club, Dorinda, after changing into her new white dress says, "If you want to dance with this dress, you have to wash your hands." The firefighters wash and dry their hands and as they leave the bathroom, their shirts are still dirty, but when they are dancing with Dorinda, their shirts are clean.

Quotes:

Pete Sandich: [Speaking to Dorinda after he's dead] I know now, that the love we hold back is the only pain that follows us here.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: Pilot (#1.1)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

Garryowen

"He-llo, Pete."

Spielberg deserves a fresh look. I open with that because as I read the decidedly mixed thoughts on this and other films of his, I notice the same thought over and over again. People who review Spielberg usually want to pigeonhole him into a type: the ET-warm-and-fuzzy-alien children's storyteller versus the special-effects-heavy-but-rather-empty-plot dreamer. All the while there is the generic whine of 'why doesn't he ever try to do something else (SCHINDLER'S LIST notwithstanding)?' Then when he does, as evidenced here, there are wails of dissatisfaction that he tried to do something over his head. Oy.

It's so silly to label and categorize a filmmaker so much. ALWAYS is, first and foremost, a love story. A remake of an earlier film to be sure, but even this 1989 treatment looks and feels nostalgic with its amber-tinted cinematography, the sentimental presentation of the devoted fighter pilots, even Holly Hunter's birthday gift of 'girl clothes' tips a hat to 1940's elegance. And you can't get more nostalgic than the appearance of the ageless, magical Audrey Hepburn (sharp as a tack in her last film as a bright-eyed, no-nonsense angel). All of Hepburn's scenes with Richard Dreyfuss are wonderful (especially the first one when she tries- slightly befuddled- to explain his state of existence), as is the leitmotiv of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes-" used in two dance sequences with Dreyfuss and Hunter: one at a charming birthday party (watching all the burly firemen clean up is a riot), the other in a bewitching soliloquy of mourning. And once again, John Goodman rises to the occasion as the best friend anyone could ever have. Just saw it on TCM, rounding out a July 2005 tribute to Ms. Hepburn. You should check it out.