Always (1989)

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

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Jerry Belson (screenplay), Dalton Trumbo (screenplay),

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Pete Sandich and buddy Al Yackey are daredevil aerial forest-fire fighters. Pete finds True Love with Dorinda but won't give up the job. When he takes one risk too many, Dorinda faces deep grief and cannot easily put her life back together.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | forest fire | falling in love | ghost | true love | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Fantasy | Romance | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Siempre

Filming Locations:

Bull Lake, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$43,858,790 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, United Artists, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

Pete puts out the fire in Al's port engine and the propeller can be seen coming to a halt. In the next scene, the propeller is spinning again.

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Quotes

Ted Baker: Well, I'll tell ya there, missy. You sure do look purty when you're angry. Wah-huh.
Dorinda Durston: Oh, so you do impressions?
Ted Baker: Well, just that one.
Dorinda Durston: Uh-huh. Who was it?
Ted Baker, Pete Sandich: [astounded] Who was it?
Dorinda Durston: Was it James Stewart?
Pete Sandich: What are you, kidding me? Who did you think it was, Henry Fonda?
Ted Baker: Well, I'll tell ya there, little missy, you sure do look purty when you're angry! Wah-huh!
Dorinda Durston: Henry Fonda.
Ted Baker: John Wayne! Don't you know John Wayne?
[...]

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Connections

References Star Trek (1966)

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Soundtracks

"NICK OF TIME"
Written and Performed by Bonnie Raitt
Courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

Positive review of movie, comparing and contrasting to Ghost

This is a quality film, and it is one of the reasons why I think John Goodman is a really a good actor who often goes unnoticed. This movie would have been decent with any cast, but I think the combination of John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Richard Dreyfuss really brought the story to life. Additionally Spielberg does a good job of incorporating the supernatural presence of Pete Sandich's ghost without relying on dramatic special effects. This movie is somewhat similar in theme to Ghost (which came out one year after Always), but Ghost focuses more on the supernatural aspects and goes to great lengths to show the ghost walking through doors and other objects. To a certain extent these special effects take center stage in ghost, whereas in Always you never see Richard Dreyfuss walk through anything. All of the cool supernatural stuff happens offscreen leaving the plot and the characters as the main focal point. That being said I think that the action scenes with the planes flying over the forest fires are really thrilling. It's beautiful, and intense. (I think it makes the dogfights in Top Gun look like a Carousel ride) Go rent this movie.