Always (1989)

The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Jerry Belson (screenplay), Dalton Trumbo (screenplay "A Guy Named Joe")

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson

3 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

pilot | ghost | grief | airplane | afterlife | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The incident where Dorinda mistakes Ted's John Wayne imitation for Henry Fonda actually occurred between Holly Hunter and Brad Johnson during filming. Steven Spielberg found the incident so comical that he reproduced it in the film.

---

Goofs

When Dorinda rides her bike onto the airstrip to tell Pete that she loves him before he takes off, she jumps off her bicycle in front of the port engine and it isn't running. She climbs up on the plane to the cockpit scene but when she climbs down to her bicycle the engine is running and Pete is still on his feet in the cockpit so he couldn't have started the engine that fast. It was the reason she couldn't hear him saying "I love you".

---

Quotes

[after Pete's plane explodes, he finds himself getting a haircut in the woods]
Pete Sandich: Hap, I don't want you to think that I'm doubting your good faith, I just want to get one thing clear, okay?
Hap: Okay.
Pete Sandich: Am I dead?
Hap: That's right.
Pete Sandich: I'm dead?
Hap: Right.
Pete Sandich: Keep the sideburns. Boy, what a jerk I turned out to be. Dead! And now I'm sitting in the woods, getting my hair cut.

---

Crazy Credits

On the Blu Ray release, at the very end of the end credits, there is a warning. It reads, in quotation marks: "Caution: Inhaling of helium from balloons is dangerous, and can cause serious injury or death."

---

Connections

Referenced in Epic Rap Battles of History: Steven Spielberg vs. Alfred Hitchcock (2014)

---

Soundtracks

BOOMERANG LOVE
Written and Performed by Jimmy Buffett
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

A graceful swan song for Audrey Hepburn

At first glance, Always looks like a variation of Ghost, until one realizes it is a remake of a much older movie. But it has something Ghost certainly did not have -- Audrey Hepburn.

In what would be her final big-screen appearance, Audrey is radiant as the angel Hap, who appears all too briefly in the film. From the moment her famous voice is heard, time seems to stop. True, Audrey doesn't have a lot to say -- although her Doctor Who-like non-explanation about time is funny -- the few moments she is on screen are minutes to treasure. If Judi Dench and Ingrid Bergman were able to get Oscars for glorified cameos, it's a shame Hepburn didn't rate a nomination.

Of course, much of what's special about Audrey's role in this film comes from hindsight -- the fact she only had a couple more years to live, and the fact she had only appeared a few times on film in the previous 20 years. But we can be thankful to Steven Spielberg for not only getting Audrey to make the appearance, but also for giving her a classy film in which to make her swan song.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Always

Filming Locations:

Libby, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,713,480, 25 December 1989

Gross USA:

$43,858,790

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,134,790

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, United Artists, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1