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.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | ghost | grief | airplane | afterlife | 

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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

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Siempre

Filming Locations:

Libby, Montana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$31,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$43,858,790

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$74,134,790, 31 December 1990

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 (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Always" draws another connection to the movie it is remaking, i.e. the 1943 "A Guy Named Joe," in the song Pete and Dorinda consider 'their song', which is the Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach song "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." Irene Dunne, who plays Dorinda opposite Spencer Tracy's Pete in "A Guy Named Joe," was the first performer to sing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in a movie: the 1935 "Roberta."

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Goofs

When Pete is called in to report to the fire while at Durinda's house, it's still dark out. He "rushes" to the airbase, but when he arrives it's midday (judging by the sun and shadows).

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Quotes

Al Yackey: The hell with it. What this place reminds me of is the war in Europe.
Pete Sandich: This is deep.
Al Yackey: Which I was personally never at, but think about it. The beer's warm, the dance hall's a Quonset, there's B-26s outside, hotshot pilots inside, an airstrip in the woods... it's England, man! Everything but Glenn Miller! Except we go to burning places and bomb 'em till they stop burning. You see, Pete, there ain't no war here.
Pete Sandich: What's taking her so long?
Al Yackey: This is why they don't make movies called 'Night Raid to ...

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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."

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Connections

Referenced in Spielberg (2017)

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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

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.