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:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Spielberg wanted to use the song "Always" in the film but could not get permission from Irving Berlin.

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Goofs

When Al Yackey is in the jeep, talking after inhaling helium, he's holding the balloon and driving with his right hand. The next scene shows Pete and Dorinda talking in front of the jeep and Al driving right-handed without the balloon.

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Quotes

Ted Baker: [being serenaded by the other pilots after a botched exercise] This is first place, right?
[Al comes roaring up in a jeep, covered in fire retardant; the crowd falls silent]
Al Yackey: Cute. Now we know how ready you are. We're gonna be coming into fire season soon, and if we get a big one - a real big one - they're gonna be calling guys from all over the place. They're gonna be calling veterans, first-timers, guys from all over the country if they have to. And when they call me, they're gonna say, 'Al, ...

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

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Soundtracks

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES
Written by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Otto A. Harbach
Performed and Produced by JD Souther

User Reviews

A film worth revisiting

It has been a while since I have seen this 'Always.' The years, I should say, have done this film justice.

A noted cinephile, I know when to eat my words, and this is one is for the books. Sincere. Honest. Touching. Obviously sparked with a late-eighties, Spielbergian hyper-real, cinematic extensions and flair, these elements do not bog the film downs as, say, with '1941' or 'The Color Purple.' And why should we expect modern filmmakers to be like those of the forties or fifties? Modern filmmakers are just that -- modern.

Holly Hunter is a walking dream and she has talent in droves. I have long had a crush on her and her funny mouth. She is simply enchanting and steals the show. Goodman, for once, is kept under control. Dreyfuss, with the thankless role of revisiting his past and commenting on the future, is the weakest link but only just. Sumptuously photographed by deftly edited, this story of unrequited love is as universal as mothers and babies. If it doesn't bring tears to your eyes, shame on you. The best advice to view this film is to forget it is a Spielberg film. Enjoy it for the love story that it is and sink into its voluptuous and charged charm.

We should all hope we become angels in the mist, able to return to Earth to right all the wrongs of the world.

This may be one Spielberg's most romantic films, next to A.I., which is a supremely magnificent film and, also, equally dismissed when it first arrived on the scene.

I urge all to give this film a second chance.

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