Always | |
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Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
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Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
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Written by | |
Starring | |
Music by | John Williams |
Cinematography | Mikael Salomon |
Edited by | Michael Kahn |
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Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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123 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $74.1 million |
Always is a 1989 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, introducing Brad Johnson and featuring Audrey Hepburn's cameo in her final film appearance. The film was distributed by Universal Studios.
Always is a remake of the 1943 romantic drama A Guy Named Joe, although Spielberg did not treat the film as a direct scene-by-scene repeat of the earlier World War II melodrama. The main departure in plot is altering the action to that of a modern aerial firefighting operation. The film, however, follows the same basic plot line: the spirit of a recently dead expert pilot mentors a newer pilot, while watching him fall in love with his surviving girlfriend. The names of the four principal characters of the earlier film are all the same, with the exception of the Ted Randall character, who is called Ted "Baker" in the remake and Pete's last name is "Sandich", instead of "Sandidge".
Pete Sandich (Dreyfuss) is an aerial firefighter, flying a war-surplus A-26 bomber dropping fire retardant slurry to put out forest wildfires. His excessive risk taking in the air deeply troubles his girlfriend, Dorinda Durston (Hunter), a pilot who doubles as a dispatcher, and is also of concern to his best friend, Al Yackey (Goodman), a fellow fighter. On one flight, Pete makes one extra drop, runs out of fuel, and barely manages to glide onto the runway.
Pete shrugs off his brush with death and surprises Dorinda with a stunning white dress for her birthday, although it turns out to be the wrong day. Irate at first, she eventually puts on the dress anyway, and the couple dance to their song, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".