cinemajesty Movie Review: "Always" (1989)After the adventure-action Hollywood-machine "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" starring Harrison Ford & Sean Connery, Steven Spielberg delivers his first two in one year picture, a never-the-less ambitious remake of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presentation of 1943 "A Guy Named Joe" starring Spencer Tracy (1900-1967) directed by Victor Fleming (1889-1949), where a dead pilot returns as guardian angel.Director Steven Spielberg takes the script from Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) sets the scenario from the World-War-2 times at a contemporary U.S. American forest firefighting airfield, where actor Richard Dreyfuss takes on the role as guardian angel for her loved-one portrayed by Holly Hunter, in amazing singles scene of dance and chance in a white dress, when moments of "Always" really create the magic alongside atmospheric cinematography captured by Mikael Salomon, known for shooting visuals for James Cameron ("The Abyss" 1989) and Ron Howard ("Backdraft" 1991).Casting director Lora Kennedy assembles a functional supporting cast with Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), who mentors Dreyfuss' character Pete to care for his loved one in the afterlife, John Goodman as buddy character Al, always there to share into fair-time entertainment for the audience, but then utterly mis-cast an all-too slick beautiful looking actor Brad Johnson as Ted Baker, the substitute pilot arriving at the firefighting airfield destined to win Hunter's character Dorinda's heart.In the end director Spielberg fulfills his dream of remaking, yes even improving the original Fleming MGM black-and-white picture, but nevertheless should have agreed only to direct by realizing the role of Ted Baker with the first choice Tom Cruise at the age of 27, who instead played biopic character Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July".Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

bkoganbing The MGM classic A Guy Named Joe gets a first class remake as Always in this film from Stephen Spielberg. The setting may have changed from World War II to fighting forest fires in Montana, but the love story has changed the same. Film buffs will recognize whole passages of Dalton Trumbo's dialog from the original film.Daredevil pilot Richard Dreyfuss falls for novice pilot Holly Hunter as both work for John Goodman fighting forest fires during those World War II years before the American entry. She loves him dearly, but hates his recklessness when doing his job. Apparently Dreyfuss never learned the difference between being courageous and being foolhardy. Dreyfuss drives Goodman crazy as well. Right up to the point when his ship exploded fighting a nasty fire.As a ghost Dreyfuss still has some human emotions left especially after another pilot played by Brad Johnson shows some interest in Hunter.When you're Stephen Spielberg you command a budget the 1989 equivalent of the best that that Tiffany of studios MGM had in 1943. The results definitely show in both the romance and the special effects.No one can equal Spencer Tracy, but Richard Dreyfuss manages his own interpretation of the lead quite well. Brad Johnson stands in for another Johnson named Van. John Goodman's part was played by Ward Bond in the original, Goodman infuses his role with a lot more humor.I'm still scratching my head over the fact that Irving Berlin would not give Spielberg permission to use his song Always for a film entitled Always. In the original Irene Dunne sang Always so using Always as a title doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Berlin up to the day he died counted every penny and made sure he was paid what he considered his due. As he lived to 101 he left as substantial an estate as he could amass. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes from Jerome Kern serves the same function in this film, appropriate for a film about fighting forest fires.Playing the role of Dreyfuss's heavenly mentor played in the original by Barry Nelson is Audrey Hepburn in her farewell performance. She was only doing occasional film roles at that point, her time taken up mostly with taking over for Danny Kaye at UNICEF.That final scene with Hunter and Dreyfuss in that forest fire is exciting and poignant. Won't leave a dry eye in the house.Spielberg did a wonderful job updating and recreating a Hollywood classic. Wonder what Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, and Barry Nelson thought of it?

A_Different_Drummer Disclaimer: At time of writing this is the only review I have done where I did not see the original version prior to watching the remake. However, given the extraordinary pedigree (in no particular order, Spielberg behind the camera, and Hepburn, Dreyfuss, Goodman and Hunter in front) I decided to grab the old typewriter (keyboard) and dive in anyway. First the direction. Spielberg would rather have a root canal than leave behind to posterity any scene that is not perfectly lit and shot. So that's a non-issue. Hepburn? OMG what can I add that has not been said by the other reviewers? One of kind star presence. Five minutes of screen time with this lady is equal to two hours with any so-called modern actress. As for Dreyfuss, Hunter and Goodman what I really like about them is that not only do they do what is required, but they are relatively underexposed for the talent they deliver, and Spielberg kept each on a tight leash. (To see what happens when you don't keep these guys on a tight leash, watch Dreyfuss in Duddy Kravitz, Hunter in Saving Grace, and Goodman in just about anything he has ever done). As for final impact, I will say that the story is perhaps not for everyone and does take some time to build. But the payoff is there, and the reality of life and death is not going to change much over your lifetime, so, when you are ready to face either or both, this film will still be available for your viewing pleasure.

jelliott03 My husband asked me to marry him after we saw this movie. He was a helicopter pilot and we had met at an air show. We both loved vintage aircraft so this seemed to be just the movie to see. We both laughed and cried so hard during the movie. Little was I to know that 13 years later I would lose my husband while he was flying. It took me some years to watch this movie again and I too cried through the whole thing. It is so personal to me. There are times when I feel, like Holly did, that I can hear my husband talking to me and guiding me. There is a lot to be learned from this picture about life and love. I highly recommend this picture.