Always (1989) - The Forgotten Spielberg

As crazy on Spielberg as I am, this and 'The Terminal' are the only films of his I've not watched. I just can't get myself interested in them at all.

Though I have seen snippets of this over the years, and I remember it looking great so maybe I'll rectify it one of these days.

Isn't this also the last time he and Dreyfuss worked together?

It isn't great and I can't really understand why Spielberg could be bothered to make it, except that maybe he wanted something easy in between all the big films he was shooting around that time.

But yes, it's still about a hundred times more watchable than Hook. And the plane explosion sequence was pretty good, as I recall.

Movie Trivia moment: this was Audrey Hepburn's final film!

I remembered loving this mostly for John Goodman when I was a kid. I watched it again about 6 months ago, and that's still mostly true. I had forgotten, however, a nice cameo by the late great Jeff Healy, yet again doing a song about eyes.

I don't think it's anywhere near as forgettable as The Terminal (somewhere deep down I keep hoping that the fact that someone other than Spielberg directed it will eventualy come out) but that may be nostalgia talking. I was insanely into airplanes when I first watched it and as I remember it, there was some pretty good flying stuff in it.

Maybe I need to track it down and see how it holds up.

I'd endure three rounds of chemo over Hook.
This film is shit. I remember watching one scene with Audrey Hepburn cutting Dreyfus's hair and thinking "Wtf is this the best Spielberg can do?" and it got progressively worse with each following scene.
I always figured this was the worse thing we would see from the guy. Then I saw Crystal Skull.
Boo.

The only reason that I bought this DVD was to complete my wife's Audrey Hepburn collection. We watched it once and filed it, never to bring it out again.

It's not baaaaaaaaaaad, it's just so terribly banal. It's a waste of time and effort for everyone involved. Goodman has some great moments, though.

I haven't seen it in ages, but I liked it a great deal when it first came out. Dreyfus and Hunter have great chemistry and the flying scenes are terrific. It's probably his sappiest work outside of "Kick the Can", but it works for me.

I saw it once, around the time it came out. And I don't remember a single thing about it. Not one thing.

That means I probably didn't like it too much.

I believe so... Dreyfuss is Spielberg's alter ego, right? Okay... Always is coming back to me a little because I have since seen snippets of it on TV throughout the years...

I guess this completes his "trilogy"

Dreyfuss in Jaws is Spielberg the kid. The eager, nerdy child who collects dinosaur toys.

Dreyfuss in Close Encounters is Spielberg the family man - a troubled person with a Peter Pan complex, who doesn't want to grow up and face the responsibility of being a parent.

Dreyfuss in Always is Spielberg the wise elder... Accepting his place in life, growing up and moving on.

I think, if you look at it that way, both the movie and the fact that it closed the book on their creative partnership make sense.

Except Spielberg has said that looking back, now he has a family, he should have never had Roy go off with the Aliens.

His exact words were more along the lines of if he made the film today, he couldn't see himself having Roy leave.

Always is just so very slight. It seems like a whole lot of effort to tell a very simple, not all that complex of a story.

But yeah, I'd watch this again over Hook in a heartbeat. But I'd watch The Terminal again before either of them -- don't quite get all the hate for that film.

While I haven't seen ALWAYS in years, it definitely isn't a bad movie by any reasonable standard.

I loved the fact that although I knew that Dreyfus was going to die, Spielberg was able to shock the shit out me when his plane exploded.

It's been forgotten for a reason.

Ahh Always. When people found a reason to stop shitting on 1941.

Once Around - also better than Hook and this. But it has Danny Aiello singing, so it wins by default.

Dreyfuss almost played the Sam Neill role in Jurassic Park. I forget why it didn't happen. I'm glad it didn't.

Once Around. Another forgotten, sort of charming movie. The only time you can hear Holly Hunter attempt a Boston accent. It's . . . unusual.

The flying scenes in this movie are incredible. They're shot beautifully, the special effects are beyond compare, the editing, the staging, it's all perfect. The one thing it's missing that keeps the audience from being genuinely drawn into what's going on, and this is probably one of the ultimate weaknesses of the film, is that there's no score. Period. I think virtually every flying moment is without any John Williams music, and the only cues we get throughout the entire film are little tinkling piano things. This movie makes a great example of how vitally important music is to the effectiveness of a film.

Is this Spielberg's only remake? I think it is, not counting a project like WAR OF THE WORLDS that was supposed to be based on a novel. I didn't mind ALWAYS, and would take it over anything The Beard has done in the past 15 years. Agreed with Stormin - The flying sequences are pretty spectacular.

Wait; you think Always is better than Munich, War of the Worlds, Minority Report or Artificial Intelligence?

With every post you continue to impress me with how stupid you can sound.

I did not even know this existed. I mean, I must have read about it somewhere along the way, but my brain just chose not to retain that information. And speilberg is not someone I regularly IMDb as I assumed I knew everything about him. its not like when you're trying to figure out what movies xander berkely has been in.


The forgotten Speilberg film indeed.

Better than Munich, Private Ryan and A.I.?

That was a good laugh.

Really? Malmordo is one of the more knowledgeable film buffs around these parts. He has a different opinion, so what? No need to throw verbal stones.

Between his posts in the Inglourious Basterds thread spectacularly missing the point and now his stance that Always is better than Private Ryan, Munich, A.I., Catch Me if You Can, et al, I don't think I need much more evidence to go on. That's not just a difference of opinion, that's just moronic thinking run amok.

Greg makes a good point.

When you watch a variety of different movies, and become passionate, sometimes you develop a unique perspective and don't follow the pack, especially regarding genre. I bet Malmordo has seen more films than you and I combined. Cut him some slack, and show a little respect--unlike most around here, he actually knows his stuff.

Do I agree with his opinion on Always? No. I'm sure more than a little hyperbole was involved. Do I agree with his take on IB? No, but I appreciate him taking an unpopular stance, and challenging the near unanimous majority. It's for the most part, well-reasoned, well-argued, and respectful. Yet, some of you, instead of offering a counter-argument or perspective, find it easier to dismiss someone as a moron. That's weak, and doesn't do much to improve the level of discourse on the boards.

Well said Elvis.

Now, where were you last year when I was tarred and feathered for liking The Happening and Indiana Jones 4?

Just watched this, possibly for the first full time. I recall seeing bits of it when I was 8 or so but couldn't recall much outside of John Goodman getting doused and Dreyfuss' goodbye to Hunter at the end.

Anyways, a very, very flawed film with some very good stuff in the first act and last. Goodman is great, as are Hunter and Dreyfuss. The film should have stuck on them instead of spending an often gruelling amount of time with charisma-cancer Brad Johnson. I mean, seriously, he's like the most dull character imaginable and his success in the fire-stopping field is established as being relatively important and is then abandoned in favor of giving Hunter a climactic hero moment saving Dale Dye and his Fire Brigade from toasty death. While I'm not a fan at all of Ghost, that film at least understood where the main story was and didn't mill about unnecessarily. Had this film perhaps been rewritten to have Dreyfuss watching over Hunter as she becomes a pilot, it all might have worked better. Instead we're forced to endure her painful seduction at the hands of the vanilla, slightly creepy Johnson. The best moments are when Dreyfuss lets down his reserve, such as during the climax and when Hunter and Johnson are dancing. That's strong, moving stuff. Same with Hunter's, and to a lesser degree Goodman's, journeys. The rest is disposable.

Oh my god do I love this idea. Always, as stated above, is a very slight movie with some great moments and wonderful chemistry between the *professional* actors in the cast. But focusing on Holly and Brad's relationship sucks the life out of it.

Instead...have Brad be a bit character, little seen, and never have Dreyfuss interact with him beyond maybe one small throwaway where he tries to break them up and it backfires (not a huge scene with a crazy person). Then focus on a heartbroken Hunter being guided by Dreyfuss so she can actually move on in *all* aspects of her life. Not just bone some tall guy and suddenly save the day.

And call me a sap, but I *adore* parts of this movie. It's uneven as all hell, but there are a couple of moments...again, mostly mentioned before, that belong in the "tingly" thread. And relationships between the three good leads is gold. I'm going to put my fingers in my ears against some of the whining I'm hearing in here and watch it again.

I disagree. This was Speilberg as a man going through a divorce. not a family man. If him leaving his kids behind is who he is as a father, he's a terrible person.

Haven't seen this for 20 years, but A Guy Named Joe is one of my favourite films.

I have always enjoyed this movie. The type that sucks me to finish watching it when I'm channel surfing. Not close to any of Spielberg's best films, but at least four films from the bottom.

I want to buy it on DVD, but the only version is non-anamorphoric.

Munich was remade from an HBO Movie from the 1980's

War of the Worlds was made in the 1950's: Spielberg make an homage to that film at the beginning of his film.

Always is a great puffball of a film...I actually wish there were more films like this: Hollywood today seems capable of Sturm and Drang and "raunchy comedies" and not much else.