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(1989) |
teven Spielberg's 1989 remake of the one of his favourite childhood movies called "A Guy Named Joe (1943)" is truly an excellent piece of filmaking .. almost too good!
The first time that I watched it, I remember being disappointed. I was a definite admirer of Spielbergs work but Always was struggling to hold my attention and I felt that it was severely lacking in some respect that I don't even remember properly now... The reason? Well after another viewing and then many others the myriad of little details that Spielberg had put into the movie filtered through and the characters became real. The film is maybe too intense to take in at first.
This, I'm sure is the root of the problem with the first viewing. Speilbergs layers of detailing actually got in the way of what is a simple character film, but once the 'information overload' settled with familiarity, the true excellence shone through and the film has since become like an old favourite friend.
Always is, of course, basically a good old fashioned romance and as such is an unusual genre for Spielberg to cover. In many ways it was a precursor of his character films to come like "Schindlers List", "Amistad" and, to a certain extent, "Saving Private Ryan". Having seen these newer movies I'm convinced that he has since learnt the value of placing detail only where it matters.
The story of Always follows a brave (or maybe just reckless) but otherwise rather 'ordinary' fire fighter pilot called "Pete", played excellently by Richard Dreyfuss and his lover, "Dorinda", played by Holly Hunter who is increasingly worried by his acts of bravado and becomes convinced that he's heading for disaster.
I'm sure that I'm not giving too much away by saying that Pete is killed saving his friend "Al" (Played by John Goodman) and the rest of the film follows his role as a kind of inspirational spirit to a rather inept young pilot "Ted" played by Brad Johnson, who rather inevitably meets and decides to pursue "Dorinda".
"Pete" of course has to learn to let go of "Dorinda" and inspire "Ted" without selfishness.
There is plenty of sentiment and anguish here folks as the actors all turn in very fine performances and more than a generous dollop of humour too just to keep things on an even keel. Many fine performances are also turned in by a great supporting cast including the late Audrey Hepburn who plays her role as "Hap" -a kind of spirit guide or angel- with tremedous charisma. I believe this was her last film appearance before her death.
 Don't forget that Always is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Brilliant, but may require a second viewing to reveal its true colours.
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"Always" was Audrey Hepburn's last movie. During the last years of her life, Audrey worked as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.  -Thanks to Paul
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Audrey Hepburn died of colon cancer in Switzerland in January 1993.
This film is a remake of "A Guy Named Joe" (1943) (seen in the background on the TV in "Poltergeist"). Spielberg had watched the original many times in his youth and had longed for years to do a remake. Some people criticised the remake as being almost a "shot for shot" remake which added nothing but took away much. This seems unfair.
Denny Lynch (Pilot, picture plane) passed away in Billings December 30, 2005 at the age of 70 of a heart attack. He was buried in Billings January 4, 2006. Denny was married to my sister Loretta. She passed away July 30, 2000 at the age of 61 with liver cancer. By the way the two 26's are parked near the airport in Billings. I am not sure what will happen to them. -Thanks to Keith Buck
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Today, I fly for Delta Connection Airlines and am based in Cincinnati, OH. "Always" was a big inspiration in my wanting to become a pilot. Recently I was flying into Billings, MT. The tower told us that the A-26 we saw parked on the ramp across from the terminal was one of the ones used in the movie. They have a museum over there and you can go see those aircraft today if you'd like. -Thanks to James
The majority of fire fighting aircraft used in the movie were owned by Hawkins and Powers Aviation out of Greybull Wyoming. -Thanks to Shane
The A-26 aircraft that is flown by Pete was owned by Lynch Flying Service in Billings, Montana. That aircraft was still parked on the ramp at Billings in 1994, with the Fire Eaters logo intact. Not sure what became of it after Lynch went out of business. -Thanks to Craig Happ
"Tanker 57" (Pete's Plane), was later sold to Bob Pond and is now part of his collection in Palm Springs, Ca. It is now painted in WWII navy colors. -Thanks to Chris
The twin-engine WWII bombers used in "Always" were called B-26's in the movie, but the plane(s) they actually used is a Douglas A-20, which looked a lot like the Martin B-26. If you Google these two and then watch the movie, you will see that the B-26 has a fuselage that is nearly circular in cross-section, while the A-20 has a more rectangular, boxy shape. The B-26 engine nacelles did not extend behind the wings, while the A-20's did, and the A-20 had a rectangular vertical stabilizer, and the B-26's was elliptical.
The aircraft being flown is a Douglas A-26 'Invader' (or B-26: depending on what the aircraft was used for, but this is a really trivial point) modified for aerial fire suppression. The aircraft was selected as an aerial tanker, because of its huge radial engines - which provide quick response time in the heat of 'battle'.The aircraft is not completely a relic, and many people still use them in the role of fire bombing; Airspray - based out of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada has a large fleet of A-26 aircraft employed during the fire fighting season... -Thanks to Max
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|  |  |  | | Always
Locations |
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The movie was filmed extensively at Libby in Montana and Ephrata, Washington State.
The Libby, Montana airport was used for the firefighters mountain airbase for the opening and ending sections. Pete struggles to glide his plane down the flightline to the runway with the mountains in the background. Recently the wooden tower was still located on the airport. The general aviation airport is approximately seven miles south of the town of Libby in Lincoln County, Montana. This facility is open to the public, and there is no landing fee. [Thanks to Craig Happ]
The Memorial Gym in downtown Libby was used to film the scene where everyone gets to dance with Dorinda. [Thanks to Pete Wilerd]
Dorinda dumps her airplane into Bull Lake near Libby at the end of the movie. [Thanks to Pete Wilerd]
The airport at Ephrata is the location for the firefighters training airbase. The diagram on the sectional aviation chart matches what is shown in the movie... [Thanks to Craig Happ]
In Ephrata, everything was filmed out at or by the airport. Dorinda's house was built out there specifically for the movie... I'm not sure about the airbase, but most of the scenes look like they were from the area around the airport... It's a rural airport that is only used for small commercial flights, no big planes. It was obviously an extremely exciting time for everyone in the little town of Ephrata. -Probably the most exciting thing to happen since McDonald's opened! [Thanks to Brenda Middleton]
The scenes where the pilot's training to drop retardent on the flaming barrel were filmed near Ephrata, Washington. [Thanks to Ken]
The "Ceasar's" bar scene was shot in Lind, WA, in a real bar called 'Slims'.
Featured Link: Libby Airport
Can you help? Do you know any of the Montana filming locations used for Always? [Please send them in]
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The soundtrack score by John Williams is one of his best since his late 70's "golden era" and the soundtrack CD also has a selection of 'pop' music from the movie including "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". Good value low price too. Use our search feature to find it.
In the dance sequence at the bar, the keyboard player who plays Dorinda and Pete's song (smoke gets in your eyes) is JD Souther - singer/songwriter (famous for "you're only lonely" and songwriting for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, Crosby Stills & Nash, Warren Zevon and Joe Cocker. -Thanks to Lynn Cooper
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