lmann@jjmhome.UUCP (Laurie Mann) (12/27/89)
ALWAYS
A film review by Laurie Mann
Copyright 1989 Laurie Mann
In a word, WOW!
There's something very special about a Steven Spielberg movie starring
Richard Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss tends to give some of his more thoughtful work, and
Spielberg tends to give him pretty interesting roles. ALWAYS, which sounds a
lot like an old escapist movie (and is, in fact, based on "A Guy Called Joe")
is just a wonderful, engrossing movie. A solid 8 on the movie scale.
The story is simple---a pilot who fights fires is killed and is called by
Hap (Audrey Hepburn) to be the guardian angel of a fire pilot in training.
Before Pete (Dreyfuss) is killed off, there are some terrific fire-fighting
scenes, and a long, rowdy night in a bar as we follow Pete, his lover Dorinda
(Holly Hunt), and their friend Al (John Goodman). The chemistry between
Dreyfuss and Hunt is great.
Talking plot in a movie like this is pretty meaningless. What counts are
the performances and they are uniformly wonderful. Goodman continues to be the
ultimate support man, and is very powerful when he's angry. Hunter, Dreyfuss,
and Brad Johnson (an incredible hunk (who wears glasses even!) who plays the
new fire pilot) are great. The fire-fighting scenes are very exciting. The
ending was so engrossing that I completely stopped hearing an annoying alarm
that was going off in the theater until the credits rolled.
In short, GO SEE IT!
Laurie Mann ** harvard!m2c!jjmhome!lmann ** lmann%jjmhome@m2c.m2c.orgdret@dgp.toronto.edu (George Drettakis) (01/04/90)
ALWAYS
A film review by George Drettakis
Copyright 1990 by George Drettakis
(MINOR SPOILERS)
A wonderful film, exceptional quality plane fire-fighting
scenes, good acting throughout. Spielberg has yet to
make a film that has true lasting value, but ALWAYS
is a step in the right direction. +2 in a -4 to +4 scale.
Ever since DUEL, Spielberg has shown fascination for the mysterious and
fantastic, for fire and exploding vehicles. ALWAYS is a wonderful combination
of all of the above. The plane fire-fighting scenes are gripping, full of
suspense, and just plain wonderfully shot. You can almost feel the heat and
the smoke, the agony of the pilot fighting through the burning forest. The
explosions and fire far surpass anything in DUEL, EMPIRE OF THE SUN or the
latest, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.
Of course, ALWAYS is not just about fire. Capitalizing on a clever idea
from the original book, Richard Dreyfuss gives a wonderful performance of a
very human, jealous, possessive ghost-soul, with a mission to inspire a young
upcoming fire-fighter pilot. Holly Hunter gives a strong, powerful
performance, and manages to rise above the pressing need to prove herself as a
star actress that seemed to dominate her BROADCAST NEWS role. She is much more
relaxed, and shifts easily from strong, angry woman, to passionate, loving and
caring.
ALWAYS is funny too. Following the trend of making comedies out of tragic
events (WAR OF THE ROSES), this film manages to use death and parting from your
loved ones into a special kind of tear-jerking comedy. The classic Spielberg
fairy-tale dimension is ever present, allowing you to feel sad and happy
simultaneously, in a way that only his films do. John Goodman, one of the more
gifted comic actors of today, fits perfectly into the role of buddy, loving
friend, and amusing guy.
In my books, Steven Spielberg has yet to come out with a film that is of
lasting value, a monument in the history of cinema. But from the time of DUEL
it was obvious that he has the ability, and ALWAYS shows that he is beginning
to find the way to balance his film-making to achieve this desired end. See
this film, you won't regret it.
George Drettakis (416) 978 5473 Dynamic Graphics Project
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