What are your thoughts about Steven Spielberg's film Always? Select a scene that you feel shows the director at the height of his talent where story, character, and film technique all come together to produce something remarkable.Click Here for basic information about the film.
Click Here for the trailer of the film.
Click Here for the interview with Spielberg about the film.
17 comments:
Towards the end of the movie when Dorinda is coming out of the plane and swimming towards the light with Pete is symbolism that Spielberg used. From the beginning of the movie the audience thinks that Pete must guide and pass on his talent to Ted. When Pete is leading Dorinda up to the light it makes the audience realize that Pete should be helping Dorinda instead of Ted move on without obviously stating it.
Right after Richard Dreyfuss' character, Ted, dies you see him walking through the burned forest that he was working to put out right before he dies. Suddenly a buck is running through the forest. Spielberg uses this very short clip to demonstrate that life will still go on regardless of death. it has been six months after Ted's death, and after Hap sends Ted to give inspiration to another pilot, he sees that everyone is keeping at their life without mourning over Ted anymore. Showing the buck right after Ted died, kind of foreshadowed what Ted was gonna see when he goes back.
The film "Always" is a great movie about redemption. I fell like this theme is summed up towards the end of the movie. When Dorinda attempts suicide as her plane sinks to the bottom of the lake, she loses consciousness and finally sees and hears Pete. Pete takes her hand and literally leads her into the light out of the darkness. In this scene, I believe that each of them come to a realization that in order for each one to move on, they must let their other half go. When Pete finally lets Dorinda go and leaves her in the hands of Ted, his whole purpose of inspiring someone has been fulfilled. Therefore, when his spirit "completely dies", he dies as a redeemed man.
When Hap told Pete after he died that he had to pass his inspiration onto someone new just as he was once inspired he thought that it was Ted who he had to help when all along it was Dorinda. He doesnt realize this until she hops into the plane to keep Ted out of harms way and gives up on life in the lake. In the end though he was inspired as well to finally let Dorinda move on with her life with Ted.
When Pete finally starts to realize that he is sent back down to help Dorinda rather than Ted is significant in that he needs to change everything he has been working on to help Dorinda.
When pete saves his friend in the fire and then dies. I thought this was an amazing scene because he was a stupid and self centered Character whose arrogance and pedophile nature caused his wife daily stress. And then as the movie goes on Pete finally starts to realized he is not the only person in the universe and starts helping people move on, letting his wife move on to someone who is acutually semi worthy of her, and twice as worthy as Pete was. It is only when Pete dies that he starts to live. Because it is only when we live for others are we actually living.
Okay it says Aisley but it's me, Kamber. Not Aisley. Kamber
In the beginning of the movie after Ted and Dorinda dance. It foreshadows Ted's death and how he will being looking after her when he is shown above the rest of the characters.
Also that comment was from me. Sheridan.
"Always" by Steven Spielberg is an interesting film to me for its use of early cinematography. Even without the use of modern special effects Spielberg still finds ways to pull of his usual genius. For example his life-like portrayal of the planes depicted in the film through the use of models, special lighting, and special camera effects. Another example of his use of basic effects without the use of special effects is his use of the main character's portrayal as a ghost without using any effects other than the use of other characters on the set pretending that there is no one there.
Chad, it is cool to see a "ghost" portrayed without all of the special effects and haloing that is typical. The fact that he is a ghost or spirit does not require special effects, merely, as you pointed out, the putting in place of some very simple rules by the director so that the audience knows that he is not visible or materially able to interact with the other characters. No smoke and mirrors, no fancy anything, just a simple establishing scene of Richard Dreyfus walking cleanly and comfortably while whistling through the charred remains of the forest until he reaches a little, pristine island of green grass, white flowers, and untouched trees with a woman dressed entirely in white waiting for him. He is clearly not "really" in our world entirely anymore. He is obviously somewhere inbetween, and so she explains what it is that he must do and so he cannot move on until he can let go. And no special effects to "show us dumb movie audience members" that he is, in fact, a ghost. Gotta love Spielberg for his simplicity!
Kamber (a.k.a. Aisley), I am not sure what word you were thinking about, but pedophile was not it. A pedophile is a sexual predator who goes after children. Now, I've seen Always quite a few times, and I may be wrong, but I don't remember seeing the character of Pete pursuing children to use them in sexual ways. I don't think that that can even be "read between the celluloid lines" as it were. What word did you mean?
Brenna, I liked your focus on the wild Buck moving through the forest and I think that your read on its symbolism is entirely reasonable and most likely what Speilberg had in mind. Pete (not Ted, Ted is the "hunk" later) is confronted with a mystical and so unclear world after he dies in the plane crash, one that finds him whistling contentedly in the charred woods he had just been flying over - there is an interesting significance to his whistling at this point since he has only ever whistled before when he was nervous or on the verge of being killed because of his recklessness; what does his whistling in the woods now mean since he is clearly not in danger from our perspective, and since, in looking at him, he does not appear to be nervous or in any way anxious?; is he aware that he has died or that something unpleasant has happened, and so he is whistling? (this seems not to be the case since he will be led to that conclusion while getting his haircut by Hap in just a few moments); for me, the whistling is interesting because I do not fully know why he is doing it. The visage of the Buck, of life moving onward amidst destruction, is compelling because it is elusive...and perhaps that is part of the whistling problem I see. The reason for his whistling may be equally elusive, that like life, reasons can get away from us, too, and so we get frustrated by our inability to make sense out of what we see and what we must do.
Good comments, but some errors in identification. Ted is the new guy whom Dorinda will fall in love. Ted is the one who unintentionally saved Pete early in the film when he came flying across the airstrip in his "Happy Birthday" airplane and the wind that trailed him was enough to lift up Pete's descending plane before he would have certainly crashed into the trees before reaching the runway. Now, one way to make sure that you are accurate in your posts, especially if you are not entirely sure about some fact, is to open another tab at the top of your browser (you do not have to close out the blog to do this), then do a quick google search, like I just did, because I couldn't remember just know that Pete's name was Pete, and then you will have the correct information to make your blog response make sense. It isn't hard to do, just a point-and-click and some minimal typing away, and BAM! you have your facts. Sorry to be such a stickler about this, but it is just TOO EASY when you are online to NOT mix up the names of characters from a film or a work of literature. Build your work habits now for accuracy so that you will not fall victim to critical errors in the future.
Nikka, I think your interpretation is spot-on with what Spielberg intended. Indeed, I find that most of his films are about characters, men in particular, needing some for of redemption in their lives for past actions or perceived failures. Like you, I very much enjoy this final integration of everyone at the end which overlaps their fates and relationships and gives greater meaning to the thread of "inspiration" and of giving back.
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