Steven Spielberg Thinks This ’80s Fantasy Movie Is His Most Underrated [SXSW] – SlashFilm

The name “Steven Spielberg” is ubiquitous in the world of film, and it’s impossible to imagine anyone who fancies themselves a fan of movies not having seen at least a half dozen of his films. This is the man who gave us “Jaws” and essentially invented the summer blockbuster in the process. The man who has been nominated for an Oscar in six different decades. And now, he’s the man delivering an hour-long presentation months ahead of his upcoming film “Disclosure Day” at South By Southwest, encouraging audiences to give one of his most underseen films a second chance.

During Spielberg’s SXSW panel, which /Film was in attendance for, the beloved director admitted, “I always fear if I look back too much I’ll quit looking forward, and so I tend to just keep moving ahead.” But with a body of work like his, it’s impossible not to reflect on what came before. Moderator Sean Fennessey of The Big Picture podcast asked Spielberg which of his films he felt was the most underrated, and the legendary filmmaker cited a forgotten fantasy film from the 1980s that most critics have named as one of his worst.

“A film that I loved making and  loved the story was a remake of a 1943 Victor Fleming picture called ‘A Guy Named Joe,’ […] and I remade it with Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman,” he said. The film in question is called “Always,” and the moment he said the title, the audience began to clap. Spielberg thanked them by noting, “I love the movie, I really do.” After completely dominating the decade, “Always” hit theaters at the end of 1989, and Roger Ebert called the film “Spielberg’s weakest film since ‘1941.’” But is “Always” worth another shot?

Steven Spielberg expressed a deep affinity for “A Guy Named Joe” during the SXSW panel, and confessed to it being one of the movies he used to show girlfriends in his younger years, along with Stanley Donen’s “Two For the Road.” 

In his updated retelling, “Always” stars Richard Dreyfuss as Pete Sandich, a haughty firefighter-pilot whose habit of riding his luck worries his girlfriend, Dorinda (Holly Hunter), and best friend, Al (John Goodman). After Pete dies in a forest fire after saving Al, he meets a spirit guide in the afterlife named Hap (Audrey Hepburn in her final film role), who sends him back to Earth to serve as a guardian angel to a pilot trainee named Ted (Brad Johnson). Much to his horror, Ted is also the man that Dorinda starts to fall in love with in the wake of Pete’s passing.

Most would name “A Guy Named Joe” as the better version of the two stories, but there is something oddly charming about Spielberg’s clumsy reinterpretation. Sadly, I would agree that this is one of the director’s weakest films, but even the worst Spielberg film is leagues better than most directors’ very best. “Always” is definitely in the running for one of Spielberg’s most sensitive and sentimental films, and all of the actors deliver fantastic performances, even if the script doesn’t give them as much of a runway to work with as Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne were given in “A Guy Named Joe.”

For Spielberg completists and fans of saccharine love stories, “Always” is certainly worth a watch, but do your best to leave any preconceived notions about what defines “a film by Steven Spielberg,” and try to see his love for this story on display.