1941 (1979)

Teasing the audience with an opening spoof of Jaws, Spielberg's star studded cast -- from Christopher Lee and Toshiro Mifune to Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi -- take on the post-Pearl Harbor Attack hysteria of California.

The slapstick is classic. The story is entertaining. The whole experience is simply F-U-N. Nothing more to be said.

Spielberg surrounds himself with some favorites: actor Murray Hamilton, composer John Williams, and Frank Marshall as his second unit director.

Fmovies: I vividly recall the (packed) audience's reaction at the end of 1941: eerie stunned silence... then some guy yelled "what the hell WAS that?" and laughter erupted. I'm a huge Spielberg fan, but 1941 is just wretched excess. It's loud, destructive, unfunny and plot less (it's strictly situational). It's also a bit painful to watch all the now deceased wasted talent (Murray Hamilton, Lionel Stander, Wendy Jo Sperber, Belushi, The great Slim Pickens, Toshiro Mifune, Samuel Fuller, Bob Stack & others...). The film's uncredited cameos are strange (Penny Marshall? James Caan? Lenny & Squiggy from Penny's series??? C'mon...) This was a monumental waste of time, talent & piles of money. (1) unfunny star/10.

If you liked the old war-era POPEYE cartoons then you'll love "1941" !

It was great FUN when it first came out and its still enjoyable on so many levels ...

Opening gag alluding to JAWS, Slim Pickens doing his DR. STRANGELOVE homage, Chris Lee as a most despicable pulp villain, Robert Stack crying at a dumb DUMBO premiere, sexy Nancy Allen ... howza'bout Treat Williams doing his tuff GI bit in an amazingly choreographed USO dance-hall sequence that predates the fun of TEMPLE OF DOOM's opening dance number ?

This is a massive film along the frenetic lines of ITS A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and Spielberg should be proud of it (which I am sure he is, despite the bashings he took from world film critics wanting to "put him in his place" at the time).

Way to go Steven ...

And thanks for all the fun ...

1941 fmovies. Any movie that features the following....:

1. The Geek from "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" torturing The Mayor from "Jaws" 2. A bunch of Japanese soldiers disguised as walking Christmas Trees 3. A hilarious USO dance sequence that boils over into an inter-service street fight 4. the film debut of Mickey Rourke and the big film debut of John Candy

and last but not least

5. Tough guy Robert Stack crying and singing along to songs from the Disney classic "Dumbo".....

CANNOT BE ALL BAD!!!!!

I'll keep this short; read msa0510's review for a more in-depth review. The best part in this movie is Slim Pickens. Just thinking about his scenes makes me start laughing again.

It was nice having the "Making of 1941" on the dvd and seeing the remarks by Spielberg; I knew this movie had been panned by the critics but I hadn't known that it was popular in Europe. I can't understand why we Americans don't find it funny; it's hysterically funny to me.

It's a perfect 10 in my book; so few comedies these days are so over-the-top funny as this movie is.

Those who can't find humor in "1941" need to loosen up. This is one of the few movies I have ever purchased for my own personal collection. The Ferris wheel scene alone is an all-time classic. This is the type of picture that is fun to watch after a hard day at work. Open up a beer and enjoy.