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Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton ... see more see more... , Toshiro Mifune , Christopher Lee , Nancy Allen , Robert Stack , Tim Matheson , Warren Oates , Treat Williams , Eddie Deezen , Bobby Di Cicco , Diane Kay , John Candy , Frank McRae , Perry Lang , Slim Pickens , Wendie Jo Sperber , Lionel Stander , Iggie Wolfington , Joe Flaherty , Susan Backlinie , E. Hampton Beagle , Carol Ann Beery , Deborah Benson , Lucille Benson , Jordan Brian , Don Calfa , Vito Carenzo , Mark Carlton , Gary Cervantes , Luis Contreras , Elisha Cook Jr. , Lucinda Dooling , Jerry Hardin , David L. Lander , Audrey Landers , Patti LuPone , J. Patrick McNamara , Walter Olkewicz , Mickey Rourke , Whitney Rydbeck , Donovan Scott , Kerry Sherman , Geno Silva , Rita Taggart , Dub Taylor , Maureen Teefy , John Voldstad , Gray Fredrickson , Samuel Fuller , John Landis , Penny Marshall , Michael McKean , Andy Tennant , Jack Thibeau , Richard Miller , Paul Cloud , Denise Gallup , Brad Gorman , Hiroshi Shimizu , Brian Frishman , Akio Mitamura , Galen Thompson , Carol Ann Williams , Jenny Williams , Dave Cameron , John R. McKee

It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pe... read more read more...arl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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47% liked it

22,740 ratings

Critics

33% liked it

21 critics

PG, 1 hr. 59 min.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Release Date: December 14, 1979

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DVD Release Date: March 23, 1999

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the ferris wheel rolls off the pier Stirkarski ready to punch out... General Stilwell enjoys Dumbo Robert Stack as The ferris wheel go awry John Williams Donna imagining Stikarski has enough of Wally "Hey boy, watch that knife." Donna in admiration of a... poster John Belushi as madness outside Stilwell meets Wild Bill the main title of the... Wild Bill is about to jump Wild Bill faints away Wild Bill landed
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Flixster Reviews (898)

  • fb100002359227440
    January 28, 2012
    fb100002359227440
    Steven Spielberg's 1941 don't is so funny like looks, but a few parts of the screenplay saves the film. The script of the duo Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale make some mistakes, the worst is the lack of comedy is part the was to be comic. Thus how the character of Tim Matheson and N... read moreancy Allen, the ending went everybody laughs, and more few. The best is the direction of Mr.Spielberg, that commit some mistakes, the acting of Belushi, the great Toshiro Mifune and the laughs that the picture make. 1941 is full -lengh, super production not so bad, a satire with great pontetial, but could be more funny which is and have not so much cliches.
  • cosmo313
    July 29, 2011
    cosmo313
    First off: my review was over the extended director's cut of the film.

    Well, let's see here: this is a star-studded, slapstick screwball farce concerning the citizens of California entering a stake of panic, pandemoneum, and paranoia in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack after ... read morethe (rightfully) think that the Japanese are trying to invade the U.S. mainland.

    This sounds like odd stuff, and it is, but it's even more so since it was not only a critical and commercial failure, but also something Spielberg had never done before or since, making it turly the proverbial turd in the punchbowl that is his filmography.

    This film gets ripped on all the time, and yes, it is a mess; it's overlong, extremely indulgant, and much of the humor is hit and miss. However, it's not actually as bad as it is made out to be. The concept is kinda funny, but ultimately, as a film, it sucks because of the way it was handled. Had this been played straight, it would have been much better. It also might have worked far better had someone who excels at this sort of thing helmed it instead.

    It is long and ridiculous, but I wasn't bored to tears or anything. To appreciate this, you really need to be in the mood for something mindless and goofy, and really set your perceptions of Spielberg aside. SInce this film is so unlike all his other films, it actually works as a curiousity piece, even if it is all over the place. As a concept it's not bad. It just sucks that the way it is executed here cmes up short.

    While not a complete piece of shit, this film is bad, and doesn't completely work, but it's still kinda entertaining. Let's just be fair and call it a noble failure and be done with it.
  • spielberg00
    June 14, 2011
    spielberg00
    This movie isn't really all that funnyâ?¦but, hey! Neither was the Pearl Harbor attack itself, for that matter!
  • bbcfloridabound
    March 17, 2011
    bbcfloridabound
    Been a while since I've seen this one, still its the best comedy to come alone since Abbott and Costello. John Belushi's greatest moments. The scenes with the dummy on the ferries wheel will leave anyone laughing, If you haven't seen this and need to brighten your sprits this is... read more your movie. 5 Stars
  • cancercapricorn2002
    August 24, 2010
    cancercapricorn2002
    Except for a small following of fanatics, Spielberg's "1941" is almost universally regarded as an utter failure. Well, I have to admit that, while I am no fanatic, I do count "1941" as one of my guilty pleasures. I'll come right out and say it, though--the film is indeed a failur... read moree. But it is a spectacular one. And I must say that the full length version shown on TV, and currently available on DVD, is much better than the original theatrical version. At least the story makes more sense, in any case. And I believe that the folks who like it enjoy it for the film it could have been. Because, you see, the screenplay was a masterpiece.

    There is really only one reason why this film was a failure: Stephen Spielberg was the wrong man to direct it. Anyone can point out that his visual style at the time was wrong for the film--too hazy and "flossy", like "Close Encounters." What it needed was an easy to read cartoonish look--kind of like the look Stanley Kramer gave this film's closest ancestor, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

    Also, for a film renowned for it noise and action, it is in reality very slowly paced. There are many spots to be bored.

    This was due in most part to Spielberg's misunderstanding of how to handle comedy as an art form. It is obvious that he abdicated his directorial command when it came to the actors, concentrating his skills on the visuals and effects (and even much of that effort was inappropriate to the task at hand). He had no idea why any of the material was supposed to be funny, so he just let the actors run wild in hopes that they knew. So, each of them tried desperately to be funny, all in totally different--and sometimes conflicting--styles. And, in almost every case-they failed.

    A much better choice would have been to have all the actors play their parts "straight." As George Roy Hill supposedly told a confused Paul Newman during the filming of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid": "You don't need to be funny. The story is funny. You just act." What joy there is in "1941" come from the huge spectacle and tiny intricacies of the screenplay. Ned Beatty, Tim Mattheson, Nancy Allen, that other blonde chick, etc--none of them are naturally funny people--and it is painful to watch them try to be so. The overacting and mugging drags out scenes which should have been played super fast and snappy, like the real screwball comedies of the 1940s. The dialog scenes should have been kept at a minimum, because, by design of the screenplay, the actors are only interesting as props in the Rube Goldbegian plot they inhabit.

    It is ironic that "1941" is the rare film that actually would have been improved if the dialog and "characterizations" had been cut to a minimum so we could get to the explosions and noise more quickly. I mean, do we really care to see and hear the lame interactions between Tim Mattheson and Nancy Allen as they each try to "be funny"? Hell no! Just let us know enough to make it somewhat believable when they end up screwing in a pilotless plane over Hollywood as a crazed John Belushi attempts to shoot them out of the sky! The situation is what is funny--the people are just bogging it down.

    The only natural comic in the bunch--and the only actor who should have been given free reign to be wild--was John Belushi. The rest of the cast should have followed the leads of Toshiro Mifune and Robert Stack and the wildness of what was going on around them would have been much funnier.

    Too bad the studio didn't trust Zemeckis, now a famous director, to begin his filmmaking career with this movie.
  • bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    July 29, 2010
    bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    i didnt find this funny at all just boring. D
  • ScoopOnline
    December 17, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Watching this Movie, I didnt believe it was Steven Spielbergs piece.
    Steven Spielbergs Movie often made me cry, but I never expected to LOL nearly the whole Movie DIRECTED BY SPIELBERG!
  • SirPant
    October 1, 2009
    SirPant
    Epic comedy?. It?s an epic something! It wanted to be up there with Dr. Strangelove but it?s not, instead it?s a wonderful mess of unintentional genius. Don't get me wrong, it?s not a very good film and it?s easy to see why it bombed, it just has that certain something, I cant pu... read moret my finger on it but this is an unmissable romp that is in a world of its own. See it once!
  • FilmFanatik
    November 2, 2008
    FilmFanatik
    Too bad Spielberg didn't make more comedies because this is brilliantly funny!
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    March 3, 2007
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    I thought it was funny though way overlong.

View All 1941 Reviews

Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby, New York Times

It may possibly be that Mr. Spielberg has chosen gigantic size and unlimited quantity as his comedy method in the awareness that he has no gift whatsoever for small-scale comic conceits. Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
May 8, 2010
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

I love 1941. I don't apologize to you, or my fellow critics, or even Spielberg for that. Full Review

Steve Crum
April 20, 2007
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Over the top Spielberg comedy, most noted for effects and Belushi.

Chuck O'Leary
October 8, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

A loud, chaotic, overproduced comedy that's often more destructive than funny.

Ken Hanke
September 23, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Everything bad about Spielberg in one bulging package.

Paul Matwychuk
November 29, 2002
Paul Matwychuk, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

The most underrated film of Steven Spielberg's entire career.

Bob Grimm
July 26, 2002
Bob Grimm, Reno News and Review

Not as bad as legend says, but still pretty bad.

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
February 28, 2002
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

It aims at screwball comedy and falls on its face. Full Review

Ian Freer
January 1, 2000
Ian Freer, Empire Magazine

Unworkable farce, it maybe, but it is also blessed with the buzz of brilliance. Full Review

Scott Weinberg
January 1, 2000
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Unjustly lambasted comic insanity. Full Review

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1941 Trivia

  • Who portrays DR Henry Jekyle/Mr Hyde in Dr Jekyle /Mr Hyde [1941]?  Answer »
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  • How Green was my Valley (Best Picture winner for 1941) takes place in which country?  Answer »
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