The reverential tone Steven Spielberg has taken lately with World War II as evident in “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan” (in addition to the 1987 boys’ adventure “Empire Of The Sun”) is nowhere to be found in this largely panned yet outrageously spellbinding screwball comedy that would have done Blake Edwards proud.
Buy,Download, Or Stream 1941! Click Here
Based loosely on events that actually occurred stateside during World War II (specifically the sighting of a Japanese submarine off the waft of California and the evil “zoot suit riots” among day-glo dressed street hoods and servicemen), this movie pays tribute to the paranoia that gripped the West Sail in the days following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Notoriously overbudget, this film was considered the “Waterworld” of its day, with the positive dissimilarity being that it took itself not the least bit seriously. It was Spielberg’s much-expected flop in the wake of “Jaws” and “Stop Encounters Of The Third Kind”…but did it deserve to be?
An able cast of comedic talent headlined by the incomparable John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd with up-and-coming SCTV alumnus John Candy and current “Animal House” weak Tim Matheson supported ably by character actors Ned Beatty, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, and Lorraine Gary and all-time agreeable ol’ boy Slim Pickens on one side…and dilapidated Hammer Films fear star Christopher Lee slumming with Akira Kurosawa’s number-one samurai Toshiro Mifune and the crew of a Japanese submarine with heinous navigational equipment on the other.
Buy,Download, Or Stream 1941! Click Here
It is an all-star cast performing well up to its gain high standard in what would be the most new twist on war since “Hogan’s Heroes”…mainly the opinion that this tragedy which brought so great distress and sorrow to the entire world could in fact be something that, in the proper hands, could be uproariously humorous. Spielberg’s fingerprints are of course ubiquitous; the expend of children, the collaboration with John Williams, breakaway stuntwork, special effects and well-designed dwelling pieces…but it is the actors that get this movie work, particularly John Belushi who, like Brad Pitt in movies like “Thelma & Louise”, “Fair Romance”, and “Snatch” manages to recall completely a movie in which he actually has very cramped face time. All the actors are encouraged to play to their strengths, and the ability to “pay no attention to that man gradual the curtain” (i.e., remember than none of this ever happened and that this is a comedy, not a documentary…Michael Moore, are you listening? ) will enable the viewer some deep bellylaughs and some time well-spent viewing the bonus features which attempt to account for objective WHY this is one of Spielberg’s least understood or appreciated films.
This 1979 WWII comedy spectacle bombed when it first released but its not as dreadful as its reputation suggests. Steven Spielberg’s direction in this movie can be compared to some of the type of direction of today’s ample budget films (i.e Armageddon) . The movie is much for the fact that it boasts an all-star cast including Tishiro Mifune, Christopher Lee (as a German officer on board the Japanese sub as a guest), stars from SNL, Second City, and stars from tv sitcoms of the 1970’s. Also, it’s one of the few movies John Belushi did before his untimely death. There are a lot of people screaming, substantial special effects and stunts, and some horrible characters. The site is mainly about a Japanese submarine that is off course, arriving in the L.A. harbor, and causing hysteria among the L.A residences. With that, there are related subplots such as Belushi’s Wild Bill Kelso flying an airplane to L.A. and Ned Beatty’s Ward Douglas receiving an anti-aircraft gun from the army to be placed on his beachfront backyard. Some standout supporting performances from Bobby Di Cicco as Wally Stephens, an unlisted man whose only joy is to dance in his zoot suit, and Dianne Kay (from TV’s EIGHT IS ENOUGH) as his girlfriend. These two (along with Robert Stack as General Stillwell) are the “still in the hurricane” or the only sane people in this movie. The rest are all too cartoony and over the top. This is the type of movie to sight as background noise if you are doing other things like writing your bills, doing your homework, or surfing the accept. You can eye up occasionally to obtain something for a chuckle or two.
Note: Wait On in 1979, Dan Ackroyed must have been embarassed by this movie. In movie ads and posters released after this film, his face is removed from the novel movie poster and replaced with someone else’s face.
Gamefly Free Trial
Forehead Wrinkles
Buy Electric Cigarette
maggie9277816