1941

Movie / Show Details

Product Description

Spectacular is certainly the word for this utterly wild comedy epic directed by Steven Spielberg and nominated for three Academy Awards. Lavish effects sequences highlight this hilarious, all-star extravaganza set in Los Angeles just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when fear of a Japanese invasion threw the city into a state of Pandemonium. Screwball characters run wild on Hollywood Boulevard as manic servicemen, zealous store owners, teary-eyed girls and bickering Nazis are thrown together in this fast-rising comic souffle that even features a sendup of Spielberg’s own Jaws opening.
Bonus Content:

The Making of 1941 Deleted Scenes Production Photographs 1941 Comic Relief The Marketing of 1941 The Reviews Production Notes Cast and Filmmakers Theatrical Trailer

Amazon.com

Watching this director’s cut, it’s finally possible to see why the studio made Spielberg mercilessly hack up this comedy: it’s a screaming movie (everyone screams a lot), and screaming movies do not need character development. So all those character-development scenes hit the cutting-room floor and, surprise, they were all critical to Spielberg’s pace for the humor in this film. The screaming wasn’t that funny then–and it still isn’t–but what is funny are the reinserted development scenes, showcasing the now-evident sense of hysteria in the Los Angeles community, post-Pearl Harbor. A bunch of certified nitwits, and a few certified lunatics, act as if Tojo Hideki’s entire Imperial force is just off the mainland. Actually, one Japanese submarine is, and it helps fuel the frenzy. John Belushi is Wild Bill Kelso, an insane fighter pilot, and Dan Aykroyd plays a conciliatory tank commander. Robert Stack’s performance as General Stilwell, one of the best of the film, finally makes sense. Also fun for the numerous cameos, Spielberg’s inside jokes, and John Williams’s great score. –Keith Simanton