Free Great Movies Review
Spielberg's notorious 1941 is every bit as unfunny as its reputation. Loaded with acting talent and money, Spielberg proves once and for all that he's not a great comedic director and graciously steered clear of the all-out comedy genre going forward. Set in Los Angeles after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the film is relentlessly obnoxious jumping from one noisy subplot to another. The plot involves way too many characters endlessly carrying out some sort of mission against a Japanese submarine off the Southern California coast. The amazing cast includes Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, John Candy, Ned Beatty, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, Nancy Allen, Warren Oates, Treat Williams, Lorraine Gary, Slim Pickens, and many other notable cameos. The foggy cinematography by William A. Fraker is superb, along with excellent elaborate miniature sequences of Hollywood Boulevard and the Santa Monica Ocean Front Amusement Park. The real fault lies in the screwball comedy script by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale as conducted by director Steven Spielberg. Thankfully Spielberg quickly learned his lesson from this one and got back on track with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). The Zucker Brothers and Jim Abrahams made Airplane! (1980) a year later on a much smaller budget and did everything Spielberg couldn't comedically.
Movie Description
1941 is a 1979 wartime comedy film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. Set in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, the movie imagines a hysterical, chaotic Los Angeles preparing for a perceived Japanese invasion. The ensemble cast includes John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Candy, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, and Nancy Allen. Spielberg's first attempt at a broad comedy, 1941 mixes slapstick humor and spectacular special effects to spoof wartime paranoia. Despite its initially lukewarm reception, the film has since gained a following.
(Summary by FreeGreatMovies.com)
