1941 (1979)

1941 (1979)

Every filmmaker has their own flops or mediocre movies, no matter how great the directors are. Martin Scorsese has New York, New York, Francis Ford Coppola has Jack, and the list goes on. In this instance, the great Steven Spielberg has 1941. It was crushing for critics and audiences because Spielberg wowed them with Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, so everyone was eagerly anticipating his next project. I liked the idea behind the movie, but I felt it to be a misfire. The movie, of course, satires World War Two and the military, but it was not funny at all and that is the biggest failure of all. Jokes are thrown at you at the speed of light, but everything feels so forced. I merely chuckled from time to time, but I wonder if I did that out of respect. In addition to poorly-written jokes, the movie is loud, obnoxious, and has way too many explosions for this type of movie.

Well, I had to get the bad stuff out of the way first. However, there were some redeemable qualities within the film. The film has a large cast filled to the brim with outstanding actors. Granted, many of them were not used to the best of their abilities, but the performances were still good enough. Spielberg did continue to prove himself as a capable director, as I thought his direction was good enough. Finally, the best part of the movie is the music by Spielberg’s usual collaborator, John Williams. Spielberg always said that William’s theme was his favorite out of all the movies they did together. High praise!

The film was written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale both of whom would gain fame in the mid 1980’s with Back to the Future. Needless to say, the script they wrote was not their finest hour. The central idea they came up with is brilliant though. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor just happened and the state of California is on their toes since they are supposedly the next victims. When a rogue Japanese submarine appears just off the coast, we must ask whether or not Hollywood is ready for war.

The cast has many great names and it was a pleasure to see these actors even if they did not live up to their full potential. Check out these names. Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, Murray Hamilton, Christopher Lee, Ned Beatty, Warren Oates, Robert Stack, and the list goes on. Plus, there are some rather intriguing cameos by James Caan and Penny Marshall. Plus, John Candy and Mickey Rourke have minor roles. Some have more screen time than others. If there were to be a central character, it would be the character of James Belsuhi. If you liked his Animal House performance, then you will like this performance.

I was quite disappointed with the movie especially with all the talent involved. This film was meant to be a slapstick satire, but I cannot help if this movie would have been received better if this was more dramatic. After all, Stanley Kubrick did suggest the same thing to Spielberg before it was released. Spielberg did later admit that after the enormous success of his previous two movies, he became a little arrogant and took this film as a lesson. That shows because his next two movies were Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, two of the most popular movies of all time. Unfortunately, 1941 is an uneven movie with unfunny jokes. Everything is thrown at you for two hours, and it’s hard to make out what is going on. The visual effects are cool and the score is amazing, but I wanted to truly like this movie as a Spielberg fan and a World War 2 buff. It’s watchable, but only just.

My Grade: C-