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1941 - Collector's Edition

1941 - Collector's Edition

List Price: $12.98
Your Price: $9.09
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pretty watchable for a bad movie
Review: "1941" is a complete mess with a whole lot of unfunny forced jokes and an awful screenplay (by Robert Zemeckis and John Milus). It's clear that Spielberg is a talented filmmaker who doesn't quite have the knack for choosing good scripts. While nearly everything he did before this was gold (including "Duel" and "The Sugarland Express")... he was obviously at a loss for how to handle a slapstick comedy. That said, his talent does shine through in a lot of scenes. There's a pretty fun dance number, the special effects for the plane chase through Hollywood haven't dated a bit, and how can anyone resist a movie that pairs up Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee? Maybe the casting of Mifune wasn't such a good choice, because I couldn't root against him, even while he was plotting to blow up Hollywood. I just couldn't!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Director's cut makes ALL the difference!
Review: "1941" is not a simple farce, but a hilarious, carefully constructed, and well-targeted screwball comedy. The Seventies were short on these -- "What's Up, Doc?" comes to mind, but almost nothing else. Steven Spielberg really did bake a comic souffle, with almost every "SNL" and "SCTV" veteran and character actor he could find to keep it lively.

You couldn't tell that any of this was coherently told, though, until now. The widescreen VHS (and DVD) versions add 26 minutes of footage, and it all is worth watching. It turns what others have called a mere "scream-fest" into its own demented, alternate world-for-a-day, hemmed in by comic paranoia.

Other reviews have noted that this story took from historical events, such as an actual appearance of a Japanese sub, and the "zoot suit" riots of the following year. But what hasn't been noted are the comic rhythms that Spielberg was trying to use. They simply weren't visible until now.

Not only does the restored version put back over 20 minutes of one of John Williams's wittiest scores, but several items that were repeated throughout the film get those repetitions back. This makes all the difference for comic effect. The earlier video version was funny, but left you tired. This one, though, leaves you wrung out from being swept up in it ... and that's a much more satisfying feeling.

Here are some of the items that gain comic brilliance through many more witty and well-placed repetitions, only now restored in this director's cut:

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Americans fighting Americans." ~ "I hate eggs." ~ The RKO Pictures talent scout. ~ "Just a case of war nerves." ~ The two USO girls' manhunting. ~ "This will NEVER work." ~ White vs. black on the tank crew (not that pleasant to see, but historically accurate, and damn funny). ~ "Dumbo," adjective and film. ~ "Deep in the Heart of Texas," sung (!) by John Belushi at hilarious moments (and kept out of the video until now due to copyright problems).

Some scenes and characters only make sense with the added footage:

Wally, the zoot-suiter, hiding in the rafters of the garage, a perfectly built "topper" gag. ~ Why the zoot-suiters are around that night, for that matter. ~ Wally being "other side of the tracks" and proving himself in battle on Hollywood Boulevard. ~ Cpl. Sitarsky's easily triggered rage. ~ The tank crew, again. ~ Beginning-and-ending gags about "tearing out some walls." ~ How and why the two Civil Defense guys on the ferris wheel drive each other crazy. ~ Tim Matheson's airborne seduction.

It isn't the same film that had appeared before on video, that's all there is to it. The night-and-day difference in repeated comic elements, alone, is worth five stars. I only deduct one for the same thing that drove me crazy in the theater 20 years ago: Too many explosions!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: well,Spielberg's not Landis but...
Review: 1941 by Spielberg is the one i liked the most
after the other key movies by the same director,such as
Jaws,Raiders of the Lost Ark and Duel.it does contain
several elements of dynamic screwball comedy that had been
shown again in other Spielberg's films.watch it because it
has an incredibly fast moving actor as Belushi was and this is just enough not to miss it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Spectacular,but overlong
Review: 1941 is a perfect example of the term "less is more".The film has some amazing scenes(that dance scene will become a classic)but this films big budget led to huge and overlong scenes which made the movie bloated and slow in parts.But this movie is still an amazing spectacular to watch.Steven Spielberg learned the "less is more" lesson from this film and cut back the original shooting schedule of "Raiders Of the Lost Ark",turning it into a lean,entertaining movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: It Was Alright!
Review: 1941 is not Steven Spielberg's best movie but it has it's moments and is a cute movie and has a huge cast that includes John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Tim Matheson, Treat Williams, Robert Stack, John Candy and Michael McKean. The plot is a little uneven but has a great cast and some funny scenes that make it worth watching at least once and probably worth buying on DVD or video if you are fans of these actors. Since I'm an SNL fan I'm thinking of collecting the movies that have actors who are or were part of the SNL cast and I might buy the 1941 DVD but I would probably buy a used DVD.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 2.7 out of 5
Review: 1941 is Steven Spielberg's most infamous flop. The film is one of Spielberg's very few comedies, chronicling the adventures of a group of citizens and soldiers in 1941 California, who fear they'll be next. Spielberg's directing is nothing special, an extremely rare occurence; Robert Zemeckis' and Bob Gale's script has some of the most unfunny circumstances made into attempted comedy; John Williams' score is great, but as with Spielberg, nothing great; there's also some wacky cinematography by William A. Fraker. Some of the main members of an outstanding cast include Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, Warren Oates, and Slim Pickens. Of course, the true highlight of the film is John Belushi, who never lets us down for laughs. As a matter of fact, Belushi may be the only good part of the film in his role as a crazed war pilot. While true war historians and the like may think that the occurences upon which the film is inspired are nothing to be made fun of (I myself feel the same), 1941 isn't a total waste, as unfunny as it is. Bottom line: Good moments, but only for those who have seen everything else Spielberg has to offer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: DO NOT MISS!
Review: 1941 is undoubtably one of the greatest movie comdey classics of all time. The setting is from the day after Pearl Harbour to Pearl Harbour +6 and contains some of the driest and yet funniest humor usually associated with a Monty Python production. This is clearly one of the funniest movies ever produced and comes highly recommended. THIS IS DEFINATELY STEVEN SPIELBERG'S BREAKOUT MOVIE. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Great Slap Stick Movie
Review: 1941 really is one of those movies you love or hate and you hate to love. It really is a movie with no plot and character development. It has a ton of crazy and wild characters that are very memorable. The story really isn't important because there really isn't one.

1941 is a movie that takes place on Dec. 13, 1941 in L.A., Cal. The U.S. people are worried about another attack from the Japanese. Off the coast of L.A. is a Japanese U-Boat with the dumbest crew ever and one Nazi on it. They end up there off the coast because they are lost and their instruments won't work. Back on shore you have tank crew with characters played by Dan Akroyd, John Candy and Treat Williams in it who are out defending the city. You have John Belushi patroling the skies as Wild Bill and plenty of othe memorable characters living there daily lives in this war time.

Like I said it really is hard to try to tell you the plot because there are so many chatacters and so many things going on at one time. There are plenty of cameos and funny antics in the movie. I like watching spoof movies like this and it's funny to see it come from Steven Spielberg because he's made some of the best dramas of all-time. If you were to see Schindler's List, The Color Purple, and Saving Private Ryan and then you were to see 1941, there is no way you'd think Spielberg did it.

I was disapointed in the movie for the roles of John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. Because there are so many characters in the movie it's hard for anybody to get a ton of time on camera. At the time this movie was made these guys were both pretty popular from SNL and I think Spielberg really could have ran with them.

I was disappointed with the DVD quality of the picture. It doesn't look any better than any of the previous versions I've seen of 1941. The bonus features however are great and the price for the movie is well worth that alone.

1941 really is a fun movie. It's fun to see a guy like Spielberg do a spoof like this. Just him making fun of Jaws is great. It's not that bad of a movie and I really am glad I own it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lots of fun
Review: 1941... if I had a time machine I would love to see how it really was.

The movie is awesome; a lot of know talent and "legends" of our time. Absolutely funny from the moment it starts to the end.

As I understand, unfortunately this one was not very popular when it came out. I have invited friends and family to watch it and they have walked away laughing at all the silliness.

For a few good laughs, I highly recommend this one!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Sucks, sucks, sucks!
Review: After hearing about how horrible this film was for years, I decided to check it out, thinking it can't be that bad. Trust me, it is that bad.

"1941" is nothing but 2.5 hours of smug, overpaid celebrities screaming and yelling, and trying way too hard to be outrageous. Spielberg's limp, PG-rated attempt at 1970s "slash-and-burn" humor is the obvious precursor of such unfunny "wacky" dreck as "The Cannonball Run." Lame, lame, lame.


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