On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 39%, based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10.
(meta data) TITLE: 1941 (1979) - Rotten Tomatoes (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 1979-12-13T16:00:00-08:00 Top Box Office Tickets & Showtimes DVD & Streaming ## Sign In Email address ## Sign up for Rotten Tomatoes Sign up with Facebook First Name Last Name Would you like to receive our newsletter? By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. ## Forgot your password Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Email Address ## Real Quick We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. Don't worry, it won't take long. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your account. Just leave us a message here and we will work on getting you verified. Please reference "Error Code 2121" when contacting customer service. # 1941 Critics Consensus Steven Spielberg's attempt at screwball comedy collapses under a glut of ideas, confusing an unwieldy scope for a commensurate amount of guffaws. ## 39% ### TOMATOMETER Total Count: ## 48% ### Audience Score User Ratings: 24,071 ## 1941 Ratings & Reviews Explanation Super Reviewer Share on Facebook ## 1941 Photos View All Photos ## Movie Info It's December of 1941, and the people of California are in varying states of unease, ranging from a sincere desire to defend the country to virtual blind panic in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus begin several story threads that comprise the "plot" of this strange period comedy, a sort of satirical disaster movie, from Steven Spielberg. The stories and story threads involve lusty young men, officers (Tim Matheson) and civilians (Bobby Di Cicco) alike, eager to bed the young ladies of their dreams; Wild Bill Kelso, a nutty fighter pilot (John Belushi) following what he thinks is a squadron of Japanese fighters along the California coast; a well-meaning but clumsy tank crew (including John Candy) led by straight-arrow, by-the-book Sgt. Tree (Dan Aykroyd), who doesn't recognize the thug (Treat Williams) in his command; and homeowner Ward Douglas (Ned Beatty), who is eager to do his part for the nation's defense and, despite the misgivings of his wife (Lorraine Gary), doesn't mind his front yard overlooking the ocean being chosen to house a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun. There is also a pair of grotesquely inept airplane spotters (Murray Hamilton, Eddie Deezen) who are doing their job from atop a ferris wheel at a beachfront amusement park; a paranoid army colonel (Warren Oates) positive that the Japanese are infiltrating from the hills; a big dance being held on behalf of servicemen, being attended by a lusty young woman of size (Wendie Jo Sperber) eager to land a man in uniform; and General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell (Robert Stack), in charge of the defense of the West Coast, who can't seem to get anyone to listen to him when he says to keep calm. And, oh yes, there's also a real Japanese submarine that has gotten all the way to the California coast under the command of its captain (Toshiro Mifune) and a German officer observer (Christopher Lee), only to find itself without a working compass or usable maps. Its captain won't leave until the sub has attacked a militarily significant, honorable target, and the only one that anyone aboard ship knows of in California is Hollywood. By New Year's Eve, all of these characters are going to cross paths, directly or once-removed, in a comedy of errors and destruction strongly reminiscent of the finale to National Lampoon's Animal House (as well as several disaster movies from the same studio), but on a much larger and more impressive scale. Rating: PG (adult situations/language) Genre: Action & Adventure, Directed By: Steven Spielberg Written By: Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis In Theaters: Dec 14, 1979 On Disc/Streaming: Mar 23, 1999 Runtime: 119 minutes Studio: MCA Universal Home Video ## Watch it now ## Cast Dan Aykroyd Sgt. Frank Tree Ned Beatty Ward Douglas John Belushi Capt. Wild Bill Kelso Lorraine Gary Joan Douglas Murray Hamilton Christopher Lee Von Kleinschmidt Tim Matheson Toshiro Mifune Cmdr. Mitamura Warren Oates Robert Stack Gen. Stilwell Treat Williams Nancy Allen Lucille Benson Gas Mama Jordan Brian John Candy Diane Kay Elisha Cook Jr. Patti LuPone Lydia Hedberg Penny Marshall Miss Fitzroy Slim Pickens Hollis Wood Lionel Stander Dub Taylor Iggie Wolfington Meyer Mishkin Joe Flaherty USO M.C. Eddie Deezen Bobby Di Cicco Dianne Kay Perry Lang J. Patrick McNamara Frank McRae Ogden Johnson Jones Steven Mond Wendie Jo Sperber Christian Zika Lucinda Dooling Gray Frederickson Lt. Bressler Brian Frishman USO Goon Jerry Hardin Map Man Robert Houston Maddox's Soldier John Landis Ronnie MacMillan Dick Miller Officer Miller Akio Mitamura Antoinette Molinari Mrs. Scioli Walter Olkewicz Mickey Rourke Whitney Rydbeck Gray Fredrickson Lt. Bressler Donovan Scott Kid Sailor Hiroshi Shimizu Geno Silva David L. Lander Michael McKean Susan Backlinie Polar Bear Woman E. Hampton Beagle Phone Man Don Calfa Telephone Operator Vito Carenzo Vito, Shore Patrol Andy Tennant Brad Gorman USO Nerd Frank Verroca USO Nerd John Voldstad USO Nerd Kerry Sherman USO Girl Audrey Landers USO Girl Deborah Benson USO Girl Maureen Teefy USO Girl Carol Ann Williams USO Girl Jenny Williams USO Girl Carol Ann Beery USO Girl Dave Cameron John R. McKee Mark Carlton Stilwell Aide Galen Thompson Stilwell Aide Jack Thibeau Stilwell Aide Paul Cloud Stilwell Aide Gary Carlos Cervantes Zoot Suiter Luis Contreras Zoot Suiter Carol Culver Anderson Sister Marjorie Gaines Anderson Sister Trish Garland Anderson Sister Dian Gallup Denise Gallup Samuel Fuller Interceptor Commander Diane Hill Interceptor Assistant Barbara Gannen Interceptor Assistant John McKee Dan McNally David Cameron Rita Taggart View All ## News & Interviews for 1941 Trailer Bulletin: The Zodiac Japanese Community Protests "Geisha" Girls Trailer Bulletin: Corpse Bride View All ## Critic Reviews for 1941 All Critics (23) | Top Critics (1) It may possibly be that Mr. Spielberg has chosen gigantic size and unlimited quantity as his comedy method in the awareness that he has no gift whatsoever for small-scale comic conceits. May 9, 2005 | Rating: 1.5/5 Vincent Canby New York Times Top Critic A somewhat interminable misfire... Nov 2, 2018 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review… David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Led by some of the biggest names in comedy at the time, 1941 is Steven Spielberg's most underrated film of all time. Jun 10, 2018 | Full Review… Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies This wannabe satire of WWII is the first and one of the few commercial flops in Spielberg's otherwise distinguished and popular output. Jan 29, 2013 | Rating: D+ | Full Review… Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com I love 1941. I don't apologize to you, or my fellow critics, or even Spielberg for that. May 8, 2010 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… Rob Gonsalves Over the top Spielberg comedy, most noted for effects and Belushi. Apr 20, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 Steve Crum View All Critic Reviews (23) ## Audience Reviews for 1941 Jan 09, 2016 After a gigantic Diplodocus sized dump of success with his first two big mainstream movies, one about a large fish and the other about some annoying little brat that gets kidnapped by aliens in ice-cream cone shaped UFO's, the one and only Spielberg had complete and utter control over everything. Strangely enough, much like his best mate George Lucas, this power went straight to his head and he came up with this odd little feature. Still to this day I'm not really sure what his intentions were or whether I actually like this or not, it certainly doesn't seem or feel like a Spielberg movie, not in the slightest. The plot is an odd mixture really, set in 1941, it basically sees a Japanese submarine led by Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee (a Nazi), on course to try and hit the western coast again just after the recent Pearl Harbour attack. The US is on high alert after the bombing, paranoia is running amok but there is a real risk of another attack. During this time we follow multiple storylines involving various characters within the US military that eventually all combine at the finale. You have the unhinged John Belushi as Wild Bill Kelso who flies around in his Curtiss P-40 fighter and...errr little else really. I kinda get the impression Spielberg mainly stuck him in because he was a big star at the time and was virtually a package along with Dan Aykroyd. Meanwhile, a tank crew consisting of Aykroyd, John Candy, Mickey Rourke, Treat Williams and Frank McRae are on their way to a military base or just on patrol due to the recent attacks (not really sure), and getting into all sorts of trouble. Sitarski (Williams) is after a young girl who is also the target of the young whippersnapper Wally (Bobby Di Cicco), both of whom are trying to take her to a local dance contest. Meanwhile!! Major General Stilwell (Robert Stack) is trying to control everything from the general public to his inane troops in the midst of this supposed pending doom from the far east. There is also a love story going on between Tim Matheson and Nancy Allen that flits in and out of the other sub plots, Slim Pickens is kidnapped by the Japs and interrogated on-board their sub, Ned Beatty and Lorraine Gary get an anti-aircraft gun stuck in their backyard, and Eddie Deezen is stuck atop a ferris wheel overlooking the coast for the pending Jap invasion. In short, the entire thing is a horrific muddle of plots that intertwine with each other, and basically they all focus on one thing, the Japs invading the west coast and everyone going crazy with paranoia over it. The only twist is, the Japs actually are and do invade the west coast confirming everyone's paranoia, but it then leads to even more batshit happenings as everyone tries to combat them. Apparently this mishmash of a plot was actually based on some real events from the era. This probably explains why its such a mess, because they based the movie on several different events. The first being the supposed and infamous 'Battle of LA' whereby LA apparently came under attack from a mysterious object in the sky. No one knew what it was, but they shelled it anyway, because hey...Merica! Other events were the bombing of an oil refinery in California, an incident where an anti-aircraft gun was indeed stuck in someone's backyard, and something called the zoot suit riots. Basically lots of migrants flooded the State from Mexico to help the war effort, as did lots of marines and sailors, aaand they all ended up fighting each other. Twas called the zoot suit riots because at the time zoot suits were trendy and many young Mexicans (and others) wore them. In all honesty this movie is such a mess, you really have no clue what's going on and why half the time. Sure there are young blokes in uniform fighting over dames and other crazy blokes in uniform doing silly things, but that's it. The whole thing is like one long long large action sequence, or riot, it doesn't stop! The plot sinks below this constant barrage of high octane hijinks including a lot of fisticuffs, big dance routines, cockpit tomfoolery, sloppy romance, mass destruction of everything, lots of gunfire and loads of screaming into the camera. There is no way in hell you'd think this was a Steven Spielberg movie, not a chance, its like some cheesy, cheeky, high school flick filled with jocks and nerds in a constant raucous. Now even though most of what you see is an absolute headache of noise, it all looks terrific. Overall it may not come across like your typical Spielberg movie, but in terms of visuals and special effects, it definitely has that classic old Spielbergian (dare I even say...Lucas-esque) vibe going on. All the period sets, props and costumes are wonderfully detailed and highly authentic looking. You have all the classic cars, planes, machinery, electronics and weapons spot on from the era too, everything from the radios, the local diners, to the decorations in the dance hall, it all looks gorgeous, far too good for such a throw away flick like this really. I must also give much kudos to the model work on display towards the finale, a full scale town mockup I think, also included were a lot of decent bluescreen shots (for the time), solid interior (exterior) plane and sub sets and I think some matte painting work going in places. The full gamut of special effects wizardry going on which you come to expect from these old action movies, but they still hold up very well. The cast is clearly another big key element and hook with this movie, its like a who's who of the time. You have some epic actors like Lee, Beatty and Mifune alongside crazy comedians like Candy, Aykroyd and Belushi. Much like the movie its a real mishmash of talents that don't really gel together in my opinion. Mifune is clearly taking his role as a Jap sub commander pretty seriously, Lee is also coming across as an eerie Nazi officer (kinda like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'), but then Spielberg sticks Slim Pickens in a scene with them. Its also evident that the studio wanted more of Aykroyd and Belushi because of their SNL fame at the time, unfortunately there isn't really anything for them to do and it feels like they are just crowbarred in for exactly that reason...their SNL fame. Seriously, Belushi doesn't need to be here at all, his character is good for like...one visual gag. Most everyone else is young and upcoming admittedly so it doesn't feel like overcrowding in that (big name) sense, but there is clearly way too much going on, too many characters jockeying for space, too many little plots going on. Also far too many silly cameos that just weren't needed, it felt like some kind of big variety show or Spielberg giving all his mates sweet little plum bit parts for no real reason. In the end this movie really feels like a misfire, I'm honestly not sure if Spielberg really knew what he wanted to do here. Its suppose to be a zany comedy but its not really very funny at any point, although its zany enough. Plenty of action and pep as everything zips along but its so disjointed and uneven, I'm still not really sure what Wild Bill Kelso was supposed to be doing, or why he's even in the film, and apparently Christopher Lee's Nazi got killed by being thrown into the sea? I guess he couldn't swim? One issue that springs to mind is the fact everything this movie is based on (and sends -up) is the history of California, and virtually unknown to most. Sure you could say that about many things but the events this movie are based around feel even more minor than usual, as though its a big in-joke for the people of California (those in the know). Alas many probably haven't got a clue so it just comes across as a daft, meaningless screwball comedy that just isn't funny. I guess one last plus point now would be the nostalgic factor, looking back at this amazing ensemble cast, won't see anything like that again. Phil H Super Reviewer Oct 29, 2015 Wildly incomprehensible, and incredibly downright out of this world, 1941 has some bold satire intentions coming from the likes of Steven Spielberg. But sadly, the comedy aspect of the film is pushed way too far it almost offsets the entire narrative, that along with too many characters the film focuses on. It may as well be the biggest career low point for Spielberg, nonetheless it has an excellent cast and can be enjoyed much more when viewers intentionally do not take this film seriously as it may as well doesn't take into any of its scenarios seriously. Luke E Super Reviewer Jun 10, 2014 Steven Spielberg's star was already assured by the time he made this, this petite monster, garish, crude and loud, hobbled together with elements from other films (like some of the cast of Animal House, some of the madcap of The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, an altered version of Benny Goodman's Sing, Sing, Sing, that wacked out cowboy pilot from Doctor Strangelove, etc., etc., etc.), all in an hope to achieve "zany!" ... which he misses by that much. Pass. Kevin M. W Super Reviewer Oct 28, 2013 Steven Spielberg's 1941 is an underrated comedy that is far better than what most people have said about it. The film has its weak points of course, but nonetheless is an amusing and entertaining picture that is sure to amuse anyone looking for a good little flick to watch. 1941 is a good film, one that has enough good material to make it worth seeing. Spielberg has made better films of course, but this is an enjoyable, underrated film from him. I found that there were quite a few comical moments on-screen, even if it wasn't hilarious, it was still nonetheless a funny, entertaining and watchable film that shouldn't be passed up. Although funny, at times, the material could have been better in order to make it a better, more memorable film. Enjoyable for what it is, almost to the point where the gags try to outdo the audacious scope of the film. In turn, some of the comic bits do suffer, and it's not as funny as it should be. I laughed quite a few times, but I really expected something more out of the film. 1941 boasts a great cast of talented actors that elevate the sometimes lacking material and Spielberg's direction more than makes up for what's missing in the movie. If you're looking for a great comedy, you won't find it here. The film, like I said, provides laughs, but leaves a lot to be desired after the credits start to roll. Worth seeing if you love Spielberg, just don't expect a highly memorable comedy. 1941 is fun, but flawed, but in the end, it's not as bad as what everyone has said about it. Alex r Super Reviewer See all Audience reviews ## 1941 Quotes There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. ## News & Features 150 Erotic Movies Ranked worst to best! 2019's Most Anticipated 63 movies coming up this year 200 Essential Movies Chosen by RT staff! Best of Netflix Movies and shows to binge now View All View All Results Go back More trailers
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1941 (film)
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