1941

1941 (1979)

Runtime: I saw the Director's Cut that was a lengthy 146 minutes long

Directed by: A possibly embarrassed after the fact Steven Spielberg

Starring: An all-star cast

From: Universal/Columbia

After seeing the Director's Cut, what a revelation that Wendie Jo Sperber was the highlight-for me-in a movie with an incredible cast...

I don't want to sound like I am dissing the late actress; it was just that her character was rather amusing in a movie which was typically more loud and annoying than hilarious and that hampered all the famous comic performers here; she also delivered with the physical humor which even then 1941 did not always nail in general. Its toxic reputation left me wary even w/ all the talent involved. The fact that this was set in the Christmas season meant it seemed like the most opportune time... that and me having this on disc.

The first surprise came when the opening 30 seconds featured a woman taking off all her clothes and despite the optical fogging, the fully nude lady (Susan Backlinie, the first victim in Jaws) still had all her naughty bits visible. A later surprise was seeing that this was also in the theatrical cut-which amazingly was rated PG despite having a lot of sexual innuendo, some foul language and a lady sans clothing. Without a doubt this is the horniest Steven Spielberg picture I've ever seen! Various storylines are followed in Los Angeles & the suburbs in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor's bombing (by the Germans, according to Bluto) as a Japanese submarine is headed towards the City of Angels. As it's a silly thing which was designed to make the Axis powers silly, there's also a German officer present. This happily means that two cinematic legends in Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee got to share multiple scenes together and that was a great highlight even in something as daff as this movie.

The biggest issue is that Spielberg's strong suit definitely isn't comedy which is why this is the only movie he did in the genre. Comedic timing and pacing, both are rather poor here. Also, his idea of “humor” is “be as loud and chaotic as possible”, which made it an exhausting almost 2 ½ hours. There was a lot of noise and fury, signifying not much. With all the famous names in front and behind the camera surrounding a story based on the real life panic of the Japanese making their way to the Los Angeles area in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor. The movie technically made a profit but neither critics nor fans loved it. I know it now has its fans-don't count myself as one of them. Some things I noted:

Another unexpected moment was seeing both Mifune and Lee watch Slim Pickens trying to literally s--- out a Cracker Jack compass he swallowed... don't ask.

Both the Treat Williams and Nancy Allen storylines haven't aged well. The former has him as a serviceman basically repeatedly attempting to sexually assault a young woman while the later has he getting turned on by... airplanes.

I also did not need to see Eddie Deezen play someone obviously mentally handicapped, nor John Candy as.. a racist.

On the other side of the coin, it was not a film which inspired hatred or anger. A lot of money was thrown at it so of course the explosions and carnage at least (usually) looks nice and I did dig all the miniatures and other tricks that brought 1941 So Cal to life. Plus, there are some nice scenes, like the big Jitterbug dance sequence.

Honestly, any opinion of the film I can rationalize-even love or hatred. Speaking for myself, a movie that the director himself said was like “having your head stuck in a pinball machine while someone is hitting 'tilt' over and over again” is something which will be a tough sell for me.