1941

1979
PG
1h 58m

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

37K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:47

Satire Slapstick Action Comedy War

Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

37K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,008

368

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 6 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:47

1941

Photos246

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Some scenes were so noisy during filming that the crew could not hear Steven Spielberg yell "Cut". He had to fire a prop machine gun in the air to get the action to stop.

Goofs
Herbie and Claude change position on the ferris wheel. Spielberg did that deliberately for comedic effect.

Quotes
Japanese soldier: [trying to squeeze a large radio into the sub] We've got to figure out how to make these things smaller!

Crazy credits
End credits feature scenes showing cast members screaming.

Alternate versions
The version released on network television and VHS/DVD/laserdisc is Spielberg's original director's cut, running 146 minutes, fleshing out sub-plots and characterizations, including:
Wally and Dennis getting thrown out onto the street by Mr. Malcomb after he fires them from the diner where they work.
Miss Fitzroy lecturing a group of women, Betty and Maxine among them, about tonight's USO dance which is interupted by a group of Army service men and Sailors entering and chanting wanting the women.
A department store scene with Wally fussing about buying an expensive new zoot suit and Dennis sounding a phoney air-raid siren which leads to panic in the store including a gun-toting Santa Claus yelling out command orders which is revealed to be a set up by Wally who walks out of the store wearing the zoot suit while Dennis meets the twin girls for the first time.
A scene with Scioli outside his house arguing with his non-English speaking wife about converting their car into an armored car while talking with Claude about sending him and someone else atop the Santa Monica ferris wheel on a spot mission for Japanese planes.
A extra scene with Ito and the I-19 Japanese submarine shore party disguising themselves as Christmas trees in a remote Christmas tree lot and the drunken Hollis Wood trying to "chop" them down which leads to his capture.
Scioli arriving at the ferris wheel with Claude and Herbie and explaing to them about their mission in the ferris wheel.
A dinner scene at the Douglas home and Ward explaining to Betty about her going to the USO dance and telling her about the pros and cons about meeting servicemen.
A barracks scene with Odgen Johnson Jones arriving for the first time at the barracks and imediately quarling with the racist Foley about property lines within their quarters.
A scene outside the USO club where Wally arrives and meets with Martinez and his Zoot Suit friends where they are denied access to the club where Corporal Stretch shows up and sets Wally's zoot suit afire which nearly leads to a riot between the Zoot Suiters and the Servicemen. Wally then meets Dennis dressed up as a Marine in order to gain entrance into the club with the twins as his dates.
Additional dialoge between Captain Birkhead and Donna in their car on the way to the airstrip and being afraid of the dark.
Another barracks scene where Sergeant Tree breaks up a fistfight between Jones and Foley by informing them about the riot on Hollywood Blvd. and showing them climing into their tank and starting it up.
A scene of the Japanese submarine I-19 arriving for the first time outside the Douglas house and the sub's entire crew on the deck watching Joan Douglas taking a bath through the bathroom window.
A scene of the tank traveling down a residential street and Wally shooting up Officer Miller's police car to pieces, sending the policeman and some paserby's running for their lives.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Special Show: The Magic of Spielberg (1984)

Soundtracks
Down by the Ohio
Music by Abe Olman (uncredited)
Lyrics by Jack Yellen (uncredited)
Performed by The Andrews Sisters
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.

User reviews308

Review

Featured review

7/10

Worth watching at least once.

1941 is a unique movie. 1 part of it is animal house-esque lowbrow humor, 1 part is B-movie love story, and 1 part stoic war movie, and 2 parts insane hilarity.

It is a weird mix to say the least.

First, the problems: 1. The first half of the movie is slow. It grinds on making you wonder why you're watching this movie.

2. The "Love story" subplot is poorly executed for what this movie is trying to do.

3. many of the actors are not used to their fullest potential (especially Dan Akroyd and John Candy) while others receive excessive screen time. (see: The slow moving love story sub-plot) But then there are the good aspects: 1. John Belushi is hilarious. He would have been funnier had he interacted with more characters rather than appearing in many solo shots, but he was funny.

2. The "Epic Battle" was great. It had me laughing as my sides hurt.

3. Slim Pickens: His appearance in the movie was truly where the movie stopped being slow, and the fun really started. He was great in his scenes and between the dialogue and his visual scenes, you can't help but laugh.

There's more, but in short, if you don't mind sitting through a slow build up, the payoff is worth the wait.

It's not the best movie ever, but in the barren entertainment landscape that is Weekend Television: Finding this movie can be like an oasis in the desert. It's solid Saturday afternoon fun.