Rating: 
Summary: All Favorites, Togeather For Me!
Review: Amazing! One day I rent movie 1941 and watch. All favorite actors are in it! All togeather! For me! So many stars from before they become popular. All in good rolls in excellent comedy movie about my favorite war! I must have! So I buy collectors edition DVD. So many features! Such a good buy!
Rating: 
Summary: A worthy comedy
Review: Yes, the general consensus is that this movie is terrible. But this is simply not true. It may not be comparable to the rest of the Speilberg canon, but thats where the first mistake lies in judging this film. Its a big dumb comedy filled with slapstick, pratfalls and belly laughs, its not designed to be anything else. If anyone but Spielberg directed this it would've been better received, I'm sure. Methinks the wolves were sharpening their knives back in '79, waiting for a glitch in the armor. That said, John Belushi's histrionics tend to grate, and the Tim Matheson/Nancy Allen subplot is just plain stupid, but thankfully this is an ensemble comedy, and these bits are just small parts of the whole. As for the DVD, the film looks great, and the bonus materials will give you more info than you ever thought you could handle about the making of 1941. The making of documentary is feature length in its own right, and it doesnt try to hide the fact that the film was badly received. In fact, a large portion of the special features Speilberg rightly defending it against its many detractors, explaining that he thinks that its funny. So do I.
Rating:
Summary: 1941 hahahahahaha
Review: I like 1941. John Belushi I great as Wild Bill Keisto. Robert Stack is good as the colonel. Speilberg made his first flop. Dan Aykroyd and John Candy are outstanding. A Steven Speilberg Film John Belushi Dan Aykroyd John Candy Treat Williams Robert Stack and Christopher Lee.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous
Review: In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii the residents of California feared they would bear the brunt of a full scale Japanese invasion. Paraonia, gossip, and rumor became the order of the day. This film assembles an insane cast of characters to portray America's inexperienced army and nervous populace. There is a good supply of one-liners and memorable scenes of outrageous humor that will have you laughing out loud. There are also moments of incomprehensible mayhem and scenes that go on to long and characters you wish were written out of the script. However, this film is truly one of a kind. Ned Beatty is great as a frustrated family man who spots a real Japanese submarine off the coast and attempts to sink it using an anti-aircraft gun previously left in his back yard by the army. Joe Flaherty is funny as the M.C. of a USO club that survives a zoot-suit vs. Army vs. Navy vs. Marines riot and thanking those who made it possible tells his radio audience, "maybe next time we'll bring in some Negroes and stage a race riot." Warren Oates is wonderful as a wacko Colonel. Slim Pickens is priceless when he is captured by the crew of the Japanese sub. Some jokes work, others don't, and some border on the offensive. It has to be seen to be believed and kids and parents will both laugh, even though it may be at different parts.
Rating:
Summary: Spastically Funny!
Review: This is undisputably the most hilarious movie I've ever seen! It starts off with sporatical spurts of poignant humor, the intervals further apart at first, then growing ever more intense and close together as the movie progresses. It's a fantastical story of Hollywood, California in the first days following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The paranoia of the military, the citizens, and various zealots combine gradually throughout course of the film, and climax to an explosive burst of pure comedy! Watch this movie - you'll laugh til you have tears in your eyes - you'll bust a gut!
Rating: 
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:
Summary: Only for Spielberg Collectors!
Review: Bought this one simply because I am a fan of the director and have a Spielberg collection. One of his lesser efforts, "1941" is the perfect example of a bloated budget, wasted talent, a "comedy" with few laughs, and an idea that probably seemed like a good one at the time. I assure you, it was not!
Rating:
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:
Summary: Spielberg's biggest Flop,and my favorite film from him
Review: I just love this movie,I don't know what it is,but I can watch it anytime,and still see something new.There's just so much going on,your never bored.John Belushi really steals every scene he's in. The physical comedy of John's is missed alot. Dan Aykroyd is always fantastic.With his fast talking,and all of a sudden some word comes out that blows you away. I also enjoy Treat Williams and his hatred of Eggs. I also can't stand the taste,touch,or smell of an Eggs. I die laughing when the fairest wheel comes off,and rolls off the pier with the dummy screaming. This movie will live on forever,even though it was Spielbergs biggest flop.
Rating: 
Summary: Only its mother could love it.
Review: I began collecting DVDs recently and the only disc I regret buying thus far is 1941. You see, I was tempted by the exhaustive extras and the chance to see Spielberg's director's cut. Don't fall into the same trap, dear readers. This film is bad. I got as far as 25 minutes in and decided I couldn't take anymore. It's a film which believes that there is a goldmine of comedy to found in shouting, falling over, and then shouting again. Not funny. If sitting in front of an animated corpse was bad enough, it turns out the extras are a chore, too - the dullest being a very long, very boring documentary about the making of the film in which all involved (who should have known better) recount in nauseating detail how the film came to be. A waste of time and money - theirs and yours
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