"This
isn't the state of California, it's a state of insanity." -
General Joseph W. Stilwell
SYNOPSIS
Spectacular is
certainly the word for this utterly wild comedy epic directed by
Steven Spielberg and nominated for three Academy Awards. Lavish
effects sequences highlight this hilarious, all-star extravaganza
set in Los Angeles just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
when fear of a Japanese invasion threw the city into a state of
Pandemonium. Screwball characters run wild on Hollywood Boulevard
as manic servicemen, zealous store owners, teary-eyed girls and
bickering Nazis are thrown together in this fast-rising comic
soufflé that even features a send-up of Spielberg's own Jaws
opening.
CRITIQUE
This is a very
underrated film that deserves more then it gets. It’s pure satire
at its best and it doesn’t try to be any more then just that. It’s
unique send-off on the historical events (which wasn’t too far off
from the actual craziness of the time period) and its abnormal but
lovable characters makes it more remarkable then ever before. I
like to think of it when you mix the old school "Saturday Night
Live" with American Graffiti and a little Dr. Strangelove in a
Spielberg world – you get the greatness of an underrated cinematic
classic titled 1941.
The choreographic is what truly is amazing, especially the dance
sequence near the tail end of the film. The film involves a lot of
subplots to each crazy character, which usually has an even
crazier scenario to overcome. The most well-known of the film is
the performance of John Belushi as Capt. Wild Bill Kelso, despite
the fact that he’s only in it for roughly 20-mintues through out
the film. My favorite performance is really Treat Williams as Cpl.
Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski as he plays the bully that truly sparks a
laugh.
The film isn’t very well known and those who do know it claims
it’s Spielberg’s Howard the Duck but I truly think that it was
still a great masterpiece despite the over-the-top-ness of it. The
score by John Williams is as marvelous as ever before and the
writing of Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale proves that they were
geniuses even in their beginnings in Hollywood. And for Spielberg
himself, he doesn’t give much credit since he always says, “I
wasn’t the right person for the job.” No other person could have
directed the film better then Spielberg had. Because it wasn’t an
A-list story to begin with, any director would have failed just
like people say Spielberg failed on it but many of the action
sequences and especially the dance sequence would have never been
cued with perfection if somebody else helmed it.
THE VIDEO
Universal
presents 1941 in 2.35:1 widescreen format. The video
looks better than the hard-to-find VHS copies but it doesn’t
look like Universal cleaned up the film all that much. In fact,
it almost likes like the same quality you would see on the
Turner Classic Movies network. The image is not colonized very
well to fit in with today’s films; it really looks out of date.
Some grainy spots and very bright (and faded) '70s filming is
seen throughout the film. Overall, it doesn't look like much
effort was put into remastering the video.
THE AUDIO
Universal
presents 1941 in 5.1 Surround Sound and an isolated music
score track that lets you listen only to John Williams' film score. Unlike the video, there
seems to be some effort in the
presentation of the sound quality. The studio did the best they could do to upgrade the
film's
poor sound quality. Dialogue is clear enough.
The sound effects are great but sometimes distorted. The only
real plus is the score, which is easily heard and sounds great
from all the speakers; this makes the somewhat nervy experience with the
sound enjoyable.
THE EXTRAS
An hour and 40
minute in-depth “making of” which basically tells the story of
the history of the film, the dread, and the disappointment but
on the plus side, to hear all the key players talk about it is
very sweet indeed and worth the watch. Spielberg’s hair is seen
long so I have to take a guess this was filmed possibly for the
laserdisc instead of specifically for the DVD. The DVD also
includes Steven Spielberg home movies and behind the scenes
footage (which is also worth a watch), theatrical trailers,
outtakes from the film, storyboards & production photographs,
original advertising-marketing-and publicity materials and
something Universal has the balls to include, reviews of the
film which isn’t all pretty.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I had to have the
DVD
just because it said “A Steven Spielberg Film” on it, so even though I’m
just a tad bit biased on the director's films, I still think 1941 is truly
underrated for what it is worth. It’s a satire, period. For
Spielberg-and-or-history buffs, this film (and DVD) is worth the buy.
