1941

release year: 1979
genre: period comedy
viewing setting: home DVD, 3/6/10 and several other times spanning back to the 1980s

synopsis: Just after the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor, hysteria and paranoia run wild in Los Angeles, and it all comes to a head in one crazy night.

impressions: This movie actually gets less funny every time I watch it (as the years go on.) It's a mix of an actual Japanese submarine looking for a target, tensions in the military, tensions within a family, and a dance competition. This was Steven Spielberg's attempt to make an epic comedy like The Blues Brothers but it didn't work out quite as well.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A Nazi commander amidst a Japanese submarine crew.

acting: This movie has a very large cast of stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, Christoper Lee, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, John Candy, Slim Pickens, and more.

final word: Funny comedy that was funnier in the 1970s and 1980s; it has not aged well.

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