IMDb > 1941 (1979)
1941
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Videos (see all 4)
1941 (1979) -- Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.
1941 (1979) -- Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.
1941 (1979) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   12,403 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Robert Zemeckis (screenplay) &
Bob Gale (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for 1941 on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 December 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A Comedy Spectacular!
Plot:
Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
User Comments:
It's gonna be a long war.... more (179 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dan Aykroyd ... Sgt. Frank Tree

Ned Beatty ... Ward Douglas
John Belushi ... Capt. Wild Bill Kelso
Lorraine Gary ... Joan Douglas
Murray Hamilton ... Claude Crumn

Christopher Lee ... Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt

Tim Matheson ... Capt. Loomis Birkhead
Toshirô Mifune ... Cmdr. Akiro Mitamura (as Toshiro Mifune)
Warren Oates ... Col. 'Madman' Maddox

Robert Stack ... Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell

Treat Williams ... Cpl. Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski
Nancy Allen ... Donna Stratton
Lucille Benson ... Gas Mama (Eloise) (as Lucille Bensen)
Jordan Brian ... Macey Douglas

John Candy ... Pvt. Foley
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Night the Japs Attacked (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
118 min | USA:146 min (director's cut) | West Germany:111 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was the first U.S. production to use the French-made Louma crane. It was going to be used for shooting the miniatures. The Louma proved to be so flexible that it was frequently used for the "A" camera. more
Goofs:
Continuity: On the Ferris wheel, the position of the blanket between the two men changes just before the ventriloquist dummy appears. more
Quotes:
Captain Loomis Birkhead: [Donna has his uniform open and is trying to tear off his T-shirt; he is *still* too focused on actually flying the plane] Donna - Donna would you lay off? I'm trying to steer!
Donna Stratton: [upset and frustrated] What's wrong, Loomis? You're not airborne yet!
Captain Loomis Birkhead: What are you talking about? Look out the window, of course we're airborne!
Donna Stratton: We are, but -
[looks down at his pants then straight in the eye]
Donna Stratton: but you're not.
[kisses him passionately]
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Making of '1941' (1996) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Down By The Ohio more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
34 out of 49 people found the following comment useful.
It's gonna be a long war...., 15 September 1999
9/10
Author: George Litman from Marietta, OH USA

You can't have lofty aspirations all the time.

Even the director of such powerful films as "Jaws", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "ET" and "Schindler's List" has to take a break from all the serious issues in his films and play dumb at least once.

Just look at "1941".

With a plotline straight out of The Three Stooges and special effects befitting a WWII epic, "1941" abandons all pretense by parodying the opening of "Jaws" right off the bat and hitting every slapstick point from there on in. Spielberg knew that even if this turned out be a flop, it would be a good-natured one.

Just look at this cast! Not only are Aykroyd and Belushi at the helm, but there's talent like Matheson, Allen, Oates, Williams, Beatty, Gary (Roy Scheider's wife from the "Jaws" films), Candy, Flaherty, Stack (in his first comedic turn before "Airplane!"), Lee, Pickens, Deezen (a comic genius if ever there was one), Sperber and a whole herd of other I probably missed. All of them in the midst of the hugest battlefield of comic carnage ever seen.

And no wonder. "1941" was co-written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, Spielberg protogees who went on to further success with the "Back to the Future" films, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Used Cars", (all with climaxes as wild as the entire running time of "1941") and the vastly under-appreciated "Death Becomes Her". Even John Milius (director/co-writer of "Conan the Barbarian") lends his pen hand.

In the end, you'll be dazzled, breathless, stunned and amazed, but by no means bored. And, with any luck, amused.

"1941" - it was a very good year.

Nine stars. And don't worry: it's all for the good of the war effort.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for 1941 (1979)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Things i've learnt from watching 1941. matwsussx
Its out on Region 2 in UK this December..... matwsussx
What scene was Don Calfa in coonbay
Couldn't buy a laugh parillamilt
Favorite Character? Mister_Scratch
The same tank as in Sahara 1943? josborn828
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