Customer Reviews
Great Steven Spielberg Film! 
2008-08-20
This movie changed my life entirely. When I first heard of it, I thought, "since it's a Steven Spielberg film I thought it was going to be a movie really about world war II, but it actually was a parody of world war II films. Even at tHe begining of this movie, I laughed my bottom off! It also has a magnificent cast including John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. (a.k.a. The Blues Brothers) Although a very long movie, you will definitly enjoy it. I would even pay you to see it. But i'm not aloud to, i am only 11 years old. Please type your comments. And one thing SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A little slow in delivery 
2008-08-11
This item was mailed to a friend direct..according to speed of another item I had ordered the same day, this item did not reach the same destination until 7 days later than the first and they were both ordered same day and 5 minutes apart.
What a disappointment! 
2008-08-10
This is a bad re-mix of a great movie. First, they got the screen aspect wrong. Second, the restored footage is of very poor quality. It's easy to see what new scenes have been added... just look for the blurry parts!
I loved this movie at the theatre and on VHS. Too bad that when I wanted to purchase it on DVD there's now only this garbage version available.
Not worth a nickel in my opinion.
Tore it! Tore it! Tore it! 2008-06-19
A boring comedy with no sense of timing, made even worse in its "extended version". It's like a long joke badly told; you cringe all the way through it. Rule of thumb: avoid any movie referred to as "wild", "zany", "wacky", "crazy", "insane", "hysterical" or "screwball", unless you have a taste for forced humor, overkilled comedians, worn slapstick, or excruciating experiences in general. If so, man, is this the movie for you: a dummy gets the best laugh!
This bomb is a dud. 
2008-06-02
1941 is 1979 film directed by Steven Spielberg. I don't recommend buying it. Thanks for reading.
The problem is that 1941 just isn't very funny. Even when I saw this as an uncritical kid in the movie thatres in 1979 I didn't think it was all that great. The humour is so forced and unnatural. It's as if Spielberg attended a Stupid Humour course and had lecturers teaching "Now Bozo gets a custard pie thrown in his face at Point A, then..." and is then asked to do his own project. And gets a C+ grade. Just consider an opening gag, where a woman is swimming in the water, feels a tug at her leg (obvious Jaws in joke there) then ends up clinging to the periscope of a Japanese submarine. A Japanese sailor sees her there and cries out "Hollywood!" Wondering what's meant to be so funny? If you actually see this on screen you'll still wonder too. There is alot of screaming and explosions after that. It's just stupid attempts at humour that are usually so wide of the mark they're embarassing. And it's far too long for a comedy. I've typed enough I think, I don't have strong feelings about this movie enoughto elaborate more. It's just boring. If you buy it and dislike, well, don't blame me!
not good, but not bad 2008-05-25
Watching this director's cut, it's finally possible to see why the studio made Spielberg mercilessly hack up this comedy: it's a screaming movie (everyone screams a lot), and screaming movies do not need character development. So all those character-development scenes hit the cutting-room floor and, surprise, they were all critical to Spielberg's pace for the humor in this film. The screaming wasn't that funny then--and it still isn't--but what is funny are the reinserted development scenes, showcasing the now-evident sense of hysteria in the Los Angeles community, post-Pearl Harbor. A bunch of certified nitwits, and a few certified lunatics, act as if Tojo Hideki's entire Imperial force is just off the mainland. Actually, one Japanese submarine is, and it helps fuel the frenzy. John Belushi is Wild Bill Kelso, an insane fighter pilot, and Dan Aykroyd plays a conciliatory tank commander. Robert Stack's performance as General Stilwell, one of the best of the film, finally makes sense. Also fun for the numerous cameos, Spielberg's inside jokes, and John Williams's great score.
--Keith Simanton
It isn't Anamorphic... 2008-05-14
All story points aside (I loved it as a kid and couldn't wait to see it again), this presentation is NOT anamorphic, not enhanced for 16x9 screens. Had I known this before I opened it I wouldn't have bought it.
I think it's high time Amazon.com started stating whether or not a movie is anamorphic along with the widescreen and the other format information. (And for Universal to stop putting out nonanamorphic DVD releases).
A complete idiocy! 2008-04-21
Well, I was aware of the movie's genre when I was buying it. But I didn't expect it to be that stupid! Steven Spielberg must be a real genius to put so much idiocy in one movie! Everything is just incredibly exaggerated. Imagine Los Angeles getting laid waste by its citizens just because of fear to be attacked by the Japanese! No, I don't understand that kind of humor. I barely made it to the end. If you decide to watch it, have a good load of beer first.
I don't get people not liking this 2007-10-31
All I can say is, this is an incredibly well-made movie. Well, not ALL, but this still is very well-made. I watched this again last night, and fortunately, I got the expanded version this time. I bought the original release on tape a long time ago, and good as it is, it's still missing something. The "Collector's Edition" is the full-length release. Yes, it's a very long movie, but it's such an epic of excess, being almost two and a half hours long only adds to the nature of it.
I tend to stay away from All-Star extravaganzas, as the idea of brimming over with celebrities only seems to be a selling point, helpful in ticket and rental sales when the film itself really isn't that good in the first place. Not the case here.
Where to start? Speilberg parodies himself in the first scene by lampooning "Jaws," the girl here accidentally finding a Japanese submarine, instead of a shark. And the roller coaster ride just picks up momentum from there.
It's funny, how in December of 1941, the whole country was worried about Japan and Germany invading the United States, and 60 years later, the country was again on High Alert, this time radical Muslim terrorists are the subject of worry. But judging from what I have heard and read about those days, it would seem the general mood portrayed in the film was accurate. And sadly, people don't seem to be like this anymore. There was, despite infighting, unity against a very dangerous, real enemy. And anymore, the enemy seems to be applauded. Just an opinion. This isn't meant to be a political rant, I just get very angry when I think about Pearl Harbor, the World Trade Center, and where the world has been going lately.
One thing in this movie that jumps out at you, is the over-the-top nature of the whole thing. A stand-out is the choreography in the USO dance contest scene. It has to be seen to be believed. To the person who hasn't seen it: A young man named Wally is involved with a very beautiful girl named Betty Douglas, against her father's wishes. He has been preparing for an upcoming dance contest, but the rules have changed. No civilians this time. The girls are only allowed to dance with soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Wally refuses to put on a uniform, hence he's a civilian, but still manages to gain admission. A soldier, nicknamed "Stretch," complete bully and very boorish in his demeanor, decides Betty is the girl for him. So when Betty throws him over for Wally at the dance contest, a humiliated Stretch decides to exact a pound-of-flesh retaliation. A fight ensues, and the damage to the club, and ultimately Hollywood Boulevard, is simply jaw-dropping. But watching Stretch chase Wally all over the dance floor, is one of the best sequences you will see anywhere. Among the dancing is a violent confrontation, a disaster waiting to happen.
There are many sub-plots in 1941, and detractors say it's too many elements pulling it too many ways at once. I don't agree. True, there is an awful lot going on, and it can overwhelm one, but look at the scenario in the story. Southern California is in a state of High Alert, the whole country was trying to recover from the Pearl Harbor attack, Hitler was still in power, and everyone was simply galvanized with emotion. How the film makers still managed to make a movie with such a premise contain humor, is an achievement. It contains comedy, action, a dance scene, romance, violence, and family life. It is a vey mixed bag, but some things go so far before you realize it's intentional; it's supposed to overwhelm you.
And, this is a very politically incorrect film. The language itself, probably wouldn't fly today. Calling Japanese people "Japs," "Slant-eyes," and "Yellow," were standard fare at that time. Here we have Japs, Krauts, you name it. I don't celebrate racism, far from it, but even more, I decry political correctness. This film is to be seen as a time piece, and this is how people talked, acted, and thought at the time.
To whit, I say, if you haven't seen this movie, it would be worth your time to watch it, but be warned; this edition, the superior one, is almost two-and-a-half hours long. If you have, and like it, I'm preaching to the choir. If you don't like it, that's your opinion, we all have our tastes, but I really don't know how someone could not like it.
Sheer craziness 2007-10-23
This movie has many of my favourite comedic actors such as Dan Ackroyd and John Candy. It also has the great Toshiro Mifune who starred in the great Akira Kurosawa classics. There is no real plot to speak of. It is simply a series of comedic sketches loosely tied together. The whole movie seems to make fun of the old Japan - US rivalry and the silliness this paranoia instilled in the population (remember the internment camps?). The film is silly and you have to enjoy silliness (like me) if you're going to like it.
