Steven Spielberg's 1979 war comedy '1941', starring Ghostbusters icon Dan Aykroyd, has dropped on Netflix. The film, written by Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis, is a satirical look at the panic in Los Angeles after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The plot involves a Japanese submarine surfacing off the California coast, causing hysteria as the army installs anti-aircraft guns in front yards. A crazed pilot and a strict tank commander attempt to defend the coastline, causing more destruction to their own city than the enemy.
Star-Studded Cast
The ensemble includes Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi (The Blues Brothers), John Candy (Home Alone), Ned Beatty (Toy Story 3), Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Stack, Nancy Allen, and Mickey Rourke in his film debut.
Box Office and Critical Reception
1941 earned $90 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, deemed a flop after Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Critics gave it 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, calling it an attempt at screwball comedy that collapses under a glut of ideas.
However, nearly 50 years later, the film has a huge cult following. On Letterboxd, @NeilBahadur said: “I don't know if it's one of my favorite Spielberg's but its certainly the most underrated - and oddly, it's perhaps the one that speaks the most towards where Spielberg will go later in the early 2000s, in that its portrait of a war-hungry America in full hysteria is genuinely disturbing.” @Michael Offerosky wrote: “1941 is nowhere near as bad as it's reputation would like you to believe, as a matter of fact, 1941 is actually very fun and very watchable.” @timcop commented: “So much busyness, so much headache-inducing kinetic energy... and yet there is a scene where Toshiro Mifune and Slim Pickens play a toned down 'Who's On First?'-type routine while Christopher Lee shouts at them in German and that's pretty much all I need right there.”
