A woman attempts to reunite her family by helping her husband escape prison and together kidnapping their son. But things don't go as planned when they are forced to take a police hostage on the road.
Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Stars:
Djimon Hounsou,
Matthew McConaughey,
Anthony Hopkins
Hysteria grips California in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. An assorted group of defenders attempt to make the coast defensible against an imagined Japanese invasion, in this big budget, big cast comedy. Members of a Japanese submarine crew scout out the madness, along with a Captain in Germany's Kreigsmarine (Navy).Written by
Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
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. See more »
Goofs
While Betty and Sitarsky are rolling around underneath the truck, her skirt is very dirty. The next time you see her, it's cleaner. When we see her walking away from the incident in tears, her skirt is completely clean. Then Wally scoops her up onto the tank, and her skirt is dirty again. When Betty is shown at her house the morning, after the attack by the Japanese sub, her entire outfit is completely clean. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Title Card:
On December 7, 1941, the Naval Air Arm of the Imperial Japanese Fleet, in a surprise attack, struck the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and hurtled an unsuspecting America into World War II.
Title Card:
American citizens were stunned, shocked and outraged at this treacherous attack. On the West Coast, paranoia gripped the entire population as panic-stricken citizens were convinced that California was the next target of the Imperial Japanese Forces.
Title Card:
Major General Joseph W. Stilwell, ...
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
During the closing credits shooting explosions are seen. See more »
Alternate Versions
There is one single difference in music between the 6-channel and 4-channel/mono mixes, according to expanded soundtrack liner notes: the cue "The Sub Commander", about a minute long. The biggest change between the two is that in the standard version, there are four uses of timpani near the end, but in the alternate version used on the 70mm 6-channel release, there is no timpani on the third of the four spots. On home video, the standard appears on the theatrical edition Blu-ray, while the alternate is found on extended edition DVD and Blu-ray as well as the music-only extended track on DVD. See more »
If you liked the old war-era POPEYE cartoons then you'll love "1941" !
It was great FUN when it first came out and its still enjoyable on so many levels ...
Opening gag alluding to JAWS, Slim Pickens doing his DR. STRANGELOVE homage, Chris Lee as a most despicable pulp villain, Robert Stack crying at a dumb DUMBO premiere, sexy Nancy Allen ... howza'bout Treat Williams doing his tuff GI bit in an amazingly choreographed USO dance-hall sequence that predates the fun of TEMPLE OF DOOM's opening dance number ?
This is a massive film along the frenetic lines of ITS A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and Spielberg should be proud of it (which I am sure he is, despite the bashings he took from world film critics wanting to "put him in his place" at the time).
Way to go Steven ...
And thanks for all the fun ...
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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If you liked the old war-era POPEYE cartoons then you'll love "1941" !
It was great FUN when it first came out and its still enjoyable on so many levels ...
Opening gag alluding to JAWS, Slim Pickens doing his DR. STRANGELOVE homage, Chris Lee as a most despicable pulp villain, Robert Stack crying at a dumb DUMBO premiere, sexy Nancy Allen ... howza'bout Treat Williams doing his tuff GI bit in an amazingly choreographed USO dance-hall sequence that predates the fun of TEMPLE OF DOOM's opening dance number ?
This is a massive film along the frenetic lines of ITS A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and Spielberg should be proud of it (which I am sure he is, despite the bashings he took from world film critics wanting to "put him in his place" at the time).
Way to go Steven ...
And thanks for all the fun ...