The Gods of Filmmaking

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1941 (1979)

Starring John Belushi, Ned Beatty, Dan Aykroyd, and Robert Stack.  Cinematography by William A. Fraker.  Edited by Michael Kahn.  Produced by Buzz Feitshans.  Written by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and John Milius.  Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Six days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese submarine shows up off the shore of California.  Its target is Hollywood; the heart of Western perversion.  When the sub is discovered panic immediately ensues.  There are riots on the streets, the National Guard is moved into battle positions, and pilots take to the skies.  Los Angeles begins to fall apart before the Japanese can even launch their attack. And guess what folks, it’s a comedy.

Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale met Steven Spielberg while they were still students at the University of Southern California.  Based on the strength of their student film, “Field of Honor”, Spielberg decided financially support their debut feature length project I Wanna Hold Your Hand.  The film was a box office flop, but the relationship between Zemeckis, Gale, and Spielberg would continue. 

Their next project together would be a politically incorrect comedy about the chaos and paranoia that swept over Southern California when a Japanese submarine destroyed oil wells off the coast of Santa Barbara early in World War II.  The irreverent screenplay was appropriately titled The Night the Japs Attacked and was co-written by Zemeckis, Gale, and right-wing Vietnam veteran John Milius.  Instead of taking a low key approach to what could have been a simple production, Spielberg decided to present the film as if it were an epic parody and would demand a budget to match. 

He planned spectacular effects and massive sets that would collapse and explode.  He had some of the most incredible miniature work available at the time assembled for the project.  The problem was that all of these expenses didn’t necessarily add up to strong comedy.

Their film, now titled 1941, features a number miscalculations and mistakes. Some said that Spielberg was a bit ostentatious by opening the film with a spoof of his own film, Jaws.  Some said that spoofing such a subject was un-American.  Some said that the scale of the production was just too large and was ultimately just not funny. 

We all now have the benefit of hindsight while watching 1941 and are able to appreciate what Spielberg can (or can’t) do with comedy; a genre he hasn’t specifically dealt with since.  But contrary to what is generally believed about the film, it was not a complete box office disaster as it ended up turning a modest profit. It also won a few awards for its special effects and they are certainly worth taking a look at.  So in the end it’s not a complete loss; maybe just partial.

Budget:  $35,000,000

Total US Gross:  $34,175,000

Genre:  War

Runtime:  118 Minutes

US Release Date:  12/14/79

Aspect Ratio:  2.35:1

Awards:  Academy Awards:  Nominated for best sound, best visual effects, and best cinematography.

Tagline:  A Comedy Spectacular!

Quote:  “Hey, there's a Kraut on board too.  We got the whole damn Axis here!”

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