its a mad mad mad mad war

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2008)

This film is hilarious. And it has the most dynamic and exciting demolition-swing dance number I have ever seen on film. Overproduced to almost overspend it opened in 1979 to raspberry reviews and cinemas full of thoroughly entertained crowds. The sheer insanity of the tone and the massive set pieces, expansive model work layouts, spectacular and epic crowd madness and the sheer relentless comic book feel of the whole thing really appealed to me and many thousands of others I saw it with at my cinema. 1941 is Mad Mad Mad World and 3 STOOGES madness rolled into a colossal demolition derby and I for one just love it. Terrific teen actors like Bobby Di Ciccio, handsome under rated Treat Williams and the sadly recently passed Wendy Jo Sperber add enormously to the marquee names of Belushi and Akroyd. Stallwart stars like Slim Pickins and Warren Oates and especially Robert Stack crying thru DUMBO just make me love the nuttiness behind every idea pelted at me. I would like to see the longer version. I suspect most people who admire this massive production would too.....for any one of 100 reasons from casting to design to music to set construction to the fantastic model work... and especially the runaway ferris wheel. Pricessless! well, $40,000,000 actually.