Expensive and big budgeted comedy about the chaotic events after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

Rating: 6/10 (17 April 2012)

A spectacular , sprawling comedy in which hysteria grips California , it is packed with a big cast , entertainment and amusement . Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor . Chaos erupts all over the state in the wake of the bombing , as a family , formed by a father (Ned Beatty) , mother (Lorraine Gary) and sons prepare for an imagined invasion . An assorted misfit group of soldiers (sergeant : Dan Aykroyd , Privates : Treat Williams , John Candy , Frank McRae , among others) attempt to make the coast defensible against an possible Japanese invasion . Crew of a Japanese submarine under command a stiff captain (Toshiro Mifune) scout out the L.A. coast , along with a German officer (Christopher Lee) and they have picked Hollywood as their own target . An Army General (Robert Stack), civilian defenders , deranged Privates , a nutty pilot (John Belushi) and many others all end up on the way of a lost Japanese submarine .
This big budget brought by great Production Companies as Universal and Columbia is starred by an all-star-cast and proved to be the most expensive comedy of all time , 35.000 dollars . This lavish film combines rip-roaring , noisy action , adventure , tongue-in-cheek and lots of action and undisciplined humor . The movie gets entertained and hilarious moments here and there , with some side-splitting situations . This slapstick contains funny scenes , though slowdown and laughters come quickly . The depiction of L.A. in the chaotic after the bombing of Pearl Harbor blends elements of black humor , action and fantasy . However , it contains some flaws , gaps and humorous set-pieces are badly developed . Spielberg here shows he could bomb out the best of them when he made this uneven comedy with regular sense of staging and average pacing , including the silly scenes between Tim Matheson and Nancy Allen . Top-of-the-range star cast who includes veteran secondaries as Toshiro Mifune , Christopher Lee , Elisa Cook Jr , Slim Pickens , Lionel Stander ; furthermore cameos of notorious filmmakers as Samuel Fuller , John Landis and Penny Marshall . Special mention to John Belushi as an absolute disaster pilot , everything he touches turns to ashes . Superbly orchestrated comedy/adventure by the maestro John Williams , as always . Colorful and evocative cinematography by William A Fraker . The picture was nominated for three Oscars but achieved none . In spite of ¨1941¨ was a flop and failed at the box office , very few filmmakers can boast a string of successes as gigantic as Steven Spielberg , an excellent director with his knowledge of the mechanics of cinema gets entertainment and amusement who placed him right at the top of Hollywood tree such as ¨Jaws , Close encounters in third phase , Raiders of the lost ark and its sequels , Empire of the Sun , Purple color , Saving Private Ryan , Munich ¨ and many others .