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1941
1979 118 min United States of America PG 12+
★5.8
Comedy, War, Action
Director: Steven Spielberg
Trailers
EN
EN
Description
In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.
Budget:
$35M
US Gross:
$31.76M
Worldwide:
$94.9M
Starring
John Belushi
Actor
Dan Aykroyd
Actor
Treat Williams
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1980
— Best Sound
Academy Awards 1980
— Best Cinematography
Academy Awards 1980
— Best Visual Effects
Key opinion
1941 is a polarizing, high-budget farce that remains one of Steven Spielberg's most debated experiments. While some viewers admire its sharp, cynical satire of wartime paranoia and its technical ambition, others find it a bloated, vulgar, and unfocused comedy that lacks the emotional resonance of the director's later work.
| Production | The production design and special effects are impressively lavish, successfully recreating the atmosphere and hardware of the 1940s. | |
| Screenplay | The script attempts a biting, cynical satire of American panic and xenophobia, which some find refreshing and others dismiss as crude or empty. | |
| Humor | The film’s humor—frequently compared to slapstick or Benny Hill-style farce—is divisive, with critics split between those who enjoy the grotesque energy and those who find it vulgar and repetitive. | |
| Runtime | The excessive runtime and dense, multi-character narrative make the film feel bloated and difficult to follow, even for those who appreciate the technical craft. | |
| Acting | The acting is a point of contention, with some praising the charismatic, high-energy performances of the ensemble cast, while others feel the actors lack sincerity and merely mimic superficial role archetypes. |