My next monthly Nick's Pix is Steven Spielberg's "1941," the epic comedy with an all-star line up.
This one-night-only screening is at 7pm, Wednesday, December 4th at Classic Cinemas Lake Theater in Oak Park with trivia, prizes, and fun. Get your tickets here! It's one of the craziest movies ever AND a personal favorite.
"1941" is breathlessly entertaining, unapologetically loud, and completely go-for-broke in its manic depiction of the widespread hysteria that blanketed California just days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
A huge cast plays the panic-stricken characters that participate in the madness.
Among those characters are Wild Bill Kelso, a crazed National Guard pilot; Sgt. Frank Tree, a patriotic, straight-laced tank crew commander; Ward Douglas, a civilian willing to help with the American war effort at any cost; and Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, who tries his hardest to maintain sanity amid the chaos.
Oh, yeah, there is also concerned citizen Claude Brumm, who is stuck near the top of a Ferris Wheel with the annoying ventriloquist Herbie Kazlminsky and his dummy.
The credits of this movie are almost as crazy as the movie itself. Not only did Spielberg direct it, but it was written by the incredible team of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale (the genius creators of "Back to the Future," "Used Cars," and other classics).
The ensemble cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Christopher Lee, Tim Matheson, Toshirō Mifune, Warren Oates, Robert Stack, Treat Williams, Nancy Allen, Eddie Deezen, Bobby Di Cicco, Dianne Kay, Slim Pickens, Wendie Jo Sperber, Lionel Stander, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Patti LuPone, Penny Marshall, David L. Landers, Michael McKean, Frank McRae, Dick Miller, Samuel Fuller, Mickey Rourke in his film debut, AND, an uncredited James Caan as a Navy sailor who starts a massive brawl.
Yeah, that's quite a cast.
Co-writer Gale stated that the plot is loosely based on what has come to be known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942 and a Japanese submarine's bombardment of the Ellwood oil refinery near Santa Barbara.
Many other events in the film were based on actual incidents, including the Zoot Suit Riots and an incident in which the U.S. Army placed an anti-aircraft gun in a homeowner's yard on the Maine coast.
"1941" received mixed reviews and was less financially successful than many of Spielberg's other films.
However, it was still a moderate box office success. It received belated popularity after an expanded version aired on ABC in the 1980s, with subsequent television broadcasts and home video reissues, raising it to cult status.
I loved the film from 1979, and my admiration for it has only grown in the past 45 years. It's been described as Spielberg's "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," and that's completely accurate. Loaded with crazy sight gags, enormously complicated sequences of visual splendor, and a refreshing spirit of rebellion that pushes the incredible cast to near breaking.
I love "1941" as passionately as I do because it feels much more like a Robert Zemeckis film than a Spielberg movie, and that's a HUGE plus.
It also features a cast of comedic talents that I completely worship, especially at that time 45 years ago. Any movie that contains a scene in a submarine that features Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee, AND Slim Pickens all in the same shot (!) is automatically a Goddamn classic.
The movie has so many incredible moments and memorably uproarious scenes that it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite. However, if I were forced to choose the best sequence, I would have to go with what I feel is the real centerpiece of the film.
It doesn't involve any big explosions, complicated special effects, wild locations, or high-flying action—nope.
It's a comedic dance/musical sequence in which a large group of people compete in a Jitterbug Contest, and it is absolutely magnificent, perhaps the best sequence Spielberg has ever filmed.
The scene is brilliantly structured and executed with stellar (intricately complex) camera work, crisp editing, and fantastic, joyous choreography. It is also a clinic in smart storytelling and wonderful character development within a tight 10-minute sequence, and the laughs come fast and furious.
It is such an astonishing sequence that the first time I saw the film, all I could do was applaud and wonder to myself: "Wow!! When is Spielberg going to actually make a full musical?!? I can't wait!"
The answer to that question would be 42 years later when he directed "West Side Story" in 2021...and it totally lived up to the promise.
Sidebar: Just five years after "1941," Spielberg shot and staged a fantastic musical number during the opening credits of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," and it was great, too.
Because of remarkable sequences like that, the film's massive scope, brilliant practical special effects, and breathtaking cinematography, it is a movie meant to be seen on the most giant screen possible. And I'm showing a gorgeous 4K restoration of the film in the biggest auditorium at the Lake Theater.... so, yeah, it's gonna kick ass.
"1941" is a wonderous exercise in excess that remains my third favorite Spielberg movie (after "Jaws" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind").
It always makes me happy when I watch it, which is every year during the Christmas season. I can't wait to share it with you at Classic Cinemas' Lake Theater in Oak Park on Wednesday, December 4th, at 7 p.m.
I'll give a brief introduction, we'll watch this big, awesome, crazy movie together, laugh our butts off, and I'll lead a fun discussion afterward.
There will also be some trivia and prizes given away including, t-shirts, posters and movie passes.
Please come, but if you can't make it in person, the movie is available for streaming, DVD, Blu-ray, and HD.
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