1941 (1979)
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A Japanese submarine surfaces off the California coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor, sparking a chaotic and comedic series of events in the local community.
The story
Six days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine surfaces off the California coast. The crew, seeking something 'honorable' to destroy, targets the Hollywood area. Meanwhile, a local tank crew, a group of local residents, and various military personnel find themselves caught in a web of escalating mishaps and comedic situations. From a frantic search for Japanese forces to a series of escalating misunderstandings involving a local dance contest and a malfunctioning airplane, the community faces a wave of chaos as the reality of war reaches their doorstep.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the Pearl Harbor attack, a Japanese submarine surfaces off the California coast. The crew, led by Akiro Mitamura, targets Hollywood. The narrative follows multiple threads: a tank crew and local workers at a café; a pilot, Wild Bill Kelso, searching for enemies; and a military officer, Birkhead, who accidentally causes an explosion while trying to impress a woman in a plane. In Santa Monica, a local man, Ward, prepares to defend his home against the submarine. Meanwhile, a man named Holly is captured by the Japanese and forced to drink prune juice to help them find a lost compass. The plot culminates in a massive brawl at a dance hall, a frantic chase involving a tank and a motorcycle, and a final confrontation where the submarine is fired upon by a home-defense gun. The film ends with the characters gathered at a damaged house, where General Stilwell notes that 'It's going to be a long war.'
- First release year
- 1979
- Runtime (minutes)
- 118
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Spielberg
- Writers
- Robert Zemeckis · screenplay; Bob Gale · screenplay; Robert Zemeckis · story; Bob Gale · story; John Milius · story
- Cast and characters
- Dan Aykroyd · Sgt. Tree; Ned Beatty; John Belushi · Captain Wild Bill Kelso; John Candy; Christopher Lee; Tim Matheson; Toshiro Mifune; Robert Stack; Nancy Allen; Mickey Rourke · Private First Class Reese
- Genres
- war comedy; action comedy
- Themes
- war; patriotism; chaos
- Tone and mood
- comedy; slapstick
- Premise and plot tags
- war; comedy; historical fiction; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on real incidents including the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942, the bombardment of the Ellwood oil refinery, and the Zoot Suit Riots.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 39% · scale: percentage · review count: 28; Metacritic · score: 34 · scale: 100 · review count: 7
- Production trivia
- The film is one of the few American films featuring Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who used his own voice in both Japanese and English.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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