1941

Friday, November 9 - Sunday, November 11, 2012

35mm print “One of Steven Spielberg’s most underrated films is not only a virtuoso piece of filmmaking but a flagrant piece of mean-spiritedness and teenage irreverence that underlines aspects of his work that his more popular or commercially successful works tend to either disguise or rationalize. Both of these qualities are partially contributions of cowriter Robert Zemeckis — who exhibits these traits more independently on such later features as Used Cars (1980) and Forrest Gump (1994). But there’s also a strain that one might associate with the more progressive and Tashlinesque reflexes of a Joe Dante, helping to explain why John Wayne not only refused indignantly to play in this comedy but also tried to persuade Spielberg that making such a movie was tantamount to spitting on the American flag… there’s also a smaller-scale, notational form of comedy at play here. Like me, Spielberg grew up on ‘Mad’ when it was still a comic book, and the hallmark of its 1950s pictorial style, which he’s clearly emulating here, is to stuff wisecracks that scoff at authority figures into the edges of the frames… Much of the cast here is seminal: John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, John Candy, Robert Stack, Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, and even Sam Fuller.” – Jonathan Rosenbaum

• Country USA
• Year 1979
• Running Time 118 minutes
• Director Steven Spielberg

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.