If John Landis done this movie it would´ve been a classic.
Sorry, Spielberg and comedy don´t mix.
shareIt does have Landis written all over it. Ah well
sharePlus Landis has a cameo in the movie.
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MovieChat Forums > 1941 (1979) Discussion > If John Landis done this movie it would´...
The film has a cult following and holds some reverence. Even if Landis did direct, it doesn't mean it would have become a box office hit in the US. It was the scenario, that appeared to upset many US viewers. While I like early Landis and would have been ideal for the comedy, would he have had the same sense of visual awe and scope, that Spielberg gave the film?
shareI don't know about John Landis, but Spielberg himself muses on the wonderful "Making of 1941" doc whether it would have been more successful if Bob Zemeckis had directed it (but no studio would entrust a novice filmmaker to helm a huge multimillion dollar project). Spielberg is not good with pure comedy, and I think he's self-aware enough to recognize it.
shareInteresting! I came on here to see if anyone thought Robert Zemeckis should have directed this. I had no idea Spielberg himself wondered that himself.
Wal-Mart has the Blu-ray really cheap. I need to buy it. I think I have only watched the whole film once. Otherwise little bits of it on cable over the years.
Obviously Zemeckis and partner Bob Gale wrote the script. Its style is very similar their other films of the time. I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars.
Zemeckis can handle comedy better. ALso it fits with a trend in his earlier career of comedic historical pictures. Think of Back to the Future.
By all means pick up that Blu Ray of 1941! I found a copy last week and was blown away by how amazing it looked. Even those who despise 1941 as a comedy should at least admire it for its distinct visual look. I sinply couldn't believe how brightly the colors popped in the Blu ray (and I had just watched the earlier DVD a few days before). And if you're a fan of Spielberg and Zemeckis, the "Making of 1941" imported from a 90's lasersisc release is one of the best making-of docs I've ever seen. You see why everyone had a basic enthusiasm for the project even while admitting why parts of it didn't work. It's refreshing to hear Spielberg so funny and candid on his most notorious flop.
shareAgree, the Terminal sucked. I don't know why critics liked that movie.
shareLandis could not have saved this film-The main flaw was not the direction, but the script.
Besides, Landis's own Resume is hardly perfect: Into The Night, Spies Like Us, Blues Brothers 2000, Etc., Etc.
-Oh Yeah, then there's Landis's Safety Record too...
M
John Landis by then was fresh of the success of Animal House. So I think he would've directed this movie. If Landis directed this movie, Elmer Bernstein would've done the music for it. And being a Universal film, it would've used the "Ask For Babs" variant of the "Visit Universal Studios" ad at the end. But it just didn't happen like that.
shareZemeckis should have directed it
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