Jump to content

Which movie is worse, 1941 or Hook?


Luke Skywalker

Which movie is worse, 1941 or Hook?  

31 members have voted

  1. 1.

    • 1941
      21
    • Hook
      10


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 71
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The problem with both of them is that Spielberg didn't follow through. Both were supposed to be musicals, but Spielberg caved at the last minute and decided to do away with the musical numbers and just make them into films. They were already formatted and written as musicals, but without the song-and-dance routines, they fall apart as movies. Seriously...if Hook had been a movie all along, it would've given Raiders of the Lost Ark a run for its money. As for 1941...well...it would've just been another war movie. Maybe the failed musical premise is what made it the okay movie it is today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook has Bob Hoskins and Dustin Hoffman playing an old married couple. That's a heck of a lot more fun to watch than most anything in 1941.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook is an unwatchable mess. At least 1941 has the genius of Belushi and several good laughs. Neither is perfect, but only one at least partially succeeds.

Neil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook is an unwatchable mess.  At least 1941 has the genius of Belushi and several good laughs.  Neither is perfect, but only one at least partially succeeds.

Neil

1941 is a mess, and is unwatchable for a good portion of it. It has the genius of Belushi and several good laughs, but Hook has Hoffman and Hoskins in great comic form, and is a wonderful kids adventure. Hook succeeds very well as a kids movie, maybe something lost on someone who was not a kid when they saw it. 1941 is a mess for men, women, and children of all ages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook is a total piece of $#!%. Utter garbage. Its only redeeming feature is Hoffman, but Hoskins is a waste. Of course what do you expect from most Robin Williams films which are mostly bad.

1941 is very flawed but very watchable, and less cloying and annoying. As for Hook why not just shoot pure sacharin into your blood stream, you'll get the same effect and the cancer will hit you faster so you'll die quicker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both were supposed to be musicals, but Spielberg caved at the last minute and decided to do away with the musical numbers and just make them into films.  They were already formatted and written as musicals, but without the song-and-dance routines, they fall apart as movies.

This is not accurate to say at all. "1941" was never written as a musical, nor was "Hook." In the case of "1941," Spielberg second-guessed himself after the fact and said he should have done the film as a musical (something he likely thought of during the production, perhaps), but the screenplay by Zemeckis and Gale was not written as a musical.

"Hook," again, was not written as a musical either. At one point, the concept of reconfiguring Hart's screenplay into a musical was a serious consideration (grafting on songs from the un-produced Williams/Spielberg "Peter Pan" musical, but the script for "Hook," as developed by Nick Castle and Jim Hart and written by Hart (plus a number of other second-stringers) was not written as a musical. So to base an argument on the fact that the movies "fall apart" like a house of cards due to being gutted musicals isn't fair or correct.

I'd say that the real problem, particularly in the case of "Hook," is that Spielberg (for one of the few times in his career) seems like he didn't havea clear conception of what he was after with the film. Both movies come across tonally and narratively unbalanced, but not because they were at one time written as musicals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I'd gladly watch "1941" any day, flaws and all, over "Hook." Most days, I think I'd rather go to the dentist or a proctologist than watch "Hook," as much as it pains me to say that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I'd gladly watch "1941" any day, flaws and all, over "Hook." Most days, I think I'd rather go to the dentist or a proctologist than watch "Hook," as much as it pains me to say that.

So getting either cavity searches is preferable to Hook?

Neil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook fails because Spielberg forgot what made his last "children's" film, E.T. so brilliant.

E.T. has a few soppy, sentimental scenes, but they are perfectly balanced by the moments of darkness and even terror that that film also contains.

Hook has no darkness at all, surprisingly in a story that involves the kidnapping of children.

The whole film is glazed with a think layer of honey, and you can only eat so much honey.

Even Rufio's death is sugarcoated with that whole "I wish I had a father just like you" stuff...

The film has other problems, especially concerning it's length and pacing, but it's serious lack of dark undertones is what kills it.

It's staggering to think this film comes from the same director of Saving Private Ryan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1941 is much more watchable than Hook IMO. It may be a cobbled-together mish-mash of random scenes, but at least it never gets bogged down in its own sentimentality or boring. Plus the visual effects in 1941 are stunning. Now if only someone could do a PROPER job of remastering it! The picture is way too grainy, and the sound is extremely dodgy with too much high-frequency and sounding like it's been through a limiter. The "Jaws" music at the beginning is very hard to hear at first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with most of the comments about the problems with Hook but its still quite a bit more watchable for me than 1941. Whatever overkill Hook engages in with regard to its sentimentality, 1941 does at least as much in the direction of the whole you're-watching-a-zany-spectacle thing. And way too much of the humor seemed kind of tone-deaf. Some enjoyable scenes but doesn't add up to much for me. Hook is perhaps more cringe-inducing at times, but competent and professional enough in its production value that I could more easily sit through it. A little more of a showcase for Williams which doesn't hurt either.

- Adam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Listening to the score of Hook by itself it's hard to imagine that some o the truly dark underscore isn't actually carried into film. "Hook-napped" is really the only dark scene as Steven mentioned, but there are plenty of dark moments in the score.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was six when Hook was released, and, from my point of view, it is a far better film than 1941. When I first saw 1941, I enjoyed all of the humor, but it was just way too long for me. It never stopped. As good as the humor was, as well, it seemed oddly shoved into this otherwise "dramatic" movie. It is just a weird film, I believe. However, Hook is very special to me. I was never a huge fan of it until I found out that it was Speilberg/Williams, which I know is redundant :| . However, that said, I always thought it was a good movie. I can remember singing Hook's theme, making a hook with my finger, and twisting my wrist, like in the movie. My 20-year-old sister loves the film to this day, and I still enjoy it immensly. I have never found one flaw with it. It seems like a perfectly well-made movie, all of the sappiness fitting perfectly with the kind of movie it is. I also enjoy Robin Williams. Hmm, what else...? I always understood the sap, even when I was six. I guess I just really like the movie.

~Conor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Comparing Hook and 1941 is like comparing Sesame Street to SNL.  Apples and oranges.

Yes, but they both have one thing in common. Together with Jurassic Park II and Amistad they are Spielberg's lousiest movies.

----------------

Alex Cremers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again I repeat,  Swing, Swing, Swing.  Hook has no answer for that.

'Presenting the Hook' blows it out of the water. It is brilliant in the movie. That one scene alone, coupled with the music, is as fun to watch as anything in 1941. That is such a brilliant JW piece. I've never heard a pirate captured better in music.

Comparing Hook and 1941 is like comparing Sesame Street to SNL.  Apples and oranges.

Yes, but they both have one thing in common. Together with Jurassic Park II and Amistad they are Spielberg's lousiest movies.

Surely you mean Jurassic Park II and Always. Amistad is a SEVERLY flawed film (moslty because of the screenplay), but it has it's share of qualities as well. Always is just boring, aside from the footage in the air. Dreyfuss and Hunter sleep walk through it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 films I don't really like against 18 I do. I'm not complaining. And even in those 3, JPII shows a pulse whenever Pete Postletwaithe is on screen, and there's that score, and 1941 is also watchable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On this board did you expect anything else, I mean considering the taste of most here who think Empire is better than Star Wars, and that more than half here think A.I. is good or a masterpiece.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On this board did you expect anything else, I mean considering the taste of most here who think Empire is better than Star Wars, and that more than half here think A.I. is good or a masterpiece.

You're right, impeccable taste as usual.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1941 is a mind-numbing, incoherent and loud mess of nothing. It is as if Spielberg thought big explosions every two seconds would be a good substitute for humour. The only aspect of the film that is remotely bearable is the score.

I go with Hook being better. At least it makes a shred of sense at times. :nod:

I mean considering the taste of most here who think Empire is better than Star Wars

Errr, it is!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I voted Hook, '1941' is a misfire but still does contain some good laughs. I want to like 'Hook' so bad, it has all the ingredients of a wonderful family fantasy film. But when I start watching it, I cringe.

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hook.

But the worst Spileberg´s film is "A.I" (2001)

couldn't have said it better myself :nod:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On this board did you expect anything else, I mean considering the taste of most here who think Empire is better than Star Wars, and that more than half here think A.I. is good or a masterpiece.

Of course the minority reports are the important thing here, then?

Oh wait, you aslo dont like MR, sorry for the comparison...

Then the Prequels must by masterpieces for the same reason...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amistad was a snooze.

Always was pretty good. I don't know why people bash it.

1941 was good because I like explosions.

Hook was okay. I've got nothing against it.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park was flawed but was still fun.

A.I. - Artificial Intelligence was part Spielberg perfection, part Kubrick-WTF.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As my past spirted defenses of Hook have stated, if you looove kids... or even like them... then you will like Hook because it is an excellent film, directed towards kids. If it had tried to be serious then it wouldn't have been as much of a classic as it is with families today. So it's a great family film... Give it credit for that, if anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On this board did you expect anything else, I mean considering the taste of most here who think Empire is better than Star Wars, and that more than half here think A.I. is good or a masterpiece.

Of course the minority reports are the important thing here, then?

Oh wait, you aslo dont like MR, sorry for the comparison...

Then the Prequels must by masterpieces for the same reason...

Luke, I like Minority Report, I own the dvd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think The Lost World is Spielberg's worst movie. With 1941 and Hook, there are aspects that entertain me and keep me reasonably interested. TLW puts me to sleep. It doesn't have any kind of fresh energy pushing the film through the projector and it's gets boring watching the dinosaurs do the same thing--eat people--all the time. At least with the first film, you had some scenes that played with the concept of bringing dinosaurs into a realistic environment (i.e. the scene in the kitchen) aside from the nonstop feeding frenzy with transition scenes in between courses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to a still ongoing survey at The-Movie-Times, the worst Spielberg movies are:

5. Amistad (250 votes)

4. Always (428 votes)

3. The Lost World (483 votes)

2. A.I. (533 votes)

1. Hook (714 votes)

It seems that in order to make a successful movie you better don't start your movie title with an "A".

----------------

Alex Cremers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to a still ongoing survey at The-Movie-Times, the worst Spielberg movies are:

5. Amistad (250 votes)

4. Always (428 votes)

3. The Lost World (483 votes)

2. A.I. (533 votes)

1. Hook (714 votes)

It seems that in order to make a successful movie you better don't start your movie title with an "A".

----------------

Alex Cremers

In that list i consider some movies to be better than 1941.

They may do not count it as a movie...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.