I can’t say 1941 worked its way into my childhood cable TV rotation the way James Bond movies did, but several of my family members loved this flick growing up. I think that if you simply have the freedom to get up and walk away from it, this movie plays better on the small screen.

And I agree with you that 1941 was more profitable than a lot of movies. Due to its high costs and expectations, was considered a bomb anyway. In spite of what studios want their profit participants or the general public to believe, very, very few movies fail to turn some profit. Once you figure in the overseas grosses, DVD, soundtrack, etc., they all make money, just not as much as was hoped for.

Yet, despite owning both the laserdisc and now the DVD, I have yet to watch it since knowing what a failure it was. (Although if the budget was 26 million and it earned 31, in the US alone, it wasn’t THAT much of a failure).

John Williams score is one of my favorites. And the laserdisc and DVD have one of the great deleted scenes (Belushi and Aykroyd looking at each other and giving a “Don’t I know you from somewhere” look).

Great story.