The Blues Brothers can currently be streamed on Netflix!
Initial release date: June 20, 1980
Studio: Universal Pictures
Tagline: They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.
Plot: After his release from prison, Jake reunites with his brother, Elwood - collectively known as the "Blues Brothers," Jake's first task is to save the orphanage the brothers grew up in from closing, by raising $5,000 to pay back taxes. The two are convinced they can earn the money by getting their old band back together, However, after playing several gigs and making a few enemies, including the police, the brothers face daunting adds to deliver the money on time.
Cast
John Belushi - Joliet Jake
Dan Aykroyd - Elwood
Kathleen Freeman - Sister Mary Stigmata
Cab Calloway - Curtis
James Brown - Rev. Cleophus James
John Candy - Burton Mercer
Steve Crooper - Steve 'The Colonel' Crooper
Murphy Dunne - Murph
Donald Dunn - Donald 'Duck' Dunn
Willie Hall - Willie 'Too Big' Hall
Tom Malone - 'Bones' Malone
Alan Rubin - Mr. Fabulous
Aretha Franklin - Mrs. Murphy
Writer(s): Dan Aykroyd and John Landis
Director: John Landis (Blues Brothers 2000; The Stupids; Beverly Hills Cop III)
Rated R (133 minutes)
The Blues Brothers is one of the best comedy classics to come out of the 1980s. The movie is a big screen spin-off of sorts of the popular SNL characters from the early days of SNL (one of the times SNL was actually funny). I have also watched this classic many times over the years. So, to start off my throwback classics marathon, I decided to start with the one and only The Blues Brothers!
This 80s classic is really memorable for sure! First off, the music is really great. When there are performers like Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and many others, you know the music will be good. And, of course some songs performed by the infamous Blues Brothers.
There are also several humorous moments that are simply hilarious. The car chase in the mall is definitely one of the funniest bits in the movie. And, literally almost every moment you see John Belushi on screen is just way too funny. Belushi shined every time he would appear on screen and is always hilarious - where it's in this movie, Animal House, SNL, etc.
And, before I wrap this up, I have to mention the hilarious car chase that didn't seem to end during the latter half of the movie. Sure, the car chase kept on going and going. But, it was one of the most entertaining car chases ever!!
Maybe down the road I'll check out the 1998 sequel that I almost forgot existed - The Blues Brothers 2000 ... maybe.
Here are some fun tidbits for the Blues Brothers movie!
Belushi disappeared while filming one of the night scenes. Aykroyd looked around and saw a single house with its lights on. He went to the house and was prepared to identify himself, the movie and that they were looking for Belushi. Before he could, the homeowner looked at him, smiled and said, "You're here for John Belushi, aren't you?". The homeowner told them Belushi had entered their house, asked if he could have a glass of milk and a sandwich, and then crashed on their couch. Situations like that prompted Aykroyd to affectionately dub Belushi "America's Guest."
Some performers weren't used to lip-syncing pre-recorded songs, standard procedure for movie musical scenes. James Brown ended up signing his number live with a recorded backing (the rest of the choir was lip-syncing). John Lee Hooker's performance of 'Boom Boom" was recorded live at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market. Aretha Franklin's performance is cut together from many, many takes, using the parts where her lip-syncing was actually in sync.
A world record 103 cars were wrecked during filming, The 1982 film The Junkman broke the record 2 years later, wrecking 150 cars and a plane. That record held for two decades, until over 300 cars were wrecked during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded.
The Bluesmobile drove under the elevated train line at 118 MPH. The film crew got permission to clear the street for two 100+ MPH chases. Stunt pedestrians were added after the first pass, to add realism.
Aykroyd's script was originally titled The Return of the Blues Brothers and was 324 pages. It was intended to be a two part film. John Landis spent three weeks paring the script down.
While filming the opening scene. guards at the prison fired at the helicopter filming overhead shots, thinking it was an attempt to spy on the structure.
In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
John Wayne's son, Ethan Wayne, was a stunt driver on the film.
The dancing scene outside of Ray's Music Exchange had hundreds of people dancing in the street. This sequence was supposed to have taken place in the summer as most everyone is wearing summer ware when in fact it was freezing cold that day, only about 25 degrees.
Little Richard was asked to appear and perform in this film. He declined, because he was only performing gospel music at the time this film was made.
While at the phone booth, Elwood asks Jake "Who you gonna call?". The same line became the tagline for Ghostbusters, which Aykroyd co-wrote and starred in. Furthermore, the part of Peter Venkman was initially written with Belushi in mind, though due to his untimely death, it went to Bill Murray instead.
Belushi and Aykroyd created the characters Jake and Elwood Blues' in performances on SNL. The name The Blues Brothers was Howard Shore's idea. Aykroyd developed the brothers's story and character sketches in collaboration with Ron Gwynne, who is credited as a story consultant for the film.
Belushi had become a star in 1978 as a result of both the musical success of Briefcase Full of Blues and his role in Animal House. Universal narrowly beat Paramount Pictures for the project.
The Blues Brothers opened on June 20, 1980 in 594 theaters. It took in $4.8 million in its opening weekend, ranking 2nd for that week (after The Empire Strikes Back). The film in total grossed $57.2 million domestic and $58 million in foreign box office for a total of $115.2 million. It also ranks 2nd, between Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, among films adapted from SNL sketches.
Over the years, the film was retained a cult following and earned additional revenue through TV, home video and theatrical re-runs.
A sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, was theatrically released on February 8, 1990.
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