The Blues Brothers
Director: John Landis.
Screenplay: Dan Aykroyd, John Landis.
Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Henry Gibson, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Murphy Dunne, Steve Cropper, Donald Dunn, Willie Hall, Tom Malone, Lou Marini, Alan Rubin, Matt Murphy, Kathleen Freeman, Steve Lawrence, Charles Napier, Jeff Morris, Twiggy, Frank Oz, Steven Williams, Armand Cerami, Chaka Khan, Ben Piazza, Paul Reubens, Steven Spielberg.
“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses…”
It’s always a tricky one when you revisit a film that was a big part of your adolescence and in some ways responsible for laying the groundwork on your love of movies. There’s likely to be a tinge of nostalgia or reminiscence, making it difficult to judge it objectively. That said, sometimes the film is just so much fun and so enjoyable that you know why you hold it in such high regard in the first place. Without a shadow of a doubt, The Blues Brothers is (still) that kind of film.
When “Joliet” Jake Blues (John Belushi) is released from prison, he and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) pay a visit to the old Catholic home where they grew up. They soon find out that the orphanage is to be shut down due to lack of funds. As a result, Jake and Elwood go on a mission to re-form their old blues band and raise the money required.
Say what you will about the comedy stylings of Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler or Mike Myers but they share something in common in terms of making their name on comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live. These names are just three of the shows recent successful comedians but having, personally, been born in the late 70’s and grew up throughout the 80’s, most of the comedies I was exposed to were filled with the familiar faces that actually had a hand in the origins of this show – Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and, of course, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. In fact, The Blues Brothers is an adaptation of a short sketch that first aired on Saturday Night Live and is one of only two successful film adaptations from the show – the other being Wayne’s World.
However, despite this films success, it was actually fraught with production problems and a budget that got way out control. Firstly, Dan Aykroyd’s script was a massive 324 pages (three times longer than a normal screenplay) which he jokingly bound in the cover of the Yellow Pages before delivering it to John Landis to edit it down. Also, Landis’ outlandish car chases and vehicular pile-up’s throughout the end of the film sent the budget $10million over it’s initial $17.5million. This wasn’t helped by John Belushi’s spiralling drug habit which would cause him to disappear for lengthy periods off set.
Despite these issues, though, The Blues Brothers seemed to strike a chord with audiences and critics alike – even the Vatican gave it the thumbs-up for being a good Catholic movie – and it has since went on to become a cult classic. Over 30 years later, it’s easy to see why…
The story doesn’t really amount to very much but the titular characters are hard to resist as they ooze a laid-back cool, dressed in their iconic black suits and dark Ray-Bans – a good ten years before Tarantino’s similarly attired Reservoir Dogs. Jake and Elwood manage to get themselves in all sorts of scrapes and upset a whole horde of different people; a machine gun, bazooka wielding disgruntled ex-girlfriend (Carrie Fisher), the Illinois Nazi Party, country band The Good Ol’ Boys and, not to mention, the sheer tally of cops, all in hot pursuit. It’s riotously over the top and when the film reaches it’s denouement it has already crossed the ridiculous border but Landis and Aykroyd know this. They simply don’t care. And that’s what makes the film so enjoyable. There’s an unashamedly free-spirited nature to the proceedings which is highly infectious but nothing entertains more than the magnificent musical numbers from a choice selection of Soul and R&B talents. Among the many toe-tapping highlights are Aretha Franklin’s “Think“, Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher“, John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” and the great Ray Charles with “Shake a Tail Feather“.
The Blues Brothers has stood the test of time and truly is one of a kind. It’s provides action, laughs and song and dance numbers that haven’t aged a bit. It’s admittedly raucous, loud and chaotic but as far as I’m concerned, anything goes when you’re “on a mission from God“.
Mark Walker
Trivia: During filming one of the night scenes, John Belushi disappeared and could not be located. Dan 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 John Belushi. But before he could, the homeowner looked at him, smiled and said, “You’re here for John Belushi, aren’t you?” The homeowner then 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 this prompted Aykroyd to affectionately dub Belushi “America’s Guest.”
MARKED MOVIES 
October 16, 2015 at 2:03 pm
Nice review Mark. This is one of my favorite comedies and there’s too many great scenes to count. I never bothered watching the sequel because I love the original too much to have its memory tampered with.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:14 am
Thanks Charles. Such an entertaining film and still holds up today. I think I lasted about 20mins with the sequel. Really didn’t cut it and refuse to ever go near it again.
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October 16, 2015 at 2:08 pm
Love this movie. It’ll always be a classic and a movie to remind me of home. (It also must be noted my hometown and nearby funeral home made it into the movie.)
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October 17, 2015 at 10:15 am
It seems to have that effect on many people in one way or another. For me, it reminds me of my childhood. I used to watch this film every day for months on end.
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October 16, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Stellar take on the movie Mark, it’s been too long since my last viewing.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:16 am
Cheers Vinnie. I was the same. I hadn’t seen it in years and then it pops up on tv. I only meant to watch a little bit and before I knew it, I watched the whole lot. Great flick.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:19 am
I love it when a movie that you haven’t seen for ages just pops on the box. How are you doing Peachy?
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October 17, 2015 at 10:47 am
I’m good, man. It’s always a real treat when you catch a film you haven’t seen for ages and it still holds up.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:49 am
Hope you don’t mind me calling you peachy. I just remember our funny conversation about the buttocks of Fassbender.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:51 am
Haha! I remember well. I think you have buttocks on the brain, man. That said, I doubt Fassbender will be exposing them as Steve Jobs.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:52 am
I’m sure you have buttocks on the brain as well man. Yeah, I can’t imagine him getting his ass out in that movie.
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October 16, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Right on Mark. I do love the BB. I actually rewatched this a few weeks ago and I still get a kick out of it. That crazy city street car chase is second to none!
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October 17, 2015 at 10:17 am
It’s still as good as ever, isn’t it? It was a real blast from the past for me and I enjoyed it just as much as I did all those years ago. A cult classic for very good reason.
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October 17, 2015 at 1:33 pm
And the musical aspect really works. I’m not big on musicals and this flick is certainly more than that, but music is a big part of the film and it works sooo well.
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October 17, 2015 at 1:44 pm
You take the words right out of my mouth, man. I’m not big on musicals either but this works wonders and the music is actually the highlight of the film for me.
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October 16, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Great film and fine review, Mark. Always love the trivia you throw in. For me, it’s the guests that make the film rise into something special. All the blues greats guest-starring–it’s always been like a blues version of ‘Tommy’. A perfect party film to have playing in the background.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:27 am
Couldn’t agree more, Cindy. The musical numbers are absolutely superb. I used to listen to the soundtrack regularly as well and even after all this time, the lyrics still stick in my head. The cafe scene with Aretha Franklin, in particular, is just gold. I Love it.
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October 17, 2015 at 12:44 pm
Yes–Cab Calaway at the concert with his “Heide Ho” was fun, too. The setting is so close to my home roots that it takes on another level. Chicago is a great city!
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October 17, 2015 at 12:54 pm
I’d heard that Chicago is similar to my home city of Glasgow. Both called “the Windy City” as well? I’d love to visit it one day.
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October 17, 2015 at 1:35 pm
It’s just as good as London and better than NYC. I’ll swap with you. I’ll spend the day in Glasgow and you Chicago. I think we’d both be happy.
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October 17, 2015 at 1:45 pm
Haha! It’s a deal! I’m on my way š
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October 16, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Love this film. It’s a who’s who of Rhythm and Blues artists. Also if there ever was an “epic” comedy, this was it. Endlessly quotable. Notice the Steven Spielberg cameo as the Cook County Assessor’s Office Clerk at the end. Landis would use director cameos later especially in movies like Into The Night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Night_(film)#Cameo_appearances
In my mind it’s still SNL’s greatest film.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:39 am
Absolutely! It’s great stuff, Dave. Landis would always seem to include little cameos in his films but I wasn’t aware of Into the Night. I hadn’t even heard of that film and it sounds quite interesting. I’m not Goldblum’s biggest fan but Pfeiffer and Aykroyd will do nicely. I must check that out. Cheers man!
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October 16, 2015 at 8:24 pm
Great review, Mark. This’ll always be one of my favorites.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:46 am
Cheers Morgan. It’s a classic. There’s no mistaking that. I actually forgot just how much fun this film is.
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October 17, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Nice, I am yet to sit through The Blues Brothers all the way through but a good friend of mine has this as his all-time favorite. Man, that ‘Think’ number is pretty damn catchy. Classic stuff. R.I.P. Mr. Belushi, “America’s Guest!”
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October 18, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Ha! America’s Guest. What a guy.
Man, you really must watch this all the way through. It’s a total blast.
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October 20, 2015 at 2:26 pm
It’s one of those movies I can put on if I need a pick-me-up. So much fun.
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October 22, 2015 at 8:21 am
Indeed it is, Dan. I now wonder why I waited so long to watch it again. It was a real treat.
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October 20, 2015 at 9:00 pm
One of my absolute favourite comedies – five stars all the way. Must have seen this about 30 times and it never gets old. I love it!
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October 22, 2015 at 8:23 am
It doesn’t get old does it? I can understand your 5 star rating, I originally had 4.5 and now I’m wondering why I didn’t just go with that.
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October 22, 2015 at 10:09 am
Always go with your gut mate!
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October 22, 2015 at 10:30 am
I hear you, man!
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October 26, 2015 at 3:00 am
We just saw this one in a theatre with Dan Aykroyd himself – 35th anniversary!
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October 26, 2015 at 11:05 am
Aww man! Now that’s the best possible way you could ever see this film. Superb!
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