The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers is a musical comedy film about two washed up musicians trying to save an orphanage by playing gigs. The film was released in theaters on 1980-06-20, and the first movie in the Blue Brothers series. It was written by Dan Aykroyd and John Landis, directed by Landis, produced by Robert K. Weiss, and stars John Belushi and Aykroyd as the titular Blues Brothers. The film was based on the earlier sketches from Saturday Night Live.
Contents
Personal
I don't remember when I first saw The Blues Brothers, but I remember liking it enough that, when I started buying my own movies in my late-teens and early 20s, it was among the first films that I bought.
I own the 1998 widescreen version on VHS and have seen it several times.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| John Belushi | Jake "Joliet Jake" Blues |
| Dan Aykroyd | Elwood J. Blues |
| Cab Calloway | Curtis |
| James Brown | Reverend Cleophus James |
| Ray Charles | Ray |
| Aretha Franklin | Mrs. Murphy |
| Carrie Fisher | Mystery Woman |
| John Candy | Burton Mercer |
| Kathleen Freeman | Sister Mary Stigmata |
| Steve "the Colonel" Cropper | Lead guitar |
| Matt "Guitar" Murphy | Lead guitar |
| "Mr. Fabulous" Alan Rubin | Trumpet |
| Donald "Duck" Dunn | Bass guitar |
| Murphy Dunne ("Murph") | Keyboards |
| Willie "Too Big" Hall | Drums |
| Tom "Bones" Malone | Trombone |
| "Blue Lou" Marini | Saxophone |
| Henry Gibson | Gruppenführer |
| Steve Lawrence | Maury Sline |
| Twiggy | Chic Lady |
| Frank Oz | Corrections officer |
| Jeff Morris | Bob |
| Charles Napier | Tucker McElroy |
| Steven Spielberg | Cook County Assessor |
| Steven Williams | Trooper Mount |
| Armand Cerami | Trooper Daniel |
| Paul Reubens | Waiter |
| Ralph Foody | Police Dispatcher |
Review
Good
- All throughout the film, wonderful music is being played and performed, and a lot of great artists perform cameos.
- The film has fantastic car chases, through malls, interstate highways, even downtown Chicago!
- Most of the jokes are hilarious. This is very refreshing because musicals typically have terrible comedy.
- A lot of films which include Nazis don't properly ridicule them and run the risk of making actual Nazis applaud the film (like American History X), but this film nicely depicts them as incompetent, pathetic, closet queens.
- The various attempted murders by Carrie Fisher, and the Blues Brother's nonchalant dismissal of them, are hilarious.
- The violence and supernatural nature of Sister Mary Stigmata is a hilarious jab at religion.
Bad
- Most of the musicians in the Blues Brother's band are terrible actors and should have had their lines cut.
- Like with many musicals, the musical numbers go off the rails injuring believability, but, the fact that it's a musical comedy makes it tolerable.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Covers
Blu-Ray 4K.
Blu-Ray.
DVD.
Original VHS (1983).
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Promotional
Film poster.
Promotional photo.
Screenshots
Title card.
Videos
Representation
| Strong female character? | Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Bechdel test? | Fail | |
| Strong person of color character? | Pass | |
| Queer character? | Fail |
Quotes
- Corrections Officer: One unused prophylactic... One soiled.
- Jake: You traded the Bluesmobile for this? Elwood: No, for a microphone. Jake: A microphone? ...Okay I can see that.
- Elwood: It wasn't a lie, it was just bullshit.
- Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often that you won't even notice it.
- Jake: Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke. Mrs. Murphy: You want chicken wings or chicken legs? Jake: Four fried chickens and a Coke.
- Jake: I hate Illinois Nazis.
- Elwood: What kind of music do you usually have here? Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and western.
- Elwood: 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. Jake: Hit it.
- Police Dispatcher: Use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers has been approved.
Links
