The Blues Brothers (1980) - Try to sit still to this one!

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi are John Landis' The Blues Brothers

Jake Blues is let out of prison, and together with his brother Elwood, they receive a Mission from God: Gather the old Blues Brothers band and make 5,000 $ to save their childhood-orphanage, which is en danger of imminent closure.

The Blues Brothers is a wildly original and fun film with Dan Aykroyd (Trading Places (1983)) and John Belushi (Animal House (1978)) as mostly cool and composed ex-con musicians and dancers and legendary blues, soul and R&B-legends like Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, James Brown, Cab Calloway and Aretha Franklin performing musically, - Franklin does an unforgettable version of her Think in the marvelous soul-food-restaurant scene. Aykroyd also wrote the film.

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd with Aretha Franklin - a still from the making of John Landis' The Blues Brothers

The Carrie Fisher (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)) and Charles Napier (as a country band leader) gags are hilarious fun. Blues Brothers is severely disposed to anarchy, but behind it all beats a wonderful, huge, musically and God-serving heart.

Probably one of the movie posters that have spun most tattoos world-wide, for John Landis' The Blues Brothers

The production of the film was insane; with the climactic car chase filmed through Chicago with dozens of cars wrecked; a budget that ran more than 10 mil. $ over its limit; rampant drug use by the two stars, (Belushi especially, of course) - it is a miracle that the movie is as well gathered together and thoroughly successful as it is. - The music and laughs and infectious nature of the film make Blues Brothers one you simply cannot miss; an explosion of life and joy in moving pictures! You just can't beat it.

Great Chicagoan director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London (1981)) peaked creatively in the years around Blues Brothers.
Note that there are two version of the film available: The 133 minute theatrical cut and the 148 minute extended cut. I far prefer and recommend the theatrical cut, although others naturally feel differently. Some of the frantic pace of the film gets watered down and lost in the longer version, which drags out several scenes in the film, adding amusing but unnecessary and pace-killing points to scenes. However, the ultimate fan of the film must, of course, watch both.

Related reviews:

John Landis: The Twilight Zone (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
An American Werewolf in London (1981) - Landis' great, funny, scary wolf

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi with Ray Charles in John Landis' The Blues Brothers

Watch the film's trailer here, - I'm sorry for the abrupt ending

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 115.2 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of The Blues Brothers?