The Blues Brothers

1980
R
2h 13m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

219K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer4:27

Buddy Comedy Quest Road Trip Action Adventure Comedy Crime Music Musical

Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, out... Read allJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

219K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,462

161

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination

Prison Guard
(as Gerald Walling S.J.)

Walter Levine

Prison Guard

Frank Oz

Corrections Officer

Kathleen Freeman

Sister Mary Stigmata

Alonzo Atkins

Choirmaster

James Brown

Reverend Cleophus James

Chaka Khan

Choir Soloist

Southern California Community Choir

Choir
(as James Cleveland's Southern California Community Choir)

Armand Cerami

Trooper Daniel

Steven Williams

Trooper Mount
(as Steve Williams)

Stephen Bishop

Charming Trooper

John Landis

Trooper La Fong

Kristi Oleson

Sales Girl

Director
- John Landis
Writers
- Dan Aykroyd
- John Landis
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
John Belushi disappeared while filming one of the night scenes. 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 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."

Goofs
[1:26:41]When the Good Old Boys arrive at Bob's Country Bunker, it is clearly after closing time. No explanation is given as to why they are so late, and they would realize that the bar is now closed and would not expect to play their set.

Quotes
Elwood: [2:00:54] 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.

Crazy credits
When in Hollywood, Visit Universal Studios (Ask for Babs) [see also National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)]

Alternate versions
The Collectors' Edition on DVD runs 18 minutes longer than the original release and includes the following expanded or newly added scenes:
The two Joilet guards come to get Jake in his cell and have trouble waking him up.
One additional line from Frank Oz as he rattles off Jake's material possessions.
An additional line for the Penguin regarding missions: "I'll be sent to the missions... Africa, Latin America... Korea."
Jake and Elwood discuss getting the money for the mission honestly outside of the Triple Rock Baptist Church.
The "The Old Landmark" number is considerably longer, incorporating more dance sequences and extra verses.
After the demolition derby in the shopping mall Elwood parks the Bluesmobile in a hiding place beside an electrical power box. (John Landis explains that Aykroyd thought this would show how the car gets its incredible endurance, but also goes on to explain that it never did make any sense, so the scene was cut.)
A few extra lines of dialog when Elwood and Jake rest in his apartment.
When the cops come to arrest Jake and Elwood in the motel, they first stop at the registration desk and intimidate the manager. They also greet Sam, who seems to be known by everyone.
An entire sequence with Elwood boosting chemicals from his day job, then quitting the job to become a priest, is restored.
After the above sequence, Jake and Elwood study a cigarette box with "the last known address of Bones Malone and Blue Lou Marini".
After getting the new address of Bones Malone, Elwoods thanks Ms Tarantino before leaving.
Jake has an extra line of dialog while pep-talking Murph and the Magictones at the Holiday Inn ("Now, who here at this table can honestly say that they played any finer or felt any better than they did when they played with the Blues Brothers?")
One line of dialog for Henry Gibson is restored for the Illinois Nazis scene at the bridge, with regards to the swastika ("The sacred and ancient symbol of your race since the beginning of time!")
The "Boom Boom" number is much longer, with extra shots of John Lee Hooker laughing and arguing with his band. Jake and Elwood watch for a moment then enter the Soul Food Cafe.
"Think" has extra verses and shots of dancing.
When the band arrives at Bob's Country Bunker, Bob hands the request list to Bones Malone, who looks at it blankly.
The "Theme from Rawhide" and "Stand By Your Man" numbers are slightly longer.
The original Picwood preview included another musical number, "Sink the Bismark", but that footage has been lost.
More lines of dialog for Maury Sline in the steam room scene, mostly regarding to the old gigs having been turned into (gay) discos.
When Jake fills up the tank for the Bluesmobile, he overfills it and gas spills over. When they peel out from the station, Elwood flicks a cigarette out of the window and causes the station to explode. (Landis now says he doesn't remember why this particular scene was cut.)
Before the sound-check Curtis (Cab Calloway) explains to the band that they need to do it for the kids, since the Blues Brothers will use the money raised from that concert to pay the taxes for a church. The look on the faces of the band after they hear it is priceless!
The "Minnie the Moocher" number is considerably extended.
As Jake and Elwood sneak into the show, Elwood takes the chemicals that he stole from the show and sneaks them into the tires of the cop cars.
Both the "Everybody Needs Someone to Love" and "Sweet Home Chicago" numbers are extended.
When Jake and Elwood sneak out, the gas in the cop cars tires reacts and causes the tires to explode on some to delay the police.
An alternate line of dialog for Carrie Fisher in the sewer when she confronts Jake, about how her father "used up her last favors" with the Mafia for her wedding. In the original release it was changed due to complaints of the Italian-American community.
The lengthy climactic chase to (and through) Chicago features many extra lines and shots of racing autos.
The "assault on Daley plaza" and the Assessor's Office scenes also feature extra lines and shots.
The "Jailhouse Rock" number is slightly longer.
As the prisoners riot at the end of the film, there is a brief shot of riot-geared police guards racing into the mess hall that has been added. It changes the end of the film subtly.
The "cast of characters" and end credits are extended to accommodate the new footage.

Connections
Edited into The Stories Behind the Making of 'the Blues Brothers' (1998)

Soundtracks
Somebody Loan Me a Dime
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Fenton Robinson

User reviews504

Review

Featured review

9/10

Utterly ridiculous... but, that's the whole point.

What is this film about?

It's a love-letter to Chicago, disguised as a road picture. In this case, Dan and John on an almost continuous journey around more Chicago locales than you can count on all of your available digits.

It's a musical. Throughout the "road trip", the film exploits every opportunity to enlist so many musical legends (who find reasons to "break out in song"), that you probably won't be able to keep track of all of them, either.

It's an excuse to throw in a long list of famous comedians, and other celebrities, strewn throughout the movie in bit parts, just for grins. (You should pay attention to almost every character that shows up along the journey, as virtually all of them are someone famous, e.g. even Twiggy shows up at one point.)

It's an excuse to destroy, in unimaginably creative ways, an entire mall, and numerous other buildings, as a result of chases, vendettas, etc., just in case you need an "action fix" to "round out" the movie's musical and comedic experience. (A decent percentage of those destructive activities, perpetrated by Carrie Fisher's character.)

There is a "plot thread" that provides an underlying reason for Dan and John's journey, but it's just there to facilitate all of the craziness. The journey is never boring (there's never time to get bored), and it is an awful lot of fun.

I finally decided to review this, while watching the 2020 4K UHD release (which, as an aside, looks great). I would be remiss not to mention that it's a bit hard to watch the film, and not feel a hint of sadness, based upon the fact that 40 years on, from its original release, so many of the actors, musicians, and comedians it features, are simply not with us anymore. For some, that is simply a consequence of age, but there are far too many others that should have still been with us. The only silver lining is that we get to see why we enjoyed them, while we had them.

I highly recommend this. It successfully melds so many film genres together into a single film, that it's almost impossible not to have fun.