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The Blues Brothers (Collector's Edition) | Year: 1980 Classification: Comedy Directed: - John Landis Actors/Actresses: - John Belushi - Dan Aykroyd - Cab Calloway - John Candy A mission from god involves a lot of wrecked cars There will never be another movie quite like the Blues Brothers. No movie can accomplish or come close to accomplishing what this movie did in terms of car stunts, musical sequences, even some of it's many quotes. The best thing is, is that very little of it looks dated and it is still fun no matter how many times you watch it because so much of it is classic. The story is simple but ample as Elwood Blues and his brother Jake, fresh out of prison on parole must round up the members of their old band to raise some charity money to save their old orphanage from being torn down and in the process end up destroying much of Chicago and making enemys everywhere they go. Music legends Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway and James Brown are all on hand to provide some of the best and most entertaining musical scenes you've seen in a film and almost every scene in between has ample padding for some of the biggest and/or most destructive car chases seen. The additional scenes added for the most part don't add a whole lot but are still interesting to watch, especially Elwood quitting his job at a bottling plant (Elwood without his sunglasses on!!) Whether you've seen it once twice or a hundred times, The Blues Brothers is a contemporary classic above almost any other and serves as grandoise entertainment every step of the way. Nitro and Glycerin The first, and easily one of the best, adaptations of an SNL skit into full-length feature, "The Blues Brothers" delivers on what it promises -- comedy, mayhem, lovable characters (main and supporting), and a healthy dose of impossibly good blues music from impossibly good blues musicians. Clearly a pet project from the boys, their love of the blues permeates the film, as does their brotherly devotion to each other. Belushi's manic energy (sorely lacking in the sequel) and Aykroyd's dead-pan delivery (he doesn't do as well when alone under the spotlight, as in "BB2000") combine to form "the most devastating team since nitro and glycerine." Their car can careen through a crowded mall and fly with equal abandon, their clothes clean and repair themselves, they make all of Chicago dance while being chased by every law enforcement and military force in the free world. All in the name of putting on a one-night-only stint to raise money for soon-to-be homeless orphans (actually highlighted by Cab Calloway and a miraculously tuxedoed band). Mission from God, indeed. Magic. I feel good and you will too! Here is one of the few movies in my lifetime that qualifies as a "feel good" flick, one where I left so fulfilled I actually missed the characters, story and fun when the movie is over, wanting it all back again. Fortunately, through the miracle of tape and DVD, you and I can both do that! This production was the linchpin event for the Saturday Night Live characters that wore black suits and sunglasses before the equally fashion-challenged "Men In Black" showed up. Along with "Animal House", this flick reminds me what a great comedy career John Belushi would have had in cinema had he lived more safely (as long as he stayed away from bombs like "1941"). Back to the film...this is loaded with great music, music from many 20th Century ages, music that makes you want to hum, tap your toe, dance, delight, smile, kiss your girlfriend and say hello to God. The plot -- something about getting money for an orphanage -- is superfluous but the movie has memorable scenes and characterizations equal to the equally uninhibited "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World" from 1963. A hyperactive musical street scene coming out of a music store -- led by the late Ray Charles doing a great blues tune -- is a typical venue in this film. Another time, Aretha Franklin takes a break from her waitress job to sing threateningly to Jake and Elmore. Still another time, Cab Calloway entertains kids so the brothers can get their cash to Chicago. In another scene, the Blues Brothers band does it up good in a honky tonk but drinks too much beer and ends up in a police-car-RV chase with some good old boys known as...the Good Old Boys! This movie destroyed about 200 cars in and around Chicago and has one of the funniest car crash scenes and accompanying lines in American film history. The line is: "We're in a truck!" Watch the movie to get the joy from it. You'll laugh out loud and enjoy it almost as much as those Nazis driving off the end of the incomplete freeway overpass in Chicago! If you want to experience mayhem disguised as two hours of uninhibited escapism filled with great fun, a thousand car chases and car crashes, lowlifes, ex-convicts and rednecks, and some of the best choreographed music sequences ever, buy, rent or borrow this DVD today and get set to ENJOY YOURSELF! Buy The Blues Brothers at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Blues Brothers Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Blues Brothers This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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