the blues brothers movie review

The Blues Brothers

This is some weird movie. There’s never been anything that looked quite like it; was it dreamed up in a junkyard? It stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood, characters who were created on “Saturday Night Live” and took on a fearsome life of their own. The movie tells us something of their backgrounds: They were reared in a sadistic West Side orphanage, learned the blues by osmosis, and, as the movie opens, have teamed up again after Jake’s release from the Joliet pen.

The movie’s plot is a simple one, to put it mildly. The brothers visit their old orphanage, learn that its future is in jeopardy because of five thousand dollars due in back taxes, and determine to raise the money by getting their old band together and putting on a show. Their odyssey takes them to several sleazy Chicago locations, including a Van Buren flophouse, Maxwell Street, and lower Wacker Drive. They find their old friends in unlikely places, like a restaurant run by Aretha Franklin , a music shop run by Ray Charles , and a gospel church run by James Brown .

Their adventures include run-ins with suburban cops, good ol’ boys, and Nazis who are trying to stage a demonstration. One of the intriguing things about this movie is the way it borrows so freely and literally from news events. The plot develops into a sort of musical Mad Mad Mad Mad World, with the Blues Brothers being pursued at the same time by avenging cops, Nazis, and an enraged country and western band led by Charles Napier , that character actor with the smile like Jaws. The chase is interrupted from time to time for musical numbers, which are mostly very good and filled with high-powered energy.

Aretha Franklin occupies one of the movie’s best scenes, in her South Side soul food restaurant. Cab Calloway , as a sort of road manager for the Blues Brothers, struts through a wonderful old-style production of Minnie the Moocher. The Brothers themselves star in several improbable numbers; the funniest has the band playing in a country and western bar where wire mesh has been installed to protect the band from beer bottles thrown by the customers.

I was saying the musical numbers interrupt the chases. The fact is, the whole movie is a chase, with Jake and Elwood piloting a used police car that seems, as it hurdles across suspension bridges from one side to the other, to have a life of its own. There can rarely have been a movie that made so free with its locations as this one. There are incredible, sensational chase sequences under the elevated train tracks, on overpasses, in subway tunnels under the Loop, and literally through Daley Center. One crash in particular, a pileup involving maybe a dozen police cars, has to be seen to be believed: I’ve never seen stunt coordination like this before.

What’s a little startling about this movie is that all of this works. The Blues Brothers cost untold millions of dollars and kept threatening to grow completely out of control. But director John Landis (of “Animal House”) has somehow pulled it together, with a good deal of help from the strongly defined personalities of the title characters. Belushi and Aykroyd come over as hard-boiled city guys, total cynics with a world-view of sublime simplicity, and that all fits perfectly with the movie’s other parts. There’s even room, in the midst of the carnage and mayhem, for a surprising amount of grace, humor, and whimsy.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• James Brown as Rev. James
• John Candy as Burton Mercer
• John Belushi as Jake Blues
• Ray Charles as Ray
• Murphy Dunne as Piano Player
• Cab Calloway as Curtis
• Carrie Fisher as Mystery Lady
• Charles Napier as Good Ol' Boy
• Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues
• Aretha Franklin as Waitress
• Henry Gibson as Nazi

Screenplay by

• Dan Aykroyd

Directed by

• John Landis

Produced by

• Robert K. Weiss

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The blues brothers.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 16 Reviews
• Kids Say 58 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

By Heather Boerner , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Cult classic has lots of profanity, some violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Blues Brothers is a classic 1980 comedy in which John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd play music-obsessed siblings trying to reunite their old band in order to save the Chicago orphanage where they grew up. There's frequent comedic violence, including some of the most ludicrous, over…

Why Age 16+?

Cigarette smoking. The bass player is always smoking a pipe. Whiskey drinking, s

An older African-American man tells the Blues Brothers that if the orphanage clo

Comedic violence in many scenes. A nun slaps the Blues Brothers repeatedly with

During a ludicrous car chase through a shopping mall, the Blues Brothers point o

While stuck at a gas station, Elwood Blues propositions an attractive English wo

Any Positive Content?

While a comedy in which the two lead characters are constantly on the wrong side

While their hearts are in the right place, the lifestyle of the Blues Brothers p

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Cigarette smoking. The bass player is always smoking a pipe. Whiskey drinking, shot drinking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

An older African-American man tells the Blues Brothers that if the orphanage closes, he will be "just another ["N" word] on the street." Use of "f--k" and its variations. "Bulls--t." "S--t." "Piss." "Damn." "Peckerhead." In a soul food diner off of Maxwell Street in Chicago, a waitress tells her husband working in the kitchen about the "honkies" at the counter and what they ordered.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Comedic violence in many scenes. A nun slaps the Blues Brothers repeatedly with a ruler due to their bad language, culminating in Jake falling down steep stairs while still in a too-small school desk. Over-the-top car chases, in a shopping mall, and, later, from a summer resort town in Wisconsin to the Loop in Chicago involving The Blues Brothers pursued by literally hundreds of police vehicles. A blind man who runs a music store fires a gun at a young boy attempting to steal a guitar. A country and western group who had a gig stolen from them by the Blues Brothers pursues them in their touring Winnebago and fires a rifle at the Blues Brothers' vehicle. Neo-Nazis also chase after the Blues Brothers and shoot at them. A woman jilted at the altar by one of the Blues Brothers follows them and detonates explosives, fires a rocket launcher, and shoots a machine gun at them, resulting in one instance in a building being destroyed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

During a ludicrous car chase through a shopping mall, the Blues Brothers point out various stores in the mall, such as Pier One Imports, and other now-defunct stores.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

While stuck at a gas station, Elwood Blues propositions an attractive English woman (Twiggy) to meet him at a motel at midnight. She is later shown waiting for him.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

While a comedy in which the two lead characters are constantly on the wrong side of law and order, the movie teaches an appreciation for jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues music by giving prominent roles and musical sequences to many of these genre's most celebrated performers, as well as through the legendary studio musicians who back up the Blues Brothers' live performances, and the music they listen to in their car in their flophouse hotel room.

Positive Role Models

While their hearts are in the right place, the lifestyle of the Blues Brothers perpetually puts them on the wrong side of the law, resulting in Jake Blues getting out of prison after serving time for robbing a gas station so his band could get paid. Elwood falsifies his driver's license, listing his address as Wrigley Field, vandalizes police vehicles so their tires explode, and sprays epoxy on the gas pedal of a Winnebago. Despite their many transgressions, they clearly love music, and want to make others happy through the music they play. They are also motivated to reunite their old band as a way to try and rescue the orphanage where they grew up.

Parents need to know that The Blues Brothers is a classic 1980 comedy in which John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd play music-obsessed siblings trying to reunite their old band in order to save the Chicago orphanage where they grew up. There's frequent comedic violence, including some of the most ludicrous, over-the-top car chases ever put to film, as well as a jilted bride (played by Carrie Fisher ) who detonates explosives, fires a rocket launcher, and shoots a machine gun at the Blues Brothers in order to get revenge. There is one use of the "N" word, occasional use of "f--k" and its variations, and other profanity throughout the movie. Characters smoke and drink. On the positive side, this movie features classic performances from so many of the legendary performers of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues, including Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, as well as the studio musicians backing up the Blues Brothers, legendary musicians in their own right. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (16)
• Kids say (58)

Based on 16 parent reviews

Amazing music, hilarious scenes, sunglasses at night

What's the story.

After three years in prison for robbery, Jake Blues ( John Belushi ) is released with one thing on his mind: Getting the band back together. His brother Elwood ( Dan Aykroyd ) has something else on his mind -- getting right with God. The brothers discover that the orphanage where they grew up will be sold if they can't raise $5,000 to pay the tax assessor, and set out to raise the money by getting the band back together and holding a benefit concert. Along the way, they meet up with some of the great R&B musicians of all time: James Brown preaching in a Baptist church; Aretha Franklin belting out "Think!" in her soul food restaurant; Cab Calloway singing to a packed house; Ray Charles singing about doing the twist in a pawn shop. Along with great music, their quest is full of car chases, property destruction, and repeated explosions. Jake and Elwood are scamps, but they pay for the damage they do, and do good in the end.

Is It Any Good?

THE BLUES BROTHERS holds a special place in cult movie lovers' hearts for a reason. It's surreal, it's got style, and it has great music. Indeed, it's a cross between a Saturday Night Live skit and a really great musical. Even if you hate the flimsy plot, you're likely to be humming the songs days later.

Though teens may find parts of it slow and may need to be educated about old school R&B, the film is likely to become a favorite. Expect to hear them quoting lines ("Mom, we're on a mission from God," when you question where they're going) and to see them wearing their sunglasses all the time. In the end, you get the sense that this movie is the teenage boy's dream inside Dan Aykroyd and John Landis, the cowriters.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Elwood and Jake's morals are -- or aren't --reflected in their behavior. For instance, they want to save the orphanage they grew up in, but they lie, cheat, and steal to raise the money. Is the damage they cause justified by their goal?

What are the ways in which this movie exposes viewers to legendary performers of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues? Why do you think these sequences are so prominent in this movie?

How is violence used for the sake of comedy in this movie?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 16, 1980
• On DVD or streaming : August 30, 2005
• Cast : Aretha Franklin , Dan Aykroyd , James Brown , John Belushi , Ray Charles
• Director : John Landis
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Music and Sing-Along
• Run time : 133 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : comic violence and language
• Last updated : August 1, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

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The Blues Brothers Reviews

As a little kid, 'The Blues Brothers' taught me the foundations of American music. It also taught me that cops, Nazis and good old boys are to be mercilessly mocked and messed with.

Full Review | Jun 3, 2024

It ends up frequenting common places where the dry humor supplied by Aykroyd and Belushi's chemistry wears out like a car tire. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | May 7, 2024

One of the great American comedy films... It’s just a joy to watch even forty three years on. John Belushi was never better as the lead. He’s funny just standing there.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 24, 2023

More energetic than funny.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jan 20, 2023

No matter that the big screen story gets convoluted and improbable-the characters make it work. They sing classic rhythm and blues songs well enough, but better yet, perform with the greats.

Full Review | Aug 11, 2021

The Blues Brothers are a popular novelty, and have a definite tongue-in-cheek appeal. But this film does nothing with the characters, except to portray them as a couple of one-sided and unlikable hoods.

Full Review | Dec 21, 2020

The Blues Brothers is the year's best film to date; one of the, all-time great comedies; the best movie ever made in Chicago. All are true, and, boy, is that ever a surprise.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Dec 21, 2020

The Blues Brothers is unlike anything you've ever seen before, at once touching and far-far out -- and most of all, best of all, it is hugely entertaining.

Too many times, The Blues Brothers is static when it should be ecstatic. When it tries to hit the heights, it's not nearly dizzying enough And when it should soar, it simply hangs there.

Despite the temporary lift that the old pros give the picture, it is difficult for the non-cultist to feel anything but dismay, again, that so much has been squandered to produce so little that is truly artful or genuinely entertaining.

As spectacular as the chases are, Blues Brothers works because of Aykroyd and Belushi, who play off each other with nearly flawless timing and sustain it throughout the movie's two hours and 10 minutes.

The film is a monument to car wreckage, with a tip of the hat to rhythm and blues. If you've seen the preview, you've seen the movie.

Only the music, a collection of rock and blues hits, is palatable but not enough to pull this film out of the gutter.

With a simple narrative based around the- brothers trying to put together a band and raising money for the orphanage that moulded them with numerous complications along the way there are plenty of chances for viewers to be entertained.

The film is a dreary waste of crude gags and misfiring stunts. But... small relief is afforded along the way by musical encounters (all too brief) with John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.

But, for all those excesses. The Blues Brothers is jaunty enough often enough and joyous enough just enough to escape total disaster and to tantalize the determined.

Landis' staging and camera blocking aren't always up to the task, but the performers are so electrifying, it doesn't much matter.

The Blues Brothers is a joke that went too far.

The Blues Brothers really is the sort of enterprise that makes, you wonder what the world is coming to.

The Blues Brothers keeps our attention with its general good humor musical expertise and the myriad of comic details with which Landis fills every scene.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 21, 2020

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Blues Brothers

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 all 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. 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.

• John Landis
• Dan Aykroyd
• John Belushi
• Cab Calloway
• 501 User reviews
• 102 Critic reviews
• 60 Metascore
• 2 wins & 1 nomination

Top cast 99+

• Joliet Jake

• Burton Mercer
• Prison Guard
• (as Gerald Walling S.J.)

• Corrections Officer

• Sister Mary Stigmata
• Choirmaster

• Reverend Cleophus James

• Choir Soloist
• (as James Cleveland's Southern California Community Choir)
• Trooper Daniel

• Trooper Mount
• (as Steve Williams)
• Charming Trooper

• Trooper La Fong
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Carrie Fisher became engaged to Dan Aykroyd during this shoot shortly after he saved her from choking, by applying the Heimlich maneuver.
• 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.

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) ]
• 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 reviews 501

• Aug 14, 2000
• How long is The Blues Brothers? Powered by Alexa
• How the heck many cars were trashed during the filming of this movie?
• Why was the entire band in prison at the end of the movie?
• Where is that factory at the beginning of the movie?
• June 20, 1980 (United States)
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Los hermanos caradura
• 15101 Dixie Highway, Harvey, Illinois, USA ([28:20]Shopping Mall Complex with infamous car chase scene. They broke my watch! Demolished)
• Universal Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $27,500,000 (estimated)
• $57,229,890
• Jun 22, 1980
• $115,229,890

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 13 minutes

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WhichFilm | Film Reviews | Audience Film Reviews

The Blues Brothers (1980)

“The Blues Brothers” is a classic musical comedy film released in 1980, directed by John Landis. Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, the film follows the misadventures of Jake and Elwood Blues as they reunite their old band to save the Catholic orphanage they grew up in from financial ruin. “The Blues Brothers” is known for its energetic musical performances, hilarious comedy, and iconic car chase sequences.

Plot Summary: “The Blues Brothers” centers around Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd), two brothers who are on a mission from God to save the orphanage where they were raised. To raise the necessary funds, they embark on a mission to reunite their old rhythm and blues band and put on a big concert.

As Jake and Elwood set out on their musical quest, they encounter various obstacles and enemies along the way. They are pursued by the police, led by the relentless Illinois State Trooper, played by John Candy. The brothers also find themselves entangled with a neo-Nazi group, a country and western band, and a mystery woman named Carrie Fisher, who seeks revenge for Jake leaving her at the altar.

“The Blues Brothers” is filled with musical numbers featuring legendary blues, soul, and R&B artists such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Cab Calloway. These performances showcase the energy and talent of the cast and contribute to the film’s vibrant and joyful atmosphere.

Themes and Impact: While “The Blues Brothers” is primarily a comedy filled with outrageous antics and comedic set pieces, the film also explores themes of redemption, loyalty, and the power of music. Jake and Elwood’s unwavering commitment to their mission, despite the obstacles they face, reflects the bond of brotherhood and the belief in the transformative power of music.

The film’s impact extends beyond its initial release. It has become a cult classic, beloved by audiences for its memorable characters, quotable dialogue, and catchy musical numbers. The success of “The Blues Brothers” led to a resurgence of interest in rhythm and blues music and helped introduce a new generation to the genre.

Legacy and Cultural Significance: “The Blues Brothers” has had a lasting impact on popular culture. It spawned a dedicated fan base and inspired a number of spin-offs, including an animated television series and a live concert tour featuring Aykroyd and Jim Belushi, John Belushi’s brother. The film’s iconic car chase scenes, featuring the Bluesmobile, have become some of the most memorable in cinematic history.

Moreover, “The Blues Brothers” demonstrated the comedic and musical talents of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, solidifying their status as comedy legends. The film’s blend of comedy, music, and action has influenced subsequent comedies and musical films, leaving a lasting imprint on the genre.

Conclusion: “The Blues Brothers” is a riotous and joyful musical comedy that continues to entertain audiences with its humor, lively performances, and infectious music. It celebrates the power of friendship, the importance of sticking together, and the joy that music can bring. With its timeless appeal, memorable characters, and iconic musical sequences, “The Blues Brothers” remains a beloved and influential film in the world of comedy and music.

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The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis and released in 1980, is a raucous and wildly entertaining musical comedy that brings the world of rhythm and blues to life with a contagious energy. Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the eponymous Blues Brothers, the film takes audiences on a hilarious and action-packed adventure through the streets of Chicago. The story follows Jake and Elwood Blues, two brothers on a mission from God to save the Catholic orphanage they grew up in. In order to raise the necessary funds, they assemble their old band and set out on a mission to put on a show and gather the money before the orphanage is foreclosed. Along the way, they encounter a motley crew of characters, including a vengeful ex-fiancée, a country and western band, and a determined group of police officers hot on their trail. The heart of The Blues Brothers lies in its phenomenal musical performances. Featuring an incredible lineup of talented musicians and artists, the film delivers one unforgettable musical number after another. From the soulful renditions of classic blues and R&B tunes to the electrifying dance sequences, the film never fails to get the audience's toes tapping and spirits soaring. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd showcase their comedic talents and on-screen chemistry as the irreverent and charming Blues Brothers. Their larger-than-life personalities and commitment to their characters make Jake and Elwood endearing and hilarious, as they navigate the chaotic world they find themselves in. The film's supporting cast, including Carrie Fisher, John Candy, and Aretha Franklin, add depth and humor to the proceedings, elevating the overall comedic experience. One of the film's standout aspects is its impressive and explosive car chase sequences. The Blues Brothers is known for its over-the-top stunts and high-speed pursuits, which inject adrenaline and excitement into the film's narrative. These sequences, combined with the energetic musical performances, create a unique blend of comedy, action, and music that sets the film apart. The Blues Brothers not only delivers on the entertainment front but also serves as a celebration of the rich musical heritage of Chicago and the spirit of the blues. It pays homage to the genre's legends while infusing it with a modern sensibility and comedic flair. The film's commitment to authenticity and reverence for the music shines through, making it a treat for both fans of the blues and newcomers alike. While The Blues Brothers is undoubtedly a rollicking good time, it occasionally veers into excess, with some of the comedic moments feeling overly exaggerated or prolonged. The pacing may feel uneven at times, and the plot takes a backseat to the film's musical performances and comedic set pieces. However, these minor quibbles do little to diminish the overall enjoyment of the film. In summary, The Blues Brothers is a riotous and musically infectious comedy that brings the magic of rhythm and blues to the big screen. With its exceptional musical performances, memorable characters, and adrenaline-fueled car chases, the film offers a wild and entertaining ride. It captures the spirit of Chicago's blues scene while delivering a heartfelt story of brotherhood, redemption, and the power of music. The Blues Brothers is a classic film that continues to captivate audiences with its infectious energy and enduring appeal.

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The blues brothers.

Directed by John Landis

They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

Dan Aykroyd John Belushi James Brown Cab Calloway Ray Charles Aretha Franklin Steve Cropper Donald 'Duck' Dunn Murphy Dunne Willie Hall Tom Malone Lou Marini Matt Murphy Alan Rubin Carrie Fisher Henry Gibson John Candy Kathleen Freeman John Lee Hooker Tom Erhart Gerald Walling Walter Levine Alonzo Atkins Chaka Khan Armand Cerami Steven Williams Kristi Oleson Gary McLarty Joe Cuttone Show All… Layne Britton Toni Fleming Sheilah Wells Rosie Shuster Judith Belushi-Pisano Lou Perryman Paul Reubens Ben Piazza Gwen Banta Lari Taylor Cindy Fisher Elizabeth Hoy Tony M. Conde Eugene J. Anthony Dean Hill Jack Orend Gene Schuldt Gary Houston Charles Mountain Frank Oz John Landis Elmore James Stephen Bishop Charles Napier Steven Spielberg Curt Clendenin Twiggy Steve Lawrence De'voreaux White Jeff Morris Mr. T James Avery Raven De La Croix Leoda Richards Norman Matlock S.D. Nemeth Carolyn Franklin

Director Director

John Landis

Producer Producer

Robert K. Weiss

Writers Writers

Dan Aykroyd John Landis

Casting Casting

Michael Chinich

Editor Editor

George Folsey Jr.

Cinematography Cinematography

Stephen M. Katz

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Bernie Brillstein

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Steve Yaconelli John LeBlanc Mako Koiwai

Production Design Production Design

John J. Lloyd

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Hal Gausman Leslie McCarthy-Frankenheimer

Stunts Stunts

Gary McLarty Janet Brady Kenny Endoso Johnny Hock Tommy J. Huff Terry Leonard Jeannie Epper Kitty O'Neil Jophery C. Brown Stevie Myers Gary Epper Freddie Hice Karen McLarty Gilbert B. Combs Chuck Hayward Dick Ziker

Composer Composer

Elmer Bernstein

Costume Design Costume Design

Deborah Nadoolman Landis

Universal Pictures

Releases by Date

16 jun 1980, 20 jun 1980, 10 oct 1980, 16 oct 1980, 30 oct 1980, 07 nov 1980, 13 nov 1980, 24 nov 1980, 25 nov 1980, 28 nov 1980, 19 dec 1980, 22 dec 1980, 30 jan 1981, 06 mar 1981, 27 mar 1981, 28 mar 1981, 16 apr 1981, 30 apr 1981, 01 may 1981, 04 jul 1981, 20 dec 1981, 11 may 1983, 03 dec 1983, 20 may 1990, 14 feb 2001, 24 jul 2009, 05 may 1998, 08 sep 1998, 09 sep 1998, 10 oct 2001, 14 aug 2003, 04 aug 2005, 30 aug 2005, 02 may 2007, 09 jun 2011, 26 jul 2011, 24 aug 2011, 15 feb 2002, releases by country.

• Theatrical M
• Theatrical 14 Universal
• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical K-12
• Theatrical TP
• Theatrical Re-release
• Theatrical 12 West Germany
• Theatrical T
• Physical DVD

Netherlands

• Theatrical 6
• Physical 6 DVD
• Physical 6 Blu ray

Philippines

• Theatrical M/12

South Korea

• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical A
• Physical 15 DVD
• Physical 15 Blu-ray

Switzerland

• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical R
• Physical NR DVD Release
• Physical NR Blu-Ray Release

133 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★½ 14

I keep thinking about how deeply weird the existence of the Blues Brothers is. Two comedians start a semi-joke band on SNL that’s mostly an excuse to feel like legit musicians, then they end up opening for the Grateful Dead and record an album that goes platinum. Then Dan Aykroyd, that wonderful weirdo, writes this whole bible of mythology for their joke music personas and they make a blockbuster movie featuring Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Carrie Fisher with a bazooka, and it’s both total nonsense and genuinely amazing. None of this makes sense. I love it.

Review by lucy ★★★★ 5

carrie fisher trying to kill people; iconic

Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 8

This film is a rare breed as it simply transcends genre tropes and rules and thus creates a unique action comedy musical. And my love for it knows no bounds.

Every time I see this film I am a bit sad that Belushi did not give himself the chance to fulfil his great potential. It is clear, especially in this film, that he has a unique comedy touch and a rare musical talent. Matched to the unwavering and very reliable Aykroyd and directed with the genius' touch of Landis, this was always going to be a match made in heaven.

The humour is off beat and so wonderfully quirky it just doesn't get old. The action is ludicrously funny and…

Review by adambolt ★★★★½ 1

A moment of silence for the thousands of cars destroyed in this film.

Review by Joe Jatcko ★★★★★ 2

I still can't believe this movie was ever made.

Review by André Nogueira ★★★½

This is probably the most expensive SNL episode.

Review by KT ★★★★

It would be an honor to be hunted and killed by carrie fisher

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★ 4

You'd think the deadpan slapstick + 80s action excess + musical combo would get tired after a while but it really doesn't. Totally on its own wavelength. Cocaine is a helluva drug. Anyway, pretty cool how nearly 40 years later including a scene where your heroes break up a Nazi rally by driving through it would probably be considered controversial. The cop grunting bit is an all-timer.

Review by Rachel Rhodes

“What kind of music do you usually have here? “Oh we got both kinds, we got Country and Western!”

Review by 🦇rosie🦇 ★★★★★

probably the best way to say fuck the police, fuck capitalism, fuck nazis, fuck racists and also just the best film ever in general, i am currently cured of all sadness 

rip john belushi <3

Review by Matt Singer ★★★★★

Got to introduce my father-in-law to this movie; somehow he'd missed it all these years despite his love of cars and reckless car stunts. It went over very well--except for the parts where I was driving him crazy by quoting the dialogue along with the movie. He laughed hardest at the Nazis' car soaring past Sears Tower. That's my favorite part too.

Review by RyLan ★★★★ 2

“WHAT’S THE DAMN BUDGET OF THIS FILM??” -  me every 5 minutes.

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The 4K HDR extended edition not only looks better than expected but also shows that the shorter cut is the better movie

by Dennis Burger updated July 29, 2023

If nothing else, the 4K HDR release of The Blues Brothers: Extended Edition demonstrates just how far home video has come in the past 20 years. And if you’re not familiar with the provenance of the longer cut of the film, perhaps a little backstory is in order.

Director John Landis originally intended The Blues Brothers to be a three-hour roadshow with an intermission. Studio heads balked after a test screening and forced him to cut the movie down to 148 minutes, then again to 133 minutes for the final theatrical release. When Universal destroyed most of the elements for the original film in 1985, it was believed that only the 133 cut and its negative survived—until, that is, the son of a theater owner was caught trying to sell a print of the 148-minute cut on eBay in the early ’90s. And it is from this print that all deleted scenes and alternate cuts for the extended cut were sourced.

Back in the DVD era, the discrepancies between the quality of the original camera negative and of the lost-and-recovered print weren’t that blatant. Sure, you could tell that some scenes were a bit grainier, a little less detailed, a little more washed out, but it was hardly a distraction. In the HD era, the disparity started to become substantially more apparent.

Fast-forward to the UHD release of The Extended Edition , and I honestly find it nigh unwatchable, if only because the portions of the film scanned from the original camera negative are so utterly gorgeous it makes the preview-print footage look that much worse by comparison. After the opening credits pass by, The Extended Edition is simply a chaotic audiovisual rollercoaster, with one scene looking sharp, detailed, well-balanced, and properly saturated, with exactly the right amount of organic film grain, and the next looking like a blown-out, overly contrasty mess of crushed blacks, faded highlights, and about twice as much grain as it should have. It’s honestly such a distraction that I had trouble sitting through the extended cut, despite the absolutely fabulous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio mix included with the Kaleidescape download.

Thankfully, purchasing the extended edition on Kaleidescape also comes with the theatrical cut, fully restored in UHD HDR as well, so I decided to give it a watch, despite not having seen the shorter edit in over a quarter-century. And what I took away from that viewing surprised me. When you get right down to it, the studio was right. The shorter cut   is a better movie; better paced, more consistently funny, and with the focus more consistently where it belongs—on the musical numbers.

The original theatrical cut is also a better home cinema experience from beginning to end. Again, the opening and closing titles—which had to be sourced from what I believe is the interpositive, not the negative—don’t quite measure up to the quality of the rest of the transfer. But that aside, I never would have imagined The Blues Brothers could look this good while still looking true to itself.

And it isn’t merely the enhanced detail brought about by the 4K scan. HDR also allows enhancements to shadow depth, bringing details out of the darkness that have never appeared in home video presentations before.

Granted, the real star of the show is still the immaculate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio mix, which doesn’t suffer from the tonal and fidelity inconsistencies that plague so many films of the era. Sure, the pre-recorded musical numbers shine brighter here, with deeper bass and better transparency than the rest of the mix, but dialogue and sound effects are still clear and well-presented, and the occasional surround sound effect doesn’t sound at all out of place. A lot of that probably comes down to the fact that the film was originally mixed in four-track stereo, with discreet left, center, and right channels and a mono surround channel, making it a little easier to conform to our modern surround-sound channel layout. But whatever the reason, The Blues Brothers sounds absolutely as wonderful here as you would hope.

In a weird way I think I’m grateful the 4K release of the extended cut revealed what a mishmash that version of the movie is, visually speaking. If not for that, I probably wouldn’t have returned to the theatrical cut and discovered just how much better it is. I’ve spent the past few decades treating the longer cut as the film proper, viewing the theatrical cut as a sort of historical artifact, when we should actually view these different cuts from exactly the opposite perspective. The extended edition is really just an incredibly long bonus feature, and one that quite frankly overstays its welcome.

If the only version of The Blues Brothers you know is the compromised, intermediate extended cut (it was, after all, the only version available on DVD for the longest time), I encourage you to give the shorter theatrical cut another shot—especially in its newly restored 4K/HDR form, it’s simply the best version of the movie that actually exists.

Dennis Burger   is an avid Star Wars scholar, Tolkien fanatic, and Corvette enthusiast  who somehow also manages to find time for technological passions including  high-end audio, home automation, and video gaming. He lives in the armpit of  Alabama with his wife Bethany and their four-legged child Bruno, a 75-pound  American Staffordshire Terrier who thinks he’s a Pomeranian.

PICTURE | It’s hard to imagine The Blues Brothers could look this good while still looking true to itself, with the 4K scan bringing out enhanced detail and with HDR enhancing the shadow depth, bringing out details that have never appeared on home video before

SOUND | The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is immaculate, free of the tonal and fidelity inconsistencies that plague so many films of the era

© 2023 Cineluxe LLC

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Screen Rant

The blues brothers.

133 minutes

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After being released from prison, Jake Blues (John Belushi) reunites with his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) to save a catholic home where they were raised together. To raise money, they put bring their old band back together and put on a show as "The Blues Brothers." Set in Chicago and based on Saturday Night Live characters, The Blues Brothers features several musical celebrity cameos such as Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown.

John Landis

Universal Pictures

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The 10 best blues brothers quotes that prove we're on a mission from god, 15 wild behind-the scenes facts about the blues brothers, mission from god: jim belushi's blues brothers weed explained, 10 best rock & roll musicals, ranked by letterboxd, related titles.

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BABY REINDEER

The Blues Brothers Review

01 Jan 1980

133 minutes

Blues Brothers, The

The 30-year-old Landis was coming off a hot picture and was perceived as something of a comic messiah. At the end of the 70s, this was of vital importance to the studios, who’d watched a whole generation of potential new stars, the Saturday Night Live performers become the hottest things on TV, only to transfer poorly to the big screen. So when wunderkind Landis and Aykroyd came up with a script based on characters which Aykroyd and Belushi had originally created and featured most successfully on the TV show, Universal’s Ned Tanen had little choice but to green-light the unusually big-budgeted rock’n’roll comedy.

He soon came to regret the decision. Landis, though undoubtedly gifted at comedy, proved an indulgent director, inclined to choose the over-the-top option every time and pushing the picture way over both budget and schedule. Belushi’s drug consumption, too, was at an all-time-high — no pun intended — and was adversely affecting his performance.

From such circumstances are cults created. Landis’ instincts proved correct: The Blues Brothers, when it eventually opened, hit just the right nerve with its target audience of ageing hippies and young punks, serving as a kind of counterculture rebel-yell against the rising tide of late-70s conformity. It was a “style” picture before such things became widespread, the style being an amalgam of urban sleaze, automobile crunch and blackheart rhythm and blues, and the Brothers’ uniform of dark suits, hats and Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses quickly came to symbolise a protest against the dandified disco aesthetic.

And then, of course, there was the music, better music than any film had had for many years. The original impetus for the Blues Brothers characters was Belushi and Aykroyd’s abiding love of rhythm and blues, and they packed the picture with as many of their heroes as possible: Aretha storming through Think, Cab Calloway cruising through Minnie The Moocher one more time, John Lee Hooker boogying through Boom Boom in the street, Ray Charles demonstrating electric piano in an instrument shop, not to mention the hottest band since, well, since Booker T & The MG’s—which was hardly surprising since the likes of guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist “ Duck” Dunn were part of the original MG’s who served as the Stax house band on countless soul hits of the 60s. One of the more agreeable effects of the picture was that, as well as rehabilitating the then-unfashionable Ray-Bans, it also revived the careers of virtually all the musicians who appeared in it.

The plot barely deserves the epithet “basic.” The quest is portrayed through a series of set-pieces either musical or slapstick. The latter pitches the Brothers against the forces of darkness: the spectacularly badly-dressed John Candy’s enormous posse of traffic cops, a bunch of Illinois Nazis led by a saturnine Henry Gibson, a redneck country and western outfit and Jake’s estranged wife (Carrie Fisher).

These are the hyperbolically polarised forces of good and evil—hipsters and tightasses—with Belushi and Aykroyd playing the former almost as an updated Hope and Crosby reinterpreted via the Three Stooges. Certainly, there had never been as excessive a use of wanton slapstick violence in the movies before, albeit primarily aimed at automobiles. In one of the earliest set-pieces, the Brothers’ Bluesmobile is chased through a shopping mall by a posse of police cars, to the accompaniment of thousands of dollars’ worth of shattered plate glass; later on, several dozen more cop cars are run down embankments, piled up in streets and generally treated with violent disdain. It’s hardly surprising, really, that the film racked up such an enormous budget.

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The Blues Brothers (1980)

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'The Blues Brothers' Was a Nightmarish, Drug-Fueled Romp Behind the Scenes

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The Big Picture

• Director John Landis had to re-write Dan Aykroyd's screenplay at the last minute, causing chaos in production.
• John Belushi's excessive partying delayed the film and increased the budget significantly.
• Exhibitors showed racial bias, refusing to give The Blues Brothers a wide release, but the film became a hit.

By 1979, John Belushi was a bonafide star. With four seasons of Saturday Night Live under his belt, and having appeared in 1978's hit comedy Animal House , the Chicago native was in high demand and an enviable position of creative power. He'd also landed a lead role alongside fellow SNL star and partner in crime, Dan Aykroyd , in Steven Spielberg 's 1941 . Before that film hit theaters, however, Belushi and Aykroyd began production on The Blues Brothers , an ambitious feature-length romp based on their SNL characters "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues. But bringing the beloved musical comedy to the screen would prove a chaotic journey. Sudden script revisions, rampant substance abuse, schedule and budget overruns, and disagreements over the film's theatrical release strategy were just some of the headaches that plagued this 1980 classic's production .

The Blues Brothers

Director john landis re-wrote dan aykroyd's screenplay at the 11th hour.

In making The Blues Brothers , complications originated on the page. According to Vanity Fair , Dan Aykroyd had never read, much less written , a screenplay when he sat down to pen The Blues Brothers . By the time he completed his first draft, originally titled The Return of the Blues Brothers , Aykroyd's screenplay was three times the average length at a whopping 324 pages, reading less like a traditional script and more like a broad outline written in disorganized prose . With the film's production start date two months away, Universal Pictures Vice-President Ned Tannen and producer Robert K. Weiss determined a full re-write was necessary.

Working furiously to meet the deadline, director John Landis isolated himself for three weeks and wrote non-stop . Upon reading the new screenplay, Aykroyd objected to some of Landis' changes and omissions. But with a script in place, The Blues Brothers secured a $17.5 million budget, substantial for any film in 1979--especially a comedy--and planned to begin shooting in Chicago in July 1979. Though the first month of filming is reported to have gone relatively smoothly, things quickly took a turn for the worse as John Belushi's behavior took a toll on the production.

John Belushi's Partying Put 'The Blues Brothers' Behind Schedule and Over Budget

As a local legend in his hometown of Chicago, John Belushi never missed an opportunity to party hard, which didn't bode well for an expensive Hollywood production operating on a tight schedule. Known for excessive drinking and drug use, especially cocaine, the actor was notorious for embarking on lengthy benders, often disappearing for hours on end with friends and fans alike. On one particularly late night of filming, he was found sleeping on the couch in a random nearby house after wandering inside and helping himself to the refrigerator. As the actor's bodyguard Smokey Wendell remembers, "Every blue-collar Joe wants his John Belushi story." By the time The Blues Brothers entered its second month of shooting in August 1979, the costly consequences of Belushi's partying were being felt by everyone . According to John Landis, he implored co-workers to do whatever they could to keep Belushi from using drugs. "It became a battle to keep him alive and to keep him working on the movie," he recalls.

Time is money, and Belushi arriving late to work or delaying production to sleep off a nasty hangover extended The Blues Brothers ' schedule and increased its already sizable budget. The overages became a nerve-wracking topic of contention for Universal Pictures head Lew Wasserman and his underling, Ned Tannen, who engaged in constant spats over the film's concerning trajectory. "Lew would nail me every day," remembers Tannen. Though Wasserman wasn't on location in Chicago , his ire ultimately and relentlessly trickled down from Tanen to Universal executive Sean Daniel and John Landis, who struggled daily to keep the film afloat.

Upon being summoned to Chicago by producer Robert K. Weiss, Ned Tanen visited The Blues Brothers ' cast and crew to get a glimpse of the controlled chaos with his own eyes. After being shown the "war room," which housed the reported 70 police cars used for the film's iconic chase sequences , Tanen grasped the full weight of the film's scale. "I saw a distinct ashen pallor on Ned's face," remembers Weiss. As pressure mounted in the wake of seemingly endless logistical headaches, the unwieldy finally wrapped in Chicago and relocated to Los Angeles for its final leg.

Exhibitors Didn't Want To Give 'The Blues Brothers' a Wide Release

As 1979 drew to a close and The Blues Brothers wrapped principal photography, its $17.5 million budget had risen by $10 million, but not before John Belushi blew out his knee after falling off a skateboard, requiring an emergency injection to get through the movie's final musical number that had him dancing and doing cartwheels. Months later, as director John Landis put the final touches on the film's post-production process, which included cutting 20 minutes of footage, he ran into yet another seemingly insurmountable problem via theater owners. "Most of them said, 'This is a black movie and white people won’t see it,'" Landis recalls. "Most of the prime houses wouldn’t book it."

The 10 Funniest Movies Of The 1970s, Ranked

"It's pronounced 'Frankensteen'."

The exhibitors' racial bias went even further, with Mann Theaters owner Ted Mann leading the charge in attempting to derail the film's prospects for a wide release . According to Landis, Mann insisted that The Blues Brothers wouldn't be booked in any of his company's "national or general" theaters. "We have a theater in Compton where we’ll book it," Mann told Landis. "But certainly not in Westwood." According to the director, Mann didn't want to book the film in Westwood because he didn't "want any blacks in Westwood."

Regardless of Ted Mann's prejudiced assumptions, however, which led to The Blues Brothers securing only 600 screens instead of the more common neighborhood of 1,400, the film was a hit with audiences. By the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed $115 million worldwide and became one of Universal Pictures' biggest successes . For an R-rated musical comedy that went over budget, over schedule, and was plagued by all manner of complications and setbacks from start to finish, The Blues Brothers more than proved skeptics and naysayers wrong. Some may knock the film for being overly lengthy and over the top, but "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues' divine mission continues to resonate with and endure in the hearts and minds of viewers across generations.

The Blues Brothers is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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