The Blues Brothers (1980)

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

Director:

John Landis

Writers:

Dan Aykroyd, John Landis

Stars:

John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Belushi	...	'Joliet' Jake Blues (as Jake)
Dan Aykroyd	...	Elwood Blues (as Elwood)
James Brown	...	Reverend Cleophus James
Cab Calloway	...	Curtis
Ray Charles	...	Ray
Aretha Franklin	...	Mrs. Murphy
Steve Cropper	...	Steve 'The Colonel' Cropper
Donald Dunn	...	Donald 'Duck' Dunn (as Donald 'Duck' Dunn)
Murphy Dunne	...	Murphy 'Murph' Dunne
Willie Hall	...	Willie 'Too Big' Hall
Tom Malone	...	Tom 'Bones' Malone
Lou Marini	...	'Blue Lou' Marini
Matt Murphy	...	Matt 'Guitar' Murphy
Alan Rubin	...	Alan 'Mr. Fabulous' Rubin
Carrie Fisher	...	Mystery Woman

Storyline

After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood go to visit "The Penguin", the last of the nuns who raised them in a boarding school. They learn the Archdiocese will stop supporting the school and will sell the place to the Education Authority. The only way to keep the place open is if the $5000 tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The Blues Brothers want to help, and decide to put their blues band back together and raise the the money by staging a big gig. As they set off on their "mission from God" they seem to make more enemies along the way. Will they manage to come up with the money in time?

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Plot Keywords:

band | money | prison | catholic | police | 

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Taglines:

A briefcase full of blues.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blues Brothers

Filming Locations:

22 W. Van Buren Street, The Loop, Downtown, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$54,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min 148 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) Mono (optical prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The t-shirt Matt Murphy wears is from Uncle Tom's Tavern in Stone Mountain Georgia. The place was famous for its rowdy fights. It has been closed for many years now.

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Goofs

When the Blues Brothers jump over the cop car when coming out of the tunnel, the weather changes four different times in only a few seconds, and also throughout the whole end-of-movie chase scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prison Guard #1: Yeah, the Assistant Warden wants this one out of the block early. Wants to get it over with fast.
Prison Guard #2: Okay, let's do it.
[rattling the bars with his baton]
Prison Guard #1: Hey come on, it's time to wake up.
Prison Guard #2: Wake up. Let's go, it's time.
[striking the sleeping Jake with his baton]

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Crazy Credits

When in Hollywood, Visit Universal Studios (Ask for Babs) [see also Animal House]

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Connections

Spoofed in Mission Hill: Happy Birthday, Douchebag (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Time Is Tight"
(uncredited)
Performed by 'Booker T. & The MG's'

User Reviews

Great all round movie!

This is an excellent movie, rich with comedy and music. It's about 2 corrupt brothers, who wish to help a nun. The story starts with Jake (John Belushi) being released from prison, where Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) picks him up. The story proceeds with them trying to honestly earn 5,000 dollars. They start by getting a little "churching up" and then try to put "the band" back together. With them continuing, and playing shows for meager amounts of money, finally get a break, and make a huge gig in a fancy hotel! While avoiding hundreds (literally) of cops, and "They can't catch us--we're on a mission from God". While making friends (and enemies) along the way, providing a side-busting movie! A must have for all good DVD collections!