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?

---

Plot Keywords:

band | prison | catholic | police | nun | 

---

Taglines:

They're Back

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Music | Musical

---

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

Every time we see the window in Elwood's apartment a train goes past.

---

Goofs

When Elwood goes into his boss' office to quit his job, he drops his briefcase almost in the center of floor outside the office. When he leaves the office and opens the door, the briefcase is no longer in the center and has moved to the left.

---

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]

---

Crazy Credits

Many of the film's crew members are shown singing "Jailhouse Rock" (as the credit "Crew" appears on-screen) during the final number.

---

Connections

References Jailhouse Rock (1957)

---

Soundtracks

"SOMEBODY LOAN ME A DIME"
(uncredited)
Written by Fenton Robinson
Performed by Fenton Robinson

User Reviews

An Eccentric Cult Classic

This definitive cult classic combines two of the pioneers of Saturday Night Live in a hilarious comedy, indulging into their characters from the show. John Belushi and Dan Akroyd are Jake and Elwood Blues, two eccentric brothers who are "On A Mission From God". They seem to inevitably find themselves in large amounts of trouble. The most fun is living vicariously through them as they stick it to the police and other authority figures and evade the consequences. Blues fans will rave over the fantastic soundtrack full of classic blues tunes from the biggest stars. This film is one that will have you quoting lines, singing along, and quite possibly dancing like Elwood. By the way, sunglasses can be worn at all times, black never goes out of style, and dry white toast is quite possibly the world's perfect food.