*THE BLUES BROTHERS* Movie Reaction FIRST TIME WATCHING
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- Enjoy my first time reaction to the movie The Blues Brothers (1980)! 📼 Sync up your copy with mine + we can watch together at: / blues-brothers-98537948
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🎞️ Reaction edited by the fantastic Steph G!
00:00 Intro
00:10 The Blues Brothers Commentary
32:52 The Blues Brothers Movie Review - Zábava
What's the deal with Blues Brothers 2000?!
TRADING PLACES: czcams.com/video/PzWSGHPMoI0/video.html
1980'S Playlist: czcams.com/play/PLQHhQlj8i5drsQx2uSifPV3sKWZEJrnyx.html
Blues Brothers 2000 is generally not well regarded. Losing John Belushi is too difficult to overcome.
Pretty much any time a sequel comes out 20 years later, it doesn't do well.
It's got some good songs, good cameos, good musical talent, but it just doesn't live up to the original.
blues brothers 2000 is a terrible movie. you best avoid it. the blues brothers is the only musical i like.you want chicken wings or chicken legs?
It’s okay, it’s decent enough but yeah nothing special 🤷🏻♂️
Bluntly said: There's no sequel to this film...
“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…..Hit it.”
I had that framed poster with them sitting on the hood and that quote, on my wall from 1981 (age 10) - 1989....loved that poster.
👍😎
I used to have that poster on my wall for a few years
I have that on a shirt.
Iconic line! 😂❤
Truly one of the great classic lines of movies of all time.
My gosh...Rest in Peace John Belushi, Carrie Fisher, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass guitar), Matt "Guitar" Murphy, "Mr. Fabulous" Alan Rubin, Henry Gibson (head Nazi), John Candy, Kathleen Freeman (the penguin), Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman, the waiter at Chez Paul)...
just imagine those musicians in the afterlife the party they are having and the music
Steven Spielberg (tax guy at end), Joe Walsh (prisoner first to dance on table at the end), Chaka Kahn (church choir), Frank Oz (Prison guy behind glass), Twiggy (girl in car at gas station - famous model), John Lee Hooker (singer on chair outside soul food restaurant "boom boom boom"). That Mall was scheduled to be demo'ed, so they trashed it before knocking it down.
It's OK, she didn't recognise any of those people, so their lives and talents weren't in vain.
And Charles Napier, the head Good Ol Boy
The Nun wears a wedding ring because when she takes her vows she’s married to Jesus. The Blues Brothers were based on a SNL skit but were so popular they toured and recorded albums as well. Cheers
Cab Calloway was a legend who was huge in the '30s and '40s. John Lee Hooker (another old blues legend) also made an appearance.
I have a Cab Calloway CD.
Cab doing Minnie the Moocher is my favorite bit.
"Can he sing?" - I laughed so hard when Jen asked that question.
Ever since I first saw Cab Calloway in this film in 1980, I've wanted to see him live in concert. I was lucky enough to attend his last concert in Germany in 1989, where he gave an excellent performance.
The CZcams has various videos of Cab Calloway performing. They're all good.
The officer at the beginning listing all of Jake’s clothes was the voice of Yoda and miss piggy. Frank Oz. He catalogued Dan Akroyds clothing when he got arrested in Trading Places also
Also a succesful director, for example the hilarious Deat At A Funeral is by Oz.
Angel Dust! Have you ever seen what this stuff does to kids!? You are looking at 3 to 5 years MANDATORY!
And the Assessor is Steven Spielberg :)
So many great cameos in this movie
He's also the 'dumbass kids' American ambassador in an American Werewolf in London.
In my 1st year in French high school my English teacher played the Blues Brothers over 2 courses. He figured we would learn better by having an action musical.
He made sure to point out all the singers and mentioning their names. I became a fan of the Blues from then on.
I had a high school reunion last year and he was there, I was so happy to see him. He was old and frail (Over 80yo) but I was glad to shake his hand and tell him how big of an influence he had on my life because of things he did in that class. (other things was to take rock hits and dismantle them word by word)
All that to say that this movie has a special place in my heart and watch it at least once a year.
Yaaaaay!!!!! Two of my cats are named Jake & Elwood! 💙💙
I love the idea of French students learning English with a Chicago accent.
Sounds like that man was a cool teacher....knew how to relate a formal subject to something of interest to students and make it real...I was a music teacher. The best thing a teacher can do is get the students interested by caring what they think, value their opinion, give them something tangible, a story, to latch onto to understand the subject at hand...but that's hard to do with algebra and science...
At my school we once had two young guys who were motivational speakers come by. I don't remember their exact message now, but the entire thing was them being the Blues Brothers. They did it all, singing, dancing, including the repeating back flips and stuff.
A common misconception is that the act also originated on SNL. The Blues Brothers, however, was an independent project of Belushi and Aykroyd, first appearing as the opening act for comedian Steve Martin. Martin later appeared on Saturday Night Live as host, and The Blues Brothers appeared as musical guest.
The Blues Brothers Musical Revue consisted of lead vocalist 'Joliet' Jake Blues (Belushi) and his brother, Elwood (Aykroyd), who played a harmonica which he carried onstage in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. The duo were dressed in matching black suits, black pencil ties, black trilby hats and black sunglasses. The band itself was carefully constructed, and made up of well-trained musicians of the time, including ‘Colonel’ Steve Cropper, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy, ‘Blue’ Lou Marini, Tom ‘Bones’ Malone, Alan ‘Mr. Fabulous’ Rubin, and Paul Shaffer.
In 1978, the band released their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues, which was a recording of their original appearance with Steve Martin. Several subsequent albums followed. The act opened for the Grateful Dead at the closing of Winterland Arena in San Francisco, and gained further fame after spawning the Hollywood comedy film The Blues Brothers in 1980. They remain the most successful blues revue act of all time.
Belushi died in 1982, but the Blues Brothers continued to perform with a rotation of guest singers and other band members. The band re-formed in 1988 for a world tour and again in 1998 for the sequel film Blues Brothers 2000.
From the Wikipedia page...
Dan is part owner of the House of Blues chain of restaurants. The reformed Blues Brothers band is the official house band and has done a number of shows at the various locations over the years.
the Blues brothers also was a warm up act for SNL to entertain before the taping opening of the show. i think the 1st song they did was Im A King Bee and they saw how the crowed like them added and they knew they had something big.
Also David Letterman's house band leader Paul Shaffer was in the Blues Brother Band and did the albums but could not get out or time off from SNL to do the movie. it might have been the Late Night Show not sure but he could not be free for the movie.
also I think it was Aykroyd who got Belushi into the blues. forgot to add Paul Shaffer is also in the Blues Brothers 2000 as well
Bonus fact. The Blues Brothers were the half-time show at Super Bowl the year Blues Brothers 2000 were released
Lol I was fourth row center at that Steve Martin show at the Universal Amphitheater.
did they cover then ?
The fact that the wackiness is so normal to them is hilarious, they just get back up brush themselves off and continue as normal 😂
They’re the blues brothers, wackiness FEARS them
@@mohammedashian8094 and generally they are the cause of wackiness...
@@thomastimlin1724 hey it’s not their fault. They’re on a mission from god!
There must be seven dollars in this phone booth!
Inspired by Warner Bros. cartoons.
"Wonder how long he was in there?"
"3 out of 5, good behavior"
Cab Calloway was a jazz legend. First time he was touring was in 1927, recorded Minnie the Moocher in 1931 and it became the first black artist's song to sell a million copies. By 1980 he was kinda forgotten about but this movie got him back to the public conscious.
Janet Jackson helped bring Cab back into the limelight by including him in her tribute track "Alright" from her 1990 LP, Rhythm Nation-1814.
He played a role in “Stormy Weather”, an absolutely delightful film with Lena Horne.
@@bjgandalf69 what an album!
Groucho referred to Minnie the Moocher in A Night at the Opera:
"You're willing to pay him $1,000 a night just for singing?
You can get a phonograph record of Minnie the Moocher for 75 cents. For $1.25, you can get Minnie."
He performed one of the first hit songs about marijuana called " Reefer Man".
Hands down -- one of the greatest Movie Soundtracks in cinematic history 🎷🎸
Additionally -- one of the greatest "quotable" movies of all time 💯
The full soundtrack took decades to be released because of legal reasons.
“I hate Illinois nazi!!!”
“They’re not going to catch us, we’re on a mission from God”
Fun fact: The Blues Brothers held the record for most destroyed cars in a movie, with 103 cars destroyed. They hold the record for almost 20 years and it was broken in 1998 by the sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 which had 104 destroyed cars.
And yes, these are all real cars getting absolutely thrashed in this movie, no VFX.
Also, the mall that they destroy in that car chase, was a derelict mall, that was about to be demolished.
The producers got permission to build up the shops for the scene and then destroyed everything, before the building was then torn down. Nowadays it´s a parking lot.
This movie honestly was the entirety of my childhood.
The mall destruction is still the funniest scene I've ever seen in any film.
Fun fact: Ackroyd comes from a family of cops and Mounties
The SNL "sketch" was them performing songs.
Another incredible thing about the mall scene, they found a mall that was destined to get demoshed, and they had actual companies set up their stores and goods as well for this Movie!! That is Stores and Companies doing good will to take part in one of movie history's greatest films.
For me it was Carrie Fisher, with the rocket launcher. Tied with "Mawaige" from the Princess Bride. My biggest in the theater laughts.
The kid that tries to steal the guitar at Ray’s place played Argyle in Die Hard many years later…
Belushi and Aykroyd were on SNL as regular cast mates from 1975-1980. Someone you didn't mention was the County Assessor who was portrayed by Steven Spielberg, and the waiter played by Paul Rubens (Peewee Herman).
This is my favourite Musical and one of my all time favourite films ever. Fun fact: the County Clerk at the end was played by Steven Spielberg
My teacher in trade school, who was a pretty funny guy in his 50s, once grumbled about there being no place for singing in movies.
I just said "What about Blues Brothers?"
And that was of course the one exception he made. :D
Interesting
“Where are we?” That’s my hometown of Joliet, Illinois! Everyone in town saw this movie that summer. In the fall, my Catholic high school had as our Homecoming theme “We’re on a mission from God,” and we had a Dress as a Blues Brother Day that week. Four years later in college in Milwaukee, I had a roommate whose father was a Mt. Prospect cop whose old patrol car was one of the Bluesmobiles in the film, and I had a drama professor who was the shorter of the two guards escorting Jake across the Collins Street prison. When he found out I was from Joliet, he had a few anecdotes for me about filming there.
The prison is now a museum, is it not?
@@TroyConvers5000 Yep! They’ve also used it for other filming-season one of the tv show Prison Break was filmed there.
@@kathyastrom1315 Lower Wacker Drive was also used in Batman Begins.
Jolly-ette!
@@TroyConvers5000 Whenever I hear someone speak in a Chicago accent in any non-Blues Brother instance, I can't help but say "Lower Whacker Drive" out loud and in accent. I simply can't stop myself.
They really did drive through a mall!!
It was scheduled to be demolished and they got permission to destroy it!!!
Then was abandoned up to this day, IIRC.
Was a closed mall the fitted out with a few partitions.
No CGI for the car chase and people wants to go from the previous product
@@TroyConvers5000 Dixie square mall was demolished in the end of 2012 (parts of it were demolished earlier, but that was the final clearing).
Sort of true. Dixie Square Mall had opened in 1966 and while it had about 3-4 good years it rapidly declined by 1970. A few years later it became known as a pretty dangerous place to go as it was plagues with robberies, theft, stabbings, and a shooting. Stores quickly fled. It finally closed in 1978 after being having just a few discount vendors left occupying it; all the major anchor stores except JCPenney had left.
In 1978-1980 it was turned over to the Harvey School System to be used for classrooms while the new schools were built. This is when John Landis leased most of the mall for the Blues Brothers. The stores and store-fronts were allmost all constructions by the studio as there were very few things present on the inside except for some signs. Jewels Grocery store and JCPenneys still had a lot of things there, which is why they are seen but not damaged at all. The Toy's R Us and Oldsmobile were product placements built specifically for the movie. There was a big controversy on the state of the mall after filming. The School system felt there was extreme damage to the buildings and Universal Studios did not return it in a fair state and wanted $87,000 (about $175k in todays dollars). After a lot of back and forth and the studio indicating that a lot of the building damage was from neglect the matter was settled for undisclosed terms.
In 1981 all operations were ceased and the original owners of the property disbanded leaving it fully abandoned. They then partially demolished some structures in 1985 to build a new police station (which was heavily delayed do to ground structural issues with the land the mall was on, which was actually probably why the buildings were in such bad shape in 1980 as the foundations were all failing).
When the police station finally did get built it was quite ironic as the buildings literally sharing the parking lot with the police station were literally one of the most uncontrollable, crime, drug, and violence dens of the area. At many points in the 1990s the police just stopped patrolling inside the abandoned mall a few hundred feet from the police department as it was so dangerous. In the mid-2000 the building was hit by fire. This also opened up a lot of the place and its state was recorded by many people documenting abandoned places. By the late 2000s it was sealed up the best they could and demolition had been started.
25:17 "Were these guys best friends in real life?"
Completely! John and Dan used to actually cruise around on their own time dressed as Jake and Elwood pretending they were the Blues Brothers in real life. They were the *best* of friends. John's untimely death hit Dan pretty hard.
He got close then Bill Murray
The guy smoking the pipe on bass was the legendary Donald "Duck" Dunn, one of the great blues bass players.
The Cook County Assessor was played by the legendary Steven Spielberg. Also I was born, raised and still live in Chicago. They destroyed an already exiting mall, due to be shutdown. They destroyed the most vehicles in one car chase scene in movie history. Record still stands today. That is the real City of Chicago Daley Plaza. Jane Byrne was the mayor at the time. She gave them permission to film and to do some damage. They did so much damage to the building and the entire city, it was never fully paid off.
Because of this movie at random times in my youth with my friends at bars one of us would go "Who wants an Orange Whip?" in an overly aggressive manner
John Candy made up that line.
20:25 This is singer Steve Lawrence, an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie", and for this movie. Steve and Eydie first appeared together as regulars on Tonight Starring Steve Allen in 1954 and continued performing as a duo until Gormé's retirement in 2009. Eydie died August 10, 2013, just six days shy of her 85th birthday. Steve is still with us, currently at age 88, although sadly he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2019.
Lawrence had success on the pop and easy listening record charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s with such hits as "Go Away Little Girl" (U.S. No. 1), "Pretty Blue Eyes" (U.S. No. 9), "Footsteps" (U.S. No. 7), "Portrait of My Love" (U.S. No. 9), and "Party Doll" (U.S. No. 5). "Go Away Little Girl" sold over one million copies and was awarded a Gold record. However, much of Lawrence's musical career has centered on nightclubs and the musical stage. For decades Steve and Eydie were popular in Las Vegas and on the casino circuit.
EDIT: Steve just died today, on March 7, 2024. Rest In Peace, Steve Lawrence.
"The Blues Brothers" helped revive and strengthen public interest in the musicians that participated in the movie. A lot of great comedic and acting cameos as well.
Oh, and let's talk about that horn section !!!! DAYAMN !!!
One of my favorite movies of all time! The best soundtrack ever. All of those bands members are NOT actors. Those are all legit, top tier blues musicians. Matt 'guitar' Murphy recently passed. So sad. The blues brothers have opened for the grateful dead before. They were a serious band that released several awesome albums. Don't know if you can tell, but i am super super happy that you finally made it to this!
Steve Cropper was one of the Stax records house musicians and so influential even John Lennon was influenced by him.
@@TroyConvers5000he also co-wrote “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay.”
Together with “Knock on Wood” and “In the Midnight Hour”.
A formative movie for me. Not only did my friends and I quote it obsessively in our youth, but it’s possibly the only musical I’ve ever loved because R&B is my jam where showtunes are not. Can’t wait to see Jen’s reaction.
Hi Jen ,,,The song Rawhide was the theme from the "Rawhide"🐂 Tv show (1959-1965 , 8 seasons , 217 episodes ) starring Eric Fleming & some young actor called Clint Eastwood..🐎..
ps
Dan & John were closer than Friends they were more like Brothers , Dan was devastated when John died of an Overdose in 1982 , if he had not died there`s more than a good chance that they both would have starred in Ghostbusters Together ...
Just curious and not trying to be mean...but why do you randomly capitalize so many words that should not be/or do not need to be capitalized?
@@USCFlash,,Dont want to be mean but 🖕..
@@brianjones7907
Well, you are not being mean, you are just being rude.
I am curious why you typed that way, since it is adding extra effort and keystrokes.
I was not sure you were aware of either:
A. The extra effort you have to put in when typing like that.
or
B. You have certain stuck keys on your keyboard.
or
C. You really did not know any better in terms of capitalization.
If you cannot explain it and just give people the finger, well, that is your issue.
Of course, even with your editing, you still got 4 of them completely wrong.
So I will assume, it is "C".
@@USCFlash --- Some "speech to text" software does it that way.. IE: the individual could be handicapped and using speech to text..
Curtis or Cab Calloway was a bona-fide legend in the music industry and "Minnie the Moocher" was one of his greatest hits ever. This scene proves the R&B icon has still got it.
The little boy who tries to steal the guitar from Ray's is Argyle from Die Hard
One of the dancers during Shake Your Tailfeather is Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince (also Shredder, but that was voice work).
Wow didn't know that.
@@snorpenbass4196Didn't know that either. Wow.
Chaka Khan in an uncredited role as head choir girl.
@@TroyConvers5000 Now that I DID know. 😂
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were Iconic as the Blues Brothers! This movie is one of the funniest ever! To this day I wonder what John would be doing if he was alive. He was a great comic and he was entertaining as heck. Whenever you need a good laugh. This movie hits the spot.
Yeah the band they have in the movie is the Blues Brothers band.
Belushi would probably have moved on to fentanyl...
"No one was chasing them"......
Oh boy!! 😂
“That's a Canadian accent."
It's also a Midwestern accent common to the Chicago area, along with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas.
South side of Chicago accent. It is derived from the Polish and Irish Catholic families. The accent common to Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Wisconsin is similar to "Yooper English" spoken in Michigan's upper penninsula. It is a North-Central sub-variety with some additional influences from Finnish-speaking immigrants to the region. However, younger speakers may be starting to align closer to nearby Standard Canadian English
Dan Akroyd IS Canadian!
@@Britcarjunkie But he's playing a guy from Chicago.
@@44excalibur I know, but Jen recognized his accent. 🙂
@@Britcarjunkie yes, but he is playing a character from the south side of Chicago
The prison guard who gave Jake back his stuff was Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda. And the County Clerk at the end was Steven Spielberg. The Blues Brothers was an actual band the sold a lot of records..
Loved the reactions Jen! Always do! 🖖😉💕
One of the greatest stunts in history is whoever went down the stairs in a school desk.
When Carrie Fisher fired the rockets at the boys, they made the Star Wars pew sound.
In that Toys R Us, the guy was about to buy a Miss Piggy, who was voiced by Frank Oz, who was the clerk at the prison with the soiled prophylactic. He also voiced Yoda...from Star Wars. This is a fun game!
Jenn, did you miss Pee Wee Herman as the waiter at the fancy restaurant?
That was Belushi who went down the stairs. He did his own stunts in that scene.
@@88wildcat He HAD to have gotten hurt!
@@88wildcathow did he fell to the chairs ?
Frank Oz (Miss Piggy, Yoda, etc.) was the prison official at the beginning, and Paul ruebens (Pee-wee Hermann) was the waiter at the beginning of the film.
The county clerk (Back in 5 minutes) was played by Steven Spielberg
and the dispatcher who says "the use of unnecessary violence is approved" is the same guy who says "keep the change you filthy animal" in Home Alone.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Me and my friend used to quote so many lines from this. Thank u for reaching to it.
Some nuns wear wedding rings as a symbol of their devotion to Christ. They consider themselves his brides.
Yes, the movie came from SNL sketches. They were like the musical bits in the movie. Belushi and Aykroyd cooked up the idea between themselves and their first performances were on SNL in 1978. They started on SNL in 1975, originally from the Second City Comedy Show. (Chicago was nicknamed the Second City by a New York writer, A. J. Liebling, who believed New York was the greatest city on earth.)
Yes, Dan Aykroyd is Canadian, hailing from Ottawa. He is THE car-tinkerer and redesigner of all time. D.-Day, a character in the movie Animal House who transforms a damaged luxury car into a sort of destroyer on wheels, was inspired by Aykroyd.
Great reaction to almost my favorite comedy Jen.
I always love younger generations discovering this movie, but feel like they need a Theater Program to follow all the amazing cameos and actors, including the band..,all legends in their own right. Great fun. Thx!
This was one of the signs of the times too. Aykroid and Belushi were the hot comedians on the block, and John Landis was the new maverick Hollywood director. All the people in both the New York and LA Hollywood community loved John Landis and loved hanging out with the wild, loyal, and fun Belushi. And then all the musicians loved Dan Aykroyd and Paul Schaffer (who was a big part of The Blues Bothers until Belushi fired him for his overly obsessive nature with Gilda Radner...who at points in the past had dated Aykroyd and Belushi).
I've always loved the way the beer bottles shatter when they hit chicken wire. 😂
One story I heard about this movie: John Belushi disappeared from the movie set one night. Dan Akroyd, being the loyal friend, went out looking for him. He saw one house with the lights on, knocked on the door and the guy at the door said, "You're looking for Belushi, aren't you?" Dan replied, "Yeah." The guy told him that John knocked on the door, asked for a sandwich and a glass of milk and, then, passed out on the couch.
John Belushi was known for doing that, knocking on strangers' doors. He became known as America's Guest.
Not just that it was John Belushi, but also about 2 or 3AM. That has to be a surreal experience. 😄
Belushi was infamous for doing things like that. In fact during his and Aykroyd stint on SNL one of the sketches was called "The Thing That Wouldn't Leave". It was based on John's habit of showing up at a friends house late at night and over staying his welcome. John's cocaine problem kept him awake for hours/days so he would get restless and bored and go looking for company.
@@laudanum669 --- Dan: "My wife and I are VERY tired." -- John: "I'm gonna call some friends ok?" --- Wife: "Oh god! nooooooo!" ( Played by Jane Curtin)
@@bekindandrewind1422 cool I'm glad I'm not the only one to remember. I didn't remember it as well as you did though. Awesome!
@@laudanum669 -- It's here on CZcams somewhere.. :)
Ah, love to hear someone spot Dan Aykroyd's accent. I'm not Canadian but have so much family over there that I always pick up on it ;)
I love the simplicity of this movie. It's really just a big chase, but a big chase is all you need if you commit to the bit, and great performances and a killer soundtrack really sell it.
One of the funniest musical action comedy movies ever made!
Yes, this was filmed before Ghostbusters. John Belushi was originally cast as one of the Ghostbusters but died before filming began.
I love this movie. Always reminds me of my dad. We used to watch it together all the time. He was really into the band. Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper, Willie Hall, all those guys. They're known for playing with Booker T. & the MG's and lots of other Stax recording artists.
Jen, I am so happy that you watched this classic comedy. Lots of great songs, lots of great over the top comedy and lots of fun. Carrie Fisher makes the most for how little she is in this movie.
She obviously got Stormtrooper training in how she shoots weapons in this movie.
Your laughter when Fisher blows up the building was delightful.
Thanks again for watching. We need to get you more subscribers!
My late Dad and I would always watch this back in the day when it popped up often on cable TV. I loved all the car chases and crashes. Bittersweet watching it nowadays. Awesome as always, Jen.
One of my fave films of all-time - I have a huge framed poster in the foyer of my apartment of them on the Bluesmobile w/their tagline across it "It's 106 miles..." DynamicDuo of Dan & John at their very best - John Landis' trademark bull-in-a-china-shop directing at its peak (the climactic chase is beyond apocalyptic & hilarious). So many fantastic cameos and awesome music (and yes they sing their own songs and have many records to prove it - they even did tours/concerts). So glad you FINALLY got to this Jen :D
Yep, I had that framed poster to0, in my bedroom, from 81-89 (10 years old to 18 years old)
PS: Your laughter was very entertaining too - I think this is the loudest & longest you've ever for a comedy :D
One of the greatest comedies of all time.
At the time, the shopping mall scene was the most expensive movie scene ever filmed. They found an abandoned shopping mall and restored it to look like an active mall. Then they destroyed it.
They also set a record for the most cars destroyed in a movie, with 60. The sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 later broke that record with 61. Of course, that record has since been shattered. Most of the films on the top ten list now are Fast and Furious movies.
Besides the musicians you recognized, the band (Steve Cropper, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, etc) was made up of experienced and well respected session musicians who have played with everyone who's anyone in the music industry. The waiter in the restaurant was played by Paul Reubens (Peewee Herman). Maury was played by Steve Lawrence, half of Steve and Edie, a singing duo popular in the sixties and seventies. The Young Guitar Thief was played by De'voreaux White, who played Argyle in Die Hard.
If you liked the performance by Cab Calloway, you might want to watch this clip of him from the 1943 movie Stormy weather, performing with the amazing dance duo, the Nicholas Brothers, in a scene that Fred Astaire called "the greatest movie musical number I have ever seen":
czcams.com/video/_8yGGtVKrD8/video.html
You should record a reaction to it.
The fact that you recognized the elevator music as "The Girl from Ipanema" gives you a Gold Star.
The first time I heard "The Girl from Ipanema", I recognised it as the elevator music from The Blues Brothers.
True Story.
@@grantmarchesi4899 You are on a mission from God.
Thank you! I often hum this one :)
Dan Akroyd and John Belishi were the best of friends. Close as brothers.
I once heard about how those guys were on vacation in Martha's Vineyard together and crashed a local auction. They took over the job of auctioneering and made it quite a funny scene.
Hey Jen, I recommend another John Belushi movie called ANIMAL HOUSE.. It's a raunchy comedy that is amazing just like The Blues Brothers. It's hilarious.
Some John Landis trivia:
His movies always contain the phrase "See you next Wednesday" in them somewhere. It was on a billboard in this one.
His movies frequently feature large scale car crashes
He's an unrepentant murderer who got away with it
Also, at some point during filming, they had to send John Belushi to tell Carrie Fisher she was doing too much coke. That's how you know you're doing a LOT of coke.
I love how star studded this cast is, and I always found myself looking forward to the next fun musical number and cameo.
The clerk who accepts Jake and Elwood's payment of $5000.00 at the end of the movie is actually Steven Spielberg.
If you look carefully in most John Landis films, you'll see a poster or something with the words See You Next Wednesday. The guy collecting the taxes at the end was Steven Spielberg. The car that was dropped was real & surprisingly needed an airworthiness certificate.
Landis got the title See You Next Wednesday from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is the last line spoken by Frank Poole's father during Poole's video letter from his parents.
I...I think I just fell in love with Jen's laugh. That was so freaking cute.
This is one of the best movies I've seen. And all of those cameos! I think this was my first time seeing Carrie Fisher outside of Star Wars. I never get tired of watching this movie. Jen's reaction was great.
This movie opened up a whole new realm of music for me. Love it.
You are correct, Jake and Elwood Blues were created by John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd during their time on Satruday Night Live in 1976.
Originally their act was The Bees; same band but Belushi and Ackroyd were dressed as bees on stage.
It was actually workshopped at Dan's private comedy club in Toronto before they premiered it on SNL.
John and Dan met while they were doing SCTV. They were both fans of the Blues genre and that became the spark that led to them actually forming a real blues band. The band first appeared in some skits before moving on to actually touring and eventually 2 movies (I do enjoy Blues Brothers 2000 for the great music and guests that appeared in that movie.)
The Blues Brothers are/were also a real band.
The House Of Blues music venues around the country are based on/associated with/formerly owned by The Blues Brothers.
Until 2017 there was a Blues Brothers radio show, called The House of Blues Radio Hour, hosted by Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues.
Really glad u reacted to blues brothers. As a Chicagoan this is a coming-of-age tradition. But I don't really see a lot of people react to it.
They really don't movies like this anymore, it really does have EVERYTHING in it.
Great reaction Jen! Cab Calloway was a big band leader in the 30s and 40s Jen. 😊 And he performed as well.
The dry white toast thing is a commonly overlooked character trait of Elwood. When a person is a long time alcoholic they develop issues with stomach ulcers and the lining of their stomach and intestines degrades. They basically develop chronic acid reflux, and eating anything but simple carbohydrates (especially vegetables and fats) causes heavy amounts of gastritis bloating and pain.
The four fried chickens and a coke was written by Landis after he saw Belushi eating after one of his late night party rampages. Landis recalled that Belushi would order enough food to fill the table he was sitting at, and must have ate at least 4-6 full chicken dinner meals.
The property scene from the beginning as Jake leaves prison was absolutely what Austin Power's property scene was (loosely) based on.
I see lots of folks name dropping the massive number of starts who cameo'd here, but there's also several for whom this was one of their early works. Steven Williams (Trooper Mount, the officer in the passenger seat of the first cop car) went on to be a solid star and one of my favorites of all time. Has played a LOT of cops in film. He was in "what's what" of 80's TV from Dallas to the Dukes of Hazzard, The A Team to Macguyver. And one of my all time favorites, from '87 to '91, "21 Jump Street" which happened to be an early source of fame for Johnny Depp.
So the idea for creating a semi real SNL band was created by Belushi and Aykroyd in “Howard Shore and his all Bee Band” where they were band in bee costumes (those two did a lot of coke when writing in those days). They popped up as a reoccurring fill in sketch and eventually morphed into a Chicago blues band concept. Gathering friends from the show they actually started to play real clubs in between SNL work. The Blues Brothers eventually became and act and opened up for Steve Martin on one of his tours.
The guys got a real kick out of being fans of blues and playing tv characters that then actually forming a band IRL (very meta). After a little while they decided to put out a full album (not a comedy record, a real R&B record). It sold extremely well and the two decided it was time to take it one step further with a movie.
Being two of the hot comedians on TV they were able to put the idea in front of so much talent. And when Paul Shaffer (David Letterman and SNL house band leader) joined as Musical and Band Director for the project every legendary blues musician in America was lining up to be involved.
It also so happened that since Mayor Daily died (the senior) Chicago had lifted the mayors all out ban on working with Hollywood.
And finally they had the idea of a comedy musical that didn’t play like a conventional musical. That then just set the tone and everything came into place. Paul later got fired from the Blues Brothers film by Belushi after he kept delaying work with them for Gilda Radner Live from New York album. Paul later admitted he was madly in love with Gilda, but she never really returned the favor so he just always wanted to be involved whenever she was doing something. (Paul loved her, she dated Murray, Aykroid, Short, and Ramis and eventually became very involved with Gene Wilder. Thus always being the tag-a-long person).
The performance of "Minnie the Moocher" is based on a real thing that happened: during a particularly long setup, Cab Calloway actually performed it (his trademark song for, like, 50 years) with the band to entertain the crowd. It was decided to add it to the movie.
That clerk at the tax office is Steven Spielberg.
A lot of the second half of the movie was because the city asked John what things he would like to feature in a movie and what ideas they had. He gave them a long wish list of random ideas hoping to get one or two. The city came pretty much came back and said okay to the entire list and asked what else they could do to help.
Jake: “Disco Pants & Haircuts…”
Elwood: “Oh yeah!”
That's an Aykroyd writing joke right there, along with the watch bit. Aykroyd originally had the concept to have the mall filled with all these strange Disco themed stores that made no sense as a real business.
The police cars were all real Chicago Police cars: they'd just replaced them all with new cars, and the production company bought the entire retired fleet.
Belushi and Akroyd were members of the original cast of SNL: the reason that cast (and maybe the two that followed) have so much notoriety, is because they would spend the week leading upto a show, writing all of their own material, then doing one, maybe two rehersals, before performing live. Subsequent casts have an army of writers - and it's not the same.
Fun fact: Steve Martin ONLY appeared as a guest host once or twice, though he was in quite a few episodes: he would simply show up un-announced to see what they were doing, and go live with them, just to be there doing something, and wasn't paid!
One more thing, Jen, if no one else has mentioned it. The clerk who receives the payment from Jake & Elwood and hands them their receipt was none other than Steven Spielberg. :)
Bless you for doing this! I've been waiting forever for my favorite reactors to do this one.
This is one of the best musical comedy movies I've ever seen! I love how it has iconic singers, an unforgettable soundtrack, and the dance choreography is amazing!
Hi Jen ,, you got most of the musical guest stars but you missed the guy they paid the money to in the end was a young Steven Spielberg , the prison officer who gave jake his belongins was Frank Oz director & the Voice of Yoda , one of the State Troopers was John Landis the director of the Blues Brothers , the lead singer of the Choir was Chaka Kahn &, you got John Candy & Carrie Fisher😸
22:53 This is the one and only Cab Calloway, one of the most original and distinctive figures in jazz music, who reigned supreme during the 1930s and saw regular performances in Harlem at the Cotton Club and the Roseland Ballroom. This is his biggest hit tune, “Minnie the Moocher.”
Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall at the junction of 151st Street and Dixie Highway in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1966, the mall featured Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and Jewel as its anchor stores, with discount store Turn Style joining in 1970. The mall was in operation for twelve years, closing permanently in 1978. It is thus considered an early example of a dead mall; it was characterized by high vacancy rates and low patronage, which led to its closure. While many other dead malls were redeveloped or demolished, Dixie Square became notable for its extensive neglect, vandalism damage, and history. After closure, the mall was used for a scene in the film The Blues Brothers and then left abandoned. It achieved notoriety because of a growing Internet cult-following of urban exploration groups dedicated to covering the mall's deteriorating condition.
Feom the Wikipedia page...
Finally demolished in 2015. The city had no money to tear it down so it just sat there for decades deteriorating. (Demographic and economic changes were not kind to the town.)
I had been there as a kid maybe a year or 2 before the mall was closed. It was fun seeing it again on the screen, well not in the theater. I didn't see the movie until we got OnTV.
Rumor has it that all of the cars destroyed were "real" Chicago Police Cars. Once the movie producers OK'ed the car chase scene the production team contacted the Chicago PD and offered to trade them new cars for old police cars so that they wouldn't be destroying new cars.
The Tax Man is Steven Spielburg...
Blues music wasn't just a joke thing to Dan Aykroyd. He was a major blues expert and officianado and hosted a weekly radio show on blues music for decades as his character Elwood.
One of the scenes that were cut in the theatrical release but showed up in the director’s cut was of Ellwood parking the car before he and Jake go to his apartment. He parks it in a narrow garage between two high voltage electrical transformers and the idea was that the strong electrical field gave the Bluesmobile its special powers. The director cut it because he thought that the idea wouldn’t come across clearly but Akroyd wanted it included on the special edition DVD (which I have).
I LOVE how you say you want to hear them sing just before James Brown comes on...yeah...they sing.
Out of all of the musical guest stars, having Cab Calloway is still the wildest to me, especially getting to see him perform his most famous song. Monumental film, absolutely historic.
Lady: "Are you from the Police?"
Elwood: "No Ma'am, we're musicians."
🤣
I have worn out three VHS copies of this film. I adore it. The music, the story, the freakin' CAMEOS! Its corny, its cheesy, its absolutely brilliant! John Belushi and Dan Akroyd were just magical together. As a kid in the 70's and 80's i grew up on these dudes on SNL. The love has never faded
I LOVE this movie.
I also love the way you kept saying, "Is that James Brown? Is that Aretha Franklin? Is that Ray Charles?"
A bit of trivia - The prison guard who gave Jake back his belongings was played by.Frank Oz, who voiced and played Miss Piggy and that green guy who has a lightsaber.
At the end of the movie the County clerk who takes the tax payment is played by Stephen Spielberg.
Fun video. Time for Animal House.
I've seen this movies many times and never realized Dan Aykroyd had a Canadian accent until you pointed it out. I'm an idiot but I guess when I was young I'd never heard that accent and though that's just how he talks. lol. I didn't know he was from Canada either. Great learning something new.
I love that the Bluesmobile should have been wrecked many times over, but it was under Divine protection right up to the moment it got them to the government building. And then the effect of all those shoulda-been wrecks took effect at once. It's my favourite gag.
Alsdo, I once skid-parked up an electric pallet truck just like the Bluesmobile, between two uprights of a walkway canopy. I should've wound up in hospital, but the spirit of the Bluesmobile was with me that day. Had about three inches to spare either way.
I know this was awhile ago and someone may have already mentioned it in the comments, but Stephen Spielberg played the county assessor in this movie
Nuns wear a wedding ring to symbolize that they are married to Christ.
This is a classic film that my friends and I have enjoyed for decades. I am very glad that you are seeing it Jen and getting to know the Blues Brothers.
I enjoyed the skits on SNL, back when SNL was funny.
Fun fact: when this cam out it held the world record for the most cars destroyed in one film at an impressive 103 over the course of the movie.
The mall was indeed a real mall. I went to boot camp and Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes north of Chicago. The mall was near by. It was used because it had been scheduled to be demolished not long after filming, we got to see it not long before they did tear it down.
The band members were some of the best session players around. Many had successful careers in their own right.
Belushi & Ackroyd were indeed best friends. In fact Ackroyd was writing a movie script with his buddy in mind for the lead part- Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters. Sadly Belushi died and the part went to the incomparable comedian and fellow SNL cast member Bill Murray.
Well, I think we saw the longest sustained laugh by Jen at 9:15!! 🤣 Glad you enjoyed this comedy classic as much as all of us did back in the day. From what I heard they found a mall that was closing and they used that to film the now famous chase scene (Do you have Miss Piggy?? CRASH!!!!!!!!!!). Take care, Jen!!
28:43 --- Most time there's movie tricks like slightly undercranking the film speed to make it LOOK faster than it was.. But no... They were really booking 120mph on Lower Wacker Drive.. Those old cars were no joke.. --- 440 V8 for that year had 275hp in it's civilian trim and 375 in it's "service" or modified trim along with well over 400 torque.
This movie not only influenced my taste in movies, but it is basically where I got my taste in music as well. I still regularly have Taj Mahal, Sam and Dave, James Brown, John Lee Hooker and Cab Calloway in my playlist.
A must watch in my house growing up. Not just because we were SNL fans. Not just because of the awesome soundtrack. Not just because of all the great musicians in the film. But because my cousin Lenny was in this movie. He was the security officer who gave them directions to the Assessors office at the end of the movie. So family pride in Lenny's on screen accomplishment led to us watching this movie all the time the last 40+ years.
When u say, this is a movie that changed everything....it did! Stars, comedy, story telling, destruction, soundtracks, the auto and property destruction,etc. the first cop, bald, glasses....look at Frank Oz, acting/directing resume! RIP John Belushi, a true one of a kind. In one year, had the number one tour, album, TV show, movie, all at the same time!
This movie and also Animal House from 1978 on a somewhat lesser level. Many movies after followed their example of wackiness almost similar to A Mad Mad World and it's all star cast of wackiness and zaniness.
Glad you enjoyed this one!! As someone who grew up in Chicago in the 70s and 80s, this movie connects me to a place and time the way literally no other movie does. It's a love letter to and a celebration of some damn LEGENDS of the blues and soul scene -- Aretha, Ray Charles, James Brown and so many others... EASILY one of my favorite musicals of all time.
It's also was recognized officially as one of the most iconic cultural films in Chicago history. Chicago (especially with the Daley family) was always very anti-hollywood. While democratic they always viewed hollywood as being a bad influence and contributing to corruption of both moral values and shady business practices. Which is of course the biggest hypocritical thing in the world as they were politically corrupt as they come; although maybe it was also a thing of game recognizing game as a possible threat.
Jane Byrne was elected in 1979 and opened the city to more cultural recognition and progressive support. And until 1987 when the Daley family rose to be in control again, Chicago tried to encourage films and acts to come to the city.
It's also one of the only great depictions of Maxwell Street before it was destroyed for being "urban blight" (code word for an immigrant cultural area that needed to be removed by eminent domain so it can be handed to gentrified business without costing them much money). Which was a blues music mecca of Chicago.
As a Chicagoan who was 14 when it came out, this movie is like a time capsule every time I see it.
The icnic lines:
Elwood: "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."
Didn't make it on the CZcams cut? I know you have to cut down the movie, but to cut those lines? That is like cutting Dirty Harry's
"You're thinking 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Now to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being this is a . 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"
This was based on the SNL skits of the same name. John Belushi and director John Landis preceded this with National Lampoon's Animal House. Joliet prison is revisited in the buddy cop action film Red Heat, which stars John Belushi's younger brother Jim
31:57 --- This is where the "wanted" levels in GTA comes from... 5 Stars is when the Army comes in along with helicopters..
The actor who played the Cook County Assessor at the end of the movie just before the Blues Brothers are arrested was Steven Spielberg.
That's Cab Callaway. And Twiggy is the blonde in the sports car.