The Blues Brothers (1980)
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The story
The story is a tale of redemption for paroled convict Jake and his brother Elwood, who set out on "a mission from God" to prevent the foreclosure of the Roman Catholic orphanage in which they were raised. To do so, they must reunite their rhythm and blues (R&B) band and organize a performance to earn the $5,000 needed to pay the orphanage's property tax bill. Along the way, they are targeted by a homicidal "mystery woman", neo-Nazis and a country and western band—all while being relentlessly pursued by the police.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jake Blues, a blues vocalist and petty criminal, is paroled from Joliet Prison and picked up by his brother Elwood in a battered former police car. After learning their childhood orphanage faces closure due to unpaid taxes, the brothers decide to reunite their R&B band, the Blues Brothers, to raise the necessary funds. Their journey takes them through various obstacles, including a confrontation with a mysterious woman who attempts to kill Jake, and a standoff with a neo-Nazi group. They perform at a country music venue and eventually book a large concert at the Palace Hotel Ballroom in Chicago. During the concert, they secure a recording contract offer that provides enough money to cover the debt. They narrowly escape the mystery woman, who is revealed to be Jake's ex-fiancée. In a final high-speed chase involving the police, the neo-Nazis, and a rival country band, they reach Chicago City Hall just in time to pay the taxes before being arrested by the authorities. The film ends with the band performing "Jailhouse Rock" for the inmates.
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 133
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Landis
- Writers
- Dan Aykroyd · writer; John Landis · writer
- Cast and characters
- John Belushi · "Joliet" Jake Blues; Dan Aykroyd · Elwood; James Brown · the Reverend Cleophus James; Cab Calloway · Curtis; Ray Charles · Ray; Aretha Franklin · Mrs. Murphy; Carrie Fisher · the Mystery Woman; Henry Gibson · the Head Nazi
- Genres
- musical; action; comedy
- Themes
- redemption; brotherhood
- Tone and mood
- over the top; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; musical; buddy comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- recurring musical sketch on NBC's variety series Saturday Night Live
- Franchise connections
- The Blues Brothers
- Reception
- The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and has become a cult classic over the years.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 72% · scale: percentage · review count: 92; Metacritic · score: 60 · scale: 100 · review count: 12
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Reel Award · Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Feature Film · win
- Production trivia
- The film was one of the most expensive comedies ever produced.; The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2020.; The production used 13 different cars to depict the 'Bluesmobile'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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