One of my favorite memories was I had some millennial friends who were musicians who one night I found out they had never seen this movie. I instantly declared a movie night with beers and I invited them over to watch. Seeing them in SHOCK over how many INSANELY talented people were in this was so worth it. This is a capsule of great music and of a changing time in America. The gritty Chicago was going away and we lost something. Now with so many of the artists gone it's even more special. This movie also saved Carrie Fisher's life. At the time she was addicted and was extremely unreliable. Carrie would credit Dan not only for keeping her on but for encouraging her to get help.
The music in this movie is some of the best used in a Film ever . Even the background music Sam and Dave , Peter Gunn Theme , Ride of The Valkyries , I Can't Turn You Loose ( Mall chase ) but the John Lee Hooker scene is my favorite with the Haw haw haw haws . ZZ Tops Billy Gibbons Haw Haw Haws in La Grange is a tribute to John . I seen The Breifcase full of blues tour at Winterland in San Francisco New Years Eve 1978 with many of the musicians in the movie playing in the band and Aykroyd and Belushi were great Cartwheels and all.
That scene in the tunnels, everyone comments on how crazy she looks and I'm out here singing "some get their kicks from cocaiaiaiaiaiane..." she was SO high for that scene, but it worked perfectly. She had such balls to pull her life back together and keep being awesome. I was so sad when she and her mom passed away. I have a young daughter and can't even imagine... I'm tearing up again over here.
Little bit of cast trivia that rarely gets talked about: The kid that tries to steal the guitar from Ray's Music Shop would grow up to be the Limo Driver in Die Hard.
You have James Avery and James DuMont dancing in the street on front of Rays shop and a random guy on the street , Laurence Tureaud , better known as Mr T .
"I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!" Three of my favorite comedies came out in 1980. The Blues Brothers, Used Cars, and Airplane!.
John Landis had mentioned that the mayor's office declined them to film in certain areas of Chicago, but they were given permission from the Chicago mob.
About 15 yrs ago I had the privilege of meeting a man who did special effects on this, and many other, big movies/ TV series. He said that this was his favorite movie to have worked on, because everyone on set was treated like they were important. there was no separation between actors and crew, stars and b-listers. when Dan and John threw parties, etc., everyone was welcome. Always thought that was a great way to remember this film, and the people involved.
"I didn't see anyone doing cocaine." That Powder Room joke is funnier because Carrie Fisher was doing so much blow during this film Belushi told her she needed to slow down. Carrie later said when John Belushi tells you you're doing too much drugs there's a problem.
and belushi broke his ankle just before filming the final concert, and instead of going to a doctor he inhaled enough cocain to ignore the pain through that entire dancing scene, so you know carrie fisher was -loaded-
A few bits of trivia: When they were driving through Chicago towards the end, they were actually doing that at speed. It wasn't sped up footage. In fact, they did it twice. The first time they cleared the streets, but then they realized that without having bystanders in the scene, most people wouldn't realize that they were really driving that fast, so they shot it again with people so that everyone would realize that the stunt drivers had actually driven in those streets at that speed. When this film came out, both Aretha Franklin's and James Brown's careers had pretty much gone dead (Think Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen" with the line "She don't remember Aretha Franklin"). This movie revived both of their careers. Aretha Franklin said that she was always grateful for this movie because of that. And another small cameo. The first prisoner to jump on the table and dance during "Jailhouse Rock" was Joe Walsh.
I love that scene. With all of the "high speed" car chases in modern movies where they are zig-zagging and cornering at an incredible 30 or 40 mph with tires squealing to suspenseful music, to actually see a car fly through the streets of Chicago at 118 mph for real is sooo much more impactful !!
The city of Chicago and the state of IL got fleets of new cars as part of this movie deal. Some of the drivers in the chase scenes were police driving their own cars to fill up the scene. My dad was a state trooper at the time and got a new car when his was used.
Also James Brown. Not forgotten but like know they cant recognize or hear the music. It turned on kids from 62 to 72 years of birth just to remind them.
When someone asks me what movie I think when I hear the word Chicago and its this movie. This is my favorite movie of all time! This movie is SO quotable! Top 5 favorite quotes: 1) "Its 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas. Half of a pack of cigarettes. Its dark and we're wearing sunglasses." 2) "I don't believe it. Its the shit box Dodge again!" 3) "YOU'RE The Good Ole Boys?!" 4) "We are on a mission from God" 5) "First you pick me up in a police car. Then you lied to me about the band. NOW you are going to put me back in the joint!"
Cab Calloway is a freaking treasure. Loved the other musicians, obviously (especially the backing band, btw -- Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper, etc.), but this is where I, as a young man, first realized who Cab was, and I still love his work.
Steve Cropper's own work made him a legend in his own right. His contributions as musician, writer and producer of the 60s and 70s can't be overstated.
The band was the original Saturday Night Live band. At the end of the movie when they were playing in prison, one of the prisoners at front of a table was Joe Walsh.
I’m having fun working through your reactions. Pippin is such a buddy. Thanks for including him. Cats make the world go round. This movie is so much a product of its era, especially for enlarging the careers of the post-SNL cast. It’s merely fun, and there couldn’t have been of a goal beyond that.
Minnie the Moocher was Cab Calloway's big hit back in the late 1920's to early 1930's. That crowd was sure in for a treat when hearing that legend sing his heart out.
I love the line in the toy store when the guy asks, "Do you have Miss Piggy?" while holding a Grover puppet. The man who voiced both characters is Frank Oz, who listed Jake's possessions when he was being released from prison. p.s. I loved Emily's reaction to "Who ya gonna call, Jake?"
"If the shit fits, wear it." - Donald "Duck" Dunn bassist for Booker T and the MGs, , Stax house band. Steve Cropper, he of the perfect hair and guitars, was also in that band and has many songwriting credits including co-writing with Otis Redding "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay." The mucians all have a lot of credits. Cab Calliway had seriously insane dancers who performed with his band see the dance compilation version of Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk. They jump off the top of stairs and land in splits. Insane. "The royal, 'Y'all.'" LOL
This movie is pure gold. In high school, Elwood was my nickname, I've seen this movie a few dozen times, bought and still have the album. This movie is like a perfect storm.
Cab Calloway was 73 when he recorded this. The Blues Brothers started as a Saturday Night Live skit that took off. Most of the band were the in SNL band at the time. Yes it was an amazing band. Matthew: Flack, Flack, Flack! The soundtrack is available on CD and Vinyl!
I'm from Chicago and when I saw this movie back in the 80's, I was more in love with the fact that Chicago was well represented in this movie and like you both said, the city was a character in the movie as much as the cast, so it holds a special place for me. I actually lived pretty close to that mall that they crashed into, so that's another plus for me. 🤣
This movie is more nostalgia for me moreso than entertainment. It's good for what it was, but at the time I saw it, at the theater in the 80's I was more focused on picking out the locale and the Chicago references than I was with the story. When I watch it now, I just like to see all those old places that I remember, especially the places that are no longer standing, and watching the musical performances. I liked that Matt and Emily watched the extended version of the movie because most of the musical performances were longer than the theatrical cut and that scene where they stored their car wasn't in that version either. Not a top Landis film, but good nonetheless.
Jake and Elwood grew up together in the orphanage and adopted each other, legally changing their names to "Jake Elwood Blues" and "Elwood Jake Blues" respectively.
Isaw this when it came out in 1980. This movie introduced me to blues music. The car chase is just another character in the movie. At the time it was made it broke the world record for most cars destroyed in a movie.
Skeedle-a-booka-diki biki skeedly beeka gookity woop! This movie was the one where I discovered John Lee Hooker. An underappreciated great. I think his count is 91 albums, not including compilations.
The studio actually bought a whole fleet of police cars from a station that was upgrading! That's how they were able to destroy so many. That was all practical stuff. Same with the mall, it was scheduled for demolition.
When he was younger, and fitter, John Belushi may have been able to do at least some of the back handsprings, if not all of them. When in high school he played football, wrestled, and did gymnastics. When performing as the Blues Brothers he would often do cartwheels and a few other simpler gymnastics moves on stage.
I love the car chase at the end, because it's the culmination of the ridiculous cartoon slapstick of the movie. From Jake surviving being blown up multiple times to the Penguin gliding across the floor like a ghost, it's a movie meant to be taken with a mountain of salt. *Edit:* Also, look at the dancers during Ray's music number. One of them is veeeery familiar. It's James Avery! (Uncle Phil on the original Fresh Prince, and Shredder in the 80's TMNT cartoon).
John Belushi did all his own stunts and gymnastics, including the fall down the stairs sitting in the desk from the nun's office at the beginning, all of the flips, roundhouses, and cartwheels, etc.
John & Dan actually toured as The Blues Brothers for a few years before John died. His brother Jim took his place & did a great job. In the 90’s they preformed at Universal Studios in Florida & I happen to be there & got to see them, it was a lot of fun.
One of my favorite films, and very important to the early ‘80s teen I was! My Catholic high school (in Joliet, IL, no less) used “We’re on a mission from God” as our homecoming theme that fall. My college drama professor at Marquette, Father Walling, was the shorter of the two guards escorting Jake across the Collins Street prison. And the father of one of my college roommates was a Mt. Prospect cop whose car was one of the Bluesmobiles in the film.
@@gdiaz8827 That was definitely not Jim Henson, Kermit’s voice/Muppeteer. You might be thinking of Frank Oz, who is the person behind Miss Piggy and others-he was the guard at the prison who gave Jake his clothes and possessions.
“The are on a mission…From God” is how, as I’ve gotten older, I justify the craziness in this film. It’s been an all time fave since I was a kid and got me into music big time. I adore this film. The soundtrack is one of my all time favourites too.
This is the very first movie I saw on cable TV, one of our 'rich' neighbors had just gotten it hooked up and their kids invited all us poor kids over to watch it. Storer Cable south Florida played every feature repeatedly so we watched it three times in a row until about 2am until we could all quote the dialog in most every scene. It was magic and will always be one of my favorites. Loved your reaction!
I taped it... on Beta... played it so much after the first minute it turned to black and white. I memorized it... even the dance numbers. Imagine a 9 year old reciting it top to bottom, including the songs.
I had a boyfriend in the 80's that had the 8-track from this movie. He played it constantly & I liked it BUT didn't see the movie for a few more years. THEN I Loved it all!
This is one of my top 5 movies. Absolutely love it. The music, the cast (the cameo's), the comedy, it all just hits perfectly for me. I've got some bootlegs of live shows that the Blues Brothers performed in the 70's and 80's and they're amazing live performers. The band were touring and session musicians, and top of the line ones at that. Blues Bothers Live in Winterland is on youtube and well worth watching. They destroyed 103 cars in this film. A record at the time that stood for 20 years until Blues Brothers 2000 came out and during filming they deliberately destroyed - 104. 😁
I appreciate that you both give your honest opinions of each film, I would not want you to give a phony rating. Of course you're entirely wrong int this case 🙂 The humor works for me and the music is to die for (most of these artists are now gone so that's probably an unfortunate phrase to use). Yes there are plot holes and some are worse than others but it's all in good fun.
And the number of cars they destroyed to make this movie is phenomenal,It's just a classic comedy with a large number of big name stars in it.I loved this movie then and now.
@@andrewmccormack4295 It must have been a gift from God for Chrysler. This is when the company had two year old new cars sitting on empty lots all over Detroit during their bankruptcy years.
I like how Emily reacted when Dan Akroyd said to John Belushi “who you gunna call” which would later be Ghostbusters with Dan Akroyd. Not sure of who doesn’t know this but John Belushi was suppose to be in Ghost Busters but sadly he passed away and they replaced him with Bill Murray. You can also see the effects of his death on Akroyds body. He was so skinny in this and then shortly after is Ghost Busters and he gained a lot of weight. I assume it had to do with the grief and probably depression eating or such.
I spent many days in Broken Hill in regional New South Wales in Australia. Half way down the main strip, Argent Street, there is a beauty salon called Curl Up and Dye. Love the reference
YESSSSS!!! You picking some great movies. I showed up for Smokey & The Bandit and been laughing with you ever since. Just a suggestion, but maybe an Animal House/PCU double feature reaction...
My father's favorite movie ..he passed back in 2000, he was a studio musician in the late 70s 80s and early 90s and was close friends with all the band members because alot of them was also studio artists. I've seen this movie hundreds of times and can easily quote every line ..thank you both for letting me watch it with yall.
This came out when I was 14 years old. During those 14 years I had never once seen my father hum, whistle, or sing along to a song or even so much as listen to music on the radio. I did not believe he had a musical bone in his body. This aired on network TV one night and I was watching it and my father came in and started singing along to Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher like he wrote the song. It was at that moment that I understood why Cheap Trick wrote Surrender.
Fun fact: the idea from this movie came out of Belushi's time in Eugene Oregon all places which had a bit of a blues scene based out of U. Oregon and South Eugene high school.
Heck, I'll give it another try on my recommendation. You like alot of stars and comedy ? Please try the 80's movie called "Cannonball Run". Racing coast to coast with some crazy and funny people. The end bloopers are some of the best for a laugh !
Some of the finest musicians in the world are in their band - mostly former STAX geniuses from Memphis - Steve the Colonel Cropper, Donald Duck Dunn, Willie too big Hall, Matt guitar Murphy and many more. This movie was born from an SNL skit, but the band are responsible for writing and playing on some of the biggest songs in American History.
Paul Schaffer was originally supposed to be in the movie, but he was doing a live stage show with Gilda Radner at the time, so Murphy Dunne took his place on the piano.
18:37 Matthew "Howdy how indeed." Great play on the lyrics to Minni the Moocher. I just need this to be noticed. Matt's references are so on point, and this one was subtle and kind of flew under the radar, but that was the perfect thing to say!
The main appeal of Blues Brothers is the A-list blues musician cameos. Blues Brothers 2000 wasn't as good, but the cameos there are top-tier as well, especially the Louisiana Gator Boys.
This is such a comfort film for me!! I love every second and it’s lowkey responsible for my love of blues music as an adult because I watched this film so many times as a kid 😅 so fun to watch you guys, as always ❤️
The guy with the perfect haircut is legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, and the "if the shit fits" guy was his long-time colleague, the equally legendary Donald "Duck" Dunn. Together they were 50% of Booker T. & The MG's, and were part of STAX's house band. As a Blues Brothers fan back in the early 1980s, it blew my mind that Cropper and Dunn were even listed in the ancient music lexicon in my very conservative European school's library.
The Ray’s scene has a few people that would go on to other things. The boy stealing the guitar would by the limo driver in die hard, two chaps outside Ray’s were Mr T & James Avery aka Uncle Phil and the police dispatcher near the end would go on to play the guy who coined the phrase “keep the change you filthy animal” in Home Alone. The “one soiled” officer would be the voice of Yoda & Miss Piggy Frank Oz, the church choir brief solo vocalist is Chaka Khan & the Cook County Assessor's Office Clerk is Steven Spielberg. Great movie.
No one’s gonna slam you in the comments for having an honest opinion. I’m from Chicago and this movie and another one called “My Bodyguard” remind me of the Chicago I knew from my childhood. The way the streets & houses looked. These 2 movies capture that for me and bring me back. You’re both so great!
Fun fact: This film set the record for most cars destroyed in a movie production, with 103 cars destroyed. That record stood for 18 years, when it was exceeded by the sequel film "Blues Brothers 2000", during which 104 cars were destroyed.
11:30 -- I miss those old V-8 engines.... When you mashed the throttle, it sounded like they were sucking the whole environment in and turning it into horsepower....
My favorite number here is Ray Charles. Such an iconic scene, between the amazing music and such fun choreography! The group Hanson did a great tribute to the song in their video for “Thinking ‘Bout Sonething,” which is a catchy tune.
The blonde english woman is "TWIGGY"... Who was the world's first super model..in 1967 her fame equaled the Beatles..her first film was for twisted genius Ken Russell... :"The Boyfriend"... It was a play written in the 50s and purchased by MGM but gathered duat until Russell wanted to make it in the 70s .. He made a film within a film combining the play within fantasy sequence borrowed from Warner Bros and RKO musicals ..Twiggy evokes Jesse Matthews in the phonograph sequence...
Fun trivia fact: The prison worker giving them back their personal affects was Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda, (appropriate shirt choice for this reaction), and, easter egg, Miss Piggie.
One of my favorite memories was I had some millennial friends who were musicians who one night I found out they had never seen this movie. I instantly declared a movie night with beers and I invited them over to watch. Seeing them in SHOCK over how many INSANELY talented people were in this was so worth it. This is a capsule of great music and of a changing time in America. The gritty Chicago was going away and we lost something. Now with so many of the artists gone it's even more special. This movie also saved Carrie Fisher's life. At the time she was addicted and was extremely unreliable. Carrie would credit Dan not only for keeping her on but for encouraging her to get help.
The music in this movie is some of the best used in a Film ever . Even the background music Sam and Dave , Peter Gunn Theme , Ride of The Valkyries , I Can't Turn You Loose ( Mall chase ) but the John Lee Hooker scene is my favorite with the Haw haw haw haws . ZZ Tops Billy Gibbons Haw Haw Haws in La Grange is a tribute to John . I seen The Breifcase full of blues tour at Winterland in San Francisco New Years Eve 1978 with many of the musicians in the movie playing in the band and Aykroyd and Belushi were great Cartwheels and all.
Another reaction channel, during the opening shots of industrial Chicago, asked " Is this a post-apocalyptic movie?"
That scene in the tunnels, everyone comments on how crazy she looks and I'm out here singing "some get their kicks from cocaiaiaiaiaiane..." she was SO high for that scene, but it worked perfectly. She had such balls to pull her life back together and keep being awesome. I was so sad when she and her mom passed away. I have a young daughter and can't even imagine... I'm tearing up again over here.
@@rcrawford42 No, the mid-term future will be post-apocalyptic and much worse than some smog and factories
I think this close to when Belushi told her she had a drug problem
Little bit of cast trivia that rarely gets talked about: The kid that tries to steal the guitar from Ray's Music Shop would grow up to be the Limo Driver in Die Hard.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
You have James Avery and James DuMont dancing in the street on front of Rays shop and a random guy on the street , Laurence Tureaud , better known as Mr T .
Argyle!
so... he's not Argyle yet, just merely Plaid?
Dang I never knew that if you compare the faces it makes sense
The use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers... has been approved.
Well it was Chicago
The actor who said that line was also the same actor who played the gangster in the movie Kevin was watching in Home Alone.
"I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!"
Three of my favorite comedies came out in 1980. The Blues Brothers, Used Cars, and Airplane!.
Damn locusts have been the bane of my life. So much work, deadlines & responsibilities missed due to the goddamn locusts
"Used Cars" is so often overlooked for this era of comedy films.
Why do you wear that toy on your head?
@@alhollywood6486 what about mad Pete Trillio. Who supplied the limos for her wedding party.
Quello che viene detto nella versione italiana è ancora più spassosa e surreale
John Landis had mentioned that the mayor's office declined them to film in certain areas of Chicago, but they were given permission from the Chicago mob.
Now THAT'S 'CART-BLANCHE'!!
The two best cameos in this movie are John Lee Hooker performing Boom Boom and Cab Calloway doing Minnie the Moocher. Two absolute legends.
What about John candy and Carrie fisher
@@bkurtz8770 If I cared about actors, maybe.
About 15 yrs ago I had the privilege of meeting a man who did special effects on this, and many other, big movies/ TV series. He said that this was his favorite movie to have worked on, because everyone on set was treated like they were important. there was no separation between actors and crew, stars and b-listers. when Dan and John threw parties, etc., everyone was welcome. Always thought that was a great way to remember this film, and the people involved.
"I didn't see anyone doing cocaine." That Powder Room joke is funnier because
Carrie Fisher was doing so much blow during this film Belushi told her she needed to slow down.
Carrie later said when John Belushi tells you you're doing too much drugs there's a problem.
and belushi broke his ankle just before filming the final concert, and instead of going to a doctor he inhaled enough cocain to ignore the pain through that entire dancing scene, so you know carrie fisher was -loaded-
Kettle calling the pot black
BOTH victims of the ILLEGAL TOBACCO DRUG, which should be BANNED, NOW!
@@tripjet999 yeah because that has worked so well with other contraband. You can't save people from themselves.
The man singing "boom, boom, boom" is blues legend John Lee Hooker.
A few bits of trivia:
When they were driving through Chicago towards the end, they were actually doing that at speed. It wasn't sped up footage. In fact, they did it twice. The first time they cleared the streets, but then they realized that without having bystanders in the scene, most people wouldn't realize that they were really driving that fast, so they shot it again with people so that everyone would realize that the stunt drivers had actually driven in those streets at that speed.
When this film came out, both Aretha Franklin's and James Brown's careers had pretty much gone dead (Think Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen" with the line "She don't remember Aretha Franklin"). This movie revived both of their careers. Aretha Franklin said that she was always grateful for this movie because of that.
And another small cameo. The first prisoner to jump on the table and dance during "Jailhouse Rock" was Joe Walsh.
I love that scene. With all of the "high speed" car chases in modern movies where they are zig-zagging and cornering at an incredible 30 or 40 mph with tires squealing to suspenseful music, to actually see a car fly through the streets of Chicago at 118 mph for real is sooo much more impactful !!
The city of Chicago and the state of IL got fleets of new cars as part of this movie deal. Some of the drivers in the chase scenes were police driving their own cars to fill up the scene. My dad was a state trooper at the time and got a new car when his was used.
Also James Brown. Not forgotten but like know they cant recognize or hear the music. It turned on kids from 62 to 72 years of birth just to remind them.
When someone asks me what movie I think when I hear the word Chicago and its this movie. This is my favorite movie of all time! This movie is SO quotable!
Top 5 favorite quotes:
1) "Its 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas. Half of a pack of cigarettes. Its dark and we're wearing sunglasses."
2) "I don't believe it. Its the shit box Dodge again!"
3) "YOU'RE The Good Ole Boys?!"
4) "We are on a mission from God"
5) "First you pick me up in a police car. Then you lied to me about the band. NOW you are going to put me back in the joint!"
Cab Calloway was FAMOUS for that song (Minnie the Moocher). He made it a legend in the 1930's. Amazing he could still perform in the early 1980's.
Cab Calloway is a freaking treasure. Loved the other musicians, obviously (especially the backing band, btw -- Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper, etc.), but this is where I, as a young man, first realized who Cab was, and I still love his work.
He was the number one male black singer of the 1930s/40s.
It's a shame most people have never heard of him today.
He was sooo talented.
i'm 43 and got turned onto Cab Calloway through this movie, and i recently turned a 22 year-old coworker on him using this movie.
Steve Cropper's own work made him a legend in his own right. His contributions as musician, writer and producer of the 60s and 70s can't be overstated.
@@vapoet Well, he and Donald "Duck" Dunn were both in this movie (along with a few others from the day). "Green Onions", anyone?
Cab Calloway was making songs about marijuana as far back as 1930. Definitely an underrated pioneer.
"We're on a mission from God"-one of the absolute greatest lines in the history of cinema
I hate Illinois nazi!
It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.
@@jameswhittingham8027 "Hit it."
Frank Oz and Steven Spielberg's cameos always make me chuckle.
Frank Oz has a cameo in many Landis films.
@@Cheepchipsableyoda
The sheer number of cameos in this is just astounding. It's just a Who's Who of music royalty.
The band was the original Saturday Night Live band. At the end of the movie when they were playing in prison, one of the prisoners at front of a table was Joe Walsh.
The extra car crashing was shown to exude & poke fun of how OUTRAGEOUS yet nonchalant the Blues Brothers were & the havoc they cause 😅😂
I’m having fun working through your reactions. Pippin is such a buddy. Thanks for including him. Cats make the world go round.
This movie is so much a product of its era, especially for enlarging the careers of the post-SNL cast. It’s merely fun, and there couldn’t have been of a goal beyond that.
Minnie the Moocher was Cab Calloway's big hit back in the late 1920's to early 1930's. That crowd was sure in for a treat when hearing that legend sing his heart out.
I love the line in the toy store when the guy asks, "Do you have Miss Piggy?" while holding a Grover puppet. The man who voiced both characters is Frank Oz, who listed Jake's possessions when he was being released from prison.
p.s. I loved Emily's reaction to "Who ya gonna call, Jake?"
"If the shit fits, wear it." - Donald "Duck" Dunn bassist for Booker T and the MGs, , Stax house band.
Steve Cropper, he of the perfect hair and guitars, was also in that band and has many songwriting credits including co-writing with Otis Redding "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay."
The mucians all have a lot of credits.
Cab Calliway had seriously insane dancers who performed with his band see the dance compilation version of Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk. They jump off the top of stairs and land in splits. Insane.
"The royal, 'Y'all.'" LOL
24:10 Emily's reaction to that car backflip and saying "Bitch" has me in tears damn near! 😅😅😂😂😂
This movie is pure gold.
In high school, Elwood was my nickname, I've seen this movie a few dozen times, bought and still have the album.
This movie is like a perfect storm.
Cab Calloway was 73 when he recorded this. The Blues Brothers started as a Saturday Night Live skit that took off. Most of the band were the in SNL band at the time. Yes it was an amazing band. Matthew: Flack, Flack, Flack! The soundtrack is available on CD and Vinyl!
I'm from Chicago and when I saw this movie back in the 80's, I was more in love with the fact that Chicago was well represented in this movie and like you both said, the city was a character in the movie as much as the cast, so it holds a special place for me. I actually lived pretty close to that mall that they crashed into, so that's another plus for me. 🤣
I really love when they set films in the non-touristy neighborhoods of the city. The Fugitive also does that really well.
This movie is more nostalgia for me moreso than entertainment. It's good for what it was, but at the time I saw it, at the theater in the 80's I was more focused on picking out the locale and the Chicago references than I was with the story. When I watch it now, I just like to see all those old places that I remember, especially the places that are no longer standing, and watching the musical performances. I liked that Matt and Emily watched the extended version of the movie because most of the musical performances were longer than the theatrical cut and that scene where they stored their car wasn't in that version either. Not a top Landis film, but good nonetheless.
I remember the first time I stood under the train lines in the late 90s. This was the movie I thought of at 23 years old
I went to Thornton HS which was pretty close to Dixie Square Mall.
@@ronalddobis6782 Wow I went to Thornwood!
Last film I watched with my stepfather. RIP “Mack” 🙏
Nice coincidence wearing a baby Yoda shirt while watching a movie with Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda
As a Chicagoan I love that we have a visual record of the streets of Chicago at that time.
The "Peter Gunn" theme, classic blues, and Cab Calloway!
Jake and Elwood grew up together in the orphanage and adopted each other, legally changing their names to "Jake Elwood Blues" and "Elwood Jake Blues" respectively.
Isaw this when it came out in 1980. This movie introduced me to blues music. The car chase is just another character in the movie. At the time it was made it broke the world record for most cars destroyed in a movie.
Just watched The Blues Brothers last night. Perfect timing.
R.I.P. John Belushi.
This movie turned me on to the art of Cab Calloway. There aren't many movies I can say I'm _grateful_ to, but this is one of 'em.
this turned me on to john lee hooker, too. forever grateful.
A generational musician, and he did a great job in his part, too 😎
@@CinHotlanta And here he is with "Minnie" in 1958: ruclips.net/video/8mq4UT4VnbE/видео.html
Skeedle-a-booka-diki biki skeedly beeka gookity woop!
This movie was the one where I discovered John Lee Hooker. An underappreciated great. I think his count is 91 albums, not including compilations.
The studio actually bought a whole fleet of police cars from a station that was upgrading! That's how they were able to destroy so many. That was all practical stuff. Same with the mall, it was scheduled for demolition.
When he was younger, and fitter, John Belushi may have been able to do at least some of the back handsprings, if not all of them. When in high school he played football, wrestled, and did gymnastics. When performing as the Blues Brothers he would often do cartwheels and a few other simpler gymnastics moves on stage.
5:53 The Godfather Of Soul, I miss that man. He died on my 25th birthday. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
11:17 -- There was NOTHING like the roar of big engines sucking air through a 4 barrel. They had a voice... Cars today just don't have the same soul.
No Network or studio execs ever conceived this SNL warmup skit would ever become a massive cultural icon that it did.
I love the car chase at the end, because it's the culmination of the ridiculous cartoon slapstick of the movie. From Jake surviving being blown up multiple times to the Penguin gliding across the floor like a ghost, it's a movie meant to be taken with a mountain of salt.
*Edit:* Also, look at the dancers during Ray's music number. One of them is veeeery familiar. It's James Avery! (Uncle Phil on the original Fresh Prince, and Shredder in the 80's TMNT cartoon).
John Belushi did all his own stunts and gymnastics, including the fall down the stairs sitting in the desk from the nun's office at the beginning, all of the flips, roundhouses, and cartwheels, etc.
FYI: The kid who was shot at in Ray's store trying to steal the guitar was the actor who played Argyle, the limo driver in Die Hard.
21:48 I literally LOL'd at "Water you doing?", and flipped you off at the same time. ;-)
John & Dan actually toured as The Blues Brothers for a few years before John died. His brother Jim took his place & did a great job. In the 90’s they preformed at Universal Studios in Florida & I happen to be there & got to see them, it was a lot of fun.
My dad and I were lucky to have seen Jim and Dan as The Blues Brothers in concert back in 2019.....I was in awe and in heaven.
One of my favorite films, and very important to the early ‘80s teen I was! My Catholic high school (in Joliet, IL, no less) used “We’re on a mission from God” as our homecoming theme that fall. My college drama professor at Marquette, Father Walling, was the shorter of the two guards escorting Jake across the Collins Street prison. And the father of one of my college roommates was a Mt. Prospect cop whose car was one of the Bluesmobiles in the film.
JCA Alum??? Or SFA/JC?
@@TheDstempien I was a Franny! Born at St. Joe’s, grew up in Shorewood.
Belushi did the flips I hear kust dont know how. the guy that ask if they had a miss piggy was tge voice of kermit the frog
@@gdiaz8827 That was definitely not Jim Henson, Kermit’s voice/Muppeteer. You might be thinking of Frank Oz, who is the person behind Miss Piggy and others-he was the guard at the prison who gave Jake his clothes and possessions.
How many were dressed like the Blues Brothers during that prom?
“The are on a mission…From God” is how, as I’ve gotten older, I justify the craziness in this film. It’s been an all time fave since I was a kid and got me into music big time. I adore this film. The soundtrack is one of my all time favourites too.
This is the very first movie I saw on cable TV, one of our 'rich' neighbors had just gotten it hooked up and their kids invited all us poor kids over to watch it. Storer Cable south Florida played every feature repeatedly so we watched it three times in a row until about 2am until we could all quote the dialog in most every scene. It was magic and will always be one of my favorites. Loved your reaction!
PS trivia: The kid in Ray's music store that tried to steal the guitar is De'voreaux White who also played Argyle the limo driver in Die Hard.
I taped it... on Beta... played it so much after the first minute it turned to black and white. I memorized it... even the dance numbers. Imagine a 9 year old reciting it top to bottom, including the songs.
One of my favorite movies! And criminally underappreciated
I had a boyfriend in the 80's that had the 8-track from this movie. He played it constantly & I liked it BUT didn't see the movie for a few more years. THEN I Loved it all!
I miss the 80's where every one was parodied and it was all tongue and cheek and no one got mad.
YESSIR!!! This movie will always bring a BIG smile on my face and makes me a little emotional with all the legends in it.
The greatest film to ever be put on celluloid!
The Blues Brothers is the best movie musical ever made, and I will die on that hill. :)
fun fact,this movie held the record for the most cars wrecked in one movie,till they made blues brothers 2000 where they crashed one extra
103 in Blues Brothers and 104 in Blues Brothers 2000.
we don't talk about blues brothers 2000
Don’t look back.
Matrix currently holds the record I believe.
One of the greatest films of all time. Perfect tone and such a ride.
"Orange whip? Orange whip?"
Clicked "Like" on principle alone ;)
- amazing editing job.
This is one of my top 5 movies. Absolutely love it. The music, the cast (the cameo's), the comedy, it all just hits perfectly for me.
I've got some bootlegs of live shows that the Blues Brothers performed in the 70's and 80's and they're amazing live performers. The band were touring and session musicians, and top of the line ones at that. Blues Bothers Live in Winterland is on youtube and well worth watching.
They destroyed 103 cars in this film. A record at the time that stood for 20 years until Blues Brothers 2000 came out and during filming they deliberately destroyed - 104. 😁
Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips! 🍊🍊🍊
Hands down the best SNL film ever made
Faint praise indeed. 😄
I appreciate that you both give your honest opinions of each film, I would not want you to give a phony rating. Of course you're entirely wrong int this case 🙂 The humor works for me and the music is to die for (most of these artists are now gone so that's probably an unfortunate phrase to use). Yes there are plot holes and some are worse than others but it's all in good fun.
And the number of cars they destroyed to make this movie is phenomenal,It's just a classic comedy with a large number of big name stars in it.I loved this movie then and now.
@@andrewmccormack4295 It must have been a gift from God for Chrysler. This is when the company had two year old new cars sitting on empty lots all over Detroit during their bankruptcy years.
Matt “Guitar” Murphy…absolute legend
I like how Emily reacted when Dan Akroyd said to John Belushi “who you gunna call” which would later be Ghostbusters with Dan Akroyd. Not sure of who doesn’t know this but John Belushi was suppose to be in Ghost Busters but sadly he passed away and they replaced him with Bill Murray.
You can also see the effects of his death on Akroyds body. He was so skinny in this and then shortly after is Ghost Busters and he gained a lot of weight. I assume it had to do with the grief and probably depression eating or such.
Guest legend #1: Cab Calloway...............
I spent many days in Broken Hill in regional New South Wales in Australia. Half way down the main strip, Argent Street, there is a beauty salon called Curl Up and Dye. Love the reference
YESSSSS!!! You picking some great movies. I showed up for Smokey & The Bandit and been laughing with you ever since. Just a suggestion, but maybe an Animal House/PCU double feature reaction...
You should add #Runaway (1984) to the list Emily if you wanna see the great Gene Simmons as a villain, Tom Selleck is a Cop.
Enormously entertaining edit Emily!!
My father's favorite movie ..he passed back in 2000, he was a studio musician in the late 70s 80s and early 90s and was close friends with all the band members because alot of them was also studio artists. I've seen this movie hundreds of times and can easily quote every line ..thank you both for letting me watch it with yall.
This came out when I was 14 years old. During those 14 years I had never once seen my father hum, whistle, or sing along to a song or even so much as listen to music on the radio. I did not believe he had a musical bone in his body. This aired on network TV one night and I was watching it and my father came in and started singing along to Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher like he wrote the song. It was at that moment that I understood why Cheap Trick wrote Surrender.
Fun fact: the idea from this movie came out of Belushi's time in Eugene Oregon all places which had a bit of a blues scene based out of U. Oregon and South Eugene high school.
Heck, I'll give it another try on my recommendation. You like alot of stars and comedy ? Please try the 80's movie called "Cannonball Run". Racing coast to coast with some crazy and funny people. The end bloopers are some of the best for a laugh !
It's on the list!
YES!!! The best thing is that it is based on various stories around the original Cannonball Run race. Including posing as priests and paramedics.
Joe Walsh was the guy who jumped onto the table in the last scene
You two seem like the kind of people I would hang out with.
Kid trying to steal the guitar is the limo driver in Die Hard
I love how the cat is in a new position in almost every cut.
Some of the finest musicians in the world are in their band - mostly former STAX geniuses from Memphis - Steve the Colonel Cropper, Donald Duck Dunn, Willie too big Hall, Matt guitar Murphy and many more. This movie was born from an SNL skit, but the band are responsible for writing and playing on some of the biggest songs in American History.
So true
Paul Schaffer was originally supposed to be in the movie, but he was doing a live stage show with Gilda Radner at the time, so Murphy Dunne took his place on the piano.
Did you notice the fancy restaurant was called The Sha Paul.
The escalating carnage is one the greatest things about this movie.
You can't set a World Record without cracking a few cop cars.
18:37 Matthew "Howdy how indeed." Great play on the lyrics to Minni the Moocher. I just need this to be noticed. Matt's references are so on point, and this one was subtle and kind of flew under the radar, but that was the perfect thing to say!
Fun Fact: All of John Belushi's stunts he did himself, even the back flips
Lovely idea but untrue 😉
Came for the crash, stayed for the songs.
The car stunts are like poetry. Amazing.
The main appeal of Blues Brothers is the A-list blues musician cameos. Blues Brothers 2000 wasn't as good, but the cameos there are top-tier as well, especially the Louisiana Gator Boys.
"I know all about that stuff. I've been exploited all my life."
It would have been great if they had included a Hill Street Blues cameo or two.
This is such a comfort film for me!! I love every second and it’s lowkey responsible for my love of blues music as an adult because I watched this film so many times as a kid 😅 so fun to watch you guys, as always ❤️
The guy with the perfect haircut is legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, and the "if the shit fits" guy was his long-time colleague, the equally legendary Donald "Duck" Dunn. Together they were 50% of Booker T. & The MG's, and were part of STAX's house band.
As a Blues Brothers fan back in the early 1980s, it blew my mind that Cropper and Dunn were even listed in the ancient music lexicon in my very conservative European school's library.
I went out with Steve Cropper's niece a couple of times back in high school. She was a redhead too.
"I'm pretty sure I'm related to him." Dammit woman, I almost spit out my drink on that one. 😂
The Ray’s scene has a few people that would go on to other things. The boy stealing the guitar would by the limo driver in die hard, two chaps outside Ray’s were Mr T & James Avery aka Uncle Phil and the police dispatcher near the end would go on to play the guy who coined the phrase “keep the change you filthy animal” in Home Alone. The “one soiled” officer would be the voice of Yoda & Miss Piggy Frank Oz, the church choir brief solo vocalist is Chaka Khan & the Cook County Assessor's Office Clerk is Steven Spielberg.
Great movie.
Almost forgot Elwood snagged himself beautiful model Twiggy & left her waiting at the motel.
For the love of GAD don't ever change your opinion for anyone! Two thumbs up for reacting to this one, It's a doozy!
Cripes, seeing Cab Calloway did my heart a world of good. I forgot he was in this one.
Rip to a great , Actor, comdiean & Blue's Singer John Belushi we still miss you,gone to soon
HELL YEAH.....................CANT WAIT
No one’s gonna slam you in the comments for having an honest opinion. I’m from Chicago and this movie and another one called “My Bodyguard” remind me of the Chicago I knew from my childhood. The way the streets & houses looked. These 2 movies capture that for me and bring me back. You’re both so great!
7:44 "What're ya doin? What're ya doin?"
It's a cop. He's doing doughnuts.
Fun fact: This film set the record for most cars destroyed in a movie production, with 103 cars destroyed. That record stood for 18 years, when it was exceeded by the sequel film "Blues Brothers 2000", during which 104 cars were destroyed.
I can’t imagine not LOVING this movie. It’s a perfect musical comedy.
11:30 -- I miss those old V-8 engines.... When you mashed the throttle, it sounded like they were sucking the whole environment in and turning it into horsepower....
My favorite number here is Ray Charles. Such an iconic scene, between the amazing music and such fun choreography! The group Hanson did a great tribute to the song in their video for “Thinking ‘Bout Sonething,” which is a catchy tune.
That’s my favorite song in the movie. Because the legendary Donald “Duck” Dunn, is laying down a fat baseline.
I have never heard of "Thinking 'Bout Something" before today, and I love it. Thank you!
Agreed - the scene in Ray's Music and through the capper after the song is for me the centerpiece of the whole movie.
Thank you! I just discovered Hanson because of your comment. That was a fun song and an awesome tribute! :)
The blonde english woman is "TWIGGY"... Who was the world's first super model..in 1967 her fame equaled the Beatles..her first film was for twisted genius Ken Russell... :"The Boyfriend"... It was a play written in the 50s and purchased by MGM but gathered duat until Russell wanted to make it in the 70s .. He made a film within a film combining the play within fantasy sequence borrowed from Warner Bros and RKO musicals ..Twiggy evokes Jesse Matthews in the phonograph sequence...
Fun trivia fact: The prison worker giving them back their personal affects was Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda, (appropriate shirt choice for this reaction), and, easter egg, Miss Piggie.
25:38 That's Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was great friends with John Landis... before Twilightgate.