Blues Brothers + Blues Brothers 2000 (2 Disc Set) (UK)
They`ll never get caught, they`re on a mission from God
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 261 mins
Retail Price: £22.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie
Synopsis:
The Blues Brothers (1980) 142 mins
After the release of Jake Blues (John Belushi) from prison, he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) go to visit the orphanage where they were raised by nuns. They learn that the church stopped its support and will sell the place unless the tax on the property is paid within 11 days.
The brothers decide to raise the money by putting their blues band back together and staging a big gig. They may be on a "mission from God" but they`re making enemies everywhere they go. Featuring performances by some of blues finest, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and co-starring John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Henry Gibson and Steve Lawrence.
The Blues Brothers 2000 119 mins
Eighteen years after the Brothers` original "Mission from God", Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) is getting out of prison and discovering that much has changed in the time he`s been away. His partner Jake is gone, his band is no longer together and the orphanage where he grew up has been demolished. Elwood soon realizes that he must embark on a whole new mission - to reassemble the old band, this time with the help of a soulful bartender (John Goodman), compete at Queen Moussette`s (Erykah Badu) Battle of the Bands and set a wayward orphan named Buster on the path to redemption.
In the midst of the mayhem, he`s got to prove to the police that there`s magic in the music... and a mysterious method behind the Blues Brothers` madness.
Special appearances by B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Johnny Lang, Blues Traveler, Eric Clapton and many more. It`s an action-packed comedy with lots of Rhythm and Blues.
Special Features:
Featurette: The Story Behind The Making Of The Blues Brothers
Production Notes
Trailers
Filmographies
Weblink
Poster Campaign
Making of `Blues Brothers 2000` Featurette
Production Notes
Cast and Filmmakers Biographies
Production Photographs of `Blues Brothers 2000`
Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1
Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitle Tracks:
French
Polish
Czech
Swedish
Finnish
Turkish
English
German
Portuguese
Hungarian
Dutch
Danish
Norwegian
Bulgarian
Directed By:
John Landis
Written By:
John Landis
Dan Akroyd
Starring:
John Goodman
Henry Gibson
Aretha Franklin
Carrie Fisher
Ray Charles
Cab Calloway
James Brown
Dan Akroyd
John Belushi
Producer:
Robert K. Weiss
Executive Producer:
Bernie Brillstein
Distributor:
Universal Pictures
Your Opinions and Comments
The first thing you`ll notice is the great picture quality. Movies of this age are often transferred with little care and end up grainy, lifeless affairs. This is a real quality production though and the audio is no exception, it sounds breathtakingly fresh and crisp.
The film itself however, isn`t quite the classic I remember. Perhaps my sugar-coated memories are to blame, but the quotable lines all seemed a bit old hat and rusty. I still enjoyed the experience of course, but the comedy is distinctly vintage. The opening third was still terrifically enjoyable and maybe because it`s much longer than I recall and an extended version, I started to flag a bit. The added scenes are all superfluous and unfortunately make this version drag in places (I want the proper edit!).
Another debatable point is the music, which is superb as music, but very intrusive in a plot development sense. If you like musicals then that was an uproarious thing to say and completely missing the point in other people`s eyes. Really though, I tended to zone-out when the dance routines got going (like watching VH-1). Many would argue that these songs are the secret of it`s longevity, maybe they are in the normal version, but the extensions to the J Brown/Lee Hooker scenes were ill advised (FFW >FFW!). "Rawhide" & "Everybody needs somebody" are as thrilling as ever I hasten to add.
The highlights, of course, are the car chases which are still very entertaining and the Peter Gunn theme, which I love (where`s that Art of Noise album?). After the mild disappointment of my trip down memory lane (only mild), I couldn`t bring myself to watch the ill-conceived sequel. I shall do of course, but I`m pretty sure it will lower my level of reverence even further.
If you`ve seen Blues Brothers recently and like it a lot, buy this disc immediately. Otherwise, rent it if possible and go from there.