Just came across this podcast a few days ago and managed to ingest like half of all your episodes so far. Love it. A thing about the beginnings of the Blues Brothers: while Belushi was filming Animal House in Eugene, Oregon, the cast and crew would go to the Eugene Hotel downtown and hang out and party at night. There was a blues band there led by a guy named Curtis Salgado (who Curtis the janitor that they "learned the blues from" is named after). While they were at the bar, Belushi was introduced to Curtis. Belushi started singing with the band one night and was taught how to perform blues by Curtis. The Blues Brothers' first album, if you look at the back cover of the vinyl sleeve, is dedicated to Curtis Salgado, the original blues brother.
Blues Brothers is not only a great film, the blues & R&B artists that Aykroyd and Belushi showcased in the movie like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles etc… make this movie a sweet musical time capsule. Love Jake & Elwood 😎😎
The first time I watched this on VHS with my brother, I watched it only for the musical appearances by these legends, but I began to get into the brothers' characters and the complete nonsense that was going on. We're New Yorkers (Brooklynites, really) but enjoyed was also clearly a warped love letter to Chicago, comfortable and happy with its diversity, its grime and its vibe. I can even piece together a semi-coherent plot and reason for all the nutty things that happen, and in a nutshell (....), it amounts to the Brothers persevering through a growing mountain of obstacles and enemies to get their mission accomplished. The movie isn't supposed to be more than ankle-high in depth (if even that), but despite itself, for me, there's a meaning and a theme racing through it.
The coke budget bit is verifiably real, it was factored into many movie budgets at the time. Dennis Quaid said Jaws 3D had the biggest coke budget of any movie he’d been in. Crazy shit
My favorite part is when John belushi uses the car cigarette lighter and then throws it out the window and then comments after Dan goes over all great things in the car that the car doesn’t have a lighter. I also love the line “we have both kinds of music country and western” as well as “I usually write the check right there on the glove compartment” when I worked in a really crappy bar I’d tell people “we have both kinds of beer bud and bud light”
You're remembering the scene wrong. Belushi tried to use the cigarette lighter, but it wasn't working. That's why he threw it out the window. (Notice he's not smoking in the rest of the scene). After Elwood talks about the cop features, Belushi says, "gotta get the lighter fixed." So it definitely was broken, but he also threw it out the window, preventing it from getting properly fixed.
Growing up in the Chicagoland area, I saw this movie on WGN ALOT. My dad loved this film, so we bond over this all the time. So this was 100% worth it. it is a Chicago classic. The music is fantastic and revitalized a lot of those artists careers. We also don’t talk about Blues Brothers 2000. On a sadder note, when Ian was reading about Farley, I immediately knew how old he was was he passed away. He idolized John Beliushi and there were stories he lived such a crazy and destructive life because he wanted to burn out like John and be remembered as he was.
I grew up on this movie. I could recite it when I was 6. Ive seen it a trillion times. And I enjoyed listening to people who love , have just seen it and some who didnt really like it.Great PC and I subscribed to this channel. Loved this. Cheers!
Totally disagree with the notion that the musical sequences are too long. They're not long enough, and there could have been more. Such as they are, they flow really well with the pacing of the film.
The only one that I felt dragged even a little was Ray Charles. But only because it came so close behind John Lee Hooker and Aretha Franklin. If it was spaced out more, could've been better. But I'm not going to blaspheme up in here. I'm not suggesting cutting it. Just moving it a little. Hooker sets the tone for the neighborhood. Franklin gives context to what Murphy's decision to rejoin the band costs him. Charles is just ... proving a keyboard works. It feels gratuitous, and it is. But that's what we're here for and I'ma sing along with it every time. I'm only sayin' it is an hour into the movie by the time Hooker's song begins and before that, some church music and the Spy Hunter theme. Just space 'em out a bit.
a group of friends performed soul man for the high school talent show, and did it FLAWLESSLY! it was epic. Even got chased off stage by a police officer! I'm really glad that we have what we have of John. Imagine if he had died before doing any movies, would we still talk about him like we do today?? But you guys definitely brought a few things to my attention that I had not noticed before, such as Frank Oz and Joe Walsh being in this movie LMAO
I've always loved this movie and I thought the Bluesmobile being a used cop car was perfect. The car is a 1974 Dodge Monaco with a 440 magnum big block engine. Cop shocks and cop suspension built a year before catalytic converters so it had more power than the models that came after it. Dan Akyord being a big time classic car buff chose this car for its durability and performance.
Backflips, doubtful. Although he did give his best effort on cartwheels. I saw him do one on stage in Dallas Texas in 1980. Back then the actual band from the movie fronted by Jim & Dan did a limited tour across the country. I was 16 at the time and worked at the movie theater where it played. I loved the movie, when I found out they were going to be in Dallas 45 minutes away I was committed.
I mean, the best scene in the opening is them swearing at the Nun and getting completely hammered by her. The first time I saw that I was dying laughing.
My dad and his twin brother (my uncle) love this movie and everytime we'd watch it they'd tell me how the Catholic school they went to really was like that! They'd laugh at the nun and relate to the beatings but what they remember most is the spooky feeling of doors closing and opening by themselves, the dark and looming statues of Christ crucified and how the nuns never seemed to walk, they hover. It always makes me laugh even harder Knowing through my elders it's all true and it's impossible to stop swearing when you're getting hit lol
One bit of trivia I liked was not only did Aykroyd want the Bluesmobile to be a magic car, he also wanted on-screen explanations of how it was a magic car, and they even shot the scene (deleted from release cut) where Jake and Elwood drive the car to a high voltage electrical access shed and store it inside Edit: I should've kept listening, y'all talk about it later in the video
A live movie adaptation of a cartoon is the perfect discription of this movie. Pushes the envelopes of believability just perfectly. May not be the best movie, but undebatably best car chase scene.
Hom many other movies have a whole dialog made from one-word sentences? The german dubbed version (which does a really good job of capturing the whole thing) fails at exactly that scene in the Bluesmobile (translates "rollers" as "''ne Streife"). Here in Germany I saw BB not so much watched but celebrated. When audiences throw flour into the projection beam, it makes the explosion pop in a heart-stopping fashion (admittedly, this only works in small theaters). Or when the film showed in Waldbühne - an open-air venue similar to an amphitheater, just bigger - in the 90ties and 15.000 (!) people celebrate the movie, many in full costume: it moved me (and seemingly others) like pretty much nothing else. The very fact that Jake is an absolute a-hole with the tunnel scene (with Carrie Fisher) being the epitome of that character streak - and jet we are all rooting for him an Elwood, aren't we? It is genius, rith up there with Wilders one-two-three in my book.
As far as the sunglasses, critics also complained saying that it was ridiculous for someone like Belushi who had such an expressive face to always wear sunglasses throughout the movie
I feel like one thing all of you fail to remember, that you state up front but maybe forget in your breakdowns at the end is that they had just sold a platinum selling blues albums prior to making this. That's why its a musical, thats why they're elaborate and long.
Why the loss to describe this movie? It's a chase film, with fantasy elements. With clear influence from The Muppet Movie. Just imagine this as if Elwood is telling this story to someone.
Actually, comparing it to the Muppet Movie is pretty right on. I hadn't thought of that before. People want to over-define things. What is Blues Brothers or The Muppet Movie? Comedy, adventure, action, fantasy, musical, all of the above. Movies don't need to sit in defined boxes. Art is an expression, and great art is usually multi-layered with different things to explore. If i had to box either of those movies into something, i would just say "FUN."
Every time I go to karaoke I sing "She caught the Katy," as John Belushi and it's always fun to see who recognizes the tune. One time the DJ who knew I was going to sing blues brothers played the Peter Gunn theme song while I was called up and it was the greatest vibe ever
That’s exactly how I describe it to people! I’ve worked as a Studio Grip for 25+yrs and heard stories from a few old-timers about the craziness of making that picture. When I asked how they were able to finish the film with all the chaos, he said, ‘it took us 9 months to make that movie’. But he did have some wild stories about stunts, drugs & stars.
Belushi did clean up some after "Blues Brothers." He sobered up to do "Continental Divide", which was a movie that he wanted to show where he could act in a more serious part. Even after that filming, he was pretty clean for a bit. But Smokey Wendell, who had remained as the sobriety bodyguard after the "Blues Brothers" filming, , left, feeling that Belushi would be okay. Not long after, he and Ayrkoyd did "Neighbors", which was a sh*tshow film for multiple reasons -- notably the two switching parts and,moreso, the studio forcing them to use director who was fine for movies like "Rocky" and "Karate Kid", but had no clue how to do a black comedy. And that doesn't get into the rewrites, reshoots and the problems caused by Belushi's addiction. The filming, which took place in Staten Island, is where Belushi, surrounded by a lot of non-sober crew, started using again. He was dead less than three months after its release.
My favorite part. They go into the cowboy bar and sit down and start chatting with the owner. Jake introduces himself as the bad and you can see Elwood throw jack this hilarious look.
In Stripes, a visual joke as the camera pans is one of the guys with a shirt that says, 'Death Before Disco.' This was a response to the studio note in Blues
To this day, I still hold Blues Brothers 2000 to be the worst movie that I have ever seen. It is the ONLY movie that I ever walked out of the theater before the movie ended, and 25 years later, I still have had absolutely zero curiosity or interest in seeing what I missed. Pure shit.
I could hear Rae's eyerolls as you guys described what you thought was so funny about the absurdity of the movie. I've seen my wife do the exact same thing when my friends and I talk about Caddyshack and other classic comedies from that era.
So, John Landis in the two year stretch of 1980-81, with two films, reinvented or actually invented two new cinematic genres. With American Werewolf In London in '81, he invented the horror-comedy hybrid which hadn't been combined before and with Blues Bothers the year before, created the musical-comedy. Actually, he made the triple treat: comedy-musical-car chase triple crown winner. This film is basically Fury Road set to Blues with counter culture humor. Where could Landis go from there? Sure, kill three people in a horrific on set helicopter disaster of all disasters in 1982 film Twilight Zone the Movie. But, honestly, where else could he have gone. That literally is the move. too soon Landis though was a pioneer of tone and game changing genre busting along with the SNL guys rewriting the laws of comedy and cinema that is still the playbook laid down some forty two years ago.
No, Horror Comedy have been a thing since like the 1930s, and there are plenty movies in the 1970s were comedy musical car chase movies, but you are right, he did kill 3 people on film and he is a remorseless bastard about it
I thought the scene of them over filling the gas tank showed that's how they could go so far so fast. Not quite magical but added to its concept of super strength.
A friend of mine was hired to be an extra (actually his car with him driving) for this film, and he talked me into seeing it when it opened. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did, but I've had no desire to see it again (this podcast may prompt me to revisit it). I guess I agree that this is the best SNL adaptation, but it's not much of a contest. At the time, Twiggy was world famous, and her reaction to Elwood's flirtation was amusing; the punchline of Twiggy actually showing up and waiting for Elwood brought the house down at the screening I saw (I guess this is one of those instances when it was funny at the time).
I just need to say as a kid who lives in Wisconsin I always got excited to go down to Chicago with my family (3 hr drive ) just to pretend I'm in the blues brothers and see all the sites. But my favorite part of the movie has always been when they're in the elevator with the money while muzak is playing and I'll randomly sing that tune to myself when I know the cops are surrounding me lol lol 😂😎 or when I'm in an elevator.
For further research on mescaline and quaaludes, here are two movie clips for Clint to watch: The Matrix (scene with Choi): th-cam.com/video/kdAMq5LdAvs/w-d-xo.html Top Secret! (bookstore scene in reverse, i.e. how they actually filmed it): th-cam.com/video/waZOcEsWRbE/w-d-xo.html
In the pod, they get all huffy about how Elwood started the car chase (through the mall) for no reason... Jake is on a probationary release; if he's in the car with Elwood and Elwood accepts his suspension arrest, Jake may be back in Joilet for his other 2 years on some technicality.
Sorry. I’ve sorted out films that were truly Sh*t Shows to make videos out of vs the ones that were painful but would be best for a conversational ribbing of sorts.
I always said that the car loved Elwood and would do anything for him because Elwood loved the car. I really feel it when it collapses and "dies" - Elwood's expression is perfect, and you can even see Jake's expression soften for just an instant before he punches the plot back into action.
I love your interpretation. While the dolts in this podcast want things explained to them, you take something as it is, and kinda inject your own interpretation. That's awesome.
Comedy and mentally illness goes hand in hand.... and many refuse treatment because they believe them well would also mean they lose the ability to make other laugh
It’s funny, when I think of The Blues Brothers, I always think of the music. I can’t hear “Soothe Me” or “Hold On! I’m Comin’” to this day without thinking of Jake and Elwood driving around at night listening to The Best of Sam & Dave.
Fun fact: Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn played on both songs they were listening to. As well as early Wilson Pickett, almost everything by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Booker T. & the MGs.
I'm always fascinated with the need of young people to categorize things into neat little boxes. When i was growing up, people liked the Blues Brothers because it was a fun time. But today, the kids are saying, "What is this, a comedy? A musical? An action film?" Why must any art need to be defined by strict categorization? Are you also confused by music that has elements of jazz, hip-hop, blues and rock all fused together? Do the Beatles confuse you because Eleanor Rigby has a string quartet?
I could've sworn I watched an actual Blues Brothers cartoon series as a kid but I just googled it and apparently it was never aired. Plus I'd like to mention the Nerima Daikon Brothers anime series which was pretty much a parody homage to Blues Brothers. The plot is two brothers from Nerima (and their female cousin) trying to raise money to quit daikon radish farming and build their own concert hall by getting into get rich quick schemes 😅
Probably couldn't fire the guards that were stealing because of a combination of lack of concrete proof and a Union contract. So.... hire guards to guard the guards. 🤷♀️
That’s not true company’s didn’t want their products to get hit my a car or to break is because after the movie they wanted to be able to resell the un damaged produtcs
The companies got free advertising and made way more back just from being in this film than they ever made off damaged stock 🤣 I know I've gone to pier 1 imports a few times just to quote Jake lol
Oh, no! How can you say that about the musical parts slowing the plot down and dragging things out: James Brown puts the whole solution in motion by making the Brothers realize what they need to do, and that it's ... divine inspiration. Aretha, the one and only Aretha, is actively trying to stop the band from getting back together by forcing the issue of responsibility. Their mission from Gahd wins out over even Aretha (who later sighs and agrees to pin up the ad). Ray Charles. First. If you have Ray Charles available, that is NEVER a waste of anything. They need instruments. They have no money. Charles is like Cab Calloway: he's an ally for them, and he'll take an IOU. Cab Calloway is buying them time so they can get into the building before the crowd leaves in disgust. They also need time for the glue. All plot points. All necessary. Just carried out in a musical way rather than a scene of overspending at a restaurant where the waiter is the late Pee-Wee Herman.
@@ItWasAShtShow Yay! You did! Each of you even did your own little rendition of it!😄 My favorite line. Keep up the good work guys. Super entertaining, been binge listening to all these the last week or so.
I had to add another comment about the Millennial obsession with strict narratives in films. The fact that two of these podcasters are talking about the things that make the essence of the film as unneeded....the musical sequences and extended, over-the-top car chases/crashes...proves my point. Movies are about so much more than getting from A to B. The fact that one of them said the musical sequences "don't have a payoff" is a perfect example of this weird Millennial need for only looking for narrative, and not caring about artistic expression, themes or moods.
I'm a millennial and I understand musicals and screwball comedy just fine. You're generalising millions of people based on some vocal fry talking Americans.
So you mentioned malls being empty because of Amazon, irony; the spot where Dixie Square Mall was (the mall in the film) is a sight to a HUGE Amazon distribution facility now. No, the story of the mall doesn’t end happily, actually quite the opposite, it was in the heart of the ghetto in Harvey Illinois, and there were rapes and murders and such following the abandonment post filming. Another odd point, Chris Farley idolized Belushi and wanted to live and die the same way as him. There is your age comparison
Dude-Dixie Square Mall wasnt abandoned. The damage was way more than the amount of bucks they got for repairs and the mall died but we had been shopping there until the movie bc it was a real mall.
Clearly he has to pull over because he needs to, shall we say, relieve himself. So he goes all the way off the freeway because he is, after all, a gentleman and wouldn't dream of committing public indecency.
excuse me. I know the video is 2 years old and no one cares about this. But in one part they say "is like wacky races the movie" wacky races is based in a movie!!! It's called The Great Race by Blake Edwards. with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn and Vivian Vance
not sure how a woman on a movie podcast doesn't "get" comedy... maybe she needs to take a lesser roll in the show...because it's pretty obvious She really doesn't get film. or comedy.
Just came across this podcast a few days ago and managed to ingest like half of all your episodes so far. Love it.
A thing about the beginnings of the Blues Brothers: while Belushi was filming Animal House in Eugene, Oregon, the cast and crew would go to the Eugene Hotel downtown and hang out and party at night. There was a blues band there led by a guy named Curtis Salgado (who Curtis the janitor that they "learned the blues from" is named after).
While they were at the bar, Belushi was introduced to Curtis. Belushi started singing with the band one night and was taught how to perform blues by Curtis. The Blues Brothers' first album, if you look at the back cover of the vinyl sleeve, is dedicated to Curtis Salgado, the original blues brother.
Blues Brothers is not only a great film, the blues & R&B artists that Aykroyd and Belushi showcased in the movie like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles etc… make this movie a sweet musical time capsule. Love Jake & Elwood 😎😎
The first time I watched this on VHS with my brother, I watched it only for the musical appearances by these legends, but I began to get into the brothers' characters and the complete nonsense that was going on. We're New Yorkers (Brooklynites, really) but enjoyed was also clearly a warped love letter to Chicago, comfortable and happy with its diversity, its grime and its vibe.
I can even piece together a semi-coherent plot and reason for all the nutty things that happen, and in a nutshell (....), it amounts to the Brothers persevering through a growing mountain of obstacles and enemies to get their mission accomplished. The movie isn't supposed to be more than ankle-high in depth (if even that), but despite itself, for me, there's a meaning and a theme racing through it.
The coke budget bit is verifiably real, it was factored into many movie budgets at the time. Dennis Quaid said Jaws 3D had the biggest coke budget of any movie he’d been in. Crazy shit
There was a $3 million coke budget on Days of Thunder fir the producers. True story.
"Say, what kind of music do you all play here?"
"Oh, we play both kinds! Country *and* Western!"
Why is this channel not more popular? What a gem. 💎
Ah thanks!
They need better marketing and cameras
Its a podcast. People listen to it. You don't need video for this. @@neutraltoxic
I’m 21 and growing up with this movie was amazing. Glad to hear people with similar interests.
Literally, same here bro! I will never not love this movie!
My favorite part is when John belushi uses the car cigarette lighter and then throws it out the window and then comments after Dan goes over all great things in the car that the car doesn’t have a lighter. I also love the line “we have both kinds of music country and western” as well as “I usually write the check right there on the glove compartment” when I worked in a really crappy bar I’d tell people “we have both kinds of beer bud and bud light”
"Did you get me my Cheez Whiz, boy?"
You're remembering the scene wrong. Belushi tried to use the cigarette lighter, but it wasn't working. That's why he threw it out the window. (Notice he's not smoking in the rest of the scene). After Elwood talks about the cop features, Belushi says, "gotta get the lighter fixed." So it definitely was broken, but he also threw it out the window, preventing it from getting properly fixed.
Growing up in the Chicagoland area, I saw this movie on WGN ALOT. My dad loved this film, so we bond over this all the time. So this was 100% worth it. it is a Chicago classic. The music is fantastic and revitalized a lot of those artists careers. We also don’t talk about Blues Brothers 2000.
On a sadder note, when Ian was reading about Farley, I immediately knew how old he was was he passed away. He idolized John Beliushi and there were stories he lived such a crazy and destructive life because he wanted to burn out like John and be remembered as he was.
“What’s the exchange rate on Quaaludes?” I laughed so hard at this I think two drops of pee came out.
I remember Landis saying the cop car pile ups were an homage to the Keystone Cops of the silent film era.
I love this movie! I first saw it on HBO when I was 7 or 8 (1982). It blew my mind to see Carrie Fisher as "Not Princess Leia".
Same, it was a big deal to me as a brown eyed girl born in 83 to see Carrie as Not Princess Leia and NOT tom hanks' wife in the burbs lol
I grew up on this movie. I could recite it when I was 6. Ive seen it a trillion times. And I enjoyed listening to people who love , have just seen it and some who didnt really like it.Great PC and I subscribed to this channel. Loved this. Cheers!
Glad you've been enjoying!
Finish this line then. "It's dark..."
@@nicklang6798 its dark out and we're wearing sunglasses.
@@brutalbasspro yes, but I thought he said something else. I'll have to look it up.
Oh, I love it he takes off his sunglasses and puts his arm over his eyes 😂😎
orange whip? who wants an orange whip?
👈🏼 Orange whip?
👉🏼 Orange whip?
Totally disagree with the notion that the musical sequences are too long. They're not long enough, and there could have been more. Such as they are, they flow really well with the pacing of the film.
The only one that I felt dragged even a little was Ray Charles. But only because it came so close behind John Lee Hooker and Aretha Franklin. If it was spaced out more, could've been better. But I'm not going to blaspheme up in here. I'm not suggesting cutting it. Just moving it a little. Hooker sets the tone for the neighborhood. Franklin gives context to what Murphy's decision to rejoin the band costs him. Charles is just ... proving a keyboard works. It feels gratuitous, and it is. But that's what we're here for and I'ma sing along with it every time. I'm only sayin' it is an hour into the movie by the time Hooker's song begins and before that, some church music and the Spy Hunter theme. Just space 'em out a bit.
Imo it's because they are talking about the extended edition
a group of friends performed soul man for the high school talent show, and did it FLAWLESSLY! it was epic. Even got chased off stage by a police officer! I'm really glad that we have what we have of John. Imagine if he had died before doing any movies, would we still talk about him like we do today?? But you guys definitely brought a few things to my attention that I had not noticed before, such as Frank Oz and Joe Walsh being in this movie LMAO
I've always loved this movie and I thought the Bluesmobile being a used cop car was perfect. The car is a 1974 Dodge Monaco with a 440 magnum big block engine. Cop shocks and cop suspension built a year before catalytic converters so it had more power than the models that came after it. Dan Akyord being a big time classic car buff chose this car for its durability and performance.
And more importantly they were dirt cheap
Breifcase full of blues is genuinely an awesome album
I was thinking; unless I missed it, y'all never mentioned John Candy...?
The woman behind John Belushi's overdose and death was a former girlfriend of Gordon Lightfoot. His song "Sundown" is about her.
I think I actually read somewhere that John Belushi did in fact do his own backflips because he was a gymnast
Backflips, doubtful. Although he did give his best effort on cartwheels. I saw him do one on stage in Dallas Texas in 1980. Back then the actual band from the movie fronted by Jim & Dan did a limited tour across the country. I was 16 at the time and worked at the movie theater where it played. I loved the movie, when I found out they were going to be in Dallas 45 minutes away I was committed.
@@CaptRich-bi3gp The back handsprings were a double. He was, let's say, past his gymnastic peak at the time of the film.
In 1980 I saw the Blues Brothers in concert in Dallas Texas, it was fantastic!
I mean, the best scene in the opening is them swearing at the Nun and getting completely hammered by her. The first time I saw that I was dying laughing.
My dad and his twin brother (my uncle) love this movie and everytime we'd watch it they'd tell me how the Catholic school they went to really was like that! They'd laugh at the nun and relate to the beatings but what they remember most is the spooky feeling of doors closing and opening by themselves, the dark and looming statues of Christ crucified and how the nuns never seemed to walk, they hover. It always makes me laugh even harder Knowing through my elders it's all true and it's impossible to stop swearing when you're getting hit lol
One bit of trivia I liked was not only did Aykroyd want the Bluesmobile to be a magic car, he also wanted on-screen explanations of how it was a magic car, and they even shot the scene (deleted from release cut) where Jake and Elwood drive the car to a high voltage electrical access shed and store it inside
Edit: I should've kept listening, y'all talk about it later in the video
Liked the back to the future episode....then I see you have done this....the greatest movie ever made....sold....
A live movie adaptation of a cartoon is the perfect discription of this movie. Pushes the envelopes of believability just perfectly.
May not be the best movie, but undebatably best car chase scene.
Hom many other movies have a whole dialog made from one-word sentences? The german dubbed version (which does a really good job of capturing the whole thing) fails at exactly that scene in the Bluesmobile (translates "rollers" as "''ne Streife").
Here in Germany I saw BB not so much watched but celebrated.
When audiences throw flour into the projection beam, it makes the explosion pop in a heart-stopping fashion (admittedly, this only works in small theaters).
Or when the film showed in Waldbühne - an open-air venue similar to an amphitheater, just bigger - in the 90ties and 15.000 (!) people celebrate the movie, many in full costume: it moved me (and seemingly others) like pretty much nothing else.
The very fact that Jake is an absolute a-hole with the tunnel scene (with Carrie Fisher) being the epitome of that character streak - and jet we are all rooting for him an Elwood, aren't we?
It is genius, rith up there with Wilders one-two-three in my book.
As far as the sunglasses, critics also complained saying that it was ridiculous for someone like Belushi who had such an expressive face to always wear sunglasses throughout the movie
What plot? The "plot" falls apart because churches don't pay taxes. Still the best live action cartoon musical ever made
I feel like one thing all of you fail to remember, that you state up front but maybe forget in your breakdowns at the end is that they had just sold a platinum selling blues albums prior to making this. That's why its a musical, thats why they're elaborate and long.
Pretty weird that what they played up as Chicago in filming a couple of downtown scenes was actually Milwaukee.
Why the loss to describe this movie? It's a chase film, with fantasy elements. With clear influence from The Muppet Movie. Just imagine this as if Elwood is telling this story to someone.
That's a really cool take. Very fable like.
Actually, comparing it to the Muppet Movie is pretty right on. I hadn't thought of that before. People want to over-define things. What is Blues Brothers or The Muppet Movie? Comedy, adventure, action, fantasy, musical, all of the above. Movies don't need to sit in defined boxes. Art is an expression, and great art is usually multi-layered with different things to explore. If i had to box either of those movies into something, i would just say "FUN."
Every time I go to karaoke I sing "She caught the Katy," as John Belushi and it's always fun to see who recognizes the tune. One time the DJ who knew I was going to sing blues brothers played the Peter Gunn theme song while I was called up and it was the greatest vibe ever
What an intro!
Oh yes it definitely helped me channel my inner Belushi and just become Jake Blues 😎🎶❤️
That’s exactly how I describe it to people!
I’ve worked as a Studio Grip for 25+yrs and heard stories from a few old-timers about the craziness of making that picture.
When I asked how they were able to finish the film with all the chaos, he said, ‘it took us 9 months to make that movie’.
But he did have some wild stories about stunts, drugs & stars.
The bit about Quaaludes gave me Treknologic vibes. That podcast might not be running any more, but I remember their trivia prizes: Quatloos!
Belushi did clean up some after "Blues Brothers." He sobered up to do "Continental Divide", which was a movie that he wanted to show where he could act in a more serious part. Even after that filming, he was pretty clean for a bit. But Smokey Wendell, who had remained as the sobriety bodyguard after the "Blues Brothers" filming, , left, feeling that Belushi would be okay. Not long after, he and Ayrkoyd did "Neighbors", which was a sh*tshow film for multiple reasons -- notably the two switching parts and,moreso, the studio forcing them to use director who was fine for movies like "Rocky" and "Karate Kid", but had no clue how to do a black comedy. And that doesn't get into the rewrites, reshoots and the problems caused by Belushi's addiction. The filming, which took place in Staten Island, is where Belushi, surrounded by a lot of non-sober crew, started using again. He was dead less than three months after its release.
My favorite part. They go into the cowboy bar and sit down and start chatting with the owner. Jake introduces himself as the bad and you can see Elwood throw jack this hilarious look.
In Stripes, a visual joke as the camera pans is one of the guys with a shirt that says, 'Death Before Disco.'
This was a response to the studio note in Blues
I always clocked that shirt but never knew why it was in there lol 😂
To this day, I still hold Blues Brothers 2000 to be the worst movie that I have ever seen. It is the ONLY movie that I ever walked out of the theater before the movie ended, and 25 years later, I still have had absolutely zero curiosity or interest in seeing what I missed. Pure shit.
Landis is 'driving' one of the cop cars in the mall chase.
I could hear Rae's eyerolls as you guys described what you thought was so funny about the absurdity of the movie. I've seen my wife do the exact same thing when my friends and I talk about Caddyshack and other classic comedies from that era.
So women have no sense of humor. Understood. 😁
*as Chevy chase* Na na na na na na na na
@@MrOctober44hey mr october, I know its supposed to be your month, but you acting like a chump 😢😢😂
So, John Landis in the two year stretch of 1980-81, with two films, reinvented or actually invented two new cinematic genres. With American Werewolf In London in '81, he invented the horror-comedy hybrid which hadn't been combined before and with Blues Bothers the year before, created the musical-comedy. Actually, he made the triple treat: comedy-musical-car chase triple crown winner. This film is basically Fury Road set to Blues with counter culture humor.
Where could Landis go from there?
Sure, kill three people in a horrific on set helicopter disaster of all disasters in 1982 film Twilight Zone the Movie. But, honestly, where else could he have gone. That literally is the move.
too soon
Landis though was a pioneer of tone and game changing genre busting along with the SNL guys rewriting the laws of comedy and cinema that is still the playbook laid down some forty two years ago.
No, Horror Comedy have been a thing since like the 1930s, and there are plenty movies in the 1970s were comedy musical car chase movies, but you are right, he did kill 3 people on film and he is a remorseless bastard about it
you give way to much credit to this dude
Love this movie, loved this podcast. 🥰
21:05, is amazing to know that the history of Landis cutting people off in camera, happend from that far behind
I thought the scene of them over filling the gas tank showed that's how they could go so far so fast. Not quite magical but added to its concept of super strength.
1:54 - Lemmy Kilmister
A friend of mine was hired to be an extra (actually his car with him driving) for this film, and he talked me into seeing it when it opened. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did, but I've had no desire to see it again (this podcast may prompt me to revisit it). I guess I agree that this is the best SNL adaptation, but it's not much of a contest. At the time, Twiggy was world famous, and her reaction to Elwood's flirtation was amusing; the punchline of Twiggy actually showing up and waiting for Elwood brought the house down at the screening I saw (I guess this is one of those instances when it was funny at the time).
Watch it again and spot his car!
I just need to say as a kid who lives in Wisconsin I always got excited to go down to Chicago with my family (3 hr drive ) just to pretend I'm in the blues brothers and see all the sites. But my favorite part of the movie has always been when they're in the elevator with the money while muzak is playing and I'll randomly sing that tune to myself when I know the cops are surrounding me lol lol 😂😎 or when I'm in an elevator.
I grew up in Milwaukee and always asked my parents to drive by the half finished freeway bridge because of this movie
For research on quaaludes, feel free to view the historical document, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
For further research on mescaline and quaaludes, here are two movie clips for Clint to watch:
The Matrix (scene with Choi): th-cam.com/video/kdAMq5LdAvs/w-d-xo.html
Top Secret! (bookstore scene in reverse, i.e. how they actually filmed it): th-cam.com/video/waZOcEsWRbE/w-d-xo.html
In the pod, they get all huffy about how Elwood started the car chase (through the mall) for no reason...
Jake is on a probationary release; if he's in the car with Elwood and Elwood accepts his suspension arrest, Jake may be back in Joilet for his other 2 years on some technicality.
Also, the light was yellow. They'd basically be arrested for no reason. They were getting justice for themselves.
The only place that you can get Quaaludes is in South Africa apparently. I've heard.
Heard huh?!
New to this great podcast. Thanks guys I’ve been bingeing on all episodes
Glad you found us!
"Blues Brothers 2000" really should have been called "2 Blues 2 Brothers".
Can u make this into a video somehow like your other videos
Sorry. I’ve sorted out films that were truly Sh*t Shows to make videos out of vs the ones that were painful but would be best for a conversational ribbing of sorts.
I just picture the movie in my head 😂 maybe you should just watch it again and then listen to this bro
Geddy Lee from Rush was the bassist and vocalist. Amy Mann is the bassist and vocalist of Till Tuesday.
Inflation calculator puts $20 Mill at about
$80 M. $17M would be $68 M.
I always said that the car loved Elwood and would do anything for him because Elwood loved the car. I really feel it when it collapses and "dies" - Elwood's expression is perfect, and you can even see Jake's expression soften for just an instant before he punches the plot back into action.
I love your interpretation. While the dolts in this podcast want things explained to them, you take something as it is, and kinda inject your own interpretation. That's awesome.
@@trekkiejunk Thank you so much!
Comedy and mentally illness goes hand in hand.... and many refuse treatment because they believe them well would also mean they lose the ability to make other laugh
Loved the movie as a kid
Quaaludes has two a's. Now you know. And it's not made anymore. There band included most of the Stax house band.
It’s funny, when I think of The Blues Brothers, I always think of the music. I can’t hear “Soothe Me” or “Hold On! I’m Comin’” to this day without thinking of Jake and Elwood driving around at night listening to The Best of Sam & Dave.
Fun fact: Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn played on both songs they were listening to. As well as early Wilson Pickett, almost everything by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Booker T. & the MGs.
Wasn't the can Elwood stole from his job a can a of spray glue, that he then used on the other bands' gas pedal?
A lot of artists attribute their drug use to the artistry 🤷♂️😵💫
'God, I hate Illinois Nazis.'
It was the number one late night show, not the number one show. Huge difference
This is a good channel
1:06:42 That random shit can is glue. Strong stuff...
I'm always fascinated with the need of young people to categorize things into neat little boxes. When i was growing up, people liked the Blues Brothers because it was a fun time. But today, the kids are saying, "What is this, a comedy? A musical? An action film?" Why must any art need to be defined by strict categorization? Are you also confused by music that has elements of jazz, hip-hop, blues and rock all fused together? Do the Beatles confuse you because Eleanor Rigby has a string quartet?
ur both right! its a comedy...but more like a deadpan skit in movie form.😊 love this movie!!👍
I could've sworn I watched an actual Blues Brothers cartoon series as a kid but I just googled it and apparently it was never aired. Plus I'd like to mention the Nerima Daikon Brothers anime series which was pretty much a parody homage to Blues Brothers. The plot is two brothers from Nerima (and their female cousin) trying to raise money to quit daikon radish farming and build their own concert hall by getting into get rich quick schemes 😅
Probably couldn't fire the guards that were stealing because of a combination of lack of concrete proof and a Union contract. So.... hire guards to guard the guards. 🤷♀️
"it seems like a crutch" 🙄 It's almost like it's an addiction, lol.
That’s not true company’s didn’t want their products to get hit my a car or to break is because after the movie they wanted to be able to resell the un damaged produtcs
The companies got free advertising and made way more back just from being in this film than they ever made off damaged stock 🤣 I know I've gone to pier 1 imports a few times just to quote Jake lol
My favourite film 🎥 ❤
Would the Catholic Church approve of the extended version?
Oh, no! How can you say that about the musical parts slowing the plot down and dragging things out:
James Brown puts the whole solution in motion by making the Brothers realize what they need to do, and that it's ... divine inspiration.
Aretha, the one and only Aretha, is actively trying to stop the band from getting back together by forcing the issue of responsibility. Their mission from Gahd wins out over even Aretha (who later sighs and agrees to pin up the ad).
Ray Charles. First. If you have Ray Charles available, that is NEVER a waste of anything. They need instruments. They have no money. Charles is like Cab Calloway: he's an ally for them, and he'll take an IOU.
Cab Calloway is buying them time so they can get into the building before the crowd leaves in disgust. They also need time for the glue.
All plot points. All necessary. Just carried out in a musical way rather than a scene of overspending at a restaurant where the waiter is the late Pee-Wee Herman.
Just now starting to watch this...I swear to bajeezus, one of you better say "We're on a mission from God"....
I honestly don’t remember if we do.
@@ItWasAShtShow Yay! You did! Each of you even did your own little rendition of it!😄
My favorite line.
Keep up the good work guys. Super entertaining, been binge listening to all these the last week or so.
@@DMTrance87 Yay, we did it! Glad you are enjoying!
Murphy and the magictones were playing at the bar in the airport Holliday inn not selling out concert halls lol
I had to add another comment about the Millennial obsession with strict narratives in films. The fact that two of these podcasters are talking about the things that make the essence of the film as unneeded....the musical sequences and extended, over-the-top car chases/crashes...proves my point. Movies are about so much more than getting from A to B. The fact that one of them said the musical sequences "don't have a payoff" is a perfect example of this weird Millennial need for only looking for narrative, and not caring about artistic expression, themes or moods.
I'm a millennial and I understand musicals and screwball comedy just fine. You're generalising millions of people based on some vocal fry talking Americans.
So you mentioned malls being empty because of Amazon, irony; the spot where Dixie Square Mall was (the mall in the film) is a sight to a HUGE Amazon distribution facility now.
No, the story of the mall doesn’t end happily, actually quite the opposite, it was in the heart of the ghetto in Harvey Illinois, and there were rapes and murders and such following the abandonment post filming.
Another odd point, Chris Farley idolized Belushi and wanted to live and die the same way as him. There is your age comparison
They're all Jesusing!
Dude-Dixie Square Mall wasnt abandoned. The damage was way more than the amount of bucks they got for repairs and the mall died but we had been shopping there until the movie bc it was a real mall.
Now that I know the "extended" version pissed off racists, I'll be watching it exclusively
Paul McCartney, Sting, Les Claypool, Lemmy.
Clearly he has to pull over because he needs to, shall we say, relieve himself. So he goes all the way off the freeway because he is, after all, a gentleman and wouldn't dream of committing public indecency.
Rae is to The Blues Brothers as Amy Farrah Fowler is to Raiders of the List Ark
i love this episode! i love you crazy Canadians!
Then we get a sequel we didn’t ask for that was terrible
I used to work at a movie theater and it was under the Mann company probably completely unrelated because I’m in Minnesota
Another pretty good “bassist / vocalist”... Sting.
Jack Bruce - Cream
Lemmy - Motorhead
Again, Clint was the best part of the episode!
They got scmods
Fascinating.
Of course Aykroyd liked magic cars, he was probably on coke when he wrote it
And drove them.
Dan was always into cars and motorcycles tho way before he got famous and he's responsible for the ecto 1 in Ghostbusters.
Lemmy, Bass and vocals Motorhead
Tom Araya, bass and vocals Slayer.
Chronos, Bass and Vocals Venom.
VINWiki did a episode on the mall. You must watch it.
1:52 Sting, Gene Simmons, Lemmy...
I had to stop listening towards the end because Rae's inability to understand this movie infuriated me
Everything that chick hates about Blues Brothers is what makes blues Brothers
That chick?!
@@ItWasAShtShow idk her name man lol
Lol kids these days 🤣
I agree. It is a great movie and very funny. Not sure how RAE doesn't enjoy it
This movie is awesome. I love it.
excuse me. I know the video is 2 years old and no one cares about this. But in one part they say "is like wacky races the movie" wacky races is based in a movie!!! It's called The Great Race by Blake Edwards. with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn and Vivian Vance
not sure how a woman on a movie podcast doesn't "get" comedy...
maybe she needs to take a lesser roll in the show...because it's pretty obvious She really doesn't get film. or comedy.
actually I take that back...at least two people on this podcast don't have a sense of humor.