- eddstarr88 viewing: Official Categories
- 5 years 8 months ago
- Posts: 709
Who remembers the 1980 John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd-starred film, The Blues Brothers? Belushi played "Joliet" Jake Blues while the Canadian-born Aykroyd took the reins as Jake's thin-looking brother Elwood. Fellow Canadian John Candy also appeared in the film, playing detective Burton Mercer. Kathleen Freeman took on the role of Sister Mary Stigmata.
This wonderful acting/singing duo originated in a Saturday Night Live skit of the same name that had ran for a few years before the skit was adapted into a film. They had a backing band and recorded several hits (mainly cover songs, such as Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" and Henry Mancini's "Theme from Peter Gunn") during this time in their career. In the film, they drive a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan (replacing their original Bluesmobile which was a Cadillac DeVille), a former police car that had been in service for Mt. Prospect Police.
The role of "Joliet" Jake Blues was Belushi's last great TV and film roles (he would die from complications of drug-related heart problems on March 5, 1982 at age 38). His untimely death was probably far worse than being typecasted.
This film had many guest roles, by musicians as diverse as James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles as well as golden-age screen legend Cab Calloway. Among others, ex-member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, plays in the Blues Brothers Band.
Even Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia in the Star Wars trilogy) turns up here as Jake's relentless ex-girlfriend, Camille Zdetelik (a name not revealed for many years, as her role was previously identified only as the "Mystery Woman") who for some reason wanted to take to killing him and Elwood, whether that's setting a remote-controlled bomb in a hotel the Brothers stayed at, or by setting fire via flamethrowing at the phonebooth (with a propane tank right beside it) the Brothers occupied near a Howard Johnson hotel later in the film, or even shooting a machine gun in the sewers under the bridge that the brothers passed through as part of the exit from the Palace Hotel ballroom (the venue they promoted their Blues Brothers R&B Revue), while their band was in the middle of playing "Sweet Home Chicago." Her car in the film was a 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix painted red with a black rooftop.
The Brothers, on their way to reforming their band (which since the years Jake was jailed had all taken various non-musical jobs except for the members of "Murph and the Magictones") also encounter two State Police troopers, the Illinois Nazi Party (its leader played by Henry Gibson) and Bob (owner of Bob's Country Bunker) and his intended musical act of the night, the Good Ol' Boys (its leader, Tucker McElroy, was played by Charles Napier). It is then capped off by the whole police and armed forces going after them as our two heroes give $5,000 to the Cook County Assessor's office, the assessor played by film producer Steven Spielberg.
This film had also introduced us to the Dixie Square Mall, which had been "re-opened" specifically for the making of this film (it had actually been shut down at most in 1978, a year before this film had begun production), which had such big names in retail like J. C. Penney, Jewel-Osco, and Toys 'R' Us.
The film garnered a sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, in 1998.
~Ben"I am such a purist for old information on anything '70s and '80s."Are you sure you want to delete this post? Yes | No - 5 years 7 months ago
- Posts: 709
fistoflegend wrote:Man I loved that film when I was younger. I may go back and buy this. Never have seen the sequel though. Was it any good?
No, not so. As the script of the sequel goes, both Joliet Jake Blues (John Belushi) and Cab Calloway (who, as Curtis, acted as a surrogate dad to him and Elwood) were dead. The orphanage the original two Blues Brothers desperately tried to save in the first film was no more.
Some new stars appear in BBMM: John Goodman (Fred Flintstone in the live-action Flintstones films), Joe Morton as "Cab" Chamberlain (the rebellious half-brother who was an illegitimate son of his late father and is a commander for the Illinois State Police), J. Evan Bonifant as Buster (who, along with Elwood, plays harmonica and sings in the new Blues Brothers Band) and Nia Peeples as Lt. Elizondo. Jim Belushi (John Belushi's young brother) was initially tapped to play Zee Blues here, but his contract to do a TV show had canceled his BBMM role, so the script was altered to include the "Cab" Chamberlain character.
Kathleen Freeman also returns in the film as Mary Stigmata (titled as "Mother" instead of "Sister"), Muppeteer Frank Oz as the warden, and Steve Lawrence as Maury Sline.
New musicians in the film are: Erykah Badu (nee Erica Wright) as Queen Mousette, Jonny Lang (nee Jon G. Langseth) as a custodian, Wilson Pickett as Mr. Pickett, Sam "Soul Man" Moore (Sam & Dave; for whom BB had covered their "Soul Man") as Rev. Morris, Paul Shaffer (SNL band; alternating between himself and Marcos), Blues Traveler (whose name was inspired by The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters' Gozer the Traveler; both of these films were big hits for Dan Aykroyd, who returns in BBMM as Elwood), and Eddie "Knock on Wood" Floyd as Ed, among others.
Returning musicians include Aretha Franklin, much of the original Blues Brothers Band (guitarist Steve "Colonel" Cropper, keyboardist Murphy Dunne, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, saxophonist "Blue" Lou Marini, drummer Willie "Too Big" Hall, and trumpeter Alan Rubin) and James Brown as Rev. Cleophus James.
Among the new music appearing in the film and companion soundtrack: A cover of The Beginning of the End's 1971 hit "Funky Nassau" (performed by Queen Mousette, the BBB, Buster and Mack), the theme from Perry Mason ("Park Avenue Beat") and "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" (performed by Aretha Franklin with the BBB; original recording by the late Otis Redding).
Mention should be made of a fictional supergroup, the Louisiana Gator Boys, for whom the BBB face in a "battle of the bands" contest.
This ensemble consisted of three legendary guitarists, B. B. King, Bo Diddley and Eric Clapton. Jimmie Vaughan, the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, also plays guitar in the band, along with country star Travis Tritt. Other notables: Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith) and Billy Preston (The Beatles) both supply keyboards and vocals, blues musician Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Isaac Hayes on vocals, Joshua Redman and Clarence Clemons (Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) on saxophones, Jack DeJohnette on drums and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, The Doobie Bros.) on guitar, and Lou "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" Rawls on vocals.
~Ben"I am such a purist for old information on anything '70s and '80s."Are you sure you want to delete this post? Yes | No
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