Starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Aretha Franklin, Henry Gibson, bunch of other people
Written By: Dan Aykroyd, John Landis
Directed By: John Landis
Studio: Universal
Buy on Amazon.com link

Believe it or not, I never saw the Blues Brothers from start to finish. I caught lots of bits and pieces of it but just never got around to seeing the whole movie for some reason. Now there’s a 25th Anniversary Edition DVD out now for fans of the classic comedy movie to enjoy! There’s some left over extras from the last edition but there are a few new things to watch.

The Blues Brothers stars Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in their most famous roles as the Blues Brothers. The film starts out as Jake Blues gets released from prison on early release and is picked up in an old police car from his brother Elwood. They visit their old orphanage home where they were raised by nuns. They find out the place is going to be sold so they want to help and raise the money & save it. They believe they are on a mission from God to re-form their old band, The Blues Brothers. While they search for their old members of the band, they have a run in with the police, a bunch of pissed of rednecks, nazis, and some crazy chick with major artillery who’s trying to kill them. They finally get a big enough gig and they are a hit, but they have to outrun the cops. They have to get the money to whoever so they can save the home. Which leads them into one of the longest, craziest & funniest car chases in movie history! Actually there’s two crazy car chase scenes in the movie because the first one takes place inside a mall. The movie also features musical numbers from Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and of course the Blues Brothers.

I remember seeing the mall scene and most of the end but haven’t sat down to watch the musical comedy from start to finish. Not entirely sure why, maybe just wasn’t interested. Also not really sure why the movie is such a hit to be honest with you. It’s all right, but nothing that screams classic to me besides the car chases. Maybe I’m just not in that generation when the movie came out and can’t appreciate it as much as people from the late 70’s/early 80’s. Plus I’m not really fond of musical numbers in most movies. It’s just something about a bunch of people dancing in a choreographed fashion in the middle of the street that just doesn’t sit well with me haha. I think the movie took awhile to get going and they could have cut down the film by at least a half hour of searching for their band members. The movie really doesn’t need to be 2 hours and half! But then again, there’s two versions of the movie you can watch, I chose the extended cut which has 17 minutes added back into the movie. But there is still is a lot of memorable scenes and quotes from the movie. And a ton of cameos, even a young Steven Spielberg makes an appearance at the end of the movie. Other people making appearances in the movie is Frank Oz, Paul Reubens, Twiggy, and John Candy. Plus all the musicians I noted from before. What makes this movie so likable and ‘classic’ was the performances of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Today, if someone came up with this idea, I’m just not sure how well received it would be. Back then, when the Blues Brothers were formed, it was nothing but disco so it was a refreshing change. Even though it was two white guys playing basically, black music. The backing band was key ingredient to the movie and the music of the Blues Brothers. Paul Shaffer and Dan Aykroyd personally sought out each member which was cool. Though, I think the movie sequels & Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman still doing this is kind of, sad. There’s some things you should leave in the past haha.

I’m not positive but I think a lot of these extras might have been on the Collector’s Edition DVD that came out a few years ago. There’s the behind the scenes stories of the movie, plus interviews with the cast & crew. That featurette is good if you never saw it before, which I haven’t so I enjoyed watching it. There are some new extras on the other side of the DVD, which also has the original theatrical version of the film. If you already don’t own the DVD of the Blues Brothers, than this is the one to get. But if you already own it, I’d say save your money. I liked the Blues Brothers, just think it’s not as good as other people say it is.

Features:
Disc Side A
Extended Version – Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
Stories Behind The Making Of The Blues Brothers

Go behind the scenes with John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and the Blues Brothers Band

Exclusive in-depth interviews with the cast and crew and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage!
Musical Highlights

Disc Side B
Theatrical Version – Presented in Dolby Digital Stereo, with optional French and Spanish audio
Introduction to the film by Dan Aykroyd
Going Rounds: A Day On The Blues Brothers Tour

Viewers get to experience a Blues Brothers concert up close.
Transposing The Music

From stage shows to sequels, catch a glimpse of the many spin-offs inspired by the film.
Remember John

An ultimate portrait of John Belushi by those who knew him best
Musical Highlights
Production Notes

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC

Video:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French

Favorite Scenes: Mall car chase, playing the country bar, the last half hour
Rating: R
Running Time: 148 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: