Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Movie Review

"They're not gonna catch us. We're on a mission from God."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown July 16, 2011

Saturday Night Live has given birth to more than ten feature films -- among them Wayne's World, Coneheads, It's Pat, Stuart Saves His Family, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar, The Ladies Man and, most recently, MacGruber -- but none of them hold a candle to the first SNL spinoff: writer/director John Landis' The Blues Brothers. Light on plot and heavy on deadpan comedy, rip-roarious car chases, unforgettable cameos and, of course, the sweet, sweet nectar of the blues, it captures the magic of Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi's SNL musical sketch and celebrates an entire genre of music with unapologetic exuberance, unrepentant adoration and near-religious reverence. It's also one of the funniest comedies of all time; at least in this humble writer's opinion. Over the years, it's been criticized for its minimalistic story, non-existent character development and one-note antagonists, and truth be told, classic or no, I'd be hard pressed to defend it on any of those charges. But few films and even fewer comedies lure me back year after year; much less two or three times a year, as The Blues Brothers has since I got my hands on a dusty old VHS copy at the ripe young age of fifteen. My gut tells me it's as hilarious in 2011 as it ever was -- that newcomers will enjoy it just as much as I first did in 1993, or as much as my father and so many others have since 1980 -- and Universal's excellent new Blu-ray release makes it easy to put that notion to the test.

"We gotta make that move towards redemption. We gotta go to church..."

The Blues Brothers wastes little time. Upon being released from prison after serving a three-year stint for armed robbery, Jake Blues (John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) learn that their childhood home -- the St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage -- will be forced to close its doors unless Sister Mary Stigmata, aka The Penguin (Kathleen Freeman), finds a way to pay $5,000 in overdue property taxes. Following an old friend's advice, the brothers visit the Triple Rock Baptist Church for "a little churchin' up" where Jake has a supernatural epiphany: if he and Elwood can get their old band back together, they can raise enough money to save the orphanage. And so the Blues Brothers set out in battered ex-police car (dubbed the Bluesmobile), first to track down and recruit the members of their band and, then, to land a few gigs, scrape together some cash and come to the aid of those in need. Along the way, Jake and Elwood find themselves on the run from the Illinois State Police, a brotherhood of vindictive neo-Nazis, a mysterious woman with a penchant for assault rifles and explosives (Carrie Fisher), a bitter country music band called The Good Ol' Boys, Jake's correctional officer (John Candy) and, eventually, every local policeman, fireman and guardsman sworn to uphold the peace. Suffice it to say, saving an orphanage doesn't come easy, even when it's a mission from God.

The Blues Brothers doesn't simply dust off a coupla old tunes, toss 'em into the mix and sprinkle in a few references for good measure. Far from it. Landis, Belushi and Aykroyd indulge in nothing short of a love affair with a genre immortalized by some of the very same legends who make extended cameos in the film: Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and John Lee Hooker. It's all here and in near-perfect harmony. The culture, the artists, the songs, the slang, the passion, the soulfulness, the sunglasses, the hats, the suits, the attitude, the swagger... the film oozes rythym, the script bleeds the blues, and Belushi and Aykroyd live, breathe and growl the very essence of the music they so clearly adore. No small feat for a pair of comedians fresh off a sketch comedy show hoping to make a splash in Hollywood. Jake and Elwood are caricatures, to be sure. They have no defined connection to the music, no backstory that sheds light on their cool-hand-Blues demeanor, no explanation as to why two white kids from Illinois immersed themselves in a predominately African American musical culture. But therein lies the genius of the Blues boys and their ambiguous origins. In one not-so-subtle swoop, Belushi and Aykroyd eliminate race from the equation. The blues is universal, as it were, and Jake and Elwood never once suggest they don't belong; Charles, Brown, Franklin... none of them scramble to justify Jake and Elwood's place among their ranks. The music is pumping through the Blues brothers' veins and that's good enough for everyone involved. Well, everyone except for neo-Nazis and their ilk. (The social commentary is blunt, but it remains so pointed and precise that you can practically feel Belushi grinning from the Great Beyond.)

And, somehow, The Blues Brothers is a musical too. It isn't tacked on. It isn't inferred. Landis stages elaborate dance numbers, mid-diner musical acts and grand concert performances alongside a string of large-scale car chases, amusing action sequences and some of the most quotable lines to grace an '80s comedy. ("Well, me and the Lord, we have an understanding." "Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now." "I hate Illinois Nazis." "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses." I could go on and on, but I won't wear out my welcome.) The comedy, though, is as dry as you could imagine -- arid, in fact -- and nothing like that which graces other SNL spinoff films. Those who need a punchline with every joke or a pratfall with every bit of physical comedy need not apply. Belushi and Aykroyd rarely break their stiff stride, save a hilariously impassioned plea to a former lover, and the laughs are primarily in the little details: the sidelong glances, the silences, the pauses, the non-reactions, the monotone deliveries, the tough-as-nails calm that comes with a collapsing hotel room or a car chase through a shopping mall, the staccato bickering, or the sudden burst of electricity that surges through their bodies when they step on stage to perform. Belushi and Aykroyd are as funny quietly sizing up a toaster oven as they are eyeballing a room full of armed lawmen or crawling through a muddy service tunnel. Just writing about it all makes me want to throw the disc back in and start all over again.

Cards on the table. The Blues Brothers is, hands down, one of my favorite catalog comedies. It isn't for everyone and it isn't without its flaws, I'll admit. But between the music, the cast, the performances, the script, the humor, the laughs and every last irreplaceable quip and quote, it manages to defy its age much like the musical genre it celebrates. If you've never been properly introduced to The Blues Brothers, there's no time like the present. Especially when the new Blu-ray edition boasts... well, read on.

The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Now this is more like it. Having reviewed Universal's Blu-ray releases of American Graffiti and Animal House, both of which are plagued by egregious edge enhancement and underlying digital noise reduction, I was worried about my beloved Blues Brothers. But I'm ecstatic to report its 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer -- minted by way of a new, Landis-approved remaster -- is everything it should be: faithful, filmic and true to its source. In fact, it's easier to quickly rattle off the few minor issues that do crop up than to thoroughly convey exactly what kind of treat fans are in store for. A slight hint of ringing appears in several scenes, some unwieldy noise hinders a handful of shots (Belushi's bathhouse closeup being the worst), and the brothers' black suits sometimes merge with the shadows. Yep, that's it. And none of it is terribly distracting. Colors are bold and beautiful, skintones are exceedingly lifelike, black levels are rich and inky, contrast is pleasing and delineation is far more revealing than I anticipated. And detail? Anyone pleased with American Graffiti or Animal House would do well to spend just five minutes watching The Blues Brothers. The differences are that apparent. A fine veneer of handsome grain rests naturally overtop the image, edge definition is crisp and clean, closeups and mid-range shots are authentic and refined, and textures are delicate, convincing and remarkable. No smeared cheeks. No waxy complexions. No plastic-molded hair pieces. It almost makes me want to revisit Graffiti and House's reviews and dock their video scores another half-point. Don't misunderstand: softness still persists on occasion. But it's filmic softness; there is a crucial distinction. Problematic shots are present and accounted for (the additional scenes in the extended cut sometimes look quite different, actually). But these issues trace back to Stephen M. Katz's original photography (and, in the case of the extended cut, discrepancies in the film materials themselves); not a poor remaster, a deficient transfer, egregious DNR, overzealous EE or needless tinkering.

Sorry... almost went off the rails there. The disc's encoding is exceptional as well. Macroblocking, banding, aliasing and, really, digital anomalies of any kind are scarce, and aberrant crush and other eyesores never become a factor. Again, that's not to suggest that every shot is immaculate or that every scene looks as if it were filmed yesterday. (Every time a title card or cast member's name appears on screen, a small number of faint, static white dots appear as well. Don't fret, though. Notice each nick and imperfection is a part of the title card overlays used to place words on the image.) But for a thirty-one-year-old comedy, they simply don't come much better than this. If you have any love for The Blues Brothers, you'll be ecstatic when you see the degree of TLC it's been afforded.

Note: visually, some of the extended cut scenes and shots do not match the surrounding scenes. However, seeing as these discrepancies are attributable to differences in the extended cut materials themselves, not to deficiencies in the remaster and transfer, I decided to base my video review and subsequent score on the quality and consistency of the theatrical cut presentation.

The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

No, that isn't a typo at the top of the page. The Blu-ray edition of The Blues Brothers doesn't include a lossless audio mix. However, and this is a big however, Universal's 768kbps DTS 5.1 surround track is so good, so engaging, so... wait for it... righteous that I didn't even realize I had been listening to a lossy mix until I was poking around in the main menu after watching the entire film. Imagine my surprise. But before anyone complains that I've awarded a high score to a lossy mix, before anyone accuses me of turning my back on principle, let me make one thing clear: I was honestly set to dole out a 4.5, perhaps even a 5.0, based on the sonic experience alone. My 4.0 actually represents a docked score. After all, one has to assume, whether the end result is apparent or not, that a lossless audio track would have brought more to the table. Make no mistake, I am not defending the use of a lossy track, nor am I suggesting audiophiles shouldn't be disappointed by the choices that led to the exclusion of a lossless track. I am, however, saying that the mix that is included sounds surprisingly good.

But I digress. On with the show. The Blues Brothers has, quite simply, never sounded better. Dialogue is clean, clear and nicely prioritized. A few lines are buried by car chases, collapsing buildings and chanting crowds, but every mishap I noticed seemed inherent to the original audio elements, not the track itself. The LFE channel delivers the goods, which is a real treat considering the film recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. Likewise, the rear speakers, while relatively restrained, don't sit idly by, but lend welcome support to scenes in which rowdiness ensues. Directionality isn't entirely convincing, sure, and dynamics aren't quite as roomy as they could be. But it's important to keep in mind that the studio's remix was created using mono and 4-track stereo elements, so a certain level of frontward bias, tinny sound effects and flatter low-end oomph is to be expected. A film made in 1980 will never sound as strong as a film made in 2011. As thirty-one-year-old catalog comedies go, though, The Blues Brothers defies its age with every guitar solo, vocal riff, keyboard flurry, bass strum, upbeat and beatdown Landis showcases on screen. The music, the chases, the action, the laughs... it's all unexpectedly crisp, full and satisfying.

Yes, a lossless audio track would have been more ideal. And yes, it does strike me as a missed opportunity. But the real shame is that a few people will miss out Jake and Elwood's Blu-ray debut simply because the letters "DTS" aren't followed by "HD Master Audio." Normally, I'd be the first one to shake my head and cast a judgmental glare at the studio. Normally, I'd be up in arms, simply out of principle. But having listened to the results, I just can't seem to conjure up any real outrage or disappointment. My advice? Don't shrug off the fact that there is no lossless track, but also don't shrug off the possibility that the lossy track that is included is a very strong one. Give it a shot. Chances are, you'll be just as pleasantly surprised as I was.

The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In addition to both the 133-minute theatrical and 148-minute extended cuts of the film, the Blu-ray edition of The Blues Brothers offers three major special features: an hour-long production documentary, a fifteen-minute 25th Anniversary retrospective and a ten-minute look back at the life and career of the late John Belushi. The downside? None of the extras are new (the most recent being produced in 2005) and each one is presented in standard definition.

• Stories Behind the Making of The Blues Brothers (SD, 56 minutes): The biggest and baddest extra to be had is "Stories," an extensive, enormously effective documentary that digs into, quite literally, every aspect of the film's genesis, production and release. Countless interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, revealing anecdotes and analyses, and other materials make it as indispensable as they come, and a must for any fan of The Blues Brothers. Chapters include "The Beginning: The Music," "Finding the Band," "Creating the Myth of the Blues Brothers," "It's a Musical," "Dancing," "Working with Our Heroes," "The Bluesmobile," "The Mall," "Shooting in Chicago," "The Palace Hotel Ballroom," "Cab Calloway," "John Belushi" and "We Did Something Right."
• Transposing the Music (SD, 15 minutes): This 2005 25th Anniversary retrospective is also worth watching, if only because it features more recent interviews. It touches on topics covered in "Stories," but forges a path of its own. If you have any love for The Blues Brothers, you'll find something to love in this secondary featurette.
• Remembering John (SD, 10 minutes): Judy Belushi-Pisano (Belushi's widow), brother Jim Belushi, director John Landis, Dan Aykroyd and other members of the Blues Brothers cast and crew pay tribute to the late John Belushi, his life and career.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 4 minutes)
• BD-Live Functionality and News Ticker
• My Scenes Bookmarking

The Blues Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Blues Brothers doesn't have much in the way of plot, but it doesn't need anything more. Landis' musical comedy is as much a part of the blues as the blues is a part of it; the two are as inseparable as any film and its inspiration can be. It only helps that it's as funny as it is, that it's aged as well as it has, and that it's as addicting as any early '80s musical comedy could be. Universal's Blu-ray release stands tall as well, even if it's supplemental package has merely been recycled from the 2005 25th Anniversary Edition DVD. Its video transfer is outstanding (and approved by Landis to boot) and its DTS 5.1 audio, while a lossy mix, is a 768kbps treat. And for less than twenty dollars, it's priced to sell too. The Blues Brothers has never looked or sounded better than it does here.