The Blues Brothers: 25th Anniversary Edition
Studio: Universal Studios Home Video
Case Style: Keep Case, no substantive insert
Disc Format: Dual Sided / Dual Layered (DVD-18)
Extended Version (Side A):
Year: 1998
Rated: Not Rated
Aspect Ratio: 1.85x1, enhanced for 16x9 displays
Audio: English DD 5.1
Captions/Subtitles: English SDH; French and Spanish Subtitles
Time: 148 minutes
Theatrical Version(Side B):
Year: 1980
Rated: R
Aspect Ratio: 1.85x1, enhanced for 16x9 displays
Audio: English, French, and Spanish DD 2.0
Captions/Subtitles: English SDH; French and Spanish Subtitles
Time: 133 minutes
“They’re not gonna catch us. We’re on a mission from God.” – Elwood Blues
The Feature:
In 1978,
Grease was the word, and movie musicals got a shot in the arm. Around the same time, two up-and-coming rhythm and blues singers opened for a popular comedian at the Universal Amphitheater, recorded and released a live album recorded from those concerts, and history was made when that album spawned a hit single and went multi-platinum. Well, sort of. The comedian was real (Steve Martin), but the singers were none other than Saturday Night Live’s John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, plus a hand-picked group of solid rhythm and blues musicians. Their album,
Briefcase Full of Blues was fun, and the single “Soul Man” had people heading for the store for sunglasses. It was only a matter of time before a mythology was created around these characters and a movie was made.
Dan Aykroyd wrote a lengthy script (think Los Angeles Telephone book in size) and John Landis, fresh from his triumph with John Belushi in
Animal House, took the helm to shape the screenplay and turn out 1980’s
The Blues Brothers. It was a musical. It was a comedy. It was a destroyed mall, a police chase to end all police chases, and did I mention it was a musical? James Brown… Aretha Franklin… John Lee Hooker… Ray Charles… Cab Calloway… wow.
The story, such as it is, follows ex-con brothers Jake and Elwood Blues (Belushi and Aykroyd), who visit their scary old orphanage after Jake is released from prison, only to find that the orphanage will be closed in eleven days if $5000 in taxes are not paid. Jake and Elwood decide to save the orphanage legitimately by putting their band back together and playing benefit concerts.
It is a bit of a stretch to make a 2+ hour movie out of this scenario using TV-skit stage personas. But string it together with musical numbers, car chases (and crashes), psychotic women with military weapons, and lots of good humor, and it works for what it is. Make it with John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and the very funny John Landis, and it has the potential to be a classic. I’ve seen the movie twice recently, with a small crowd of strangers, and a smaller crowd of friends, and we all found it enjoyable—sometimes to the point of uncontrollable laughter. That’s always a good sign.
The Feature: 4.5 / 5
Video:
There are two versions of
The Blues Brothers on this DVD. Side A includes the extended edition that first made its appearance several years ago on DVD and laserdisc (the DVD was complete with a booklet that had an introduction by John Landis, and an itemized listing of which scenes had extended sequences). Side B includes the shorter theatrical version, which has never appeared on DVD.
The video quality is similar, but the two versions do appear to be from different sources based on dirt and speckles. The video quality between the current release and the original special edition release is also similar, telling me that the movie was not remastered for this DVD release. Regardless, colors are rendered accurately; blacks are black; but there is quite a bit of grain and the appearance of noise reduction; there is definitely some edge enhancement, and a lack of fine detail. This is true on both sides of the disc. Both versions of the movie are presented in 1.85x1, enhanced for 16x9 displays. It's watchable, but not perfect.
Video: 3.5 / 5
Sound:
This is where the two versions of
The Blues Brothers begin to diverge. The 5.1 remix for the 1998 release had someone playing around at the mixing console a wee bit more for the sound effects. Check out that gate opening to Jake’s freedom from prison to see what I mean—in the extended version, it goes right to left. In the DD 2.0 standard version, it remains focused on the center channel. The music is also mixed differently. The DD 2.0 mix sounds okay; the DD 5.1 mix sounds great, and is much more dynamic. I wish the original version of the film had been afforded the DD 5.1 mix.
Sound: 4 / 5
Extras:
Side A includes “The Stories Behind The Making of
The Blues Brothers," which is the same 56:19 documentary that appeared on the prior DVD and laserdisc releases. There is some good behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews from 1998 and 1979/80. The stories told here are still being told to this day, at gatherings like last week’s
Hollywood’s Master Storytellers.
Side B includes an Intro (0:24) by Dan Aykroyd that can be played separately or will be played automatically when the movie fires up.
“Going Rounds: A Day on the Blues Brothers Tour” takes a 7:03 look at two May 2005 performances in San Diego with James Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the blues-singing brothers in black and white. I’m beginning to wish we had a House of Blues in Dallas.
“Transposing the Music” is a 15:17 25th anniversary look at the movie—including the King Bee footage from Saturday Night Live, which is almost worth the price of the DVD.
“Remembering John” is 9:39 extension to the Transposing documentary interviews, with John as the focus.
Rounding out side Side B are production notes and a 4:26 Trailer.
Both sides include “Musical Highlights” which are chapter stops and menu screens that focus on the individual musical numbers (as opposed to movie scenes).
The supplements on both sides are all presented in 4x3.
Oh, the menus on Side A are animated. On Side B they are static.
Extras: 5 / 5
In Conclusion:
The Blues Brothers is a favorite movie, and this DVD represents it well. I would have liked a better video transfer, however. If you have the original DVD release, you may be asking if the extra side of supplements makes the purchase of the new disc worth it. Keep in mind that the shorter version of the movie is included, which is paced a little better. But the extended sequences—especially the songs—and the inclusion of the more dynamic 5.1 mix definitely make the extended version worthwhile. And since you can get both in a package that costs less than $20, it’s hard to lose.
Overall Rating: 4 / 5
Release Date: August 30, 2005
Display calibrated by Steve Martin at http://www.lionav.com/
