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DVD
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The Blues Brothers
Just a few days after the late Chris Farley gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the memory of John Belushi is revived by means of a new DVD of ‘a mission from God.’
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
By Kevin Biggers
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Universal Home Entertainment
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Belushi with Aretha Franklin
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How can you explain a film with a prodigious budget, several monumental
car chases, Princess Leia, Steven Spielberg, legendary music, high-profile cameos from musicians like Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin, two sharp black suits, two mythical leads and a group of Illinois Nazis?
What sounds like a summer blockbuster of today is really an 80s film about two rhythm-and-blues-performing brothers: ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues and Ellwood Blues, a.k.a. The Blues Brothers. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Blues Brothers, Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released a featured-flooded DVD that boasts the full-length Director’s Cut, which is reason enough for anyone remotely interested in The Blues Brothers to purchase the DVD.
An additional fifteen minutes are added to the already-lengthy feature (the theatrical version, which is also included, runs for two hours and thirteen minutes). The results are mixed. For a first-time watcher, the Director’s Cut tends to feel like a great joke that runs a few re-tellings past its course. Even the original film contained several scenes and sequences that could have been omitted for greater brevity - i.e. the scenes in Bob’s Country Bunker, which have a minimal effect on the overall story.
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Universal Home Entertainment
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Now jamming on DVD
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Of course, for the dedicated, fanatical brethren of the Blues Brothers, the film will be as palatable of a pleasure as it was back in 1980. In addition to the extended version, the DVD also includes a “musical highlight” feature, which allows the viewer to listen to each of the film’s songs separately. This is especially pleasing for those who found the
supporting character’s dialogue to be often grating, awkward and, unlike their music, off-key—so much so that it’s often difficult to reach the performances.
The simple truth is John Landis’s two cult hits, Brothers and 1978’s Animal House, are better known for being spectacles imbued with
indelible one-liners, not artistic or linguistic masterpieces. Nonetheless, 25 years later, Aykroyd’s unforgettable Chicago accent and John Belushi’s off-kilter mannerisms still resonate at the same level of comedy with the best of today. Not to mention, their performances still come off with incredible magnanimity and thrilling enthusiasm for both their humor and for the great Black American rhythm and blues soundtrack.
On a side note, it’s a bit disconcerting that the sound during Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles’ musical performances wasn’t re-mastered. The dubbing remains blatant and consequently detracts from the gravitas of the scene, though a dubbed Ray Charles is still infinitely better than the artist formerly known as Jamie Foxx (during one of the features, the filmmakers explain that Franklin and Charles, like many other performers, never perform the song the same way, therefore their tracks are sung differently, causing the rifts).
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Universal Home Entertainment
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Car shopping
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The only other disconcerting part of the DVD is the feature entitled “Introduction to the film by Dan Aykroyd,” which is a 30-second segment in which Aykroyd basically confirms that he is, indeed, Dan Aykroyd, and briefly explains his desire for you to enjoy the movie.
Not withstanding, the rest of the DVD provides ample opportunities for fans to re-live the magic of the Blues Brothers. The “Stories Behind the Making of ‘The Blues Brothers’” feature compliments the Director’s Cut on Side A with 30 minutes’ worth of on-set video footage and interviews with virtually every significant living member of the cast, sans Carrie Fisher and crew.
For the fledging youths not alive during the Blues Brothers mania, the segment helps capture the aura of the movie and the frenzy surrounding the act in the early 80s with, among other things, Aykroyd’s explanation of the Blues Brothers’ origin, Landis’ in-depth overview of the production, and the Blues Brothers band’s story of how
they were assembled by Aykroyd and Belushi.
On Side B, the features are shorter - though none are as short as the aforementioned Aykroyd introduction - and are generally less satisfying than the behind-the-scenes feature. A 2005 performance of the, shall we say, new Blues Brothers (Aykroyd and John’s brother Jim) at the San Diego House of Blues is included on the disc. It’s safe to say the performance is less effective and played with substantially less zeal than the
film version. Aykroyd is 25 years older, 25 years less nimble and, it seems, 25 years displaced from his and Belushi’s mission from God.
“Transposing the Music” explores the multitude of stage shows launched after the film in addition to the large fan base and their fervent dedication to the act. “Remembering John” is a short section largely featuring an interview from Judy Belushi-Pisano, John’s wife, who recounts her memories of John during the years preceding “The Blues Brothers.” All in all, this DVD does a fairly competent job at rekindling the spirit of the Blues Brothers phenomenon.
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