ⓘ Details

Movie TitleThe Blues Brothers

Release DateJune 20, 1980 in the United States and Canada

TaglineThey’ll never get caught. They’re on a mission from God.

Runtime133 minutes / 2 hours 13 minutes

DirectorJohn Landis

Screenplay Written ByDan Aykroyd and John Landis

Based OnThe Blues Brothers characters created by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi for Saturday Night Live

Is It a Remake?No. It is an original feature film based on the SNL musical characters Jake and Elwood Blues.

BudgetApproximately $27.5 million

Box OfficeApprox. $57.2 million domestic / approx. $115.2 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

John Belushi“Joliet” Jake Blues

Dan AykroydElwood Blues

James BrownReverend Cleophus James

Cab CallowayCurtis

Ray CharlesRay

Aretha FranklinMrs. Murphy

Carrie FisherMystery Woman

Henry GibsonHead Nazi

John CandyBurton Mercer

Kathleen FreemanSister Mary Stigmata

Steve LawrenceMaury Sline

Charles NapierTucker McElroy

Steven WilliamsTrooper Mount

TwiggyChic Lady

Frank OzCorrections Officer

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Motion Picture Sound Editors Winner — Golden Reel Award for sound effects and Foley editing

⭐ National Film Registry — Selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2020

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ AFI highlighted the film as a major American comedy and music movie with a powerhouse cast of musicians and comedians.

⭐ Its biggest legacy is cult status: a comedy, chase movie, musical, Chicago love letter, and SNL spin-off that somehow became all of those things at once.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

After Jake Blues gets out of prison, he and his brother Elwood visit the orphanage where they grew up and learn it will close unless they can raise $5,000 in tax money. After a church revelation, the brothers decide they are on a mission from God, which apparently involves reuniting their old band, dodging police, enraging Nazis, surviving Carrie Fisher with heavy weapons, and destroying half of Chicago in the name of charity. The Blues Brothers is part musical, part road comedy, part car-chase spectacle, part soul revue, and part proof that sunglasses and a deadpan delivery can turn property damage into art.

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❝ Key Quotes

“We’re on a mission from God.” — Elwood Blues

“It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks.” — Elwood Blues

“I hate Illinois Nazis.” — Jake Blues

“This place has got everything.” — Elwood Blues

“How much for the little girl? The women? How much for the women?” — Jake Blues

“The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year.” — Elwood Blues

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💡 Trivia

Director

The Blues Brothers was directed by John Landis.
The screenplay was written by Dan Aykroyd and John Landis.
The movie was built from Jake and Elwood Blues, characters Belushi and Aykroyd developed on Saturday Night Live.
Landis brought a giant-scale action-comedy approach to what could have been a simple sketch-to-movie adaptation.
The result is less “SNL movie” and more “what if a soul concert, a police chase, a Catholic guilt trip, and a Chicago tourism ad all crashed into each other at 90 mph?”

Cast / Casting

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood Blues, reprising the musical characters they made famous through Saturday Night Live.
The cast includes an incredible lineup of music legends, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan.
Carrie Fisher plays the heavily armed Mystery Woman, one of the movie’s funniest recurring threats.
John Candy plays Burton Mercer, a lawman who spends much of the movie chasing the brothers.
Frank Oz appears as the corrections officer who returns Jake’s belongings at the beginning.
Steven Spielberg makes an uncredited appearance as the Cook County Assessor near the end of the film.

Soundtrack / Score

Ira Newborn composed the score.
The soundtrack features performances by the Blues Brothers Band and legendary guest artists.
Key musical numbers include “Think,” “Shake a Tail Feather,” “Minnie the Moocher,” “The Old Landmark,” “Rawhide,” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.”
The film helped introduce a new generation to classic blues, soul, R&B, and gospel performers.
The soundtrack album was released in 1980 and supported the film’s identity as both a comedy and a full-on music showcase.

Location

The film was shot largely in and around Chicago, Illinois.
Important locations include Joliet Correctional Center, Wrigley Field, Daley Plaza, Lower Wacker Drive, and the South Shore Cultural Center.
The famous shopping mall chase was filmed at the closed Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois.
The Palace Hotel Ballroom concert scenes used the South Shore Cultural Center exterior, while interiors were filmed at the Hollywood Palladium.
Chicago is basically a co-star in the movie, even if the movie thanks it by wrecking every police vehicle in a ten-mile radius.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Robert K. Weiss.
Universal Pictures released the film on June 20, 1980.
The production budget was approximately $27.5 million, unusually high for a comedy at the time.
The movie grossed about $57.2 million in the United States and Canada and about $115.2 million worldwide.
The car chase scenes were among the most elaborate of their era, with dozens of police cars destroyed.
The downtown Chicago chase required major coordination and street closures, turning the city into one gigantic stunt playground.

Nostalgia

The Blues Brothers became a cult favorite and one of the most beloved movies connected to Saturday Night Live.
The black suits, hats, sunglasses, and deadpan attitude made Jake and Elwood instantly recognizable pop-culture icons.
For comedy fans, the movie is remembered for its absurd scale, quotable lines, and perfectly straight-faced nonsense.
For music fans, it is a two-hour reminder that Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker do not need much screen time to steal the movie.
It is one of those films that feels like a late-night cable discovery, a dad favorite, a music lesson, and a demolition derby all at once.

Easter Eggs

Elwood lists 1060 West Addison as his address, which is actually Wrigley Field.
The “mission from God” line became the movie’s defining phrase and the brothers’ excuse for almost every disaster that follows.
The mall chase is packed with fake store names and visual gags as the Bluesmobile tears through Dixie Square Mall.
Steven Spielberg’s cameo near the end is easy to miss if you are distracted by the entire state of Illinois trying to arrest two musicians.
The movie’s musician cameos are not throwaway stunt casting. The story pauses to let them perform, turning the movie into a tribute act with a plot wrapped around it.
The sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, arrived in 1998, though the original remains the one with the stronger mission from God energy.

Misc.

The Blues Brothers is rated R.
The movie runs 133 minutes.
It was the first feature film built around characters from Saturday Night Live.
The Library of Congress selected the film for the National Film Registry in 2020.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s domestic opening weekend at $4,858,152 and its worldwide gross at about $115.2 million.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists The Blues Brothers as Episode 19, with Don rating it 3.75, Ken rating it 4.00, Jon rating it 3.50, and an overall rating of 3.75.

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