The Blues Brothers (1980)
- The original script for The Blues Brothers was written over a decade before production finally began in 1980.
- Before Dan Aykroyd was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- The incredible score for The Blues Brothers was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 American musical comedy directed by John Landis, based on the recurring Saturday Night Live characters created by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The film follows Jake and Elwood Blues, two fedora-wearing, sunglasses-clad brothers who reform their rhythm and blues band to raise $5,000 in tax money to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised. Their mission from God takes them across Illinois, assembling their band members while being pursued by Illinois state police, the military, a country-western band, Illinois Nazis, and a mystery woman with a rocket launcher played by Carrie Fisher.
The Blues Brothers featured an extraordinary lineup of musical legends performing on camera โ James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker all appeared as characters and performed full musical numbers. The car chase sequences were among the most destructively elaborate in cinema history, with over 100 vehicles destroyed. The Blues Brothers earned $115 million worldwide on a $27 million budget.
