Super cute characters, great music and world record stunts: “Blues Brothers” is a cult movie straight out of a textbook. The hot, action-packed comedy of late is once again available in Extended Cut – finally in 4K!
They have to drive 106 miles to Chicago, their gas tank is full, they have half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and they have sunglasses on. But at least they’re on the road for God’s sake – and they breathe blues, jazz and swing. We are talking about the “Blues Brothers”, two small gangsters, full-blooded speakers and musicians. John Landis’ directorial work has enjoyed absolute cult status for decades. But what few fans know: The action-packed musical comedy exists in two cuts.
Because after a preview, Landis was pressured by the studio to cut the film. This longer cut version was released in US home theaters in 1998, in Germany it was only released fully dubbed in 2016. This edition is now sold out at many retailers, but luckily there are supplies: The Blues Brothers was recently re-released in extended cuts on DVD and Blu-ray – and for the first time in this country as a 4K disc too.
» Blues Brothers Extended Cut on Amazon: Blu-ray* / 4K* / DVD*
Much effort was made to post-dub the scenes that were deleted from the regular theatrical version, and Thomas Danneberg and Rainer Basedow not only took the original voices of the main actors behind the microphone. Meticulous care was also taken to ensure that the recordings were mixed in such a way that they fit seamlessly into the rest of the film rather than sounding “too new”. Worthy efforts for a cult film, which was also produced with tremendous effort – it even set a stunt record!
“Blues Brothers”: With music and style against the police
Brothers Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) learn that $5,000 must be raised quickly to save the orphanage where they grew up. So the duo decide to reunite their old band to put on a benefit concert together. Easier said than done because the group is spread across the four winds. And the police are after the brothers. Like an extreme right wing party. And then a crazy fan (Carrie Fisher) tries to kill Jake…
…but all of that is just there to steer the cute anyway main characters into memorable, humorous situations. Moreover, the plot is a narrative ramp for unforgettable musical interludes with legends like Cab Calloway, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. AND when there’s no singing, there’s always a witty excuse to go all out for slapstick, stunt escapades and crazy action.
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then for a light-hearted comedy about quiet musicians, Blues Brothers is filled with an amazing passion for well-crafted and shocking action. During their escape from the police, the stylishly dressed brothers fly through a (real!) shopping mall, the interior of which is being disassembled into a thousand individual pieces. Landis stages this with wit, coolness, and a cartoonish love of the little absurdities that arise along the way. And this is just the beginning!
The Blues Brothers action sequences continue to escalate, until in the final third, completely insane action occurs – such as the practically twisted fall of a car from a height of approximately 365 meters in the center of Chicago! In addition, the film is filled with car chases in which police cars are impressively destroyed at high speeds. With this, Landis set a world record: Believe it or not, 103 cars are destroyed in “Blues Brothers” – more than at any time in the history of cinema..
This record stood for a long time, but has since been surpassed by Landis himself (with 104 cars on “Blues Brothers 2000”). Incidentally, the current record holder is “Transformers 3”, in which Michael Bay smashed an incredible 523 cars. However, more is not always more: the clashes in “Blues Brothers” are enjoyed more and staged in a more memorable way. To stick with the language of the movie: They could have spent those things on an apple and an egg so Landis could assemble over 100 cars for the shoot. But his cleverly filmed destructiveness is priceless!
One of the most exciting and stylish movie journeys of the year is now available in the home cinema
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