The 1979 film was directed by John Landis and stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, with great music by John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and the Blues Brothers Band. On the new anniversary DVD you can expect a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and never-released footage.
This movie is a blast, probably one of my top 5 all-time favorites and the comedy holds its own even after repeated viewings. Just think back on the confrontation between the Blues Brothers and Aretha Franklin (Mrs. Murphy) after they show up at the diner to get Matt "Guitar" Murphy back in the band:
Mrs. Murphy to Matt: The Blues Brothers? Shiiit. They still owe you money, fool. You're livin' wit' me now. You ain't goin' back out on the road, and playin' them old two-bit sleazy dives. And y'ain't gonna go slidin' around wit' your white hoodlum friends!
Jake: Ma'am, would it make you feel any better if we told you that what we're asking Matthew to do ... is a holy thing?
Elwood: You see ... We're on a mission from God.
Mrs. Murphy: Don't you blasphemy in here! Don't you blasphemy in here!
Just to see the 1974 Dodge sedan bluesmobile do 120mph in downtown Chicago under the EL on Lower Wacker Drive is awesome (Elwood: "This is definitely Lower Wacker Drive! If my estimations are correct, we should be very close to the Honorable Richard J. Daley Plaza!" Jake: That's where they got that Picasso." Elwood: "Yep."); add to that Jake's revelation in the church ("Do you seeeeee the light?" Jake: "Yes. Yes. Jesus H. tap-dancing Christ ... I have seen the light!"), Ray Charles singing "Shake Your Tail Feather," Aretha dancing in pink slippers in her soul food diner, Cab Calloway doing his signature classic "Minnie the Moocher" and the band singing "keep them doggies rollin'" behind chicken wire while they're pelted with beer bottles. The music is great, the comedy still works after all these years, and the one-liners are legend.
