Legendary jazz singer Cab Callaway played Curtis. Legendary blues guitarist John Lee Hooker was the street musician, 1960s supermodel Twiggy was the English woman. Steven Spielberg was the county clerk, Frank Oz (Voice of muppet Miss Piggy, )the prison guard who returned jakes clothes in the beginning, famed comic actor Henry Gibson was the Nazi leader and the band are not actors, they are an all star collection of the greatest blues musicians ever! Plus other famous actors make cameos. I saw this when it came out, it blew us all away! And yes that was Chaka Khan.
This movie is a love letter to Blues Music. This movie capture some of the greatest Blues performers forever on film. Sadly most of these Artist are no longer with us. A few Cameos you may have missed: 'the soiled condom guy in the Prison was Franks Oz (Miss Piggy, Yoda). The British woman that Elwood flirts with was 1960's Model/Icon, Twiggy. The Guy at the Tax office that takes their money (just in time) was Steven Stieiberg.
Also a cameo by John Lee Hooker who mysteriously is absent on the Soundtrack release & there's Aretha Franklin THEE QUEEN of SOUL who play's the wife of the real Matt "Guitar" Murphy,& The Godfather of SOUL James Brown playing Father Cleeus
"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses." "Hit it." Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debut of Aretha Franklin and Mr. T (uncredited). Rule Of Three Fact: The line "They broke my watch!" occurs three times in the film, each time spoken or voiced over by a policeman on the losing end of a car chase. Music Enthusiast Fact: Some performers were not used to lip-syncing pre-recorded songs, standard procedure for movie musicals. James Brown ended up singing his number live with a recorded backing (the rest of his choir was lip-syncing). John Lee Hooker's performance was recorded live at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market. Aretha Franklin's performance is cut together from many, many takes, using the parts where her lip-syncing was actually in sync. Automobile Enthusiast Fact: The Bluesmobile is a 1974 Dodge Monaco. The vehicles used in the film were used police cars purchased from the California Highway Patrol, and featured the "cop tires, cop suspension, and cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant" mentioned by Elwood in the film. A total of twelve Bluesmobiles were used in the movie, including one that was built just so it could fall apart. Several replicas have been built by collectors, but one original is known to exist, and is owned by the brother-in-law of Dan Aykroyd. Dodge Monacos from 1974-77, including the upscale Royal Monaco, especially those which came with the A38 police option, are now considered collector's items. They have been used as replica Chicago P.D. and Illinois State Police cars, including Bluesmobile tribute cars. This has led to the scarcity of this generation of Mopar C-bodies, leading some replica squad cars and Bluesmobiles to use the Plymouth Gran Fury or Chrysler Newport instead. Universal Studios Hollywood has a replica Bluesmobile on the lot; it's a 1974 Dodge Coronet, since the Monaco has become so rare. A world record 103 cars were wrecked during filming. The Junkman (1982) broke the record 2 years later, wrecking 150 cars and a plane. That record was held for 2 decades, until over 300 cars were wrecked during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded (2003).
This isn't a live stream, this is a premiere. Big difference. Mr. Valentine has already watched this movie (several times, if he edited it himself). Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
Fist bump from another (older) auto enthusiast. I've got friends who picked up Crown Vics at auction when they started aging out of PD/FD service. "They were almost giving them away.." Cop tires, cop suspension, cop motor", much better than the civilian versions of the car. They'd just been ridden long and hard like that old Monaco.
The "Illinois Nazis" bit is a reference to the famous Skokie Case, when the US Supreme Court upheld the 1st amendment rights of even the most hated groups to gather and march and peacefully protest in public spaces.
Members of the band in this film include Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn who were members of Booker T and the MG's. Very important in music history.
Truly a beautiful movie, one of the greatest group of legends ever assembled. Cab Calloway's "Minnie The Moocher" fills me with joy. you should see him when he was young, what a performer!
The blonde from the gas station is Twiggy. She was a famous model from the UK in the 60's and 70's. The Illinois Nazi was played by Henry Gibson, who was on the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The man is the sauna was Steve Lawrence. He was a singer and comedian, who along with his late wife Eydie Gormé, performed as the duo Steve and Eydie. RIP Steve, who just died on March 7th of this year. And of course the Cook County Assessor Clerk is none other than the great director, Steven Spielberg.
RIP indeed: when we were growing up, the radio station we listened to played Steve and Eydie a lot. Here's one of my favorites, which I later found out is from a musical, "On A Clear Day": ua-cam.com/video/Z_t4CjDyoYM/v-deo.html Steve Lawrence appeared several times as a guest star on "The Carol Burnett Show" and was very, very funny.
I love the irregular firing cadence of Carrie Fisher's assault rifle. The 'Jailhouse Rock' scene was the inspiration for Nathaniel Rateliff's 'S.O.B.' video.
This is an homage to the great Soul and Blues artists. The BB started as a skit on SNL. Their band members are all soul and R&B iconic musicians from Stax Records. See how many artists you can identify! Their old sidekick and later star performer is Cab Calloway. Watch him and the tap dancing Nicholas Brothers in the 40’s musical, Stormy Weather . Yup that was Chaka in the choir! Director Jon Landis did the Thriller video too. Your joyful reaction was great to see!
Mr. Valentine is a superbly articulate, perceptive and good-humored critic, with a knack for summing up his observations in well-fomulated phrases, e.g., "these action sequences are shot with such joyful precision."
One of the great movies of all time. A great blues legend was sing outside Arithas Diner singing Boom Boom is John Lee Hooker. He has some awesome music. Dude has played in front of 80k people as a guest of the Rolling Stones in St Louis in 1989. His carrier went back to the 1930s.
There's a museum in Joliet ( The Rt. 66 Museum) that has their original suits ( donated by John Belushi's widow) and the original stained glass from the church on display.
"Rawhide" was a tv series from the 1950s-60s. It featured a very young Clint Eastwood. Our dad, who came from Spain in the late 50s, learned English from tv as well as other sources, and loved "Rawhide". He would sing the theme song often. But he had not caught the words. Until this movie, I had no idea that the lyrics to "Rawhide" were *not* "Ora heema, heema, heema, ora heema, Rawhide!" ua-cam.com/video/PFGyhSifqzA/v-deo.html
The elderly gentleman in the sauna room scene you didn't recognize, the blues brothers had to speak to him, he's singer and comedian Steve Lawrence, Model from the 1960s was Twiggy, Elwood attempted to pick up on her and meet her at the motel he never went to. I am so glad you figured out Cab Calloway, I was nearly hurt you didn't recognize him right away. Star studded cast in this movie! Kathleen Freeman as Mother Mary Stigmata was funny as a nun in this movie! LOL! A very young Steven Spielberg played the clerk at the tax office near the end of the movie! I am so happy you enjoyed this movie, It's a gem! Okay so you are going to watch the most recent version of the "Blues Brothers", just so you know John Belushi (Jake Blues) won't be in that movie, he sadly passed away at age 33. I never watched the 2nd Blues Brothers movie, but I just saw the cast for that movie and once again you'll see a lot of musicians in this one and familiar faces from this movie too. I enjoyed watching your reaction to the "Blues Brothers". Peace. ☮
It is crazy. The most famous musician in this movie was Cab Calloway. He had been making music for 7 decades at this point. You knew his music and didn't know why
Frank Oz played the prison guard who returned Jake's items. He is a filmmaker in his own right (you should react to both "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"). However, he is best known for his long work as a puppeteer. Among the many Muppets he's performed: Bert, Grover, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Yoda. Thus, it is an inside joke in the Blues Brothers when the man in Toys R Us, while holding a Grover doll, asks for a Miss Piggy doll, both Muppets performed by Frank Oz.
This is an absolutely gonzo cinematic experience, and I love every single second of it. But Dan Ayckroyd can't shed that Canadian accent to save his life 😂
The true legacy of The Blues Brothers to me was the curation. Those first three ablums including the soundtrack were a full-on love letter to alot of great R&B, especially Stax. I was a young teenager back then, and they helped me discover Sam and Dave, now a lifelong part of my own headtrack.
CLOSE-UP OF COWBOY. You mentioned close-up of cowboy at the bar that either never had love or lost it (during Stand By Your Man) so random, appropriate, and quick (probably 2 seconds or less). I immediately thought the reference (when I saw it in the theater at age 17) was a classic "crying in your beer" moment. He's teary eyed, looks down at his beer, and drinks.
The choir leader in the church scene was Chaka Khan, good catch. Can you imagine walking down the street and finding John Lee Hooker and his band playing out in the open? That's Cab Calloway!
Apparently Dan Aykroyd is allergic to certain terpenes, which are the flavor particles that we taste in food and drink. This is probably why Elwood eats dry toast and water.
For many years I lived at the Fire Mountain Lodge on the Russian River in California. Johnson beach was right next door. Every summer they heald a jazz and blues festival. Both John Lee Hooker, and Chakka Kahn played there many times. Right there in my back yard, with only a chain link fence between us. For free‼️ Also; Doobie brothers, Al Green, Etta James,BBKing. I shoulda never moved☮️
Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn (the guitar & bass) were the original guitar & bass for the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G's. It was Cropper you hear on the opening notes of "Soul Man" that you referenced. Cropper also co-wrote and produced "On the Dock of the Bay" for Otis Redding (and added his wonderful guitar, of course.)
Turns out, Carrie Fisher shoots like a Stormtrooper. Who've guessed? This is my favorite musical, I used to bump this soundtrack in high school, and of course, most of the other students thought I was weird because it was the 90's and they were listening to Nirvana.
@@MrValentineReacts Actually, I did skip, "The Old Landmark" which was James Brown's song. I mean, my friends and I accepted the fact that we weren't cool, but blasting Gospel music in my car as we left school would have been going too far.
This movie is dear to my heart. It’s a good memory of my father and I when I was a teen before he left and it went south and basically ended. He loved this movie. We used to listen to the soundtrack and the standalone album that the band released in the car when I was a child. This was a great reaction. First time on your channel. I’m going to check out more of your reactions. Thank you!
That car gave its life for Elwood! It loved him and did whatever was needed to get them there. I always loved that tiny space of quiet which amounts a tiny tribute to the car and Elwood's numb reaction to it.
They made couple of tours a a a few albums. There was a second after John Belushi died, and it is blues brothers 2000, lots of musicians. And it was Chaka Kahn
It was so enjoyable to watch this with you. I was excited to see this in my feed since I knew your particular appreciation would be so well exercised. This has so much movie magic packed in, musical talent, plus the world record for cars destroyed.
This movie is known as "The movie that destroyed Chicago." The producers asked director John Landis about filming permits to film in Chicagos Daley plaza, he said don't worry. He never even applied for them. Lol. He simply set up for filming early Sunday morning and filmed the ending scene.he was charged by the Chicago D.A., but the charges were dropped!
Let's not forget that his continued insistence of working around those pesky laws, labor regulations and safety protocols cost many cast members their lives just a couple years later while filming TWILIGHT ZONE.
One of the dancers during "Shake your tailfeather" is James Avery - Uncle Phil from original Fresh Prince, also did the voice of Shredder in the 80's TMNT, etcetera.
The scene with "Curtis" performing "Minnie the moocher" is meta! 1. You can understand it in the way that Curtis enjoying it so much that he feels like performing with a big band and it is all in his mind. 2. The scene is a hommage to Cab Calloway's performances, always wearing a tuxedo and with a big band playing.
13:15 see: Skokie (1981) From the WikiPedia: *In 1977 and 1978, Illinois neo-Not Sees of the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) attempted to hold a march in Skokie, far from their headquarters on Chicago's south side.* ... *The attempted Illinois Not See march on Skokie was dramatized in the television film **_Skokie_** in 1981. It was satirized in the film **_The Blues Brothers_** in 1980.* So, you see, is specifically the Illinois Not Sees that were annoying people in that era. Homonym used to avoid censorship.
16:19 My favorite thing is light, so I find people who cannot see to be very interesting. I cannot imagine never seeing anything, and I like to ask them how much they can see. Most people who are blind have very poor vision, like 20/8,000 vision, which means that to see something 20 feet away it must be 8,000 feet tall. If you put them in front of a mountain, they could see that. I have met people who can see white light and reflective metal objects, mirrors, and white objects but they cannot see diffuse light or light in any color. They could see your white t-shirt, maybe the whites of your eyes and your teeth if they were bleached, or the white keys you play on a piano, but they cannot see you. I met one person who could only see a field of gray but it would be brighter or darker depending on how bright it is, so even he could find his way out of a dark place to a lighted place. I have never met a person who only sees an unchanging field of pure black, which I think most people assume to be the experience of the sightless.
0:29 - The first of many, MANY cameos, Frank Oz, original voice of half of Jim Henson's Muppets. 2:51 - Cab Calloway, legend of the Big Band era. Check him out in this clip of him with The Nicholas Brothers: ua-cam.com/video/IoMbeDhG9fU/v-deo.html (great short reaction material, if you do those). 4:04 - You ain't wrong. 9:38 - There's a cut scene here where Elwood gets laid off from his job in an aerosol canning factory. It's not strictly vital, but it does inform certain later events. 10:21 - It's worth noting here that all the members of the band are real musicians. Many are from the SNL band and most are playing fictionalized versions of themselves. 14:00 - John Lee Hooker, blues singer extraordinaire. 14:30 - That IS Aretha Franklin. Want proof? Wait a couple minutes. 22:42 - Probably the most dated reference in the movie. This woman is named Twiggy. She was essentially the last Great fashion model before the era of the Supermodel began. At the time of this movie, everybody knew her, but she's practically unknown now. 23:38 - This was Cab Calloway's signature song. His performance was so spectacular, they rotoscoped it into a Betty Boop cartoon: ua-cam.com/video/N7VUU_VPI1E/v-deo.html 25:01 - This intro is directly inspired by the intro to the Blues Brothers first official performance on SNL: ua-cam.com/video/FTWH1Fdkjow/v-deo.html 38:10 - The movie's last cameo: a young Steven Spielberg.
Mr V...with so many excellent comments.. there's little I could add...however.. I'm so glad you enjoyed the movie... it's a treat for the eyes and ears... I can no longer sing due to illness but love music I do !..from the age before school it was my life...the lineup of notables warms our hearts..and the attitude of the brothers a 'Mission For God' and keeping chaos at arms length throughout..is so many cherries on top... That you caught so many of the cameos is commendable..those you missed are called out in the comments..as a younger man it's perhaps expected but you did great 👍😉...at 71 I've seen them all so in my case it would be an embarrassment... Thank you so much for this review and best of luck with your channel...🌿🌿🌿
It is utterly brilliant. sorry to hear about your illness which precludes your carrying a tune! Learning about just how musically star-studded this film has is a real treat for me. Truly appreciate the time you took to watch and comment. 🧡
Kudos to Mr. Valentine for spotting Chaka Khan. While I appreciate the commentary, by far the best part of the reaction was just watching his face each time a new legend appeared on screen.
Loved the reaction. I saw this when I was a kid but didn't realize the significance of it. I watched it again a few years later after I started playing trumpet and knew a little bit about music and it blew me away, mainly at how many musical legends were in it.
For the soundtrack, Belushi and Aykroyd were offered a cherry deal. The "older" R&B songs not selling records at the time + record companies having Evil contracts with artists...Belushi and Aykroyd could have _very_ cheaply purchased the rights from the original song-writers and PERMANENTLY own them. The Blues Brothers said hell na. The artists that crafted the badass blues would retain (and renew!) ownership of their art and get royalty cuts from the soundtrack (which sold well, btw. Especially outside America). "Jake" and "Elwood" woulda made A LOT of loot, legally. But that wouldn't be the Christian thing to do, would it? After all: they're on a mission from God. Hit it.
The Blues Brothers were gentlemen and scholars! That kind of generosity in the music industry should be the rule not the exception. A mission from God, indeed 😎
Great reaction, as always. I was born in '84, my Dad LOVED the blues. So I grew up on this music, and this movie. Like you said, you can't go through this movie and not come out grooving.
Dont bother with Blues Brothers 2000. Its one of those movies you wish you could unsee. Agree with your comments and takes on this Blues Brothers movie. Its great. I have the soundtrack and listen to it frequently.
I think it still holds the record for most cars trashed and used in a movie car chase brilliantly executed movie with all the cameos they just don’t make them like this anymore
John Belushi and Dan Akroyd created these characters for a sketch on SNL, and it was so popular, that they made several albums where they performed numerous covers of some amazing songs. If you enjoyed their work in this movie, you should definitely check out their music.
John Lee Hooker, my favorite bluesman. I used to know some of the blues scales and I'd jam along to his music. Listen to his song "I'm Bad, Like Jesse James", is bad af, the lyrics _AND_ the melody!
You mentioned Stevie Wonder and complete blindness. The way I understand it, he is considered legally blind, but he can see light/dark and some movement in his immediate line of sight. There’s a video of him leading a very elderly Dick Gregory onto a stage for an award from a few years ago. He can sense stuff around him I think.
1.This was Dan Aykroyd's baby that started out as a SNL skit. He eventually got with Landis (thus Chicago) and it was built on that. There were already songs made for the Blues Brothers from SNL They also put out one album. 2. All-star cast.🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 3. Booking officer is Frank Oz. Voiced Yoda, Miss Piggy and other Muppets. 4. ".....We have a full tank of gas, a half pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses"🤣 5. A MUCH better Musical (even better than Grease IMVHO). It's "Hair" 1979. John Savage, Treat Williams😇 and Beverly D'Angelo. Milos Foreman Directed. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest' and "Hair"😎 6. They smash so many cars that "Smokey and the Bandit" was practice. WE'RE ON A MISSION FROM GOD😇😇 PS: Chicago because it's a John Landis film.
I don't think that I can come up with another movie that did something like this. I mean there are other movies with all star cameos but none really integrated them into the story as organically as this one does.
Legendary jazz singer Cab Callaway played Curtis. Legendary blues guitarist John Lee Hooker was the street musician, 1960s supermodel Twiggy was the English woman. Steven Spielberg was the county clerk, Frank Oz
(Voice of muppet Miss Piggy, )the prison guard who returned jakes clothes in the beginning, famed comic actor Henry Gibson was the Nazi leader and the band are not actors, they are an all star collection of the greatest blues musicians ever! Plus other famous actors make cameos.
I saw this when it came out, it blew us all away!
And yes that was Chaka Khan.
That was also Joe Walsh from the James Gang and the Eagles who was the first inmate to start dancing on the tables in the Jailhouse Rock number.
Yeah
This movie is a love letter to Blues Music. This movie capture some of the greatest Blues performers forever on film. Sadly most of these Artist are no longer with us. A few Cameos you may have missed: 'the soiled condom guy in the Prison was Franks Oz (Miss Piggy, Yoda). The British woman that Elwood flirts with was 1960's Model/Icon, Twiggy. The Guy at the Tax office that takes their money (just in time) was Steven Stieiberg.
A love letter to Blues Music...full of Soul music and starring two white guys in Blackface near the end. 🤔
Also a cameo by John Lee Hooker who mysteriously is absent on the Soundtrack release & there's Aretha Franklin THEE QUEEN of SOUL who play's the wife of the real Matt "Guitar" Murphy,& The Godfather of SOUL James Brown playing Father Cleeus
Steven Spielberg.
3:56 Yes, that is Chaka Khan in the choir.
The one and only
The late, great John Lee Hooker at the Blues Fest (just before Aretha).!
"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses."
"Hit it."
Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debut of Aretha Franklin and Mr. T (uncredited).
Rule Of Three Fact: The line "They broke my watch!" occurs three times in the film, each time spoken or voiced over by a policeman on the losing end of a car chase.
Music Enthusiast Fact: Some performers were not used to lip-syncing pre-recorded songs, standard procedure for movie musicals. James Brown ended up singing his number live with a recorded backing (the rest of his choir was lip-syncing). John Lee Hooker's performance was recorded live at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market. Aretha Franklin's performance is cut together from many, many takes, using the parts where her lip-syncing was actually in sync.
Automobile Enthusiast Fact: The Bluesmobile is a 1974 Dodge Monaco. The vehicles used in the film were used police cars purchased from the California Highway Patrol, and featured the "cop tires, cop suspension, and cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant" mentioned by Elwood in the film. A total of twelve Bluesmobiles were used in the movie, including one that was built just so it could fall apart. Several replicas have been built by collectors, but one original is known to exist, and is owned by the brother-in-law of Dan Aykroyd. Dodge Monacos from 1974-77, including the upscale Royal Monaco, especially those which came with the A38 police option, are now considered collector's items. They have been used as replica Chicago P.D. and Illinois State Police cars, including Bluesmobile tribute cars. This has led to the scarcity of this generation of Mopar C-bodies, leading some replica squad cars and Bluesmobiles to use the Plymouth Gran Fury or Chrysler Newport instead. Universal Studios Hollywood has a replica Bluesmobile on the lot; it's a 1974 Dodge Coronet, since the Monaco has become so rare. A world record 103 cars were wrecked during filming. The Junkman (1982) broke the record 2 years later, wrecking 150 cars and a plane. That record was held for 2 decades, until over 300 cars were wrecked during the filming of The Matrix Reloaded (2003).
I hope he won't read these comments before watching the movie, quite a spoilers, this kinda "fun facts".
This isn't a live stream, this is a premiere. Big difference. Mr. Valentine has already watched this movie (several times, if he edited it himself).
Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
Fist bump from another (older) auto enthusiast. I've got friends who picked up Crown Vics at auction when they started aging out of PD/FD service. "They were almost giving them away.." Cop tires, cop suspension, cop motor", much better than the civilian versions of the car. They'd just been ridden long and hard like that old Monaco.
these, I must admit, are some remarkable fun facts big gator; much obliged!!
You're welcome!
Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍
The "Illinois Nazis" bit is a reference to the famous Skokie Case, when the US Supreme Court upheld the 1st amendment rights of even the most hated groups to gather and march and peacefully protest in public spaces.
landmark decision if ever I've heard of one
Members of the band in this film include Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn who were members of Booker T and the MG's. Very important in music history.
they were also Otis Reddings backing band. They did a great performance on Monterrey Pop.
Truly a beautiful movie, one of the greatest group of legends ever assembled. Cab Calloway's "Minnie The Moocher" fills me with joy. you should see him when he was young, what a performer!
he is a natural performer!
I'm surprised you didn't notice the name of Carrie Fisher's salon - *Curl Up & Dye* !! LOL For some reason, that just tickles my funny bone. Haha
The blonde from the gas station is Twiggy. She was a famous model from the UK in the 60's and 70's. The Illinois Nazi was played by Henry Gibson, who was on the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The man is the sauna was Steve Lawrence. He was a singer and comedian, who along with his late wife Eydie Gormé, performed as the duo Steve and Eydie. RIP Steve, who just died on March 7th of this year. And of course the Cook County Assessor Clerk is none other than the great director, Steven Spielberg.
RIP indeed: when we were growing up, the radio station we listened to played Steve and Eydie a lot. Here's one of my favorites, which I later found out is from a musical, "On A Clear Day": ua-cam.com/video/Z_t4CjDyoYM/v-deo.html
Steve Lawrence appeared several times as a guest star on "The Carol Burnett Show" and was very, very funny.
Growing up in the late 60'sghave some of us a real advantage in knowing who those people were. Twiggy was the real surprise when I first saw this.
I love the irregular firing cadence of Carrie Fisher's assault rifle. The 'Jailhouse Rock' scene was the inspiration for Nathaniel Rateliff's 'S.O.B.' video.
That IS, indeed, Mr. James Brown!
Carrie Fisher's first gun had Star Wars laser sound effects. This movie was and is Pure Joy forever perfect
That sound effect has me laughing every time.
hahaha i went back and watched it. I didn't clock it. That is such an outstanding touch lol
This is an homage to the great Soul and Blues artists. The BB started as a skit on SNL. Their band members are all soul and R&B iconic musicians from Stax Records.
See how many artists you can identify!
Their old sidekick and later star performer is Cab Calloway. Watch him and the tap dancing Nicholas Brothers in the 40’s musical, Stormy Weather .
Yup that was Chaka in the choir!
Director Jon Landis did the Thriller video too.
Your joyful reaction was great to see!
🙏🏾 The SNL heyday as some reckon. Landis doing the Thriller video is such an amazing factoid. appreciate you watching!
The Band is also one of best session musicians in the 60's and 70's. They were the SNL band. Everyone are legends especially the cameos.
As an SNL appreciator, I enjoy this revelation
Mr. Valentine is a superbly articulate, perceptive and good-humored critic, with a knack for summing up his observations in well-fomulated phrases, e.g., "these action sequences are shot with such joyful precision."
There are some great cameos in this movie. For example, Stephen Spielberg is the clerk at the end.
This movie has one of the best soundtracks ever. So many amazing musicians, so many great songs.
Steven Spielberg was the tax clerk. and the first prisoner to jump on the table was Joe Walsh rom the Eagles.
yowza! I listen to 'Life of Illusion' frequently
"We're on a mission from God..."
“Country AND western”😅
One of my favorite movie lines ever.
One of the great movies of all time. A great blues legend was sing outside Arithas Diner singing Boom Boom is John Lee Hooker. He has some awesome music. Dude has played in front of 80k people as a guest of the Rolling Stones in St Louis in 1989. His carrier went back to the 1930s.
Rawhide was a tv show
🌟
@@MrValentineReacts It was Clint Eastwood's real breakthrough role, too - he played Rowdy Yates, one of the main characters.
There's a museum in Joliet ( The Rt. 66 Museum) that has their original suits ( donated by John Belushi's widow) and the original stained glass from the church on display.
bucket list added to
"Rawhide" was a tv series from the 1950s-60s. It featured a very young Clint Eastwood. Our dad, who came from Spain in the late 50s, learned English from tv as well as other sources, and loved "Rawhide". He would sing the theme song often. But he had not caught the words. Until this movie, I had no idea that the lyrics to "Rawhide" were *not* "Ora heema, heema, heema, ora heema, Rawhide!" ua-cam.com/video/PFGyhSifqzA/v-deo.html
the song cab did was one of his old ones, and they weren't sure the crowd would go along-they loved it!
Can you imagine how the band felt supporting Cab?
I used to play trumpet in a few blues bands back in the day. Would think about this movie when I would play.
The elderly gentleman in the sauna room scene you didn't recognize, the blues brothers had to speak to him, he's singer and comedian Steve Lawrence, Model from the 1960s was Twiggy, Elwood attempted to pick up on her and meet her at the motel he never went to. I am so glad you figured out Cab Calloway, I was nearly hurt you didn't recognize him right away. Star studded cast in this movie! Kathleen Freeman as Mother Mary Stigmata was funny as a nun in this movie! LOL! A very young Steven Spielberg played the clerk at the tax office near the end of the movie! I am so happy you enjoyed this movie, It's a gem! Okay so you are going to watch the most recent version of the "Blues Brothers", just so you know John Belushi (Jake Blues) won't be in that movie, he sadly passed away at age 33. I never watched the 2nd Blues Brothers movie, but I just saw the cast for that movie and once again you'll see a lot of musicians in this one and familiar faces from this movie too. I enjoyed watching your reaction to the "Blues Brothers". Peace. ☮
Thank you, kindly, for watching with me!
"White toasted bread,dry, and four fried chickens and a coke" so many great lines from this movie
I’ve said “orange whip? Orange whip? 3 orange whip!” while serving glasses of water at the dinner table more often than I’m comfortable admitting.
It is crazy. The most famous musician in this movie was Cab Calloway. He had been making music for 7 decades at this point. You knew his music and didn't know why
Frank Oz played the prison guard who returned Jake's items. He is a filmmaker in his own right (you should react to both "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels"). However, he is best known for his long work as a puppeteer. Among the many Muppets he's performed: Bert, Grover, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Yoda. Thus, it is an inside joke in the Blues Brothers when the man in Toys R Us, while holding a Grover doll, asks for a Miss Piggy doll, both Muppets performed by Frank Oz.
That is fascinating. I keep hearing about Little Shop of Horrors and your comment just solidified my adding it to my cinematic list!
This is an absolutely gonzo cinematic experience, and I love every single second of it.
But Dan Ayckroyd can't shed that Canadian accent to save his life 😂
haha for sure. 'Mission from God' was so Canada coded
The true legacy of The Blues Brothers to me was the curation.
Those first three ablums including the soundtrack were a full-on love letter to alot of great R&B, especially Stax.
I was a young teenager back then, and they helped me discover Sam and Dave, now a lifelong part of my own headtrack.
This movie is a TREASURE-TROVE of memorable one-liners.
Jim Croce said that when he was first starting out he often played gigs where he was surrounded by chicken wire.😂🎉
CLOSE-UP OF COWBOY.
You mentioned close-up of cowboy at the bar that either never had love or lost it (during Stand By Your Man) so random, appropriate, and quick (probably 2 seconds or less). I immediately thought the reference (when I saw it in the theater at age 17) was a classic "crying in your beer" moment. He's teary eyed, looks down at his beer, and drinks.
This movie is a treasure. The soundtrack is a must for any music lover.
This isn't just a musical. This is a bluesical.
The choir leader in the church scene was Chaka Khan, good catch. Can you imagine walking down the street and finding John Lee Hooker and his band playing out in the open? That's Cab Calloway!
Some of the most legendary cameos in the history of film! James Brown, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and, even Steven Spielberg.
Apparently Dan Aykroyd is allergic to certain terpenes, which are the flavor particles that we taste in food and drink.
This is probably why Elwood eats dry toast and water.
For many years I lived at the Fire Mountain Lodge on the Russian River in California. Johnson beach was right next door. Every summer they heald a jazz and blues festival. Both John Lee Hooker, and Chakka Kahn played there many times. Right there in my back yard, with only a chain link fence between us. For free‼️
Also; Doobie brothers, Al Green, Etta James,BBKing. I shoulda never moved☮️
We in Chicago embrace this movie since it was made. One of the best soundtracks of any film ever. Was a treat to see you grow to love it
So satisfying. thank you for taking the time to watch!
@@MrValentineReacts always good Sir
Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn (the guitar & bass) were the original guitar & bass for the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G's. It was Cropper you hear on the opening notes of "Soul Man" that you referenced. Cropper also co-wrote and produced "On the Dock of the Bay" for Otis Redding (and added his wonderful guitar, of course.)
I saw them with Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival!
Turns out, Carrie Fisher shoots like a Stormtrooper. Who've guessed? This is my favorite musical, I used to bump this soundtrack in high school, and of course, most of the other students thought I was weird because it was the 90's and they were listening to Nirvana.
the soundtrack is all bangers, no skips. no doubt
@@MrValentineReacts Actually, I did skip, "The Old Landmark" which was James Brown's song. I mean, my friends and I accepted the fact that we weren't cool, but blasting Gospel music in my car as we left school would have been going too far.
This movie is dear to my heart. It’s a good memory of my father and I when I was a teen before he left and it went south and basically ended. He loved this movie. We used to listen to the soundtrack and the standalone album that the band released in the car when I was a child. This was a great reaction. First time on your channel. I’m going to check out more of your reactions. Thank you!
❤appreciate you sharing that meaningful anecdote in your life. thank you for checking the video out with me!
That car gave its life for Elwood! It loved him and did whatever was needed to get them there. I always loved that tiny space of quiet which amounts a tiny tribute to the car and Elwood's numb reaction to it.
God held it together. We’re on a mission from God!
I would love to see the penguin have an arena match with a Bene Gesserit
They made couple of tours a a a few albums. There was a second after John Belushi died, and it is blues brothers 2000, lots of musicians. And it was Chaka Kahn
I'm old enough to remember watching this with my family. A great celebration of Blues/soul music mixed with silly hijinks. A classic.
Cab Calloway first African American to sell 1 million copies with 1931's biggest song of the year Minnie the Moocher
Love the fact seeing a reaction to someone who can appreciate the humour and the incredible music.
It was so enjoyable to watch this with you. I was excited to see this in my feed since I knew your particular appreciation would be so well exercised. This has so much movie magic packed in, musical talent, plus the world record for cars destroyed.
The Blues Brothers is an exceptional piece of art. Grateful you watched along with me brother
This movie is known as
"The movie that destroyed Chicago."
The producers asked director John Landis about filming permits to film in Chicagos
Daley plaza, he said don't worry. He never even applied for them.
Lol. He simply set up for filming early Sunday morning and filmed the ending scene.he was charged by the Chicago D.A., but the charges were dropped!
Let's not forget that his continued insistence of working around those pesky laws, labor regulations and safety protocols cost many cast members their lives just a couple years later while filming TWILIGHT ZONE.
The mall they bought -- so they could destroy it -- sat vacant for decades after the movie was filmed.
hahaha Landis had some spunk. love it
One of the dancers during "Shake your tailfeather" is James Avery - Uncle Phil from original Fresh Prince, also did the voice of Shredder in the 80's TMNT, etcetera.
It should be shown in every school everywhere…
The scene with "Curtis" performing "Minnie the moocher" is meta!
1. You can understand it in the way that Curtis enjoying it so much that he feels like performing with a big band and it is all in his mind.
2. The scene is a hommage to Cab Calloway's performances, always wearing a tuxedo and with a big band playing.
surreal greatness!
13:15 see: Skokie (1981)
From the WikiPedia:
*In 1977 and 1978, Illinois neo-Not Sees of the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) attempted to hold a march in Skokie, far from their headquarters on Chicago's south side.*
...
*The attempted Illinois Not See march on Skokie was dramatized in the television film **_Skokie_** in 1981. It was satirized in the film **_The Blues Brothers_** in 1980.*
So, you see, is specifically the Illinois Not Sees that were annoying people in that era.
Homonym used to avoid censorship.
16:19 My favorite thing is light, so I find people who cannot see to be very interesting.
I cannot imagine never seeing anything, and I like to ask them how much they can see.
Most people who are blind have very poor vision, like 20/8,000 vision, which means that to see something 20 feet away it must be 8,000 feet tall.
If you put them in front of a mountain, they could see that.
I have met people who can see white light and reflective metal objects, mirrors, and white objects but they cannot see diffuse light or light in any color.
They could see your white t-shirt, maybe the whites of your eyes and your teeth if they were bleached, or the white keys you play on a piano, but they cannot see you.
I met one person who could only see a field of gray but it would be brighter or darker depending on how bright it is, so even he could find his way out of a dark place to a lighted place.
I have never met a person who only sees an unchanging field of pure black, which I think most people assume to be the experience of the sightless.
I usually don't like musicals but this is a classic!
0:29 - The first of many, MANY cameos, Frank Oz, original voice of half of Jim Henson's Muppets.
2:51 - Cab Calloway, legend of the Big Band era. Check him out in this clip of him with The Nicholas Brothers: ua-cam.com/video/IoMbeDhG9fU/v-deo.html (great short reaction material, if you do those).
4:04 - You ain't wrong.
9:38 - There's a cut scene here where Elwood gets laid off from his job in an aerosol canning factory. It's not strictly vital, but it does inform certain later events.
10:21 - It's worth noting here that all the members of the band are real musicians. Many are from the SNL band and most are playing fictionalized versions of themselves.
14:00 - John Lee Hooker, blues singer extraordinaire.
14:30 - That IS Aretha Franklin. Want proof? Wait a couple minutes.
22:42 - Probably the most dated reference in the movie. This woman is named Twiggy. She was essentially the last Great fashion model before the era of the Supermodel began. At the time of this movie, everybody knew her, but she's practically unknown now.
23:38 - This was Cab Calloway's signature song. His performance was so spectacular, they rotoscoped it into a Betty Boop cartoon: ua-cam.com/video/N7VUU_VPI1E/v-deo.html
25:01 - This intro is directly inspired by the intro to the Blues Brothers first official performance on SNL: ua-cam.com/video/FTWH1Fdkjow/v-deo.html
38:10 - The movie's last cameo: a young Steven Spielberg.
much obliged my friend
Mr V...with so many excellent comments.. there's little I could add...however.. I'm so glad you enjoyed the movie... it's a treat for the eyes and ears... I can no longer sing due to illness but love music I do !..from the age before school it was my life...the lineup of notables warms our hearts..and the attitude of the brothers a 'Mission For God' and keeping chaos at arms length throughout..is so many cherries on top...
That you caught so many of the cameos is commendable..those you missed are called out in the comments..as a younger man it's perhaps expected but you did great 👍😉...at 71 I've seen them all so in my case it would be an embarrassment...
Thank you so much for this review and best of luck with your channel...🌿🌿🌿
It is utterly brilliant. sorry to hear about your illness which precludes your carrying a tune! Learning about just how musically star-studded this film has is a real treat for me. Truly appreciate the time you took to watch and comment. 🧡
34:27 Yes, that actually would happen under certain circumstances.
See: Tennis Racquet Effect
Great reaction, you want more John Landis, add "Animal House" and "Caddyshack" to your itinerary.
can do will do!
You've got me with "I'm a scatman" 😅
This is a perfect movie when you're home sick or stuck inside on a crummy day ❤
cinematic chicken noodle soup
Blues Brothers holds the records for the most police cruisers crashed in a movie. 60 of the 104 cars crashed in this movie were squad cars.
It held the record for a long time, but it's sequel crashed 1 more car than the original.
@@PB-tr5ze haha they one upped themselves. love it
According to Elwood's DL, he was born on July 1, 1952.
Kudos to Mr. Valentine for spotting Chaka Khan. While I appreciate the commentary, by far the best part of the reaction was just watching his face each time a new legend appeared on screen.
🤙🏽
The Blues Brothers Firth’s showed up on Saturday night live back in the day when the show was funny
yeahhhh today's SNL is hit and miss. Mostly miss but I still watch for the rare gems
Loved the reaction. I saw this when I was a kid but didn't realize the significance of it. I watched it again a few years later after I started playing trumpet and knew a little bit about music and it blew me away, mainly at how many musical legends were in it.
it is a sophisticated piece of cinema. appreciate you!
For the soundtrack, Belushi and Aykroyd were offered a cherry deal. The "older" R&B songs not selling records at the time + record companies having Evil contracts with artists...Belushi and Aykroyd could have _very_ cheaply purchased the rights from the original song-writers and PERMANENTLY own them.
The Blues Brothers said hell na.
The artists that crafted the badass blues would retain (and renew!) ownership of their art and get royalty cuts from the soundtrack (which sold well, btw. Especially outside America).
"Jake" and "Elwood" woulda made A LOT of loot, legally. But that wouldn't be the Christian thing to do, would it? After all: they're on a mission from God.
Hit it.
The Blues Brothers were gentlemen and scholars! That kind of generosity in the music industry should be the rule not the exception. A mission from God, indeed 😎
Rawhide was a T.V. Show from the mid 50’s’s through the early 60’s! Clint Eastwood was the ramrod of the Cowboys! Excellent show!
I really enjoyed Blues Brothers 2000 also. I absolutely love seeing blues legends in these movies. 😊
Steven Spielberg as the guy that stamps the bill at the end.😊
I'm over the moon, to see younger generations discovering this movie!
A transformative movie experience!
Great reaction, as always. I was born in '84, my Dad LOVED the blues. So I grew up on this music, and this movie. Like you said, you can't go through this movie and not come out grooving.
high vibrational!
Dont bother with Blues Brothers 2000. Its one of those movies you wish you could unsee.
Agree with your comments and takes on this Blues Brothers movie. Its great. I have the soundtrack and listen to it frequently.
I think it still holds the record for most cars trashed and used in a movie car chase brilliantly executed movie with all the cameos they just don’t make them like this anymore
John Belushi and Dan Akroyd created these characters for a sketch on SNL, and it was so popular, that they made several albums where they performed numerous covers of some amazing songs. If you enjoyed their work in this movie, you should definitely check out their music.
I'm discovering that they are, across the board, stupendous!
John Lee Hooker, my favorite bluesman. I used to know some of the blues scales and I'd jam along to his music. Listen to his song "I'm Bad, Like Jesse James", is bad af, the lyrics _AND_ the melody!
That was Shaka Kahn. It didn’t mention her because she wasn’t famous yet when this came out.
The fun and the music legends are back in the sequel, Blues Brothers 2000. Don't forget to watch it.
The would-be guitar thief was Argyle from the movie Die Hard.
So many great cameos! You could deep dive most of them!
A lot of famous performance legends in this movie.
Loved this movie. My older brother introduced me to this movie when I was a kid. Best cast ever. I have all the blues brothers vinyls.
16:14 8 years later that kid would be John McClane limo driver in Die Hard.
The first convict to jump on the table at the end was Joe Walsh 🎉
I love 'life of illusion' lol
First heard it in the 40 year old Virginia
Virgin*
@@MrValentineReacts I first heard it on my boyfriend's turntable when I was 13.
1978☮️
@@MrValentineReacts try
Rocky mountain way
And,
Life's been good to me.
You won't be disappointed, I promise.🌹
with Joe Walsh, from the Eagles, at the end, in the prison, jumped up on the table.
that was chaka, nicely spotted.
The luttle boy trying to steal the guitar from Ray Charles, went on to play Argyle the limo driver, in "Die Hard".
You mentioned Stevie Wonder and complete blindness. The way I understand it, he is considered legally blind, but he can see light/dark and some movement in his immediate line of sight. There’s a video of him leading a very elderly Dick Gregory onto a stage for an award from a few years ago. He can sense stuff around him I think.
definitely about to search for that video forthwith! that's interesting
Loved the Ava Braun reference 😂
😅 😬
I am impressed, most people do not notice Chaka Khan or Paul Reubens.
1.This was Dan Aykroyd's baby that started out as a SNL skit. He eventually got with Landis (thus Chicago) and it was built on that. There were already songs made for the Blues Brothers from SNL They also put out one album.
2. All-star cast.🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
3. Booking officer is Frank Oz. Voiced Yoda, Miss Piggy and other Muppets.
4. ".....We have a full tank of gas, a half pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses"🤣
5. A MUCH better Musical (even better than Grease IMVHO). It's "Hair" 1979. John Savage, Treat Williams😇 and Beverly D'Angelo. Milos Foreman Directed. "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest' and "Hair"😎
6. They smash so many cars that "Smokey and the Bandit" was practice.
WE'RE ON A MISSION FROM GOD😇😇
PS: Chicago because it's a John Landis film.
I'm delighted to learn who Frank Oz is. It sounds like I need to watch 'Hair' because 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' is magnificent
It was Chaka Khan, shown in credits at 39:52
Great practical effects. They really destroyed a shopping mall and over a hundred cars.
I don't think that I can come up with another movie that did something like this.
I mean there are other movies with all star cameos but none really integrated them into the story as organically as this one does.
seamless storytelling. so refreshing
You used "joie de vivre" and "Maguffin" in a sentence. Plus, you watched The Blues Brothers and recognized the musicians by sight. Subscribed!
sincerely appreciate your subscribing!!