Blues Brothers 2000 [Blu-ray]

Overview

Dan Aykroyd and John Landis teamed to script this sequel to The Blues Brothers (1980), which they also co-scripted. With Landis once again at the helm as director, Aykroyd re-creates his role of rhythm-and-blues man Elwood Blues, and the film's numerous R&B performances and production numbers include Aretha Franklin singing her classic "Respect." Released from prison after serving 18 years for the havoc depicted in the first film, Elwood learns that while he was serving time, his pal Jake Blues (John Belushi) has died, as did their hi-de-ho music mentor Curtis (Cab Calloway). Times have changed, but the blues beat goes on. Elwood visits Mother Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman), who runs the orphanage where Elwood and Jake were raised, and she puts 10-year-old Buster (J. Evan Bonifant) in Elwood's care. Seeking a loan, Elwood visits Curtis' son, Cabel Chamberlain (Joe Morton), and Buster picks Cabel's pocket. Now, 18 years after the original "mission from God," Elwood attempts to reorganize the Blues Brothers Band, beginning with bartender Mighty Mack McTeer (John Goodman) as a replacement for Jake. With the Russian Mafia in hot pursuit, Elwood, Mack, and Buster head cross-country, locating band members as they travel pell-mell toward a scheduled battle of the bands in Louisiana where the Blues Brothers Band competes with the Lousiana Gator Boys Band (Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, Travis Tritt, Steve Winwood, Clarence Clemmons, Isaac Hayes). Filmed in Toronto and Chicago, this movie reunited Aykroyd and Goodman, who were seen previously in the 1996 video, The Return of the Blues Brothers, a performance taped January 24, 1995 at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Elsewhere, the Blues Brothers are kept alive in a half-dozen or so websites, such as the House of Blues, and live stage productions. In England, the stage show A Tribute to the Blues Brothers began in 1991. At the request of Aykroyd and Judy Belushi, the title of that production was changed to The Official Tribute to the Blues Brothers. With various cast members in the roles of Jake and Elwood (Con O'Neill, Warwick Evans, Brad Henshaw, Simon Foster), the show toured Britain throughout the 1990s. The "original Blues Brother" (who coached John Belushi and originated some of the blues raps used by Belushi) is Curtis Salgado (of the Robert Cray Band). One cast member of Blues Brothers 2000, bluesman Junior Wells, the last of the great Chicago harmonica players, died in January 1998, only days before the film was released.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/07/2012
UPC:	0025192115110
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Digital Theater Systems]
Language:	English
Time:	2:04:00
Sales rank:	24,193

Special Features

The Making of Blues Brothers 2000: Featuring behind-the-scenes footage plus interviews with Director John Landis, Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Joe Morton and members of The Blues Brothers Band; ; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dan Aykroyd	Elwood Blues
John Goodman	Mighty Mack McTeer
Joe Morton	Cabel Chamberlain
J. Evan Bonifant	Buster,Buster
Nia Peeples	Lt. Elizondo
Kathleen Freeman	Mother Mary Stigmata,Actor
Frank Oz	Prison Warden
Steve Lawrence	Maury Sline
Erykah Badu	Queen Mousette
Darrell Hammond	Robertson
Aretha Franklin	Mrs. Murphy,Ton Tons Macoutes
James Brown	Rev. Cleophus James
B.B. King	Malvern Gasperon
Paul Shaffer	Marco,Composer
Sam Moore	Rev. Morris
Steve Cropper	Steve `The Colonel' Cropper
Donald Dunn	Donald `Duck' Dunn,Actor
Murphy Dunne	Murph
Willie Hall	Willie `Too Big' Hall
Lou Marini	`Blue Lou' Marini
Tom Malone	`Bones' Malone
Alan Rubin	`Mr. Fabulous'
Wilson Pickett	Mr. Pickett
Eddie Floyd	Ed
Jonny Lang	Ed's Love Exchange Janitor
Junior Wells	Himself
Lonnie Brooks	Himself
John Popper	Motel Band Member
Bobby Sheehan	Motel Band Member
Brendan Hill	Motel Band Member
Chan Kinchla	Motel Band Member
Jeff Morris	Bob
Shannon Johnson	Matara,Stripster Band Member,Actor
Sharon Riley	Tent Revival Choir Member
Prakash John	Tent Revival Band Member
Fred Keeler	Tent Revival Band Member
Shiraz Tayyeb	Tent Revival Band Member
John T. Davis	Tent Revival Band Member,Prison Clerk
Jeff Baxter	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Gary U.S. Bonds	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Eric Clapton	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Clarence Clemons	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Jacques de Johnette	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Bo Diddley	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Jon Faddis	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Isaac Hayes	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Dr. John	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Tommy McDonnell	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Charlie Musselwhite	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Billy Preston	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Lou Rawls	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Joshua Redman	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Koko Taylor	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Travis Tritt	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Jimmie Vaughan	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Willie Weeks	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Steve Winwood	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Grover Washington Jr.	Louisiana Gator Boys Band Member
Walter Levine	Same Guard
Gloria Slade	Police Receptionist
Jennifer Irwin	Nun No. 1
Leon Pendarvis	Stripster Band Member
Steve Potts	Stripster Band Member
Demo Cates	Stripster Band Member
Michael Bondar	Russian Thug No. 1
Slavko Hochevar	Russian Thug No. 2
Igor Syyouk	Tstetsevkaya
Victor Pedtrchenko	Ivan
Wally High	Russian Thug No. 3
Richard Kruk	Russian Thug No. 4
John Lyons	Russian Thug No. 5
Matt Murphy	Matt `Guitar' Murphy
Esther Ridgeway	Mrs. Murphy's Friend,Mrs. Murphy's Friend,Mrs. Murphy's Friend
George Sperdakos	Priest
Jillian Hart	Phone Operator
Liz Gordon	Nun No. 2
Susan Davy	Indiana State Trooper
Soo Garay	Indiana State Trooper
Howard Hoover	FBI
Chris Marshall	Skinhead
Nicholas Rice	County Fair Announcer
Max Landis	Ghostrider
Sandi Ross	Church Woman
Danny Ray	Deacon
Patrick Patterson	Sheriff
Steve Lawrende	Actor
Willie "Too Big" Hall	Himself
Jacob Adams	Actor

Technical Credits

John Landis

Dan Aykroyd

John Landis	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Dan Aykroyd	Screenwriter,Producer
Leslie Belzberg	Producer
Ross Clydesdale	Casting
Joanna Colbert	Casting
Rick Avery	Stunts
Walter Hart	Special Effects
Kaz Kobielski	Special Effects
Martin Malivoire	Special Effects
Ted Ross	Special Effects
Glen Gauthier	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

After churning out work that could arguably be considered classic in the late 70s through the early 80s, John Landis and Dan Aykroyd proved themselves to no longer "have it" by attaching themselves to such tripe as Nothing But Trouble and Celtic Pride in Aykroyd's case and Oscar and The Stupids in Landis's. So with the end of the century looming, they teamed together to make this film. Perhaps they thought that with nothing left to lose (including their shame), they could remember how to make good movies by retreading their own well-tread territory. It didn't work. Blues Brothers 2000 is one of those movies that feels like it only happened because the cast and producers wanted so badly to be associated with the original. In all the excitement, they seem to have forgotten to make a film that makes any sense or has any redeeming comedic value. A disjointed mess with a handful of mediocre songs thrown in wherever the filmmakers decided they wanted them, the movie is really a headache to watch. Going away from it, one feels embarrassed for those on screen and mournful of the disrespect paid to the original Blues Brothers movie.

All Movie Guide - Matthew Tobey