This month’s Classic Tuesday’s film is John Landis’ anarchic comedy tale The Blues Brothers.
According to a press release from the National Gallery, Castellani House, the 1980 film tells the story of Jake Blues (John Belushi), just out of Joliet prison, and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd), who are desperate to regroup their old blues band, so that they can earn $5,000 to prevent the closure of the orphanage where they grew up in Chicago.
Described as a musical comedy, this film is also an irreverent action movie which just happens to be peopled by some of the leading jazz, swing and rhythm and blues artists of two generations, as the friends and acquaintances of the Blues brothers, including legendary jazz singer and dancer Cab Calloway as long-time orphanage employee Curtis, James Brown as the Rev Cleophus James, Ray Charles as the proprietor of a second-hand musical instruments store, and Aretha Franklin as Mrs Murphy, the proprietor of the Soul Food Café, the release said.
The many musical and dance highlights are led by Franklin, Calloway and Charles, with the main character the Blues Brothers band itself, replete with leading recording musicians such as Steve Cropper (founder guitarist of the legendary Booker T and the MG’s and co-writer with Otis Redding of soul classics including “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”, “Midnight Hour” and “Knock on Wood”), Booker T bassist Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, trumpeter Alan ‘Mr Fabulous’ Rubin and Saxophonist ‘Blue Lou’ Marini.
With mysterious, comic resilience, lead characters Jake and Elwood survive car crashes, explosions and fierce fire power from a mystery woman played by Carrie Fisher and from increasing numbers of state police, leaving disaster in their wake as they rush towards City Hall to make the deadline to pay off the orphanage’s back taxes. the story’s action is interwoven throughout by performances which leave its audience smiling, swinging and tapping their feet.
The film starts at 6 pm at Castellani House, Vlissengen Road, Georgetown and its running time is 2 hours 13 minutes. Admission is free and arrangements are in place in the event of inclement weather or a power outage.
