Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104390 in DVD
• Released on: 1997-12-17
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Best of, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
Dan Aykroyd and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) take turns telling how the Blues Brothers came to be, in a restaurant interview with Tom Davis (once upon on a time teamed with Al Franken on Saturday Night Live). For those who don't know, the Blues Brother are Joliet Jake Blues (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd), two black-clad R & B artists who made it big with recurring appearances on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s, and with the number-one hit "Soul Man," and of course in the hit 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers. The conceit of the restaurant interview allows Aykroyd to give some much-needed background to the origins of the act he and Belushi developed. It also serves as a lead-in to live footage, the real appeal of the video, which is an anthology of Saturday Night Live performances (including the first one where they were dressed in Killer Bees costumes), and concert footage from the 1979 U.S. tour. A must-have for Blues Brothers fans, the DVD also includes an instructional video for those who want to learn blues harmonica. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

The Best of the Blues Brothers
Well here it is, the complete story of The Blues Brothers Band. The band that played soul, rhythm and blues, and blues. With the brilliant frontmen and performers Elwood and Jake, they quickly rose to fame across the nation. This DVD stars writer Tom Davis, Dan Ackroyd, and Elwood Blues himself. This DVD boasts 14 different musical performances of the band: I'm A King Bee, I've Got Everything I Need (Almost), Can't Turn You Loose, B-Movie Box Car Blues, Soul Man, Messin' With The Kid, Groove Me, Flip Flop & Fly, I Don't Know, Hey Bartender, Jailhouse Rock, Rubber Biscuit, Shotgun Blues, Soul Man (alternative version). This is a unique DVD with an almost Behind the Music type set up. It is one hour long, not bad for thirteen dollars. It is also unique how the viewer is given the thoughts of both Dan Ackroyd and Elwood in this DVD, and how they both reacted to the loss their respective partners. While the last ten minutes or so are an advertisement for the House of Blues, the first 50 are interesting and very good. This video is not for the somewhat fan, but a must for the true fan of the Blues Brothers Band.

Blues brothers in amateur video
If you adore the Blues Brothers, then you may be willing to overlook the poor monaural sound and sub-VHS-quality video on this "Special Edition" DVD just to see one more glimpse of our old favorites.

However, the sound is not just bad, it is like listening to a cheap transistor radio--totally tinny and with zero stereo separation, as shown on my spectrum analyzer, even though the disk is billed as having two channel digital sound. (This is a problem with the DVD standard: You can record a telephone call onto a DVD, and if you use two channels to do it, you can claim two-channel digital sound.)

The picture is not just bad, in many places we're left looking through a dim red fog at a bunch of unidentifiable dancing figures. It is bad, really bad. The worst I've ever seen on a on a commercial video in any format.

Instead of an honest, straight forward interview with Aykroyd, we're given a way-overproduced "mockumentary," within which we are asked to separate the real from the imaginary.

The only honesty surrounding this disk, as limited as it is, comes in the disclaimer in 4 point type at the bottom of the back cover: "There may be some slight visual variances due to the state of the original master."--The understatement of the century.

classical and comedic, and touching
The main theme of this is: A restaurant, Dan Aykroyd is sitting at a table with an interviewer, waiting for the other person to be interviewed (Elwood Blues) to arrive...He gets there they all chit-chat. The interview begins.... It is mainly focused on Elwood's loss of Jake, and Dan's loss of John. Really deep and really great, recommended of any blues brother fan. It shows old B.B. concert footage, and has a harmonica lesson at the end. A true keeper.......