Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Blues Brothers (Unrated) [HD]



Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration doesn't fail us
Let's get this straight -- this blu-ray contains both the theatrical AND the extended cuts, for the misguided soul here (obviously NOT on a mission from God) who says stick with the 25th Anniversary edition.

And let's get this clear as well -- the quality of the picture is superb, much MUCH better than the DVD. Older films have issues when you transfer them to blu-ray, no question about it, but this image is as good as it can possibly get (don't believe me? Check out Blu-ray.com for a review of it).

On the extended version the extended scenes aren't as good a quality -- the source material there wasn't available and they probably transferred it from the DVD master. But it's not WORSE than the DVD, only not improved.

And on that note, IMHO the theatrical version is the one you want anyway. This is a film that does not get better when the timing gets slower -- and at nearly 2 1/2 hours the extended version just drags. Watch the theatrical version...

My Two Cents Worth
I've read the reviews on Amazon but wanted the blu-ray upgrade. Amazon's details may not be complete. The blu-ray I purchased has theatrical and extended versions on a single disc. There is a banner at the top front on my cover with says "Includes Theatrical and Extended Versions" and it is also mentioned again on the back cover. The DTS sound is outstanding on my Polk 360 home system and I don't think I am missing anything by not having lossless DTS sound. This movie looks and sounds great on blu-ray and the price is affordable. I found myself enjoying the movie and singing along with the sub-titled songs. I saw it in the theater when it first came out and here it is over 30 years later looking and sounding just as good if not better.

We're On A Mission From God...But Made a Deal With The Devil
What a let down! The promise of "never before seen footage" turns out to be the same "never before seen footage" from the last DVD. The bonus materials on this disc are a joke (and not in a funny "ha ha" way). The special "Introduction to the film by Dan Aykroyd" is 23 seconds long. The "Day on the Blues Brothers Tour" is nothing more than a lame performance by the current Blues Brothers at the House of Blues. But the real insult is the featurette called "Remembering John: An ultimate portrait of John Belushi." It clocks in at 9 minutes long (including credits). Ultimate?? This is John Belushi, not Garrett Morris!

You might be reading this wondering, "So what was this guy expecting?" Well, how about an audio commentary? Perhaps some outtakes? Bloopers? Maybe concert footage of the REAL Blues Brothers on tour with Steve Martin? Why not include Blues Brothers performance footage from SNL? How about revisiting the locations made famous in the movie (the abandoned...

Click to Editorial Reviews

No comments:

Post a Comment