Minnie the Moocher was the number 1 song of 1931. Cab Calloway (white suit) was the first African American to sell 1 million copies of a record with Minnie.

Almost every place the stop has a legendary musician. Pastor "James Brown" Diner lady "Aretha Franklin " Music store " Ray Charles" And so many more. The star power is amazing.

In this universe, Princess Leia has got the precision aim of a stormtrooper!

Even Steven Spielberg has a cameo in this movie. He's the county clerk who takes the payment at the end.

My favorite little bit is that the Bluesmobile is unstoppable (as long as it has gas 😎😎) until the brothers no longer need it and then it collapses immediately. It too was on a mission from God. In Greek mythology, there are horses that can run forever to a single destination and then die, and I always associate them with the Bluesmobile.

My best friend was married when the film came out and all of the groomsmen were dressed as the Blues Brothers. They played a ton of blues and we danced like it was going out of style!

"Flamethrower... oh my god..." Every time Carrie Fisher shows up is a delight, but how casual the brothers are about constantly being attacked makes it so much funnier. Elwood's "Who is that girl?" is extra funny in hindsight because Jake was engaged to her 🤣🤣🤣

An “IOU” means “I owe you” means they promise to pay back later.

"Do you have Miss Piggy?" is a reference to Frank Oz, who plays the inventory officer (he often cameos in John Landis movies), and is the voice behind many great muppets including Miss Piggy and Yoda.

I got to hear Dasha use the word bajillion. My life is complete.

It's a sign of how long it's been, that fewer and fewer people recognize most of the musicians in this movie. At least they show up in the credits.

10:32 That's the Peter Gunn theme. A TV show from the late 50's

I'm from the generation that remembers John Belushi. I will never forget the day he died. They started The Blues Brothers before doing it on Saturday Night Live. They were the opening act for Steve Martin Stand-Up Act. Their albums were number one before this movie came out. John Belushi was going to be the star of Ghostbusters. When He died Bill Murray took over. I recommend "Continental Divide"(1981). It's a Rom-Com that really shows off John Belushi's charm and personality. It left us way to soon.

"Shit." "What?" "Rollers." "Naw...." "Yep." "Shit." Poetry. The song you thought you had heard before is the 'Peter Gunn Theme,' from an old crime-solver TV show. I've played it in jazz bands; it's a fun song for the trombones. The funny thing is that the Bluesmobile is only a year or two older than the cop cars chasing it. I always assumed that the band went to jail as Accessories for covering Jake and Elwood's escape from the concert.

Cab Calloway, in the white suit singing, my favorite moment...he was a bog star in his day in the 1930's and 1940's, Minnie the moocher is one of his big hits, sold millions in 1931. he was 73 when he did this movie!!! He still had it, and his appearance in tis movie ed his career for a while. Younger people kind of attached themselves to him with respect because of this movie.

Orange whip? Orange whip? 3 orange whips.🤣

This is the coolest movie ever. There are only a few movies that can lift your soul from the deepest depths of despair. This is one of them. The music is just perfectly chosen and executed. So much to love about it.

not a hair of CGI effects...all practical done by real artists...lol and this movie is a who's, who of R&B from the time 10/10 for music

Cop cars are sold all the time to the general public, once they're retired from duty. They are stripped of all of the police equipment before doing so. The term "rollers" refers to the lights on top of the police car. The mall use to be called the Dixie Square Mall. It closed in 1978 and was leased to the Harvey-Dixmoor School District to use mall space as a temporary school location while a new school building was constructed. John Landis rented the mall for 8 weeks to film the chase. The mall was abandoned a couple years later and remained abandoned until it was finally demolished in 2012.

It's amazing that she didn't even notice that litterally EVERY musician in this movie was litterally HUGELY famous and we're at the time, litterally the best in their field.

Studio Executive: how many cars do you want to wreck in this movie? Director John Landis: Yes.

This movie is really just a love letter to blues, soul, and R&B (rhythm and blues) music. It was a chance for Aykroyd and Belushi to work with musicians they grew up listening to. All of the songs the Blues Brothers perform are covers of R&B classics. For instance, "Shake a Tail Feather" was originally recorded by the Five Du-Tones in 1963, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" was originally recorded by Solomon Burke in 1964, and "Sweet Home Chicago" was a blues standard written by Robert Johnson in 1936 and covered by a long list of blues artists.

Dan Aykroyd and late John Belushi's brother (Actor Jim Belushi), still perform as the Blue's Brothers

This is one of the greatest movies in cinema history. Every musician that sings or plays a note is a legend.

Easily one of my favorite (movie) musicals, if not my favorite. Never mind the great music, this movie is an absolute hysterical riot!

Cab Calloway was a jazz singer, the movie is full of great artists. The woman at the gas station is Twiggy.

This is my favourite movie of all time.

Fun one, Dasha! Yes, this one was SO over the top, and the cast was full of famous musicians, movie stars, and celebrities. Everybody wanted to join in the fun. Even the guy working at the tax office, that was Steven Spielberg, LOL! The girl at the gas station was Twiggy, probably the most famous model from the '60's. The assassin girl friend was Princess Leah from the Star Wars movies, and of course Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Cab Calloway all making musical appearances, and many, many more. Just lots of crazy fun. Thank you for sharing this with us. 🙂

The "Mall Scene" WAS filmed inside of a REAL mall that had closed down. The production company had to go around and basically put the entire mall in "prime condition" just so that they could film the chase scenes. As you can tell by the amount of destruction, the companies that would have operated in the mall PAID for their store fronts to be "destroyed" because they knew that people (general public) would have enjoyed seeing that sort of chaos going on and had a bigger laugh seeing their "favorite stores" being trashed, just for a movie.

Finally more of my favs start reacting to this awesome gem. One of the few SNL skits turned movies that was good

The blue brother band is lowkey an insane gathering of talent. A lot of these guys were back artists to some of the most famous musicians in blues, soul, rock and all kinds of others. In fact, they’re on the original recordings of a lot of the songs heard in the movie.

The cop with the glasses in the prison, (the prophylactic guy) is also the voice actor for Fozzie the Bear & Miss Piggy from the Muppets & Yoda from Star Wars. The Band members were well known musicians in their own rights, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker. All R & B, Soul greats. The Blues Brothers started as a Saturday Night Live skit. Many folks laughed at this being "blues" but these guys were my gateway to discovering the blues

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😇😇

The mall scene was filmed in a mall due to be torn down. They just...gave it a head start.

Hi Dasha, How many people did you recognise in this movie? I'm not sure you realised how many of them are famous musicians. - The crazy ex was Princess Leia from Star Wars (aka Carrie Fisher) - The Reverend in the Church was James Brown. - The wife in the cafe was Aretha Franklin. - The blind owner of the pawn shop was Ray Charles. - The English girl with the Jaguar at the gas station was Twiggy - The guard at the prison who gave Jake his possessions was Frank Oz of the Muppets. - Cab Calloway sang Minnie the Moocher - The clerk they had to wait for right at the end was Steven Spielberg the famous film director. John Lee Hooker and Chaka Khan made appearances, as did Mr. T from the 'A Team' and wrestling. And you may have recognised the fat promoter, John Candy who's in a lot of comedies from the 80s.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies! So glad to see you do a reaction to this. The soundtrack is amazing. The blues Brothers started out as a musical skit on Saturday night live and they even were an actual band that did some tours. One of my friends and I did the blues Brothers for air bands in high school. We even got some of the kids in marching band to take up some instruments and be the blues Brothers band. It was so much fun and we were just a fraction of a point from second place. The song that you hear throughout the movie is the theme to Peter Gunn.....a TV show and was also used as the music for a video game called "Spy Hunter" Love your reaction, Dasha.... You always make me laugh and smile and your personality always brightens up my day.

It begins with watching commercials but being part of The Dasha Reaction is The Reward!

The Cook County clerk was played by Steven Spielberg. He was so convinced there was no chance the movie would get made he said he'd appear in it if it did wind up being made.

The best blues movie of all time, with many legands performing. And it's a hilarious movie.

To give you an idea of how great The Blues Brothers are as a band, check out their performance of "Soul Man" that they did on Saturday Night Live back in 1978. The video should be here on YT.

Back in my day, having this soundtrack in your cassette case was essential.

actually the "Fishing Net" is "Chicken Wire Fencing".

My God, I needed to see this movie again! It's pure joy and escapism from a much much better time to be alive and young!

James Brown (preacher)- legend Ray Charles (music store)- legend Aretha Franklin (diner)- legend Cab Calloway (Minnie the Moocher)- legend (dude was a fixture at the Cotton Club in Harlem in the 1930s) Johnnie Lee Hooker (street) legend KZfaq search for all of the above- they are all great Carrie Fisher (girl trying to kill Jake)- legend (Princess Leia, Star Wars, same year Empire Strikes Back) John Candy (heavy set police officer)- legend Twiggy (girl at the gas station/hotel)- popular British 60s/70s model (not so well known now)

"Peter Gunn theme", written by Henry Mancini. It was a television show. I.O.U. stands for I Owe You. It's a promissory note of debt to be paid Ray Charles is a pretty good shot for a blind man. ✌️❤️🌹

Thing is if you only knew THE PEOPLE appearing in this movie… the casting is ridiculously absurdly awesome

Dasha, hahaha you nailed it! She is Jake's old girlfriend. the son you are hearing is the old Peter Gunn TV show theme, written by the famous Henry Mancini. Peter Gunn was an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. the guy playing the Nazi is really a famous comedian, Henry Gibson. the concert promoter man in the steam room is Steve Lawrence, famous singer, who recently passed away at age 87. the lady singing in the diner is the very famous Aretha Franklin, one of the greatest singers of all time. Ray Charles in the music store, the blind musician, very famous, one of my heroes.

The owner of the music store, that fired the gun, was Ray Charles, who was a very well known blind musician, which makes his marksmanship in that scene rather extraordinary.

The best cassette tape I ever owned was the soundtrack for this movie.

Ackroyd & Belushi wanted to make a movie about American music, from the blues (John Lee Hooker), to R&B (Ray Charles) and soul (Aretha Franklin), to country and rockabilly (Jailhouse Rock), the progenitor of original rock & roll. The mall was scheduled to be shut down. The owners didn't know what the film had planned for filming. IIRC, this movie set a record for the number of cars wrecked. Each of the on screen performers were legendary blues/r&b/soul performers. In fact James Brown's (the preacher) career saw a rebirth after the movie came out. ... "it's so tight." "That's what she said!" 🤣

Fun movie! So many stars in small roles. So many famous entertainers, all gone now. . . . Dasha, Thank you for sharing your time with us. ❤

A lot of the musical numbers are played by actual singers at the time like James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. It was like the Avengers of Blues.

Belushi & Aykroyd pitch to studio execs: We want to do a movie based on our SNL characters, Jake and Elwood Blues Studio execs: Don’t know if they can carry a movie, what else you got? Belushi & Aykroyd: We’ll have James Brown, Johnnie Lee Hooker, Aretha Franklin and Cab Calloway doing cameos performing legendary songs as characters that move the plot along Studio execs: Sounds better, but what else you got? Belushi & Aykroyd: We’ll set the record for most crashed cars in cinematic history Studio execs: We like were this is going, you’re almost there, but what else you got? Belushi & Aykroyd: We’ll have Princess Leia attempting to kill Jake & Elwood with an RPG, building demolition, a flamethrower and an automatic weapon Studio execs: Now, that’s a movie! The project is greenlit

My dad and I can quote this whole movie from memory. So many iconic lines!

1:45 Prisons can be quite large. At its peak in 1990, Joliet Correctional Facility housed 1,300 inmates, and there were still 1,156 inmates there as late as 2000 (two years before the prison closed). Also, Joliet Correctional Facility employed a staff that, in 2000, altogether numbered 541. And there is a lot more to a prison than just the inmates' cells; there's also offices of the prison administration, vocational and inmate activity areas, etc., plus the prison also needs to control enough space so that everything's not all scrunched together to where it might negatively impact lines of sight. 5:15 Baptist churches, and especially Black Baptist churches, are known for having a very animated form of worship. Though it is strange that the Blues Brothers were brought up in an obviously Catholic orphanage, but then go to a protestant (and evangelical protestant for that matter-evangelicals are especially no friends of the Church of Rome) church's services. 6:42 Pretty much. Steady employment, more generally. 6:50 Yep. It's a reference to the old emergency light systems that had rotating lights. 7:55 Yep, it's all practical. Shot in a real (albeit, closed) mall, too: The Dixie Square Mall in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, which had been closed in 1978. 18:30 Only a psychotic ex-girlfriend with an apparent ability to conjure weapons that would not be available on the street from thin air, the police, a violent neo-Nazi group, and a violent country band. Nothing they can't handle.

Something I heard once about the Blues Brothers' suits -- easily explainable as trick photography or just switching costumes between takes, but every time they get into a situation where dirt, dust and debris gets all over their suits, in the next shot their suits are spotless, as if by magic or by their "mission from God", ты понимаешь?

I used to have all the Blues Brothers tapes. They also did live shows that were recorded and had stuff that wasn't on the soundtrack. I still love Rubber Biscuit.😅

I wish they would make the theatrical version more available for streaming. Many reactors already come into the movie upset just looking at the runtime and then you have this long, long, long opening sequence that doesn’t add much, but sometimes sets the wrong tone for impatient reactors when the theatrical version gets on with it a bit. Luckily, Dasha is more patient than most.

Best reaction was when you said, "That's sweet that they are blowing the horn." as they were driving through the park and people were jumping out of the way.

"i have so many questions" perfectly describes this movie

Sweet! The Blues Brothers is one of my favorite movies. It came out when I was too young to see it without a parent because it was rated R, but not too young to ride a bicycle to the movie theater with my buddies on a hot summer day. We bought tickets for some other movie that was showing but snuck into the theater that was showing this as a double feature with Cheech & Chong's Next Movie. We liked The Blues Brothers so much -- with all those crazy car crashes what 13 year old kid wouldn't! -- we sat through the second showing as well. Beyond that the soundtrack changed my life by exposing me to some really great music I wasn't aware of. One reason The Blues Brothers sound as great as they do is because the musicians in the band were legendary musicians already, playing on such rock and roll classics from the 1960's as "Green Onions" and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" among others. And then there's Cab Calloway, who might be the biggest musical legend in the film -- and in a film featuring Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, and James Brown, that's saying a lot.

The sound track for this movie is amazing!

13:15 Don’t you blaspheme in here, NOT UP IN HERE The cast is filled with legends and superstars of their time and all-time in their genre as well as modern music in general.

For someone who had never seen this film before and thought she was not following it at all, you hit so many things dead on in the first few minutes, including: 7:42 - "They're going straight to jail!" Yep! Well, ok not quite straight to it... there were a few more twists on the way! 7:52 - "They actually filmed in a mall" Yep again! 8:55 - "Is she like.. an old girlfriend?" Yep again again! Yes, this is a crazy, wild film - the car chases and wrecks and the police/army storming the town hall are all very silly - but with a feelgood vibe and great music. I can't fault you for not recognising the famous stars Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, but they were legends that added real musical weight to this film. And there were other stars making cameos too, including Carrie Fisher (of course), John Candy, Twiggy and Steven Spielberg.

It is the theme to Peter Gunn, a late 1950's television series written by Henry Mancini, who wrote many great songs you may recognize. But that tune is so catchy, it's been used quite frequently in other media.

Belushi and Ackroyd were in the original cast of Saturday Night Live. They wren't really musicians. It was the 1970s and Disco music was popular. They wanted to bring blues music back. So, they brought together the very best living blues musicians they could find and formed this band. It became so popular they got a studio to make this movie. True story.

So many legends of music and acting appeared in this film and unfortunately, the vast majority of them have passed away.

This soundtrack is absolutely amazing. So many fantastic musicians.

@10:38 That tune is from an old tv show Peter Gunn and it was written by the late great Henry Mancini.

One of the greatest films of all time. It's always a blast watching it.

Still one of the best soundtracks from a movie to this day. So many different artists that have been overlooked or forgotten over time, and yet STILL makes you get up and move like the day their songs first came out. Also, buy "old cop cars" is somewhat common in the USA, as most police departments will sell their old vehicles in order to get a bit of a "cash on hand" type of thing for their budgets, often going to the upkeep and purchase of their NEW cars. They DO take out most of the "electronics/lights", but the reason why buying one is so popular is due to the fact that for a LONG TIME, some of the best suspensions, handling and horsepower from the engine was found in cop cars that were often given "performance packages" that you couldn't get on normal vehicles, so that the "average car" couldn't out-run the police. There were PARTS you get get and have added to your car on your own, but as far as a "package" you couldn't get everything at once, you had to get them one at a time on your own.

"So tight..." 8:35 "That's what he said!" 😂 Dasha, you crack me up! 8:50 Nope, that's a homemade rocket launcher! 15:05 "Tonight only, the Good Ol' Boys" Add one more to the list of the Blues Brothers' adversaries. 15:45 That's chicken wire, used to construct chicken coops. It don't get more country than that. 18:00 The singer you're hearing during these scenes is the guy playing Curtis, Cab Calloway himself. 20:17 "They're not even there yet!" Well, with all their enemies there waiting for them, they can't just rush in through the front, they'd never make it to the stage. 21:30 "I want to be in a concert like that." Well? If you sing any, you could record something and post it, and we'd listen. Have your own livestreaming concert right here on KZfaq or on Twitch, it'll be fun! Question -- do you know of any Russian blues musicians? 21:59 "Hi!" (Meaning "We've got you now...") 30:10 You're referring to extras, who are usually hired for a bit part and are paid but go uncredited. Yeah, they used a lot of extras in this film, and in Blues Brothers 2000, which you'll also like.

Hi Dasha!😊 Congratulations on 90K subscribers!!!!🥳🥳🎉🎉🎈🎈🎊🎊 Only 10 to go to hit 100K!🏆 The Blues Brothers appeared as a musical skit on the original Saturday Night Live in the 70s. Typically when the police get rid of old police cars, they sell them at auction to the highest bidder. Yep, that was a real mall. They had to redress the mall with stores as it was shutting down. That musical theme is the "Peter Gunn Theme". It was used for the racing arcade game "Spy Hunter" and "Spy Hunter II". The song was made in 1959 for the private eye TV show "Peter Gunn". An I.O.U. is when you owe somebody money. Typically you would write how much you owe somebody on a piece of paper and sign and date it, like a contract. The closing song "Jailhouse Rock" is by Elvis Presley.😉 Great reactions to this fun comedy musical with many great musicians, Dasha!!!!🎬👏👏👏👏

12:28 "Eh, those bums won their _court_ case, so they're _marchin',_ today." I get the impression they would've marched if they'd _lost, too._

Back in 1980 when I watched this in a movie theatre, we were all amazed at all the famous musicians in the movie. Like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, and it goes on. And now when you younger people watch it, you have no idea that those side characters are famous musicians. Well, you Dasha at least said wow when you heard Aretha Franklin sing! So you recognize talent, even if you had no idea she was famous for her talent! 🙂

Oh by the way that's Aretha Franklin. One of goddesses of soul music. Ray is Ray Charles an amazing musical talent. This movie is loaded with absolute legends.

All the characters that sang besides the blues brothers were popular american singers like James Brown as the reverend, Aretha Franklin as the diner owner singing her own song "Think", Ray Charles as the blind music store owner, Cab Calloway and more. Really great music artists.

RIP Steve Lawrence

My mom bought the soundtrack LP for this movie as soon as it came out, and I played that album to death for YEARS before I actually watched the movie. Such a great collection of songs, and such LEGENDARY musicians!

Thanks for reacting to this movie, Dasha. It was extra fun watching it with you! 🤗 Many real musical legends were in The Blues Brothers, but you'd have to be old (like me) to know their music. 😉

The Blues Brothers originated as a sketch on Saturday Night Live by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi in 1978. In fact, it was the FIRST SNL skit to receive a film adaptation, over a decade before Wayne's World. Yes, you CAN buy retired police cars. The cast in this film is insane. James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway. There's more musical talent in this film than exists ANYWHERE in the world today. The song is the theme to a late-1950s TV series called Peter Gunn. Everything I learned about how to deal with Nazis I learned from Captain America, Indiana Jones, and Jake and Elwood Blues. The Blues Brothers held the record for the most cars destroyed in a film (60) until its own sequel, Blues Brothers 2000, surpassed it by ONE in 1998 (yes, they did it on purpose).

8:31 “That’s what he said” 🤣🤣🤣

One of my favorite movies of all time. And yes, it is legal to drive retired police cars in America. The production team purchased 13 different 1974 and 1975 Dodge Monaco retired police cars from the California Highway Patrol to be used for portraying the Bluesmobile. And they really were driving 120 mph through downtown Chicago, and that scene was filmed twice because the director wanted to put crew members and extras on the sidewalk so you could see they were going 120 mph.

The tune you were asking about at 10:24 is "Peter Gunn", originally written for a late 1950's TV detective show "Peter Gunn". Written by Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther theme) and the original recording pianist was John Williams (Star Wars, etc.). "Peter Gunn" has been used in a number of movies and Video games (Spy Hunter & Spy Hunter II)

Second best car chase in movie history.....holds record for most crashed cars in a chase. Best car chase scene is in What's Up, Doc?.

"Cool as a cucumber". But cool as an elephant works for me too!

i love that this movie is stacked with so many talented musicians, and the plot is easy to follow, which leaves the characters to be free to do what they want. 🥰

14:26 an IOU is an "I Owe You" slip, since Ray is blind, he has to have someone else there to verify cash payment, and the IOU is a form of contractual agreement that the customer eill come back to pay, much more trust based than most of todays dealings.

2:00 - the cop listing off the inventory is Frank Oz: the puppeteer and voice of Yoda, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and many others, as well as a celebrated director of many films. He often has cameos in other films, quite often as some form of over-worked public servant, like a cop or a lawyer or an undertaker, etc. You saw him in "Trading Places" (also with Dan Ackroyd) as the cop who accuses him of dealing in angel dust, and you more recently saw him in "Knives Out" as the family lawyer.

This one sure is a classic, at least to my generation!! It has LOTS of big starts of blues and rock'n roll in it, it's a shame you probably don't recognize that many of them. I don't blame you, one would have to be experienced in that world to know. The car chase through the mall was shot in a real mall! It was supposed to be torn down so they had permission to do whatever they wanted with it. If some parts of the story seems a bit unrealistic, like the car flying and still working with a blown engine, the brothers surviving a building falling on top of them, remember.... They're on a mission from God! That's why the car falls apart in the very end, it's not protected by the divine plan anymore. I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden

Hey Dasha - I loved your reaction to this classic. Anyway, the song @ 10:23 was from an old TV show from the 50s or 60s called Peter Gunn - the song was written by Henry Mancini. It has been used & re-used in countless movies. 😊

The scene in the mall was filmed in a mall that was due for demolition... well they supported a bit 😃

I loved this movie. The GREATEST musical of all time !!

Fun fact: The prison property room clerk was Frank Oz. Voice of Yoda. Along with Carrie (princess Leia) Fisher, 1980 was a good year for them since that's when The Empire Strikes Back came out. I saw both in the theater at 7 years old

This film is an absolute love-letter to Chicago. As a child of the Chicago suburbs myself, it's always so fun to see my area represented in films. Their cop car was from the Mt. Prospect police auction: I went to school in Mt. Prospect. "The Picasso" is a very famous statue in Chicago. ("The Bean" (nickname for the piece formally titled "cloud gate") is probably more famous now, but that didn't exist 'til Millennium park in the 2000s, two decades after this film was made.). All of the towns and locations are well-known to natives of the Greater Chicagoland Metropolitan Area.

The mall they used to film the chase scene was called Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. The mall was already closed. The local school district had control of the building. They leased it to John Landis the director to film the chase scene. John Landis had to bring in all of the store fronts and make it look like a functional mall. However, after filming. The facility was completely trashed. Beyond salvageable. The school district sued the film makers for the amount of destruction, but the lawsuit was eventually dropped. The area was considered dangerous with a high crime, shoplifting which led to the malls demise. Plus, several murders committed within the mall and its property didn’t help the mall survive. Finally in 2012, the last remnants of Dixie Square Mall were finally demolished. Dixie Square Mall was also known as the worlds first “dead mall.” It was only open for twelve years.

It's legal to drive an old police car as long as everything that identifies it as a police car has been removed. So no lights on top, no department name or logo on the side, no siren. . . I see people driving them every so often. I wouldn't want to own one, though, because they're usually pretty worn out by the time the police get rid of them. There are so many great musicians and singers in this movie: Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker all had featured performances. Session musicians and side performers include Chaka Khan, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Walter Horton, and Pinetop Perkins. Steve Lawrence was also a musical performer, but he didn't sing in the film. The mall they destroyed was real. They rented the Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. It had been closed for over a year, and there were rumors that the place was going to be refurbished and reopened after the filming. The producers assumed, since the mall was closed, that it was OK if they wrecked the place. The owners of the property sued Universal for failing to return the mall in its original condition. The case went on for years, and the mall was eventually demolished in 2012. The music at 10:23 is the theme from Peter Gunn, a TV detective show from the late 50s and early 60s. The theme song was a hit record for Henry Mancini, who wrote it. It has been used in a lot of movies, TV shows, and video games, and has been recorded by a lot of performers. You may have heard it in the Spy Hunter video game. The Nazis in this movie were a reference to a famous legal and political battle, where a group of Nazis wanted to hold a march in Skokie, Illinois, a small city with a large proportion of Jews (including Holocaust survivors). The local government tried to prevent the march from taking place. There was a lawsuit based on the first amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, parts of which made it up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The courts ruled that the Nazis did have the right to hold their march, but though they won the case, the Nazis didn't proceed with the march. "IOU" is short for "I owe you." It's a promise to pay someone, often for borrowed money. 104 cars were wrecked in the making of this movie.

I recommend Dan Aykroyd again in Ghostbusters 2 & Afterlife.

0:36 Majority of cast are hardcore legendary artists/musicians One of the first movies I remember seeing and born couple years after release.

The guiatar playuer and bass players of the Blues Brothers Band, Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn, played with Booker T and the MGs as well as were the core of Otis Redding's backing band, as seen in the documentary Monterey Pop.