GCS 027: "The Blues Brothers" by John Landis

They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.

It's been a while since I did the Great Cinematic Scenes, so here we are back on the game with the 27th and it's nothing less than

The Blues Brothers (1980) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080455/

After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood go to visit the old home where they were raised by nuns. They learn the church stopped its support and will sell the place to the education authority, and the only way to keep the place open is if the $5000 tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers want to help and decide to put their blues band back together and raise the the money by staging a big gig. As they set off on their "mission from god" they seem to make more enemies along the way. Will they manage to come up with the money in time?

Fun Facts:

• Elwood removes his hat three times in the film: when going to sleep in his room, to break the window to get into the Palace Hotel, and towards the end of the movie when the Bluesmobile falls apart. His sunglasses are never removed. Jake removes his sunglasses once, when he is talking to Carrie Fisher, but never removes his hat.

• Before the falling-Pinto scene could be filmed, the filmmakers had to get an "Air UN-worthyness certificate" from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Pinto. This was done by conducting preliminary drop tests to ensure that it would not behave as an airfoil and drift from its target line, but would drop "like a brick" when dropped from a great height.

• The infamous "Bluesmobile" is a 1974 Dodge Monaco. The vehicles used in the film were used police cars purchased from the California Highway Patrol (mocked up to look like Mt. Prospect, Illinois patrol cars), and featured the "cop tires, cop suspension and cop motor - a 440 cubic-inch plant" mentioned by Elwood in the film. A total of 12 Bluesmobiles were used in the movie, including one that was built just so it could fall apart. Several replicas have been built by collectors, but one original is known to exist, and is owned by the brother-in-law of Dan Aykroyd.

• During filming, John Belushi apparently got drunk, went to a stranger's house, asked if he could have a glass of milk and a sandwich and then crashed on their couch for a couple of hours before the cast and crew found him.

• During the filming of the opening scene, security guards of the prison fired shots at the helicopter filming the overhead shots, thinking that the helicopter was attempting to spy on the structure.

And the scene I chose is nothing else than Somebody to Love! Enjoy!

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDr4f1jGH04