The Blues Brothers

Please Note: My review and ratings are based on the quality of the new 4K version of this film--images, sound, and extras and how these compare to the previously-released Blu-ray version of the film. I am not rating the acting, direction, set design, etc. which can be found in other places, but instead I am helping you decide to upgrade to the 4K version or not.The quality of 4K films, in comparison to the regular Blu-ray versions, often depends upon two things: (1) the quality of the original that they have to work with; and (2) how much effort they put into the project.There is a slight upgrade from the regular Blu-ray version to the 4K version. I did a side-by-side comparison of both films and you will notice some improvements in the video quality of the 4K version--more details, sharper images, improved resolution, and better color saturation. You will notice the improvements most in outdoor, daylight scenes and less so in night-time scenes. There are no glitches in the print--no "snow," spots, or lines.Importantly, there are problems with HDR, which is the single most frequent complaint of some 4K films. HDR makes the contrast sharper by making dark colors darker and light colors lighter. This has worked well for some films and not well for other films. The most common complaint for HDR when it is bad is that the scenes are too dark in the 4K version of the film, particularly night-time scenes (Skyfall, Spectre, & Van Helsing all suffer from this). Unfortunately, this film suffers from too much darkness, particularly the night-time scenes. I used two different HDR Blu-ray players, a Samsung and the top-of-the-line Panasonic UB820. Same result with both players. The image would be better over the Blue-ray if it did not have the too-dark problems. I really don't know if I will even use the 4K version and may simply stick with standard Blu-ray version. Universal got the HDR right with the recently-released 1975 film Jaws, but this recent release, which originally came out about five years after Jaws, misses the mark.The 5.1 DTS audio is excellent and an improvement from the regular Blu-Ray version. This was actually the highlight of the film in 4K for me. And this film is basically a musical, with music throughout. Several special features are included as well, including the making of the movie, John Belushi, the music, and other things.I now own about sixty 4K movies or nature specials. Roughly 45 of the 60 show noticeable improvements in video and audio in 4K. The others either are roughly the same from Blu-Ray to 4K or suffer from the aforementioned HDR darkness issues. So it's overall good but in some cases not worth buying the film again in 4K. My favorites in 4K and I'm talking about imagery, not the plot or acting, are Jurassic World, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Planet Earth II, and the Flight of the Butterflies. Those films really wow you in 4K.Overall, I can say this is only a "maybe" upgrade. Some definite improvements in some places over the standard Blu-ray version but problems with the HDR darkness issues.

Strange when so many of one's favorite films are now "Collector's Editions"...70 & thinkin' I'm one too. But, I was THERE when SNL started & all that only-happens-once-in-a-lifetime talent (no need to name names) came together & made their debuts on big time American TV. It was the best of the best, not unlike having Johnny Carson in your home late every night. (the best TV host ever) This included such exotics as Princess Lila who dealt damage & Twiggie whose appearance was all, but cosmic. Even had Cab Calloway appearing w/all those later soul greats. For white boys, Belushi & Aykroyd had it in spades & were on a mission from God.

GENERAL NOTE: There are so many Bluray variations of the Blues Brothers movie that it is hard to provide a sensible review.GENERAL CONTENT: I happen to really enjoy the Blues Brothers movie both for its music and for its comedic content. I watch it every year or so and decided to upgrade my disc to Bluray. Some viewers might consider this a "fans only" movie and be better served by a one-time "rental." Personal choice.12-27-18 EDIT: This specific section of review relates to the single disc version was sold to me as "The Blues Brothers - Limited Edition Steelbook (Blu-ray + DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet)" with a release date of Nov 4, 2014.PROS: Better sound quality than any version I have previously watched. Video quality is of decent quality. Both were satisfactory.CONS: This disc froze if I paused it for more than a few minutes - say 4-5 minutes. At that point, the onscreen picture reverts to a "Universal" splash screen and will not move from that spot. Either pressing the "Stop" button or shutting down the player are the only options to leave "Pause." At that point, I had to restart the whole movie and select a "Chapter" and/or "Fast Forward" to the previous spot. I had this same result on two different brands of Bluray-DVD players, both with fully updated firmware. Neither of these machines has ever had similar problems with any other disc, either Bluray or DVD. I had similar problems with two separate copies of the 2-disc version reviewed below. Amazon replaced and then refunded for both. In this case, I am simply keeping the disc in frustration as it plays well except for the "Pause" flaw.RECOMMENDATIONS: I cannot recommend this Bluray disc due to the technical playback flaw.Nov 6, 2018 ORIGINAL REVIEW: The following refers to a 2-disc (Bluray) set that I believe had a 2011 release date.After receiving the initial 2-disc set, I had no audio on the Bluray "Theater Release" version of the Blues Brothers movie though the audio was just fine on several splash screens (Universal, BluRay, etc.) leading to the movie. The audio was fine for the "Extended" version of the movie on the second disc. I contacted Amazon, and they sent out a replacement immediately. Really good service.Unfortunately, the second disc had the same exact audio issues on the "Theater" version disc while the audio again was fine on the second disc.To troubleshoot, I tinkered a little, and by changing the audio output of my Bluray player to PCM from Bitstream, I could get audio from the "Theater" version disc. However, in hundreds of discs played previously, I had never had to do that. Wanting to watch the movie, I decided to keep the 2-disc set and just deal with the issue.That's when a second problem occurred. I paused the disc for a couple of minutes, and when I returned, the disc had totally crashed. Ejecting the disc was eventually the only solution, and I was able to recreate this scenario twice more. I gave up and decided to simply return both 2-disc sets and try a different version of the Blues Brothers movie. I was disappointed, as what little I saw of the movie, it seemed to be of good quality.Other reviewers have mentioned technical issues with the 2-disc set, and on the basis of my experience, I would not recommend this product.

Review of the 35th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-rayThe Blues Brothers is a classic movie, a slight misfire at the box office on original release, but a film that gained a substantial cult following via cinema re-releases and especially home viewing. It's a riotous mix of comedy, musical and serial car crash (literally) with a phenomenal number of legendary musical cameos: Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and John Lee Hooker included.The Blu-ray has an excellent picture quality on the standard version of the film with a slight, but obvious, dip in sharpness for the extra scenes that make up the extended version also on the disc. Fans of the film will not mind the picture quality dip to view these additional scenes edited back into their original context.Extras are decent with an hour long retrospective (in 4:3 standard definition) made at the time of the best forgotten 2000 sequel and two other featurettes (totalling another 30 minutes) taken from the 25th anniversary release. Shame there is no John Landis commentary, but this is still a decent package for a classic movie.

I was living in Chicago when this was filmed so it brought back a lot of memories. I personally saw the bit when they drove through the windows at the Daley Center (glass was made of sugar). Anyway, I won't relate the story as I am sure most people know it, but it is a very funny movie. The only downside was the actual disc. It is not due to quality in the slightest, it is just that it goes directly to the film so there are no extras, like scene selections. It is great value for the money.

Love this film and in discussing it with a much younger person said I would send her a copy. It came on time and I was just about to hand it over when I happened to open the box to find a DVD of .....the Kings Speech in there. I was so irritated. There is no slip inside the package for returns.The one star reflects the fact that I didn't get the film I ordered.

Like all blu-rays when compared to watching the DVD version or an old video one watching this film is a clearer, more detailed experience and in many cases it's like looking at the film for the first time as the film stock used to transfer to Blu-Ray is usually "worked on" first to get as good a copy as possible.My taste in films may not be the same as yours so if you want to know about this film I suggest that you use the internet to find 2 or 3 reviews by experienced film reviewers and make your judgment whether or not to buy this film.I have watched over 600 films in my life and have a collection of over 200 Blu-Ray's and I rate this one 9/10.

Undoubtedly one of the finest musical/comedy/action movies of all time and as such it deserves to be added to any serious bluray collectors library. The music is brilliant and the action superb with some great performances from top stars of the era. This bluray has been well produced and the picture and sound quality is much better than the DVD offering. You get two versions of the movie on this disc, theatrical and extended director's cut. Just get this for over 2 hours of classic entertainment.