We’re on a mission from God.

John, Westy, and Matt dig into the wild story behind John Landis’s 1980 musical-comedy-action hybrid The Blues Brothers. This deep dive into one of Universal’s most chaotic productions explores how a four-minute Saturday Night Live sketch ballooned into a $27 million spectacle starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues — two suit-and-shades-wearing brothers on a mission from God to save the Catholic orphanage they grew up in. By demolishing most of Chicago.

Our deep dive covers the film’s journey from Aykroyd’s notorious 324-page first draft (essentially a Blues Brothers bible with full character backstories and chapter headings) to one of the most expensive comedies ever made at that point. We explore how Landis assembled a soundtrack featuring Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Cab Calloway, and John Lee Hooker — a lineup that didn’t just sell records but reintroduced blues, soul, and R&B to a generation that had moved on. We unpack the legendary car-chase finale that wrecked 103 vehicles (a record at the time), Belushi’s increasingly fraught off-set behaviour, and Landis’s relentless refusal to use trick photography for any of it.

From the mall chase that took weeks to shoot to Carrie Fisher’s mystery girlfriend popping up with a rocket launcher, this episode delivers the thoroughly researched film analysis that makes All The Right Movies the movie podcast for film fans everywhere. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the soundtrack, a Belushi devotee, or just someone who’s always wanted to drive a Dodge Monaco through a shopping centre, we’ve got insights you won’t find anywhere else.

Listen to the full episode above, or find All The Right Movies wherever you get your podcasts. Please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.