There’s been a trend on the interwebs
of sites passing off information that’s been hidden for years – usually
stowed away in antique technology like ‘books’ or ‘magazines’ – as
news. Who am I to buck the trend? Instead of pretending that this stuff
is news I’ll present it to you as interesting bits of info that you may
have never learned otherwise. It’s not news, but it’s probably news to
you.
Last week John Landis appeared at the BFI in London and gave an entertaining talk about his career; I was lucky enough to be in the audience and got to enjoy Landis’ truly no-holds-barred anecdotes about more than thirty years working in the movie industry, doing every job from stunt man to director.
One of his more intriguing anecdotes explained why The Blues Brothers, his 1980 film starring John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, ended up cutting 15 minutes of footage for the release – footage that Landis reinstated for the DVD. Even though the day of the roadshow had long been over by 1980, Landis’ vision for the film was a major roadshow release, complete with an intermission. But according to Landis this plan wouldn’t fly because The Blues Brothers was seen as too black.
The film came out at the height of disco, which Landis calls ‘the whitest music ever.’ The Blues Brothers was conceived as an homage to and promotion for classic soul and rhythm and blues, but some of that music hadn’t quite reached recognized ‘classic’ status yet. In fact, Landis was able to get folks like Aretha Franklin and James Brown in the film because they simply weren’t working that much at the time.
Small-minded exhibitors of the time looked at The Blues Brothers and thought the film had only one audience: blacks. And that, to them, wasn’t what they were looking for. One very powerful exhibitor told Landis that he wouldn’t book the film in his theaters because he didn’t want black people coming to Westwood, which was then the fashionable place for movie premieres.
With the number of available screens shrinking – especially the kinds of prestige screens where The Blues Brothers could get a roadshow presentation (which was already incredibly old fashioned at the time) – Landis couldn’t fight the studio execs who wanted him to trim the picture. The film had originally been projected to open on 1200 screens and it ended up going out on half that number.
The racism didn’t stop with the theatrical release, either. While The Blues Brothers was a Universal film, the company’s record label, MCA, refused to release the soundtrack. It’s possible that they just didn’t think these oldies were going to sell, but Landis believes that it was the blackness of the artists that turned off MCA. The Blues Brother soundtrack ended up being released on Atlantic Records, a company that had a history of being a ‘race’ label – ie, one that released plenty of black music.
History sided with The Blues Brothers, of course. The film went on to be a massive success, and it’s actually strange to think that anyone at the time thought the movie was too black. And the idea that the soundtrack couldn’t find a home is also bizarre from this vantage point in history – especially in a post-The Big Chill landscape. Now, if people had declined to release Blues Brothers 2000 I would understand where they were coming from…
19 comments
GET TO THE CHOPPA! Oh wait.. Seriously thought, good article devin. Would love to hear what he had to say about eddie murphy.
I want to hear his candid thoughts on the Twilight Zone tragedy. To me, that is miles more interesting than the Blues Brothers, but I doubt we'll ever hear about that while the man is still alive.
Interesting, I wonder how much better those 15 minutes would have made the movie. I didn't see it until many, many years after release, but I thought it was highly overrated. A couple chuckles, but not terribly fun or funny.
Not to defend disco, but wasn't it the "blackest" popular form of music from the 70's. The famous Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in 1979 is often cited for its racial undercurrents.
Disco was not a "black" music. When white DJs from a rock and roll radio station incited the Comiskey Park crowd, it was mainly white trash that flooded the field and led to a game being forfeited.
Disco was perceived as a "black" form of music, even if it was mostly a bastardized "white" take on funk, soul and R&B. Racism was definitely at the core of the hatred for disco, as was a sense of moral superiority. Few things bother middle Americans more than the mental image of blacks and gays dancing and getting it on in a Jew-owned nightclub in NYC while doing lines off each other's asses. Of course, there was also a distaste for the slickness and vacuousness of the music itself, but the rage toward it was clearly rooted in reactionary views. (This is my sixth attempt at posting, by the way. Fix the verification system!)
I approve of articles like this. Please keep it coming!
“… I'll present it to you as interesting bits of info that you may have never learned otherwise. It's not news, but it's probably news to you.” Awesome, another “new” column by Devin. I’ll stack this with “Chudsploitation”, “Star Trekkin”, “30 NON-MAINSTREAM FILMS FROM 2010 TO BE EXCITED FOR” (It’s April in a week, this list is barely relevant anyway), and that dirty pile of dishes I’ve been meaning to do. I’m sure there are other Devin columns I’m missing (was there one about the vast changes from script to finished film?), but it’s been so long since they were updated I’ve long since forgotten them. I don’t mind when that bored housewife who set up a blog about her cats gets bored and ditches the updates, but it’s kinda annoying on a “professional” site.
Nice article. Every Landis fan should read "Outrageous Conduct" and "Special Effects" for a look into the Twilight Zone tragedy. That is all.
Damn is that stupid. How is certain music "black" does it have jungle beats and shit? I wish people weren't so closed minded about these kinds of things. I can tell you from my experience this kind of shit happens to this day. Was sitting in a tug with some white dude, guy's listening to country music which I enjoy, then cuz he thinks I'd fall asleep he changes the station to rap, which I hate. Great article.
@#9: No chance. If commenters knew what they were talking about, they couldn't be such exquisite douchebags. @#3: We get it, you weren't alive then so it must be crap. Cinema history can do without your overview of what's a good movie and what isn't. Fucking sociopath.
only thing i hate more than racists are the irish..
@8 Then go away. No one is forcing you to visit, fuckface.
I think Landis may be off as far as disco is concerned. Look back and you'll see most of the artists are black. How is that the whitest music of all? Come on John sounding a bit of a racist yourself. Can't we all get along.
John Landis said almost all of this verbatim on the Blues Brothers Special Edition DVD.
Disco BECAME white. But I grew up in the midwest, and the hate I saw for disco was not racial. It was because disco had become so ubiquitous it had taken over most of the radio stations. It was a backlash against a single style becoming too popular. And Landis? I always liked the guy, going back to Kentucky Fried Chicken. I do like this series of articles. Keep 'em coming.
Cool article. Thanks for writing about this.
#11, what brand of moron are you? I didn't think it was all that great, so I'm the worst person in the world? I'm probably old enough to be your father and some of the best films ever made predate your grandparents.
"I hate Illinois Nazis".
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