The Blues Brothers is a well balanced bio-retrospective and history of the iconic film and associated culture by Daniel de Visé. Due out 19th March 2024 from Grove Atlantic, it's 400 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
The book is absolutely packed full of reminiscence, history, and background; from the original Not Ready for Primetime troupe (Ackroyd, Belushi, Radner, Murray and the others) to the culture of improv comedy, the whole zeitgeist of the early 80s, and the chaos and drug use, and the filming of the Blues Brothers.
It's not just about the film, and for all folks who have come to adore it in the nearly 45 years since it hit the theaters, there are also lots of takeaways for fans of 80s culture, rhythm & blues, and the actors and musicians and their wider circle of influence.
Four and a half stars. Definitely one for public library acquisition, nonfiction readers, culture and film fans, and potentially as support curriculum for culture/film classes. It's very well annotated and the bibliography will provide many hours of further reading. It's a melancholy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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