1980 Classic Film With Soulful Soundtrack Ranked Among Best Rock Movies of All Time
More than 40 years since its release, The Blues Brothers, the musical comedy action film, is now celebrated not just as a cult classic but as one of the greatest music-inspired films ever made.
Released in 1980, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi brought their Saturday Night Live characters to the big screen with director John Landis and together they created a film that seamlessly blends deadpan humor, intense car chases and standout performances from R&B legends and musical showstoppers.
According to Landis, creating the movie was both exciting and challenging at the same time, particularly with the large-scale car chase scenes.
"It was amazing making the movie but it was complicated," he told The Guardian, adding, "Lots of the wild stories come from the movie itself – you can't just shoot 42 cars going 110 miles an hour in downtown Chicago. When you see those shots, there's no sped-up footage. That took so much work and cooperation with the police. We had a 24-hour auto shop. There are stories that we used hundreds of cars, but no, when you see those pileups, we took the same 20 cars and fixed them. We probably destroyed 25 vehicles by the end of the movie."
Unleashing a musical phenomenon, The Blues Brothers cemented a legacy that earned it a place among the best rock movies of the 1980s.
In a ranking released by Ultimate Classic Rock, the list highlights one defining rock film from each year, spanning from 1955 to the present day.
The Blues Brothers Named Best Rock Movie of 1980
Amid the vibrant commercialism and the rise of technological innovation in the ‘80s, the entertainment industry marked a notable shift towards pop culture, with Madonna, Michael Jackson and others ultimately becoming the decade's sound, style and cultural identity.
For the ‘80s, UCR named The Blues Brothers as the best rock movie of 1980, underscoring its lasting impact on music-driven cinema.
Apart from the movie's comedic sketch, the duo's love for rhythm and blues was translated into the film by showcasing star-studded cameos from music legends performing their timeless hits.
Aretha Franklin sang her 1968 classic song "Think" while Cab Calloway and Ray Charles performed "Minnie the Moocher" and "Shake a Tail Feather."
As for James Brown, instead of singing a signature track, he performed a high-energy gospel standard "The Old Landmark" and appeared as Reverend Cleophus James.
Following its release, the film proved to be a box office success after making it among the top 10 highest-grossing films of 1980, as cited by industry analyst Box Office Mojo.
With a modest production budget of $27 to $30 million, it earned approximately $57 million in domestic box office revenue alongside strong worldwide ticket sales of $57 million that further solidified its commercial success.
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This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 11:00 AM.