Belushi

This documentary is an original way of interviewing colleagues, friends and family about James Belushi, an uncontrollable force in acting, who exploded onto the American tv screens in the seventies and exploded he did.

The good: the way this documentary is told is insightful and illustrative, mixing lots of phone conversations with friends of Belushi with lots of rare footage.

More good: Belushi deserves to have such a documentary dedicated to him, because he was (however short lived) an unique actor.

Any bad? Not any documentary beats watching James Belushi acting in movies and in old tv shows. Simply search Imdb for the few, but great, contributions Belushi made to the American cinema. Yes, it was pulp, but it was the best pulp one could dream of...

Patched together from archival tapes, pictures, letters and infused with remarkably sharp animated sequences - Belushi is a meticulously researched and intensely personal portrait of a man. As a legacy - it's likely his films will define him better than this necessarily will - but this does a rather comprehensive job of contextualizing him, humanizing him. To realise he died at my exact age now gave the endeavor a rather existential sheen which I wasn't necessarily expecting although the relentless focus accidentally allows his many allies to fall into his wake a little. Poor Ackroyd, poor Judy, poor Carrie. Either way though, a remarkable achievement - and a really beautifully crafted piece of work.

Pretty darn good. Recommend you see it, even if you never cared about John Belushi before today. Its mostly audio clips with still photos, and these neat little cartoons drawn to match the audio clips. They never do the standard "guy in chair talking to invisible interviewer" and thats a nice change of pace. Loads of never before seen photos and videos, and never heard audio. Brutal honest look at his whole life, not just good or bad. The documentary shares as much of his insights as it possibly can, and also the opinions and stories of friends & coworkers. It never glorifies or vilifies him which is what a good documentary is all about. Highly recommended.

A very good retelling of John's story from his childhood through his untimely death.

John in his own words, spoken and written plus the thoughts of his friends and peers. Videos, still photos and animation for the audio recordings of him.

Well worth a watch if you were a fan.

A dark and somber look at John Belushi's short life through the eyes of friends and colleagues nearly 40 years after his death. It won't leave you laughing or feeling good.