Films based on Saturday Night Live sketches are generally lamentable. (See, or rather, don’t see, “Stuart Saves his Family,” “It’s Pat,” et al.)

Add to that the fact that, for Dan Aykroyd, “The Coneheads” is a relatively good movie.

And consider that director John Landis has faded from the great success of “Kentucky Fried Movie,” “Animal House,” and, of course, “Trading Places,” which must be Aykroyd’s finest hour.

More recently, Landis has given us “Oscar,” “The Stupids,” and “Beverly Hills Cop 3.” A director’s sad downward spiral.

Factor in the great, all-encompassing travesty of “Blues Brothers 2000,” and what reasonable, uninitiated person would raise a finger to rent the original “Blues Brothers”?

The first characters to leap from SNL to the big screen, Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, respectively) must take credit or blame for all that followed, from Wayne and Garth all the way down to those annoying “Night at the Roxbury” guys. But whatever came afterward, this film deserves its collector’s edition re-release.

Made in 1980 (Landis’ heyday), and with a living, breathing John Belushi and a thinner, quieter Dan Aykroyd, “The Blues Brothers” took comedy where it hadn’t been before: into the world of epic budgets.

An Odyssey-like plot sets numerous obstacles in Jake and Elwood’s way as they attempt to reassemble their band to raise money to prevent the closing of the orphanage in which they grew up. (Follow all that?)

Angry exes, an irate country band, throngs of Nazis, and about a thousand members of the Illinois Law Enforcement community stand in their way, leading to a chase scene that has rarely been matched, even in pure action films. One loses track of the number of smashed police cars, creating comedy out of sheer overkill.

The collector’s edition offers added footage that is at times redundant or otherwise unnecessary. However, there are a few worthwhile bonus scenes, most notably one of Elwood quitting his job, telling his boss he intends to become a priest.

“The Blues Brothers” is the only member of the epic musical comedy genre, and the film is worth seeing for that fact alone. It is one of John Belushi’s great roles, and it features Aykroyd at his most appealing. Its soundtrack is magnificent, and the cameos by Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, John Lee Hooker and others make it a true historical document. It’s a fine way to spend an evening.

Grade: A