Alternate versions

The Collectors' Edition on DVD runs 18 minutes longer than the original release and includes the following expanded or newly added scenes:

• The two Joilet guards come to get Jake in his cell and have trouble waking him up.
• One additional line from Frank Oz as he rattles off Jake's material possessions.
• An additional line for the Penguin regarding missions: "I'll be sent to the missions... Africa, Latin America... Korea."
• Jake and Elwood discuss getting the money for the mission honestly outside of the Triple Rock Baptist Church.
• The "The Old Landmark" number is considerably longer, incorporating more dance sequences and extra verses.
• After the demolition derby in the shopping mall Elwood parks the Bluesmobile in a hiding place beside an electrical power box. (John Landis explains that Aykroyd thought this would show how the car gets its incredible endurance, but also goes on to explain that it never did make any sense, so the scene was cut.)
• A few extra lines of dialog when Elwood and Jake rest in his apartment.
• When the cops come to arrest Jake and Elwood in the motel, they first stop at the registration desk and intimidate the manager. They also greet Sam, who seems to be known by everyone.
• An entire sequence with Elwood boosting chemicals from his day job, then quitting the job to become a priest, is restored.
• After the above sequence, Jake and Elwood study a cigarette box with "the last known address of Bones Malone and Blue Lou Marini".
• After getting the new address of Bones Malone, Elwoods thanks Ms Tarantino before leaving.
• Jake has an extra line of dialog while pep-talking Murph and the Magictones at the Holiday Inn ("Now, who here at this table can honestly say that they played any finer or felt any better than they did when they played with the Blues Brothers?")
• One line of dialog for Henry Gibson is restored for the Illinois Nazis scene at the bridge, with regards to the swastika ("The sacred and ancient symbol of your race since the beginning of time!")
• The "Boom Boom" number is much longer, with extra shots of John Lee Hooker laughing and arguing with his band. Jake and Elwood watch for a moment then enter the Soul Food Cafe.
• "Think" has extra verses and shots of dancing.
• When the band arrives at Bob's Country Bunker, Bob hands the request list to Bones Malone, who looks at it blankly.
• The "Theme from Rawhide" and "Stand By Your Man" numbers are slightly longer.
• The original Picwood preview included another musical number, "Sink the Bismark", but that footage has been lost.
• More lines of dialog for Maury Sline in the steam room scene, mostly regarding to the old gigs having been turned into (gay) discos.
• When Jake fills up the tank for the Bluesmobile, he overfills it and gas spills over. When they peel out from the station, Elwood flicks a cigarette out of the window and causes the station to explode. (Landis now says he doesn't remember why this particular scene was cut.)
• Before the sound-check Curtis (Cab Calloway) explains to the band that they need to do it for the kids, since the Blues Brothers will use the money raised from that concert to pay the taxes for a church. The look on the faces of the band after they hear it is priceless!
• The "Minnie the Moocher" number is considerably extended.
• As Jake and Elwood sneak into the show, Elwood takes the chemicals that he stole from the show and sneaks them into the tires of the cop cars.
• Both the "Everybody Needs Someone to Love" and "Sweet Home Chicago" numbers are extended.
• When Jake and Elwood sneak out, the gas in the cop cars tires reacts and causes the tires to explode on some to delay the police.
• An alternate line of dialog for Carrie Fisher in the sewer when she confronts Jake, about how her father "used up her last favors" with the Mafia for her wedding. In the original release it was changed due to complaints of the Italian-American community.
• The lengthy climactic chase to (and through) Chicago features many extra lines and shots of racing autos.
• The "assault on Daley plaza" and the Assessor's Office scenes also feature extra lines and shots.
• The "Jailhouse Rock" number is slightly longer.
• As the prisoners riot at the end of the film, there is a brief shot of riot-geared police guards racing into the mess hall that has been added. It changes the end of the film subtly.
• The "cast of characters" and end credits are extended to accommodate the new footage.

Similar to Animal House and American Werewolf in London, the 5.1 remix on the Blu-ray release replaces many of the old sound effects like car crash sounds, gunshots, and explosions.

When the extended version was created in 1998, a 5.1 remix was created that contained a bunch of alterations. Some of the cues were re-arranged and re-edited to accommodate for the added scenes and a bunch of sound effects were replaced with more modern ones. It even goes as far as to use an alternate vocal recording for Sweet Home Chicago during the stage performance scene. The movie was re-released on DVD in 2005 and for the first time on the format contained the original theatrical version as well. This DVD had only the original stereo mix for the theatrical version. However, when the blu-ray release came out, Universal integrated the 5.1 remix into the theatrical version and as a result, songs are now miscued, the sound effects replacement is still there, and there are some audio edits that are obvious whenever a scene from the extended version wasn't present in the theatrical version. In addition to that it still contains the alternate vocal take for Sweet Home Chicago. The original stereo mix isn't included as a second option for this version on the US blu-ray release.

With exceptions of pay-per-view networks that air the original theatrical format, most TV prints removed strong profanity usage (leaving some of the milder language intact) and brief shots of nude girl pics. Some TV airings removed Jake Blues' line "It's not my fault, I swear to God!"

In Ontario the film was originally restricted (18 years or over). Since the film appealed to a young audience, Universal removed uses of the f-word so the film would be re-classified adult entertainment (all ages admitted, parental guidance recommended).

The film was originally intended to be an old-fashioned roadshow attraction. The original cut of the film had an intermission and may have run as long as three hours. Landis was asked to cut the film after premiering a lengthy director's cut (of an answer print) at the Picwood Theatre in West Los Angeles. That version has been lost. Landis originally tried to restore the original cut several years ago, but found that Universal had thrown out all the outs, trims, negatives, and mix tracks. Landis and George Folsey Jr. restored 18 minutes from another preview print on an AVID for the Collectors' Edition, and correctly timed the picture so that Stephen Katz's photography looks as it was intended to look.

Some network TV prints omit the Universal globe logo at the end, and replace the Universal Studios logos with the "Ask Babs" byline at the end of the closing credits with scenes from their "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" number followed by the Universal Studios Globe Logo.