The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Adventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.

Director:

W.D. Richter

Writer:

Earl Mac Rauch

Stars:

Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Weller	...	Buckaroo Banzai
John Lithgow	...	Lord John Whorfin / Dr. Emilio Lizardo
Ellen Barkin	...	Penny Priddy
Jeff Goldblum	...	New Jersey
Christopher Lloyd	...	John Bigbooté
Lewis Smith	...	Perfect Tommy
Rosalind Cash	...	John Emdall
Robert Ito	...	Professor Hikita
Pepe Serna	...	Reno Nevada
Ronald Lacey	...	President Widmark
Matt Clark	...	Secretary of Defense
Clancy Brown	...	Rawhide
William Traylor	...	General Catburd
Carl Lumbly	...	John Parker
Vincent Schiavelli	...	John O'Connor

Storyline

Brain surgeon, rock musician, adventurer Buckaroo Banzai is a modern renaissance man and has made scientific history. Shifting the Oscillation Overthruster into warp speed, he's the first man to travel to the eighth dimension - and come back sane. But when his sworn enemy, the demented Dr. Emilio Lizardo, devises a plot to steal the device and bring an evil army back to destroy Earth, Buckaroo goes cranium to cranium with the madman in a battle that could spell doom for the universe. With the help of his uniquely qualified team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Buckaroo is ready to save the world on a moment's notice.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | sci fi spoof | pastiche | u.s. president | watermelon | 

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Taglines:

Expect the unexpected. He does.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai

Filming Locations:

Mount Hollywood Dr Tunnel, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$620,279, 12 August 1984, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,254,148

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sherwood Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When John Whorfin calls collect for John Bigboote, he tells the operator he is calling "Grovers Mill". Grovers Mill was a real-life community in New Jersey, which was used in Orson Welles' famous radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds", and is now a part of West Windsor Township in Mercer county.

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Goofs

During the musical march in the aqueduct, not only does Perfect Tommy's clothes change (including giving him a shirt), but Banzai goes from wearing a bow tie to not wearing one.

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Quotes

Buckaroo Banzai: You ever thought about joining me full time?
New Jersey: Whatya mean, you serious, do you have an opening?
Buckaroo Banzai: Uh huh. Can you sing?
New Jersey: A little, yeh, I can dance.

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Crazy Credits

During the closing credits, Buckaroo's team assembles, one by one, walking along. Included in the group is Clancy Brown, whose character, Rawhide, dies during the film. (There is a claim that his character is not dead but in a coma under constant supervision and that was simply never dealt with in the film.) Also in the Closing Credits, Perfect Tommy's (played by Lewis Smith) outfit changes

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Alternate Versions

One TV version features some voice-over narration at the beginning to set up the story, and shortens the end credits by several minutes. (This also leaves out the reference to any upcoming sequel in the end credits)

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Connections

Referenced in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

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Soundtracks

Since I Don't Have You
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph Rock and James Beaumont with The Skyliners
Performed by Peter Weller

User Reviews

If you're looking for a predictable film, do not watch this

TAOBBATED, as I will acronymize this film, is neither the stupid low-budget piece of excrement nor the sublimely original cult masterpiece you've been told it is, but it's a lot closer to the latter than to the former. Peter Weller plays Buckaroo, the titular neurosurgeon/inventor/modern-day samurai/Billy Joelesque rocker, and he plays him frightfully well, low-key and distant but with occasional glimmers of genius and intensity. The stellar supporting cast includes Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, and Ellen Barkin, and they're all pretty darn good.

I'm not even going to pretend to be rational or unbiased about this movie. It's too utterly offbeat and original and just damned _odd_ to not love. Some favorite scenes: the opening sequence of the Jet Car test run; Buckaroo's phone call with the Black Lectroids, and his subsequent detection of the sinister Red Lectroid agents in his midst; the eerie recorded message from the Black Lectroid leader, the "good guys" who threaten to blow up Earth unless Buckaroo stops their enemy, Dr. Lizardo (Lithgow, in a truly twisted scene-chewing performance). Yes, it looks cheesy and dated, but damn it, you have to take a stand somewhere in life, you have to roll up your sleeves and step up to the plate and put yourself on the line, and have the courage to say, "I don't care what anyone thinks of me, I love this movie." That's the way I feel about old Buckaroo and his Hong Kong Cavaliers, and I still consider myself a loyal Blue Blaze Irregular fifteen years after seeing this film.

As a post-script, I'd like to mention that the novelization of this movie, written by Earl Mac Rauch, is great, and actually contains about 3 times the information and plot that is in the movie. If you can find it on Amazon or at a garage sale somewhere, snap it up, it's worth the search. Also, there's a script for BUCKAROO BANZAI VERSUS THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE floating around too, which should be made no matter the cost if only to film one priceless scene - the cameo appearance of Jack Burton, Kurt Russell's swaggering truck driver hero from John Carpenter's BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, who appears as a Blue Blaze Irregular and gives Team Banzai a lift!