The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai

[Andrew]

This tidbit comes from Thomas Deja:

"Way back when the movie came out, I interviewed the writer,and he mentioned there never was a sequel intended; that tagline was put on to better simulate the idea that BB was like a Saturday Morning serial."

[Richard Of Portland]

Hey, I would not call this a bad movie, definatly it is a B-rated movie. The movie was fun.

"Buckaroo Banzai" is one of my favourite films ever.  Everything about this film is brilliant.  Plus, the synth music is amazing.  I actually acquired the CD soundtrack back in late '98.  No, it wasn't official, but it's still wonderful (there are even a few tracks that aren't present in the final print, or in the workprint).  And speaking of the workprint... ALL of you Buckaroo Banzai fans must see it.  It's a rough cut (VERY rough), but it's absolutely worth it for the extended/previously unseen footage.  And yes, the much rumoured death scene of Buckaroo's parents IS true; it is present in this version... and his mother is played by Jaime Lee Curtis.  Oh, and to those of you who love the Team March end theme (who doesn't?): it's present in the workprint as well, but once again, this version of the song found in the workprint is extremely rudimentary.  Also, the Team March footage of the cast marching down the drained aqueduct is extended as well.  This workprint will never be publicly released (not even in the upcoming DVD release).  They may show clips from it, but they'd never release the workprint in its entirety.  You guys have no idea what you're missing!        

[mixer]

Buckaroo Banzai is just a great stupid movie.  Probably the best ever made.  It knows it. It goes with it. It has fun with it.  John Lithgow and Christopher Lloyd are the two best reasons to watch.   Be brave, show it to your family and friends, if your lucky they'll get it and love it too!

[Kit]

The DVD edition of this movie is dynamite. It includes all kinds of extras including the original opening to the movie, which was a great loss to the theatrical release.

[postmanx]

A great film. I can't explain it. And FUN...

Some less-often quoted great quotes!

"I've been ionized, but I'm okay now." - B. Banzai

"If it ain't one thing, it's another." - Rawhide

"If all wishes were gratified, many dreams would be destroyed." - B. Banzai

"Nothing is ever what it seems but everything is exactly what it is." - B. Banzai

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - B. Banzai

"The future begins tomorrow" - The sign for Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems

"History is made at night. Character is what you are in the dark." - Dr. Lizardo

[ben gattis]

Cut down from about three hours and therefore so dense that it at first seems chaotic nonsense, this movie actually makes sense if you concentrate & its great. So it's like reading a Steve Aylett book, you have to pay attention & find treasures & sense - things are there for a reason. Fun & strange, & nobodys heard of it. Always unfashionable. Perfect.

[Swamprat]

Stick your hat in your pocket and grab your ass...this movie is a wild ride. I agree with several others above. This film takes a brain to really get it. It's a complicated comic book story with some of the coolest characters you're ever gonna see on film. The alien hardware is geniunely different...a rarety in Sci-Fi movies. The running gag of all the aliens being named John So-and-So and Such-and-Such is hilarious. My favorite line is when Peter Weller and the good guy alien are in the spaceship and Weller tells him..."Take over, it flys like a truck..." The alien responds by grabbing the controls and nodding..."What is a truck?" It sounds stupid, I know, but when you see it, you'll laugh. John Lithgo goes over the top into full berserk mode with this film. And It's perfectly bizarre and so suited to the whole feel of the movie. It's one of those that you have to actually watch and pay attention to. So many people today have grown up on the generic formula movies. Few actually pay attention to what's really going on in a truely well constructed story like this. Sip your beverage slowly and hold your bladder...watch and listen...and enjoy. I've never been able to decide if the trailer announcing a sequel was for real or just to add to the comic book texture of the film. Anyone who was heavy into series type comic books remembers the next issue teasers at the end of each story. If it was just part of the movie, it was perfect. If there really was going to be a sequel that never materialized...that's a bummer. This film rocks. I love the last remark by one of the good guy alien leaders sitting at his table somewhere in the other dimension...."Big deeeel.."

[Rob Connolly]

This is truly a sublime film!  The trailer I saw for it on another video seemed so strange that I just had to take a look.  People at work then stared at me when I told them about this really cool film I'd just seen ...

If some fool gave me a gazillion pounds then this is the sort of film I'd like to make.  As for a sequel, the cost of getting the cast back together would be - well, a gazillion pounds, I suppose. No laughing at the back, there. Hey! NO laughing!
Okay, laugha while you can, monkey boy!

[Irena]

Hi, I have been a long time fan of this wierd movie. The end credits with the whole cast marching in formation around a concrete canal is the strangest part togther with really eerie music.

[carbonware]

One of my top 10 B movie favorites!. It's one the whole family gronas about if I pull it out, yet they love to watch it over and over. I wore out the tape and I am now looking for the DVD.

[Robert]

Double-turds!  Steve & Devon beat me to the 'Brunswick, NJ' thingy.

The only reason I remember something like that is due to living in Central NJ all my life and BB being one of my all-time Fav flicks.  It still cracks me up knowing/hearing of Brunswick and Grover's Mill when I watch the film.

I've been reading that the cast knew while filming that this would be a cult-classic right from the start and most are ready and waiting to do the sequel.

[SargeSteel]

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this hugely entertaining film is the way director and cast sustain a straight face through so many -- obviously intentional -- absurd cliches ("The deuce you say!")and world threatening plot twists ("If it ain't one thing, it's another.").  Hollywood typically can't resist a confiding wink or nod to the viewer: "That was meant as parody.  You can laugh now." The fact that BB does NOT do that is one source of the film's irresistible charm.  BB is so inventive, densely written and internally consistent that watching it is satisfying to a discerning, analytical viewer (which, apparently, not all of us are) in a way that many pretentious "blockbusters" are not.  There are many clever take-offs and points of reference, and of course the dialogue is priceless.  I'm surprised that no other commentaries in this site have noted that one source of inspiration for the film, in addition to Saturday morning movie serials and comic books, is Doc Savage -- the awesome hero from the pulps.  BB is a terrific updating of the Doc Savage concept, and is marvelously entertaining in just the way that George Pal's Doc Savage movie, from abound 1970, should have been but was not.  BB fans should still check it out, though.

[Todd Phillips]

*in Homestar Runner voice*  Dat was da best video-game I've evo played...

Seriously, this movie is a such a fun ride.  Great music, kick-ass story and one of the best casts of all time.  What's not to like?

"Laugh while you can, monkey boy!"