Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension! Widescreen: Amazon.ca: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Clancy Brown, Thomas R. Burman, Stephen Dane, Jeff Goldblum, Gregory Jein, Carl Lumbly, W.D. Richter, Pepe Serna, Lewis Smith, Michael Arick, Dennis E. Jones, Neil Canton, Sidney Beckerman, Earl Mac Rauch: DVD

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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension is one of the most agreeably insane movies ever made. Peter Weller stars as Buckaroo, an acclaimed neurosurgeon, particle physicist, and, of course, rock star. He travels with the Hong Kong Cavaliers, a band of hard-rocking scientists who are also really good dressers. Buckaroo's interdimensional experiments with his Operation Overthruster throw him (and the Earth) straight into the middle of an alien war, and before you know it, he's got just a few hours to save the world. Confused? Hang on, we're only 10 minutes into the movie. Buckaroo Banzai hurls you right into the middle of its comic-book universe and keeps going at a breakneck pace. It's chock-full of overlapping jokes (even as we're trying to make sense of Dr. Lizardo's hospital room, a voice calmly announces that "lithium is no longer available on credit" over the PA system), hilarious throwaway dialogue ("You're like Jerry Lewis: you give me hope to carry on."), and weirdness just for the sheer joy of it ("Why is there a watermelon there?" "I'll tell you later."). You'll want to watch it at least twice--there's just no way to catch everything the first time around. Ellen Barkin has a terrific time doing a dead-on film noir moll parody as Penny Priddy, and John Lithgow turns in a brilliant manic performance as Dr. Lizardo/John Whorfin. There is no reason not to own this movie unless you are cold and dead inside. Laugh while you can, Monkey Boys. --Ali Davis

Product Description

ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI

Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: DVD

SKU:GMDB2288431

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81 Reviews

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4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (81 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An all time favourite - a masterpiece of its very narrow genre!, Aug 29 2007

By

Laurence R. Hunt "Laurence Hunt" (Kenora, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension! (Widescreen) (DVD)

For some reason, three of my favourite science fiction "B movies" are interlinked on Amazon.ca, at least on the day of writing this review.

I hadn't planned to write a review for Buckaroo Banzai, but after having just entered reviews for two other classics (Night of the Comet and Cherry 2000), Buckaroo Banzai seemed to round out the trilogy.

Existing reviewers have covered this movie well enough for the most part, though the word "tedious" does not come to the tip of my tongue based on my personal sensibilities.

Certainly Buckaroo Banzai is probably the most "80's" of the three productions I have just named. At what other time in history could the "good aliens" have been Rastafarians (a deft touch on the part of the writers for sure)?

Who then are the bad guys? Well, here's a hint: What if, like the guy on the sample cheque at your bank, they were all named "John?" At the time of the production, besides wearing blister pack glasses (it was new then), my friends and I were mastering all the Johns of this movie, and I can still recall John Smallberries from memory over 20 years later.

What a cast - Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum - and all at the peak of their powers.

In my view, there was not one thing wrong with this movie. It was flawless, startling, quirky, crazy, brilliant, scene by scene, start to finish. Every scene worked, and each built on previous scenes to create a cinematic leaning tower of pisa that may never be equaled. (OK, only here would a simile of that kind be defensible!?!?)

The sad part, a sequel was clearly intended - but didn't materialize - when the subtle humour and deft touches flew far over the heads of the mainstream American audience (who rewarded The Terminator of the same year with two sequels).

I am a fan of The Terminator as well, and I think Schwarzenegger is under-rated both as an actor and as a governor - he is in fact a brilliant man - but this movie is much, much better than The Terminator - which does NOT need my review.

Plain and simple: This is one of the best science fiction/satirical allegories ever produced. Ever. A masterpiece.

And that's probably all I need to say here.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Gave A Bad Review... Then You Don't Get It..., Dec 10 2003

By

Wesley Scott Williams (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension! (Widescreen) (DVD)

It's really sad that there are people who don't get the movie have to pass themselves off as film critics. The people who say this film is low budget, plotless, and generally a bad film are obviously over-Lucas-ized and can't get passed the 'Star Wars is the measuring stick of Sci-Fi' mentatility. This movie was designed to have a low-budget look. It's supposed to have a campy feel with stupid dialog. THAT'S THE POINT! It's a flashback to the Ed Wood era. Wondering why the alien ships look like sea shells? They are! They wanted a non-tech look. No plot? Are you nuts, there's a clear plot. Some folks must have gone to the bathroom. This film stands the test of time... if you can laugh every time it's played, it's a good sign. This classic is not meant to be a big epic film and win an Oscar; it ain't the Godfather. It's fun, plain and simple. The stars shine, Ellen Barkin is unbelievably sexy, Jeff Goldblum is perfect as the new guy, Peter Weller plays the straight-man with flawless ease, and John Lithgow is a god. If you buy this film, do yourself a favor and just enjoy it. Don't compare it to Star Wars, cuz that's not what it's trying to be. In a world full of 'reality' programming and realism, we need this 2 hour escape!

I'm still waiting for the sequel... BB Versus The World Crime League... WHERE IS IT!?

"No, no, don't pull on that, you don't know what it may be attached to"

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Only for us guys?", Oct 19 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension! (Widescreen) (DVD)

Both my daughter and I, her mother, have loved this film, watching it a number of times, particularly when one of us was low. The comment in one review that it was a "guy" thing to love this film is nonsense. The love of Buckaroo Banzai transcends gender.

Sure, I couldn't tell you this minute what all the plot is, or how I remember Penny Priddy, but I still rent the film as one way of displaying to my class what a "Wisdom saying" is. I go quickly to the scene where Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai says "Wherever you go, there you are." It happens to be the equivalent of Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) "If a tree falls in the forest, whether it falls to the north or falls to the south, where it falls is where it lays." The women in this family understand that at different times in our lives we may be rock stars, neurosurgeons, nuclear physicists, and rocket car drivers, especially having lived near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where the rocket car was driven into the eighth dimension. My daughter loved John Lithgow in his first alien impersonation; I'm more fond of Peter Weller, the straight man for all this inspired insanity.

There is no plot that I can remember 10 minutes after viewing the film, and yet there is a narrative thread about a multitalented person whose job it is to save the world, against all odds. Whether you see yourself, your parent, your child, your friend, your president, or your country in such a role, this film is an aid to relax your expectations, for its all-too-brief time span.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeff Goldblum :)
This movie is just fantastic. I bought it, it came quickly (thank goodness) and I watched it immediately. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Jesse

4.0 out of 5 stars Live Japanimation
This movie came out before Japanimation became big. If this movie was animated it would make more sense to those who don't get it. Read more

Published on Jun 26 2004 by Patmc7