Blu-ray Review: The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension

I was twelve years old when The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension was originally released, and of course the line that stood out for me, even then, was “Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” I often repeated it, and I know I wasn’t alone in that. In fact, I still do say it. The difference is back then only a couple of close friends knew what I was talking about, and now the majority of people know what it is I am referring to. And that’s a good thing. The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension has over the years found its audience. And earlier this year a special two-disc Collector’s Edition was released through Shout! Factory. This set is certainly a good choice of gifts for the film enthusiasts on your list. It has plenty of bonus material, including a feature-length documentary.

For those who are not familiar with the movie, it stars Peter Weller (before he was Robocop, before he played Bill Lee in Naked Lunch) as Buckaroo Banzai, a brilliant neurosurgeon who also leads a rock and roll band and is working on a vehicle that will travel through other dimensions, and inadvertently comes into contact with aliens. The incredible cast also features John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin (I think she is one of the reasons I saw the film initially – I had a crush on her from Eddie And The Cruisers), Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, Lewis Smith, Carl Lumbly (from Alias), Vince Schiavelli and Dan Hedaya. John Lithgow is particularly hilarious as Lord John Whorfin, scientist and leader of the alien forces. “Laugh while you can, monkey boy.” Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli and Dan Hedaya are all perfectly cast as aliens. This film is a total delight, and holds up well.

Disc One Special Features

The first disc includes the feature-length documentary Buckaroo Banzai Into The 8th Dimension, which features interviews with director W.D. Richter and producer Neil Canton, who provide interesting information about how the script was written. Richter tells a crazy anecdote about Buckaroo’s red glasses. And yes, he talks about the watermelon. This documentary also includes interviews with many cast members, including Peter Weller, John Lithgow (who tells a great anecdote about the accent he used in the film), Christopher Lloyd, Clancy Brown, Carl Lumbly, Pepe Serna, Billy Vera (who talks about helping Peter Weller learn to play guitar), Lewis Smith and Damon Hines. Several of them admit they didn’t fully understand the script. There are interviews with key crew members as well, including special visual effects Michael Fink, costume designer Aggie Rodgers, costumer supervisor Eddie Marks and composer Michael Boddicker. This documentary is approximately two hours eight minutes.

There are also two commentary tracks. The first is with director W.D. Richter and writer Earl Mac Rausch. Interestingly, the title was originally going to be simply Buckaroo Banzai, but the studio forced them to add to it. That’s so odd to me, because the lengthy title seems like something a studio would not appreciate. Most people refer to the film as Buckaroo Banzai anyway. Richter mentions that Peter Weller did later loop a little of singing in the band scene. The second commentary track is with Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, who are big fans of the film.

Disc Two

The second disc contains more bonus material. Interestingly, this second disc is a regular DVD, not Blu-ray. Buckaroo Banzai Declassified is a featurette centering on an interview with W.D. Richter, but also at the beginning including snippets from old interviews with Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin, Clancy Brown and John Lithgow. Richter talks about props as if they are real artifacts, and also talks about some of the visual work and the deleted opening sequence. This is mixed with old footage of some of the special effects makeup and models and so on. This featurette is approximately twenty-three minutes. That alternate opening is also included, and is done as pieces from home movies featuring Buckaroo’s parents. His mother, by the way, is played by Jamie Lee Curtis.

There are fourteen deleted and extended scenes, including more with Penny at the club, more from the press conference, and some scenes mentioning Hanoi Xan, the villain that killed Buckaroo’s wife. There is also something titled Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets & New Mysteries, which is a weird computer graphics video. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included.

This two-disc collector’s edition of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension was released on August 16, 2016 through Shout! Factory, as part of their Shout Select series.