THE FILM
BB is second to “Rocky Panic” as the greatest cult film ever.
A lot of the unique appeal is the “Before they were Stars” factor–Peter Weller, Robocop; JOHN Lithgow, 3rd Rock; Jeff Goldblum, Ten Rush and Brownshoe, Jurassic Park; Christopher Lloyd, Aid to the Future, Taxi; Vincent Schiavelli, Subway Guy in Ghost; Yakov Smirnov, plays the Secretary of Defense.
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They characters witness like the people they are supposed to play. Weller is gaunt and tan enough so that he does indeed inspect half-Japanese. Vincent Schiavelli looks alien enough, and Lithgow does one mean Mussolini. Ellen Barkin is perfect as a lost girl in a spacious city.
This is sci-comedy, along the lines of Ghostbusters, Hitchhikers Guide, where it simultaneously contributes to the Genera while satirizing it. Glimpse at all of the BB references on Star Prance! In the commentary, Ruach and Richter justify they were imitating the exclusive humor found in “DR. STANGELOVE,” so stare that film first before you consider! PS–the watermelon in the Steel press is explained in the audio commentary.
There are emotions surrounding a film, and meaning found in repeating lines, as in Rocky Dread, or Princess Bride. It almost becomes a type of liturgy, where the filmed padre speaks his parts, and we respond-a communion of comedy! A morality play! Ruach and Richter want us to possess that BB is actually a docudrama of a steady but enigmatic person. And at a determined level, we want to absorb them!
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The choice for synthesized music was accurate, and also a reduce of the times, as in Ladyhawke, or Tron. The music itself is catchy, killer, and DEMANDS TO HAVE A CD Instruct!
For those who don’t like this film, try these things. First, you need to spy this film. Secondly, read some of the BB fan-pages on the Internet. Thirdly, inspect the film again. Fourthly, read the book, which is the valuable companion to the film. Fifthly, notice the film again. Show the process until you fetch it. I reflect it takes about 6 viewings (or is it 88? ) viewings of this film to understand it.
On the down side, this film has been described as being “Share 6″ of a series. We enter “in the middle of things,” but it is more like “in the muddle of things.” There is the Elvis-esq Banzai, surrounded by a cloud of secondary characters that we peer for a second, and then they pass. “In the middle of things” may not have been the best site to introduce the world to Dr. Banzai. Why not do the origin myth and work foreword? Moral that Lucas began with Episode IV, not with Episode I, but the cadre of characters was smaller and easier to follow. “Doc Savage: Man of Bronze,” Unbreakable,” or “Batman I” are huge origin films, and we are not complicated by secondary characters such as Patricia Savage, or Robin and Batgirl. Slowly they worked up to the secondary characters
For example of this middle-muddle, the gatekeeper “Pinky Carruthers” has an extensive background. He is a Blue Blaze Strange, is Knight Commander, and knows 47,000 unknown facts. But this in not germane to the legend and is wisely never mentioned in the film, impartial in the book. But this background may have a bearing on any future episodes of this movie. There was a lot of work for something that never surfaced. The Simpsons slowly worked up to all the secondary characters, with the core of the Five Common Family members being the lynchpin of all Springfield. There was too grand ambition–you always leave room for growth.
Editing destroyed The Abyss, and distress this film. I agree that the parts of Hanoi Xan were wisely taken out of the film, since this would only add another layer of complexity that was not germane to the film, but other scenes were taken out for no reason, which injure the continuity of the film, such as the extended beginning which showed Dr. Banzai’s early life, and death of his parents.
This record has a lot of action, but it doesn’t accentuate the action. Dr. Banzai parachutes out of the spaceship, but they could have made his exit more dramatic. And he is a martial artist, but the extent of his physical action is to kick an alien in the crotch. Marital artist huh?
!!!THIS DVD IS STUFFED FULLER THAN SANTA’S SACK!!!
They are finally making DVDs that spend the technology to the utmost!
The copy is capable, light-years ahead of the grainy copy on the VHS re-release, plus it is in wide cloak format, so you actually gape the movies in its panoramic glory. It is indeed like seeing another movie! The only scrape is that the work prints are of a lower quality than the rest of the film, but we can deal with it.
Included are all of the deleted scenes from the editors work print, the bootleg that has been floating around for a decade and a half. Paramount of these scenes is the unique opening with Jamie Lee Curtis as Buckaroo’s mother. Frankly, this is the beginning that should have been the theatrical release, and the film not only makes more sense, but you emotionally connect with Dr. Banzai and the trauma he has experienced. In a movie they should demonstrate you what happened, you shouldn’t have to read about it!
Other extras are a bio on Dr. Banzai, and a sample of his philosophy, plus some of Pinky Carruther’s 47,000 unknown facts are presented as an optional subtitle.
This DVD will support you busy for hours!!!
Marketing note: The modern film poster, the fresh VHS and the DVD shroud all stink, but what would be a favorable one? I don’t know. The VHS reissue is the least offensive, but the modern and reissue book covers would be an improvement, with emphasis on the reissue book-cover. Packaging this film would support any Madison Avenue up at night
‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai’ nearly defies definition! A cult classic, this send-up of alien invasion stories, pulp fiction heroes, and adventure movies is a love/hate proposition; while I found it to be shining fun, many of my friends understanding it was incomprehensible! One thing for certain…There is NO other film quite like it!
Buckaroo (played with laid-back coolness by Peter Weller) is a Japanese/American run car driver/neurosurgeon/rock star/comic book hero who, with his rock ‘n roll commandos, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, balances his time between saving lives, pushing the boundaries of science, troubleshooting for the President, and playing gigs in nightclubs (lost, yet? ) . The film opens with his performing surgery, recruiting a original Cavalier member (a pre-stardom Jeff Goldblum), then hopping into a prototype hasten car, supposedly to wreck the land hasten report, but actually to test a scheme that would allow man to proceed through solid objects by adjusting their molecular density! (NOW are you lost? )
The experiment works, but thrusts Bonzai temporarily into the Eighth Dimension, a kind of Phantom Zone for criminals from Planet Ten. The breech allows an alien invasion to initiate, as Planet 10 stormtroops (frog-faced creatures who all consume the names of various celebrities named ‘John’) win their marching orders, and invade Recent Jersey!
This is not the first time the Eighth Dimension has been breeched; in 1938, Dr. Lizardo (John Lithgow, in his funniest performance ever) attempted a similar experiment, but his head became stuck, temporarily, in the hole! An alien presence entered his mind, and Lizardo was shipped off to a mental hospital, where he plotted the destruction of the human urge (”Laugh-a while you can, monkey boy! You all are-a gonna die!”) Freed by the invasion force, Lithgow begins to carry out his threat!
Meanwhile, Bonzai meets Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin, in an early performance), the twin sister of his lost esteem, while the Hong Kong Cavaliers are performing at a gig, and begins wooing her with his philosophy of life (”No matter where you go…there you are.”) A frantic call from the President and a kill attempt breaks up the romantic interlude, and the adventure REALLY begins! (If you aren’t lost by now, you may unbiased be a Buckaroo fan!)
The film careens from one climax to another, scarcely allowing the viewer time to judge (which, in a film like this, may be a Agreeable thing!) . Director W.D. Richter deftly keeps the tone light, although there is a heartbreaking death scene tossed in. As the space grows more desperate, alien Sunless Lectoids, and the Buckaroo Bonzai Fan Club (Team Banzai) advance to lend a hand! Will Apt triumph? Will Buckaroo collect happiness with Penny Priddy? Will the sequel, with Buckaroo taking on a world crime syndicate, ever be made? (Sadly, as the film bombed in it’s initial release, THAT appears unlikely!)
Loaded with more imagination than any three films you can name, and a oddball sense of humor, to boot, ‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai’ is a astounding, wacky triumph, that challenges you to toss aside preconceptions, and ‘enjoy the ride’!
I HIGHLY recommend it!
