Rating: 
Summary: A movie for the crazy in you!
Review: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is a movie for us guys. It's stupidly funny which means like I found out, that your wife will hate it. Still, it's a good laugh which will keep you rolling in the aisles, plus it'll keep her out of your hair for a while.
Rating: 
Summary: "John Small Berrys?"
Review: I quoted lines from this movie for years. My old recorded VHS copy has worn out after years of repeated viewings, so I am thrilled that it is now out on DVD. The outlandishness of the main character and the far out plot seem on paper to be too much, but director WD Richter and the excellent cast pull off one of the greatest feats (in my opinion) in cinema history: Making a movie that really does defy pigeonholing into any genre or category. It is a pulp comic book, serial adventure, sci-fi, action-comedy movie with a dose of romance thrown in. John Lithgow's over the top performance as Doctor Lizardo and Peter Weller's superb job as Buckaroo along with the comic relief of Jeff Goldblum and scene stealing steamy innocence of Ellen Barkin help make this a true classic and one of my favorite movies of all time. The closest movie I can compare it to is another one of my favorites, Big Trouble in Little China. For those who have not seen the movie, Buckaroo Banzai is a world famous Neurosurgeon, rock star, comic book character, rocket car driver and scientist. He also has his own organization of boy-scout like groups called Blue Blazers. His band, The Hong Kong Cavaliers, are a group of top scientists and all around good guys with very distinct personalities. Penny Pretty is the love interest of Buckaroo, who also happens to be his deceased wife's long lost twin sister. There is so much going on in this movie that I probably saw it three times before I totally understood the whole story. Which in a nutshell is: Black Lectoids = good. Red Lectoids = bad. Dr. Lizardo is a Red Lectoid. The Black Lectoids have discovered that arch criminal Dr. Lizardo is on the loose on planet Earth and they threaten to wipe out the entire planet to make sure that he does not escape. They give Buckaroo 24 hours to capture or kill him before they put their annihilation plan into place. With his band and a few others, Buckaroo infiltrates the hideout of Dr. Lizardo and manage to set things right. I really could go on for pages on details on the story and the plot, but you wouldn't believe me. There is no way anyone could have gotten so much into a 102 minute movie. And do you know what the most frustrating part is? At the end they display to be on the lookout for "Buckaroo Banzai and the World Crime Syndicate". They obviously had plans to make another film after this one made everyone rich and famous. When that didn't happen (at least from this movie) that meant that the sequel didn't happen. The screenplay has been written for years and now and again talk comes up that all of the main characters needed for a sequel are interested, but still nothing has come of it. The disk is great with tons of extras including the segments "Jet Car All Access", "Pinky Caruthers Unknown Facts" and an alternate opening scene. There is another segment titled "Buckaroo Banzai Declassified Documentary" which is from the viewpoint that he is a real person. The writer and director also do a full length commentary and there are some other extras. Picture and sound quality are excellent. At around [X]this is one of the best buys going on dvd. Movie quotes: "I've been ionized, but I'm okay now" - B. Banzai "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." - B. Banzai "Laugh'a while you can, monkeyboy." - Dr. Lizardo "John Small Berrys?" - Reno
Rating:
Summary: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Review: Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is a neurosurgeon, particle physicist, rock star, martial arts master, and government troubleshooter/secret agent who is the son of an American mother and Japanese father who were also scientists. Buckaroo travels with the Hong Kong Cavaliers, a band of lab assistants/back-up musicians who are also really snazzy dressers. Buckaroo's inter-dimensional experiments with his Oscillation Overthruster (when attached to his rocket car Buckaroo can drive through mountains by way of another dimension) throw him straight into the middle of an alien war, and before you know it, he has just a few hours to save the world. A race of aliens called the Red Lectroids have been waiting for such an item to become a reality, as they need it to return to the distant planet they call home (their arrival on Earth was covered by Orson Wells, but was later covered up by convincing everyone that the radio broadcast was a work of fiction called "The War of the Worlds"). One of Buckaroo's archenemies, Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow), who has been possessed by the Red Lectroids when he attempted to create a similar device to the Oscillation Overthruster decades before, and has now escaped from an insane asylum, is back at work with the Lectroids on a plan to control the world. Throw in Rastafarian aliens, unscheduled travel between dimensions, and the odd inexplicable watermelon, and Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin), the twin sister of Buckaroo's late wife, and you get a film that is pure enjoyment with its fast pace, quotable dialogue, and barrage of gags (the Red Lectroids' leader (Christopher Lloyd) has chosen the unfortunate name of John Bigboote, and no matter how many times he tells people that it is pronounced "Bigboo-té! Té!," everybody calls him Big-Booty).
Confused? Hang on, that was only the first 10 minutes of the movie. Don't worry though; you won't be bored even when you're not sure what's going on. 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 parody as Penny Priddy, and John Lithgow turns in a brilliant manic performance as Dr. Lizardo/John Whorfin. "Laugh while you can, Monkey Boys!"
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Added-in Features
Review: Why do we like DVDs more than video tapes? OK, one is that they take up less room. Another is that you don't have to rewind them. (We are a nation of people who tell the microwave to hurry up.) But the biggest reason we love DVDs is FEATURES! Despite the fact that this movie was made a long time ago, the creators of the film have loaded this DVD with fun features. There are cast and crew interviews, a slide show (put it on your computer and download those badges to your color printer!), a cute "Easter egg", schematics, and two tracks of add-on material. By that, I mean that there is a voiceover track you can pick where the director and one of the Hong Kong Cavaliers chat about backstory and the production of the movie. The other track is very silly subtitles, which also add backstory to the movie and explain some obscure references that some folks did not get. If you want to know about Hanoi Xan, for example, you need to see and hear these backstories. If you really want to blow your mind, play it with the director commentary on audio *and* the subtitled backstory. While eating watermelon. Now, if they only had recipes for Mrs. Johnson's fabulous baked goods. As for a review of the movie, well, it looks like people were reviewing the movie long before this DVD came out, so I will spare you the reading time. I'm sure 99% of the people buying this (or any other DVD) have already seen the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A true 80's classic, worth it for the music alone.
Review: I hated this movie as a child, but years later with a deeper appreciation for the finer things in life, I now completely love it. This can be compared to such classics as Army of Darkness, the Toxic Avenger, and UHF. It has everything an over the top cheesy movie needs to succeed. Funny yet horrible one-liners, heros just as crazy and strange as their enemies and a dire need to be both taken seriously and be comical at the same time. If you enjoy over-the-top silly action/adventure movies, give Buckaroo Banzai a try!
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Summary: At last...the answer to the thing with the watermelon!
Review: ...but that's not all, though. You get an extended version of the film, which offers a bit more background on the intrepid Dr. Banzai and his Team, commentary by the director and the (real?!?) Reno from Team Banzai, and a tour busload (sorry...hadda) of extras, all of which will do their best to convince you that this is more than just a cult classic--it's a DOCUMENTARY. If you even half-liked this film, you should get the DVD...you won't be sorry. I have one question, though... --what happened to the sequel? (see the film)
--what happened to the SERIES? (see the DVD...heh heh heh)
Rating:
Summary: Three Cheers for Buckaroo
Review: This movie is a classic for all the guys and gals who love absurdity and hilarity.
Rating:
Summary: Banzai!!!
Review: The first time I saw it, I didn't get it...but there was something compelling about it that made me watch it again. Over the years I've seen it innumerable times and still can't pinpoint what it is, exactly, that makes this film so enjoyable-John Lithgow's over-the-top zanyness? Peter Weller calm, cool, and collected no matter how bizarre the situations get? The aliens? The special effects? I just don't know... Buckaroo Banzai is all things cool should be. He's an improbable hero in an improbable adventure, saving the world from [angry] aliens in style. Watch it a couple of times...you'll see more each time and understand it a little better, and maybe you, too, will be helplessly hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, cool, and a real flight of fantasy
Review: This is one very imaginative movie that apeals to that kid in you who pops out to do air guitar or think about how cool it would be to be on the go and have connnections and be a colorful mixture of science and art with cowboys and punks and aliens. This edition with the director's commentary answers and inspires more questions. Once and for all,the watermellon is explained. That is all I am going to write. If you like comic books, you should like this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie That Could Have Been King
Review: Yes, Buckaroo Banzai is one of the most bizarre films I've seen and much more 'friendly' than its close relations...Liquid Sky...Eraser Head...and so on. No, Banzai is not a 'great' movie. The story is hard to follow the first 5 times. The dialog is muffled in places. And poor old Perfect Tommy keeps getting shafted! Nonetheless, it's very entertaining and I'll always love it...just not watch it every day/week/month. What's a letdown to me is that the Special Features aren't all they could be, either! The monologue by the writer staged in the Banzai Institute is incredibly boring! I couldn't believe how DULL this guy was. It was a great opportunity to explain where all the ideas came from, what it was like working with the actors, creating Rastafarian/Alien make-up...and instead he talks as if it was all real...which is silly. Why extend the joke? We get it already. I would've much preferred a more human, insightful approach instead of getting this fluffy piece of play-acting. Also, the people who designed the DVD were really, really into the car. They obviously put a lot of time into creating a computer-rendered version....which is lame. It doesn't look good and it makes me feel like I'm watching a movie aimed at 13 year old boys who think cars are neato and can't wait to learn how to drive.
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