Questions
What is Buckaroo Banzai?
It is the 1984 science fiction adventure comedy The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, directed by W.D. Richter and written by Earl Mac Rauch. It was released on August 10, 1984.
Who plays Buckaroo Banzai?
Peter Weller plays Dr. Buckaroo Banzai, who is somehow a physicist, a neurosurgeon, a test pilot, and a rock star all at once.
What is the plot in a nutshell?
Banzai and his crew try to stop hostile interdimensional aliens called the Red Lectroids from Planet 10, led by tyrannical Lord John Whorfin, who threaten Earth with nuclear annihilation.
Who is the villain, and who plays him?
John Lithgow plays Dr. Emilio Lizardo, a scientist who has been possessed by Lord John Whorfin since 1938. Lithgow reportedly based the performance on classic horror, comparing it to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
What is that famous line everyone quotes?
The film gave pop culture the quote "No matter where you go, there you are," which became part of the cultural lexicon.
Who are the Hong Kong Cavaliers?
They are Banzai’s band and crew, an ensemble of characters that includes Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Sidney Zweibel (nicknamed "New Jersey"), Christopher Lloyd as John Bigbooté, and Lewis Smith as "Perfect Tommy."
Was there a real story behind Jeff Goldblum’s cowboy outfit?
Reportedly yes. Goldblum wore a cowboy outfit from Nudie Cohn’s Rodeo Tailors because his character thought he was auditioning for someone actually named "Buckaroo."
How was the famous Jet Car built?
Reportedly it was built from a Ford F-350 truck fitted with a Grand National front end, DC-3 air scoops, and a Messerschmitt fighter plane cockpit, and Northrop University loaned a working GE turbojet engine.
Did the movie do well at the box office?
No. It had a budget of about 17 million dollars but grossed only around 6.3 million dollars, making it a box office bomb.
So how did it become a cult classic?
Despite its poor initial reception, the film attracted a loyal cult following and stayed popular on home video. Director Richter said it drew the most dramatic reactions of anything he worked on, with some people loathing it and others willing to die for it.
How much effort went into the aliens and the wild hair?
Reportedly the Red Lectroid makeup required 12 separate latex appliance pieces per alien, and Lewis Smith’s blonde dye job took about 8 hours, cycling from red to orange to fluorescent yellow to white.
Was a sequel ever planned?
Yes. The end credits teased a follow up called Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, but it was never produced.
Did anyone try to make it into a TV show?
There were several attempts. Fox developed a version in 1998, and in 2016 Kevin Smith announced a TV adaptation through MGM and Amazon Studios before walking away after MGM sued the original creators.
Has the crossbones story ever been continued in print?
Yes. Earl Mac Rauch novelized the original film in 1984, and a long awaited sequel novel, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, et al, was published by Dark Horse in November 2021.
How has the film been recognized over the years?
Entertainment Weekly ranked it number 43 in its Top 50 Cult Movies and number 21 on "The Cult 25" list, and The Guardian included it in its "1,000 films to see before you die."
