The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

When I was just a wee lad, my father brought my brother and I into the magical city of Boston to see a film. As a suburbanite, I saw Boston as a kind of wonderland of promise where chain stores were non-existent and comics were sold next to music in a shop near an art house cinema. Nowadays, I think of Boston as the city of no parking and roadwork… but never mind.

The film that my dad insisted on seeing was The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. We had no idea what to expect, but the film has since become a kind of bond between the three of us and of course one of my favorite films of all time. Unusual, quirky and odd, it is the most remarkable comic book movie ever made. Sure, it’s not an adaptation of an existing comic, but it so perfectly captures the madness of a Bronze Age Marvel Comic that it feels like it should be an adaptation.

Relatively unknown actor Peter Weller played the central role of neuro-surgeon/particle physicist/rock star virtuoso and comic book hero Buckaroo Banzai. Leading his gang of misfit geniuses, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Banzai leads an unusual life of action, adventure and glamor. While test-driving his experimental rocket car, he decides to continue his father’s work by passing through a mountain and into the 8th Dimension… a kind of phantom zone prison where Black Electroids attempt to find escape. The film expands into a kind of zaney comic book battle complete with John Lithgow playing his most inspired character, Emilio Lizardo (a kind of alien Mussolini).

The film is full of amazing quotes: “Where are we going?” “Planet 10!” “When are we going?” “Real soon!” and my favorite, “Wherever you go, there you are.”

The DVD was released in 2002 adding a short ‘home made’ film opening showing the initial test of the jet car. Narrated by Clancy Brown, this opening greatly explains many things and makes the film that much better. Hours of additional material released by the Banzai Institute make the DVD an entire evening’s worth of enjoyment. From album covers (’You Place or Mayan?’) and interviews with the film makers about how cooperative the ‘real’ Buckaroo was with the production of the film, the DVD is a treasure trove of information.

As the comic book movie genre blossoms into a franchise, it’s important to look back at an oddball flick that made a significant contribution to the body of work that is exploding onto the screen.