The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

(This blog post is part of the Jeff Goldblum Blogathon hosted by emmakwall (explains it all) and Realweegiemidget Reviews)

There are those films that proved to be a failure at the box office only to become cult films after their initial release. Among those films is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). Upon its initial release it bombed at the box office, only to find new life on VHS. Since then it has developed a loyal cult following. As to why The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has developed a cult following, much of it might have to do with the cast, which included such luminaries as Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, and others. Much of it might have to do with the film itself, which features a strange plot that cannot be summarised easily.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension centres on Buckaroo Banzai, a neurosurgeon, physicist, rock star, and test pilot who faces a group of aliens from the 8th dimension known as Red Lectroids from Planet 10. Here I have to point out that this rather simplistic synopsis doesn't begin to explain The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, which simply has to be seen to be believed.

The origins of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension go all the way back to 1974 when screenwriter and director W. D. Richter's wife read the novel Dirty Pictures from the Prom by Earl Mac Rauch. She recommended the novel to Mr. Richter, who then got in touch with Mr. Rauch. The two stayed in touch, and Earl Mac Rauch eventually moved to Los Angeles where the two began discussions about a character called Buckaroo Bandy that Mr. Rauch had created and was considering as the main character in a screenplay. W. D. Richter gave Earl Mac Rauch $1500 to develop a screenplay. Mr. Rauch began several attempts at stories about Buckaroo before finishing a treatment. In the process the character was renamed "Buckaroo Banzai." Ultimately, the finished screenplay would be written by Earl Mac Rauch and Neil Canton, who with Frank Marshall was brought on to produce the project.

According to Earl Mac Rauch in an interview in the July 1984 issue of Starlog, he was inspired by "all those out-and-out, press-the-accelerator-to-the-floor, non-stop kung fu movies of the early '70s." That having been said, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension also seems to owe a lot to old time movie serials, pulp magazines, and science fiction movies. Indeed, Buckaroo Banzai himself could be included in the tradition of such pulp heroes as Doc Savage, who boast a vast array of knowledge while being assisted by a number of highly skilled aides.

Buckaroo Banzai certainly has no shortage of highly skilled aides. He is the leader of the rock band The Hong Kong Cavaliers, who also assist Buckaroo on his various adventures. The Hong Kong Cavaliers are a diverse group. Perfect Tommy (played by Lewis Smith) is handsome and vain, and has a diverse number of skills. Reno Nevada (played by Pepe Serna) is a dangerous, but highly intelligent saxophonist with The Hong Kong Cavaliers. Rawhide (played by Clancy Brown) obviously comes from the American West and is the most grounded of the Cavaliers. Perhaps the most interesting of Buckaroo's various aides is New Jersey, whose given name is Dr. Sidney Zweibel (played by Jeff Goldblum). A surgeon like Buckaroo, he dresses like a cowboy and has knowledge of other fields as well. While it seems clear New Jersey has assisted Buckaroo Banzai on earlier adventures, he is not yet a member of The Hong Kong Cavaliers at the start of the movie. Buckaroo Banzai asks New Jersey if he has considered joining him full-time, to which New Jersey asks if there is an opening. Buckaroo replies positively and then asks if he can sing. New Jersey tells him that he can sing a little and dance.  Needless to say, well before the end of the film he is part of the group.

Of course, these are not the only Hong Kong Cavaliers, nor are The Hong Kong Cavaliers the only ones who assist Buckaroo Banzai. There are also the Blue Blazer Irregulars, a large number of ordinary people including both children and adults, and then there is Buckaroo's research organisation the Banzai Institute. All of these together compose Team Banzai.

It is perhaps because of how unusual The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is that 20th Century Fox made no effort at the sort of promotion movies usually receive, beyond some licensing and magazine advertising.  Word about the film was spread through science fiction conventions in 1984, including free Buckaroo Banzai headbands distributed at Star Trek conventions. 20th Century Fox made no real effort to promote the film to a mainstream audience.

Given the lack of promotion, it should have surprised no one that it failed at the box office. Ultimately it earned only $6.2 million in North America and earned back only half of its production costs. That having been said, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension did earn a few positive reviews from notable critics, including Vincent Canby, Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael. While The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension bombed at the box office, it would find new life on premium cable channels and particularly on home video. It has since become a cult film.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension was clearly meant to be the beginning of a franchise. The closing credits even tease Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League. Of course, given the movie's meagre box office, the sequel would never be made. Over the years, however, a "Buckaroo Banzai" franchise has emerged. In 1984 there was a novelisation published by Pocket Books and a Marvel Comics adaptation. Beginning in 2006 Moonstone Books began publishing comic books featuring adventures of Buckaroo Banzai both before and after the 1984 film. There have been two attempts to launch a "Buckaroo Banzai" TV series. The first was in 1998 when the TV network Fox announced the development of a series to be titled Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets and New Mysteries. The series never came to fruition. In 2016 director Kevin Smith announced a "Buckaroo Banzai" TV series he would make through MGM Television. Plans for this proposed television series ended when Kevin Smith left the project due to MGM suing Earl Mac Rauch and W. D. Richter, the creators of Buckaroo Banzai, over the rights to the character.

A bomb upon its initial release, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has since become a cult film. In some circles it is even regarded as a classic. That is quite an achievement for a film that seems impossible to adequately describe.