The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension
Created | Updated Oct 20, 2010
"The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension," or TABB for short, is the name of a 1984 film, and its companion novel. The story revolves around Dr. Buckaroo Banzai, (Peter Weller) a pre-eminent neurosurgeon/race-car driver/rock star/world adventurer, and hero of his own comic book. Despite (or perhaps due to) an almost ludicrous premise, the film became a large cult hit.<P>
The film begins with Banzai performing brain surgery on a young Eskimo boy, along with his colleague, Dr. Sid Zweibel (Jeff Goldblum). Banzai is rushed from the operating room to the Texas desert, where, piloting his amazing Jet Car, Banzai travels through a mountain and into the Eighth Dimension, viewing all sorts of strange and bizarre sights. Banzai brings the Jet Car back to his dimension, to find that an alien object has attached itself to the Jet Car.<P>
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the insane Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow) recieves the news with great joy. He is secretly possessed by John Whorfin, a Red Lectroid from Planet Ten by way of the Eighth Dimension, longing to return home. He escapes his asylum home, and makes his way to Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems, actually a front for his Lectroid bretheren.<P>
That night, Buckaroo Banzai and his band of rock and roll scientists, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, entertain a full house at Artie's Artery in New Jersey. During the show, Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin) attempts to kill herself, but, due to a misplaced shot, simply winds up in jail. Banzai visits her, and it is revealed that she looks exactly like Banzai's murdered wife, Peggy. (Note that the villain responsible for Peggy's death, the Face That Is No Face, Hanoi Xan, was originally mentioned several times in the script, but studio executives thought that having a second villain would be "too confusing.")<P>
Buckaroo and company stage a press conference, where it is revealed the Jet Car traveled between the atoms of the mountain, thanks to the "Oscillation Overthruster" designed in 1938 by a then-sane Dr. Lizardo and Professor Hikita (Robert Ito), Banzai's father figure and mentor. The press conference ends abruptly as John Bigboote (Christopher Lloyd) and his Lectroid henchmen kidnap Dr. Hikita in an attempt to steal the Overthruster.<P>
Above the Earth, a ship crewed by the Black Lectroids, Rastafarian arch-foes of the Reds, watches from orbit. John Emdall (Rosalind Cash) sends a scout craft down to Earth, with a message for Buckaroo Banzai. Only one of the scouts, John Parker, (Carl Lumbly) makes it out alive. He manages to make his way to the Banzai Institute for Biomedical and Technical Research, home of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, now joined by Sid Zweibel, given the name "New Jersey," where Parker delivers John Emdall's ultimatum. Stop John Whorfin in 24 hours, or the Black Lectroids will incite nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The chase is on.<P>
This film, while doing dismally at the box office, featured several stellar performances, especially from Lithgow and Lloyd as the manic Red Lectroids, and Clancy Brown as Rawhide, Buckaroo's best friend and aide-de-camp. The script, by Earl Mac Rauch, is delightfully droll and clever, refusing to "spoon feed" the audience, like many sci-fi action films. However, the one point that makes TABB stand apart from the pack is it's brilliantly demented sense of humor. In the most notorious scene, during a high-tension chase scene, Reno Nevada (Pepe Serna) and New Jersey pass a watermelon suspended between two huge pressure-plates. <P>
"What's that watermelon doing there?" New Jersey asks.<BR/>
Reno responds with "I'll tell you later." <P>The watermelon is never spoken of again.<P>
One especially brilliant point in the film's concept was the notion of the "Blue Blaze Irregulars," ordinary men and women who were part of a semi-secret society dedicated to aiding Banzai whenever needed. In the film, the two BBIs we are introduced to are Caspar Lindley (Bill Henderson) and his young son, Scooter. (Damon Hines) The genius of the Blue Blaze Irregular concept should be obvious; fans can instantly place themselves into Banzai's universe, fighting for justice alongside the hero and his secret network of agents.
Also of note are the extremely high quality special effects. The Lectroid masks are extremely impressive, allowing a wide range of expression, despite completely covering the actors faces. The Jet Car was built from the ground up out of an old Ford pickup, parts from a WW2 German aircraft, and various odds and ends. The effect is that the Jet Car really WAS scratchbuilt, not some pretty factory model. The actual Jet Car could reportedly clock in at almost 300 miles per hour, thanks to the huge turbine mounted on the vehicle's rear.<P>
In summary, TABB is a delightful romp that should not be missed. Eminently quotable, the film is deserving of a brighter spot in the cinematic sky. Even though the promised return of Buckaroo Banzai in "Buckaroo Banzai Against The World Crime League" has yet to occur, the original film offers many viewings worth of entertainment value.<P>Just remember, "No matter where you go... there you are."
The film begins with Banzai performing brain surgery on a young Eskimo boy, along with his colleague, Dr. Sid Zweibel (Jeff Goldblum). Banzai is rushed from the operating room to the Texas desert, where, piloting his amazing Jet Car, Banzai travels through a mountain and into the Eighth Dimension, viewing all sorts of strange and bizarre sights. Banzai brings the Jet Car back to his dimension, to find that an alien object has attached itself to the Jet Car.<P>
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the insane Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow) recieves the news with great joy. He is secretly possessed by John Whorfin, a Red Lectroid from Planet Ten by way of the Eighth Dimension, longing to return home. He escapes his asylum home, and makes his way to Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems, actually a front for his Lectroid bretheren.<P>
That night, Buckaroo Banzai and his band of rock and roll scientists, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, entertain a full house at Artie's Artery in New Jersey. During the show, Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin) attempts to kill herself, but, due to a misplaced shot, simply winds up in jail. Banzai visits her, and it is revealed that she looks exactly like Banzai's murdered wife, Peggy. (Note that the villain responsible for Peggy's death, the Face That Is No Face, Hanoi Xan, was originally mentioned several times in the script, but studio executives thought that having a second villain would be "too confusing.")<P>
Buckaroo and company stage a press conference, where it is revealed the Jet Car traveled between the atoms of the mountain, thanks to the "Oscillation Overthruster" designed in 1938 by a then-sane Dr. Lizardo and Professor Hikita (Robert Ito), Banzai's father figure and mentor. The press conference ends abruptly as John Bigboote (Christopher Lloyd) and his Lectroid henchmen kidnap Dr. Hikita in an attempt to steal the Overthruster.<P>
Above the Earth, a ship crewed by the Black Lectroids, Rastafarian arch-foes of the Reds, watches from orbit. John Emdall (Rosalind Cash) sends a scout craft down to Earth, with a message for Buckaroo Banzai. Only one of the scouts, John Parker, (Carl Lumbly) makes it out alive. He manages to make his way to the Banzai Institute for Biomedical and Technical Research, home of the Hong Kong Cavaliers, now joined by Sid Zweibel, given the name "New Jersey," where Parker delivers John Emdall's ultimatum. Stop John Whorfin in 24 hours, or the Black Lectroids will incite nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The chase is on.<P>
This film, while doing dismally at the box office, featured several stellar performances, especially from Lithgow and Lloyd as the manic Red Lectroids, and Clancy Brown as Rawhide, Buckaroo's best friend and aide-de-camp. The script, by Earl Mac Rauch, is delightfully droll and clever, refusing to "spoon feed" the audience, like many sci-fi action films. However, the one point that makes TABB stand apart from the pack is it's brilliantly demented sense of humor. In the most notorious scene, during a high-tension chase scene, Reno Nevada (Pepe Serna) and New Jersey pass a watermelon suspended between two huge pressure-plates. <P>
"What's that watermelon doing there?" New Jersey asks.<BR/>
Reno responds with "I'll tell you later." <P>The watermelon is never spoken of again.<P>
One especially brilliant point in the film's concept was the notion of the "Blue Blaze Irregulars," ordinary men and women who were part of a semi-secret society dedicated to aiding Banzai whenever needed. In the film, the two BBIs we are introduced to are Caspar Lindley (Bill Henderson) and his young son, Scooter. (Damon Hines) The genius of the Blue Blaze Irregular concept should be obvious; fans can instantly place themselves into Banzai's universe, fighting for justice alongside the hero and his secret network of agents.
Also of note are the extremely high quality special effects. The Lectroid masks are extremely impressive, allowing a wide range of expression, despite completely covering the actors faces. The Jet Car was built from the ground up out of an old Ford pickup, parts from a WW2 German aircraft, and various odds and ends. The effect is that the Jet Car really WAS scratchbuilt, not some pretty factory model. The actual Jet Car could reportedly clock in at almost 300 miles per hour, thanks to the huge turbine mounted on the vehicle's rear.<P>
In summary, TABB is a delightful romp that should not be missed. Eminently quotable, the film is deserving of a brighter spot in the cinematic sky. Even though the promised return of Buckaroo Banzai in "Buckaroo Banzai Against The World Crime League" has yet to occur, the original film offers many viewings worth of entertainment value.<P>Just remember, "No matter where you go... there you are."
