In celebration of Buckaroo Banzai -- HONG KONG CAVALIERS UNITE

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As Kate said elsewhere:


OHMIGOD, I HAD FORGOTTEN THAT JEFF GOLDBLUM WAS IN BUCKAROO BANZAI!!! What a freaking great film. He always plays
bizarre sexy-nerd scientist types, doesn't he? No wonder I find him bizarrely attractive. It's not the actor, it's the role.

-- Possibly Kate Again (masonicboo...), June 9th, 2004. (later)

...which led me to realize that the film itself really deserves its own thread.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"
"PLANET TEN!"
"WHEN WILL WE GET THERE?"
"REAL SOON!"

http://www.btinternet.com/~jd.gosling/wotw/graphics/banzai3.jpg

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:45 (twenty years ago) link

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!

I so nearly bought this movie for £6 in a film geek shop the other week, but the queue was too long, so I said the heck with it. Now I wish I had persevered!

It actually made me apply to med school when I was a teenager. Because I seriously wanted to be a Rock'N'Roll Neurosurgeon! OK, I only got as far as the rock'n'roll bit, but still.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:47 (twenty years ago) link

one of my co-workers has a YoYoDyne patch on his jacket.

I love this movie.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:48 (twenty years ago) link

I watched this movie religiously on TV in the early eighties, it was one of those "It's on HBO, I'm there, seeya everyone" experiences. Getting the DVD the day of release was a treasure and a half.

"Why is there a watermelon there?"
"...tell ya later."

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:51 (twenty years ago) link

Bigboo-tay!

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:52 (twenty years ago) link

I have not seen it in far too long. I might just have to go back and buy it, maybe tomorrow.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:52 (twenty years ago) link

Bonaroo and Buckaroo threads next to each other right now - END TIMES

stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:53 (twenty years ago) link

Haha!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:55 (twenty years ago) link

i watched it a lot when i was a kid, because my mother had taped it (on our BETAMAX). it really confused me but i assumed that it was a case of things going right over my 6-7 year old head. i watched it again in college and was just as confused. then i read that at least half an hour of the finished movie had been chopped almost by chance, without regard to the storyline, and i felt a lot better about my inability to comprehend.

lauren (laurenp), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:06 (twenty years ago) link

SINED

SEELED

DELIVERED

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:11 (twenty years ago) link

And who knew that Joust was really the Buckaroo Banzai arcade game?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:12 (twenty years ago) link

Fun Fact: according to IMDB, they were working on a script for the Buckaroo sequel, which eventually got reworked into another modern classic, _Big Trouble in Little China_

Kingfish Disraeli (Kingfish), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:25 (twenty years ago) link

at the end of the movie there is a title that says something like "stay tuned for the next BUCKAROO BANZAI adventure - BUCKAROO BANZAI and the LEAGUE OF JUSTICE" or something.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:33 (twenty years ago) link

Pinky Carruthers,
Blue Blazer Regular,
reporting for duty

Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago) link

(not that I'm posting here anymore)

Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago) link

(Rah Begs. :-))

The next promised movie was "Buckaroo Banzai Versus The World Crime League"

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:49 (twenty years ago) link

that's it, thanks Ned.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:51 (twenty years ago) link

Bought it. Didn't like it. Didn't get it. MY APOLOGIES. Now I'm even more broke than before. Who wants to buy my copy?

Fr4ncis W4tlingt0n (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:51 (twenty years ago) link

Is it on DVD? I'll buy it!

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:52 (twenty years ago) link

VERY much on DVD, with commentary and extra features and an Easter Egg about the watermelon (sorta) and...

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:52 (twenty years ago) link

Ah, my foolish brain! You already knew that and were asking Francis.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:53 (twenty years ago) link

I was talking to Francis. If it's DVD and you're UK or will accept UK cash, I will buy yours off you!

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:54 (twenty years ago) link

Nah, Kate. I knew you'd ask, but I'm all the way down in the Caribbean. It would probably cost more to ship it than to buy it. I got it for 10 smackeroos and am willing to let it go for 5, but hey...

Fr4ncis W4tlingt0n (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 14:59 (twenty years ago) link

Ach, oh well, it was worth a try.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:00 (twenty years ago) link

But if anybody in the US wants it, hey!, HOLLA AT ME.

Fr4ncis W4tlingt0n (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:06 (twenty years ago) link

dude you know I want it.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:09 (twenty years ago) link

Any films with Thomas Pynchon references in them are fine in my book.

And someone simply must talk about the end credits sequence.

Girolamo Savonarola, Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:18 (twenty years ago) link

Doo doo doo doot, doo doo de-doo de-doo...

Famous San Fernando demi-landmark, that place, it's some sorta flood control thing I think. Elvis T. would know more. I was an extra in a BP commercial filmed there in 1989 and felt like I had been on a pilgrimage (the graffiti was long gone).

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:22 (twenty years ago) link

dude you know I want it.
-- hstencil (hstenci...), June 9th, 2004.

Haha! But... are you willing?

Fr4ncis W4tlingt0n (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:23 (twenty years ago) link

the flesh is willing, but the wallet is weak.

seriously though, $5 plus shipping, I can swing that.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:24 (twenty years ago) link

"BP commercial filmed there in 1989"

May I inquire as to what BP stands for?

the flesh is willing, but the wallet is weak.
seriously though, $5 plus shipping, I can swing that.
-- hstencil (hstenci...)

Cool beans, hstencil. Send me an e-mail. But gimme a while, so I can list other DVDs on here which I'm trying to get rid of and that perhaps I could interest the other posters in.

Fr4ncis W4tlingt0n (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

May I inquire as to what BP stands for?

British Petroleum. You know, the GOOD oil company. ;-)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:27 (twenty years ago) link

BEYOND petroleum, Ned.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:28 (twenty years ago) link

Oh my forgetful mind.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:36 (twenty years ago) link

well it sure wasn't BEYOND shit in 1989, so don't fret.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:37 (twenty years ago) link

Is it *really* "Beyond Petroleum"? Really? You're making that up! It's British Petroleum. Or is that one of those things that happened while I was away, like we can't call the Post Office Tower the Post Office Tower, we have to call it the BT Tower.

(And has BT been changed to Beyond Telecoms now, because that's right about appropriate for them.)

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:38 (twenty years ago) link

BEYOND PETROLEUM is their crap (yet somehow effective with the yokels) marketing campaign.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:40 (twenty years ago) link

Well, officially, the only thing it says about their name (that I can find) on their official website is this:

Anglo-Iranian - which was renamed The British Petroleum Company in 1954

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:42 (twenty years ago) link

It may be a "rebranding" rather than an actual corporate namechange. Oh, how the British love to rebrand.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:42 (twenty years ago) link

yes it is a rebrand.

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:43 (twenty years ago) link

BACK TO FILM PLEASE.

http://www.hammerposters.com/pics/ger10061.jpg

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:43 (twenty years ago) link

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:44 (twenty years ago) link

Oh the hottness. I can barely stand it.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:45 (twenty years ago) link

"Because you're perfect."

"...you got a point there."

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:45 (twenty years ago) link

(Actually at this point I'm waiting for Elvis T. to notice this thread, then two hundred posts in two hours.)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:46 (twenty years ago) link

I'm beginning to sense a real common thread between all the BB enthusiasts...

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:46 (twenty years ago) link

hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:47 (twenty years ago) link

I'm beginning to sense a real common thread between all the BB enthusiasts...

SPACEMEN 3! Oh wait.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:47 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, it's for, like, people who like Rock with their astrophysics and astrophysics with their Rock.

Possibly Kate Again (kate), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link

And a fair amount of Michael Moorcock.

"And you are? JOHN SMALLBERRIES!"

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:49 (twenty years ago) link

Ned, Stence and I in agreeing on something that isn't dronerock shockah!

Smug and Pious (kate), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 06:53 (nineteen years ago) link

The evils of disliking BB will be addressed in due course.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 13 September 2005 12:04 (nineteen years ago) link

BB's primary influence is Doc Savage of course.
Freelance crime fighter / scientist / neurosurgeon / concert violinist,
with a band of similar weirdos, living in a big science-lab / crime fighting
headquarters....

shieldforyoureyes, Tuesday, 13 September 2005 23:26 (nineteen years ago) link

such a stain on jeff goldblum's otherwise impeccable resumé

-- mookieproof (mookieproo...), September 13th, 2005.

indeed, for its mere existence smites such triumphs as "Holy Man" and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park".

latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 00:15 (nineteen years ago) link

wow - I never caught any of that Pynchon stuff before. I are dum.

this film is awesomazing.

Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 14 September 2005 00:39 (nineteen years ago) link

one year passes...
"There they are."
"There who are?"
"Don't you see them?"
"See who?"
"There! Evil PURE AND SIMPLE by way of the Eighth Dimension!"

Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 February 2007 08:01 (eighteen years ago) link

No matter how many times I see it, it gets better and better.

Fire and Worms (kate), Sunday, 4 February 2007 13:01 (eighteen years ago) link

It's perfectly set for a time like today too. We need more humorous paranoia.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 4 February 2007 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link

one year passes...

I'M A DIPLOMAT! I FAILED FLIGHT SCHOOL!!!!

Just watched this again last night. Pure class.

Masonic Boom, Thursday, 7 August 2008 09:12 (sixteen years ago) link

ten months pass...

Listening to the soundtrack today, because I can.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 19 June 2009 16:05 (fifteen years ago) link

what the watermelon for

Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 16:06 (fifteen years ago) link

Tell ya later.

Ned Raggett, Friday, 19 June 2009 16:07 (fifteen years ago) link

May I pass along my congratulations for your great interdimensional breakthrough. I am sure, in the miserable annals of the Earth, you will be duly enshrined.

Carroll Shelby Downard (Elvis Telecom), Friday, 19 June 2009 19:21 (fifteen years ago) link

anyone alive when this came out, can you explain the brouhaha re: this movie? There was some sort of pre-backlash against it for attempting to be a deliberate cult movie or something, so it's got like Barry Bonds asterisks when you see its entry in cult movie books?

Philip Nunez, Friday, 19 June 2009 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link

I was a little kid when this came out and totally loved it. My brother sent away for the Blue Blaze Irregulars package and everything (I don't think he has it anymore)

Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:00 (fifteen years ago) link

I was too young to be aware of any marketing nuances of "backlash" though.

Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:01 (fifteen years ago) link

two years pass...

If you're in/near Dallas and not going to see this on Saturday night you're nuts.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 16 November 2011 02:44 (thirteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Work.

Work.

Work.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2013 06:44 (twelve years ago) link

Fun post about BB in pop culture -- some of these I knew but not all

http://www.thegeektwins.com/2013/01/10-ways-buckaroo-banzai-has-infiltrated.html

Also the Institute is on FB

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Banzai-Institute/119214478147645

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:07 (twelve years ago) link

Don't know why I didn't post a year ago to say I went to that screening. Lithgow had a family emergency and couldn't make it, but Weller was an absolute peach. He went to school in Denton, and with Robocop filmed in Dallas his roots here are strong. Told lots of personal stories about the filming of Buckaroo and the friendships that came out of it, and asked anyone who understood what it was about to please explain it to him. Very dry and funny man.

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:12 (twelve years ago) link

Hahah nice. Can't wait to see him in the new Star Trek movie, that's inspired casting. Always was bummed he never became as big a star as he deserved to be.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:14 (twelve years ago) link

Anyway, this all prompted by bringing over my DVD to a friend's last night -- she'd be talking forever about how her son finally needed to see this (very much a geek family, hers), but she didn't have a copy of the film around. Her son took to the film pretty quickly -- I found it interesting how he did so; when I saw it at about his age, a little younger (14 or so), I remember thinking it was cool but it took a couple more viewings on my part for it to fully sink in. But he's been primed by everything from new-Who to video games to everything else to roll with humor, weird details and explaining-as-you-go rather than everything-on-a-plate just like that. I do think new-Who was key for sure, though!

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:17 (twelve years ago) link

Ned, I don't know what new-Who is - Dr. Who, Townshend, Daltrey et al, something else? Will this deficit cause problems when I rescreen?

The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:20 (twelve years ago) link

This was the first movie I ever saw on VHS; my mom rented it and a VCR for my 12th birthday. I was in love with it in the first 5 minutes. Cool clothes, rad car, aliens and rock and roll. I can't ask for much more.

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:25 (twelve years ago) link

xpost -- haha. New Dr. Who, yes.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:27 (twelve years ago) link

I wish I had these as a kid:

http://mlkshk.com/r/LIM1

EZ Snappin, Saturday, 19 January 2013 17:43 (twelve years ago) link

I feel so break up, I want to go home!

The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 19 January 2013 21:22 (twelve years ago) link

Forgot this song was in it: Songs where it's fun to say HOOS in place of the actual lyrics

The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 19 January 2013 21:33 (twelve years ago) link

Wellers commentary track on Naked Lunch made me love him for all time. So exciting to hear that he's in the new movie !

consistency is the owlbear of small minds (Jon Lewis), Saturday, 19 January 2013 22:54 (twelve years ago) link

No one on this borad commented that the music supervisor and sound designer was Bones Howe?KPLOK

The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 19 January 2013 23:27 (twelve years ago) link

Don't know what KPLOK is. The spirit of Don Martin momentarily seized control of my keyboard.

The Teardrop ILXplodes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 19 January 2013 23:28 (twelve years ago) link

wait, "flying smurf"?

epistantophus, Sunday, 20 January 2013 01:33 (twelve years ago) link

three years pass...

Hey, Blu-ray en route, no word on extra features yet

https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/action-adventure/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-collector-s-edition

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 12 May 2016 17:31 (eight years ago) link

But on the HORRIBLE DOWNSIDE

http://io9.gizmodo.com/kevin-smith-is-making-an-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-1776882034

Smith also says he’d want to cast himself in the John Bigbooté role.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 16 May 2016 18:46 (eight years ago) link

omg no

Οὖτις, Monday, 16 May 2016 18:51 (eight years ago) link

I'm already fearing the ads.

Ned Raggett, Monday, 16 May 2016 19:13 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

should i watch this now y/n

spud called maris (darraghmac), Friday, 19 May 2017 21:51 (seven years ago) link

you're an adult make your own decision jfc

kurt schwitterz, Friday, 19 May 2017 22:03 (seven years ago) link

deciding to take that as a no

spud called maris (darraghmac), Friday, 19 May 2017 22:11 (seven years ago) link

one year passes...

I am reluctantly passing on a 35mm screening tonight

shd I do $3 on Amazon? haven't seen since its first run

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 20 February 2019 00:23 (five years ago) link

Yeah go for it. (Distance dates many things about it even more than ever, but yet.)

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 20 February 2019 00:45 (five years ago) link

"You had bitterwatchoutforme, John Bigboote!" That's from memory, 35 years.

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 20 February 2019 01:01 (five years ago) link

Distance dates many things about it even more than ever

these would be washed away by the fun of a 35mm screening with an appreciative audience imo

steven, soda jerk (sic), Wednesday, 20 February 2019 02:10 (five years ago) link

This is not news, but just to clear up the Kevin Smith thing from a few years ago:

https://deadline.com/2016/11/kevin-smith-buckaroo-banzai-tv-series-no-longer-involved-mgm-1201860756/

☮ (peace, man), Wednesday, 20 February 2019 15:29 (five years ago) link

With all due respect to W D Richter, the most important thing he did in Hollywood was the script for Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. (Slither is pretty good, too.)

a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 20 February 2019 15:57 (five years ago) link

five years pass...

so is syndrome in the incredibles a deliberate ringer for john lithgow's emilio lizardo? is this something everyone but me already spotted and knows?

in my defence i only just watched this movie for the first time ever just now

👍🏽

mark s, Saturday, 1 February 2025 23:39 (one week ago) link

Better late than never! And that's an interesting comparison...

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 1 February 2025 23:46 (one week ago) link

https://i.imgur.com/sT4XGyz.png

https://i.imgur.com/AoeaxUD.jpeg

mark s, Saturday, 1 February 2025 23:59 (one week ago) link


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