The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, 1984

By far, one of the best movies to come out of the 1980's.

Now, I say that for a number of reasons, so bear with me.

There are a few roles that film plays. One, the main one, is to entertain. In the late forties and fifties, film took a turn towards education. The birth of the documentary, that kind of thing. I do not know the exact date, but it started late in the film industry.

Dramas began tackling tough issues. They were thought provoking, to say the least, but they also kept the viewer grounded in reality. This is where movies take two separate roads.

In regards to fantasy, science fiction, horror, the supernatural... I think you can even add action... these things that creep into stories (mythology)... these are the core of entertainment (some forms of entertainment, that is). Being transported to a place that only exists in imagination. You can say this, also, about fiction, comic books... anything that takes your mind from where you are, and transports it into the story.

So, you have movies that transport you to someplace you've only been able to dream about... to meet people, characters, see places and things that don't exist... and then there are films that show you things that you can relate to... or things people live through on a daily basis. Poverty, divorce, jail... reality. Comedies do that very same thing, except using the humor of life.

So, when I look at movies, I'm interested in where the film is taking me. The universe of Buckaroo Banzai is nothing short of brilliance. Not unlike the universes of Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Lt. Ellen Ripley or Superman.

I'm preaching, I know.

1984 was a good year for science fiction and fantasy. Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Star Trek III, Splash (all in the top ten gross), Terminator, Dune... all well made and successful films. Buckaroo Banzai fell along the wayside in 1984, to films such as these. But, like other cult films, its followers grew in number. The 80's produced more cult films than any other decade, and this is by far one of the more impressive ones.

W.D. Richter has been around since 1972, having written the film Slither (along with being an associate producer). In 1978 he helped write Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Dracula, Brubaker, All Night Long, Hard Feelings... those four films followed... each of them at B-movie status.

In 1984 he brought Buckaroo to the screen, following it up with Big Trouble in Little China for John Carpenter in 1986. He's worked on two other films since. Needful Things and Home for the Holidays. He also produced and directed Late For Dinner in 1991.

The only thing Richter has been working on lately is a Buckaroo Banzai TV pilot. You can find out more information about that at the Banzai Institute.

The direction is incredible. His relationship with the actors, with his crew, his trust in them, in the material... it's all evident in what came out on film. A strong movie.

I'm not sure where the writer, Earl Mac Rauch, came from. His work includes New York, New York (the Scorsese picture with De Niro and Liza Minnelli), A Stranger is Watching, Wired (1989) and Deja vu in 1999. His work is few and far between, but he scored big with Banzai.

The writing is some of the most original material I've seen in a long time. There are hidden secrets to the story, though, that come from a number of different sources. The overall concept can be traced to a number of sources, but the most influence comes from the Doc Savage stories, created by Lester Dent.

Also, according to IMDB, many of the terms and names were taken from Thomas Pynchon's novel The Crying of Lot 49.

Regardless, what we have here is a brilliantly constructed hero, with his group of sidekicks, and the adventures that they have together. The character development is wonderful, the dialog is very fresh and new, with some very clever one-liners and some scenes that made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.

New Jersey: Why is there a watermelon there?
Reno: I'll tell you later.

Heh.

In regards to the cast, we have a large group of actors who would go on to star in a number of incredible films. The first one up is Buckaroo himself, Peter Weller.

Robocop is, by far, the best science fiction film ever made. I say that being a devoted Star Wars/Star Trek fan. Paul Verhoeven is a genius, and that film is the quintessential cop/criminal movie.

Part of the reason was due to Weller's acting, which I've always found to be flawless. I also enjoyed (very much) the sequel to Robocop. Part III was a terrible film, so we won't talk about that.

Cat Chaser, Naked Lunch... brilliant films. He's also starred in a lot (a lot) of straight to video movies. I won't lie. The man was typecast after Robocop. He's got good skills, so he continues to get work. For my money, I think he's one of the more unappreciated actors of the last twenty years.

John Lithgow. He has done so many wonderful films in the last twenty years, I won't bother to list them here. Suffice it to say, he's run the gambit on characters. His work in this film is really something. I specifically enjoy all of his roles in the films of Brian DePalma. Obsession, Blow Out, Raising Cain... his work on Terms of Endearment was brilliant, as well. He added a personality to this film that made it that much more enjoyable.

Ellen Barkin. What happened to her? She's still working, but not in the spotlight, as she once was. First off, in this film, she's gorgeous.

Her work prior to Banzai was pretty impressive. Up in Smoke, Diner, Eddie and the Cruisers. Her work after Banzai started to pick up... the roles were larger. Down By Law, The Big Easy, Sea of Love, Johnny Handsome, Mac... and then, I think she drifted off. She was becoming the runner up to Sharon Stone (this was in the mid 90's)... movie producers only wanted that one blonde in their film... you know?

Her last really fun role was in Drop Dead Gorgeous. She was really wonderful in that role. I was happy to see her doing something less serious, in a film that entertaining.

Jeff Goldblum. When he isn't stuttering through an Apple ad, he's a very engaging actor. I've enjoyed his work since his first role, Death Wish. From there he landed in Annie Hall, The Right Stuff, The Big Chill... I really think Banzai was his first large role. From there, he took off.

Silverado, The Fly, Earth Girls Are Easy, Jurassic Park, Independence Day... you see the trend.

Sure, he's been in some bombs. I'm starting to see that actors don't make movies solely on the basis of money. It looks, to me, like some of them go into the projects thinking that it will be a lot of fun, for the duration of the shoot. It's almost like people who aren't celebrities. We don't get made fun of or yelled at when we take a job that ends up being crap... only celebrities do. Strange.

So, yes, The Lost World was a terrible film. Goldblum probably made in the neighborhood of ten million dollars for his role. I would take a bad job for six to eight months for that fee. Wouldn't you?

Christopher Lloyd. His first role was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. His work is back and forth, all over the place. He was on the television show Taxi for five years. He's starred in some of the biggest money makers around. Back to the Future (all three parts), Star Trek III, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Adams Family, along with a series of animated films, including Anastasia.

He's very funny in this film. His personality comes through the make-up, like his other Lectroid counterparts Vincent Schiavelli (who has an enormous resume of films he's acted in) and Dan Hedaya (who also has a large list of credits). The three made a very funny team.

Clancy Brown. He's been around for quite some time... his most prominent role was in Highlander, when he played The Kurgan, Victor Kruger. Unfortunately, he too was typecast. His next big work after Highlander would be eight years later, in Frank Darabont's The Shawshank Redemption. From there he would begin to get larger roles. One of them would be in Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers. His acting is always right on. In this film (his second), his character is a little more laid back then his future roles... but it suits him just the same.

Lewis Smith, Robert Ito, Pepe Serna, Billy Vera, Carl Lumbly, Bill Henderson and Damon Hines make up the remainder of the Blue Blaze Irregulars, the group of followers of Buckaroo Banzai. They all lend a little something extra to the film, with perfect timing and personality.

Director of photography Fred J. Koenekamp helped Richter to create a great looking movie, especially for 1984.

Koenekamp started out as a first camera man for the hit tv show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in 1964. He went on to do a number of b-movie spy films, along with some tv. In 1970 he worked on Patton and was nominated for an academy award. His work went up and down, in the 1970's. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Billy Jack, the tv show Kung Fu, Papillon, The Towering Inferno, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, The Amityville Horror... and, once he hit the 80's, besides Buckaroo, his work was basically all tv.

The work is really quite something. It's clean, inventive, and flows well with the type of story that is being told.

All in all, this is a really brilliant movie. The story, the acting, the effects (for the time)... all of them came together to make a very entertaining film.

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