View source for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

{{Short description|1984 American science fiction film by W. D. Richter}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
| image          = Adventures of buckaroo banzai.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[W. D. Richter]]
| producer       = {{ubl|W. D. Richter|[[Neil Canton]]}}
| writer         = [[Earl Mac Rauch]]
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[Peter Weller]]
* [[John Lithgow]]
* [[Ellen Barkin]]
* [[Jeff Goldblum]]
* [[Christopher Lloyd]]
}}
| music          = [[Michael Boddicker]]
| cinematography = [[Fred J. Koenekamp]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Sobczynski |first=Peter |title=No Matter Where You Go, Here It Is: 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' Hits Blu-ray |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/demanders/no-matter-where-you-go-here-it-is-the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-hits-blu-ray |publisher=rogerebert.com |access-date=June 25, 2017}}</ref>
| editing        = {{ubl|[[George Bowers (filmmaker)|George Bowers]]|[[Richard Marks]]}}
| studio         = [[David Begelman|Sherwood Productions]]
| distributor    = [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]<ref name="mojo" />
| released       = {{Film date|1984|08|10}}<ref name="mojo" />
| runtime        = 102 minutes<!-- Submitted runtime: 102:23 --><ref>{{cite web |title=''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (PG) |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmtcxnte |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=November 15, 1984 |access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $17 million<ref>Aubrey Solomon, ''Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History'', Scarecrow Press, 1989. p. 260.</ref>
| gross          = $6.3 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension''''', often shortened to '''''Buckaroo Banzai''''', is a 1984 American [[Adventure film|adventure]] [[Science fiction comedy|science fiction comedy film]] produced and directed by [[W. D. Richter]] and written by [[Earl Mac Rauch]]. It stars [[Peter Weller]] in the [[Title character|title role]], with [[Ellen Barkin]], [[John Lithgow]], [[Jeff Goldblum]], and [[Christopher Lloyd]]. The supporting cast includes [[Lewis Smith (actor)|Lewis Smith]], [[Rosalind Cash]], [[Clancy Brown]], [[Pepe Serna]], [[Robert Ito]], [[Vincent Schiavelli]], [[Dan Hedaya]], [[Jonathan Banks]], [[John Ashton (actor)|John Ashton]], [[Carl Lumbly]] and [[Ronald Lacey]].

The film centers upon the efforts of the [[polymath]] Dr. Buckaroo Banzai, a [[physicist]], [[neurosurgeon]], [[test pilot]], and [[Rock music|rock star]], to save the world by defeating a band of inter-dimensional aliens called Red Lectroids from Planet 10. The film is a cross between the [[action film|action]]-adventure and science fiction film genres and also includes elements of [[comedy film|comedy]] and [[romance film|romance]].

After screenwriter W. D. Richter hired novelist Earl Mac Rauch to develop a screenplay of Mac Rauch's new character, Buckaroo Banzai, Richter teamed with producer [[Neil Canton]] to pitch the script to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]/[[United Artists|UA]] studio chief [[David Begelman]], who took it to [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] to make the film. Box office figures were low and less than half of the film's production costs were recovered. Some critics were put off by the complicated plot, although [[Pauline Kael]] enjoyed the film and [[Vincent Canby]] called it "pure, nutty fun." ''Buckaroo Banzai'' has been adapted for books, comics, and a video game and has attracted a loyal [[cult following]].

== Plot ==
Buckaroo Banzai and his mentor Dr. Tohichi Hikita perfect the "oscillation overthruster", a device that allows an object to pass through solid matter. Banzai tests it by driving his Jet Car through a mountain. While in transit, he finds himself in another dimension. After exiting the mountain and returning to his normal dimension, he discovers an alien organism has attached itself to his car.

Dr. Emilio Lizardo, incarcerated at the Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane, sees a television news story of Banzai's successful test. In 1938, Drs. Lizardo and Hikita had built a prototype overthruster in [[Princeton, New Jersey]], but he tested it before it was ready and became stuck between dimensions. In those moments, he saw alien creatures and struggled until freed by his colleagues, emerging crazily changed and violent. Understanding that Banzai has finally accessed the 8th dimension, Lizardo escapes the asylum and plots to steal the overthruster.

Banzai and his band, "The Hong Kong Cavaliers", are performing at a nightclub when Banzai interrupts their musical intro to speak to a sad woman in the audience, Penny Priddy. During a song he performs especially for her ("[[Since I Don't Have You]]"), she attempts to shoot herself, which is mistaken for an assassination attempt on Banzai. After questioning her at the [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] jail, he realizes she is his late wife Peggy's long-lost identical twin sister and bails her out.

Later, during a press conference to discuss his Jet Car experience, the overthruster, and the specimen of alien/transdimensional life he obtained while traversing the 8th dimension, Banzai is called to the phone, where he receives an electrical shock. Simultaneously, strange men disrupt the event and kidnap Hikita. When Banzai returns, his electrical shock enables him to recognize them as humanoid aliens, and he gives chase. He rescues Hikita, and they evade the aliens long enough for the Cavaliers to rescue them.

Banzai and the Cavaliers return to the Banzai Institute, where they are met by John Parker, a messenger from John Emdall, the leader of the peaceful Black Lectroids of Planet 10. Parker delivers a recording from Emdall in which she explains that her people have been at war with the hostile Red Lectroids for years, managing to banish them to the 8th dimension. Lizardo's failed test of the overthruster in 1938 allowed the Red Lectroids' tyrannical leader, Lord John Whorfin, [[Spirit possession|to take over Lizardo's mind]] and enable several dozen of his allies to escape. Because Banzai has now perfected the overthruster, Emdall fears Whorfin and his allies will try to acquire it to free the other Red Lectroids and tasks Banzai with stopping Whorfin; otherwise, the Black Lectroids will attack Russia from their orbiting ship, triggering a nuclear [[World War III]] that will annihilate the Red Lectroids on Earth as well as humankind.

The Cavaliers track the Red Lectroids to [[Yoyodyne|Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems]] in New Jersey.  They realize that [[Orson Welles]]'s [[The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)|broadcast of ''The War of the Worlds'']] described the Lectroids' arrival in [[Grovers Mill, New Jersey]] in 1938, though afterward the Lectroids forced him to state it was fictional. Yoyodyne has been building a spacecraft to cross over to the 8th dimension, disguised as a new [[United States Air Force]] bomber. While the Cavaliers plan their response, Red Lectroids break into the Institute and kidnap Penny, unaware that they have also captured the overthruster, which she was carrying.

At Yoyodyne, Penny refuses to tell the Red Lectroids where the overthruster is, and they begin torturing her. Banzai enters Yoyodyne headquarters alone; the Cavaliers soon follow, reinforced by several groups of the Blue Blaze Irregulars—civilians recruited to assist the Cavaliers. Banzai saves Penny and fights off the Red Lectroids, though she is wounded and unconscious. While the Cavaliers tend to her, Banzai and Parker sneak into a pod on the Yoyodyne spacecraft. Lacking Banzai's overthruster, Whorfin insists they use his imperfect model, which fails to make the dimensional transition; instead, the Red Lectroid spaceship breaks through the Yoyodyne wall and takes off into the atmosphere.

Lord Whorfin ejects the pod containing Banzai and Parker from the craft, but they activate it and use its weapon systems to destroy Whorfin and the other Red Lectroids. Banzai parachutes back to Earth while Parker returns to his people in orbit using the pod. With the situation resolved and war averted, Banzai finds Penny, who appears to have died from her injuries. When he gives her a farewell kiss, Emdall allows Banzai one more brief moment of electricity, reviving Penny.

== Cast ==
{{div col}}
* [[Peter Weller]] as Dr. Buckaroo Banzai
* [[John Lithgow]] as Dr. Emilio Lizardo / Lord John Whorfin
* [[Ellen Barkin]] as Penny Priddy / Peggy Banzai
* [[Jeff Goldblum]] as Dr. Sidney Zweibel / "New Jersey"
* [[Christopher Lloyd]] as John Bigbooté
* [[Lewis Smith (actor)|Lewis Smith]] as "Perfect Tommy"
* [[Rosalind Cash]] as John Emdall
* [[Robert Ito]] as Professor Tohichi Hikita
* [[Pepe Serna]] as Reno Nevada
* Michael Santoro as Billy Travers
* [[Ronald Lacey]] as President Widmark
* [[Matt Clark (actor)|Matt Clark]] as Secretary of Defense McKinley
* [[Clancy Brown]] as "Rawhide"
* [[William Traylor]] as General Catburd
* [[Carl Lumbly]] as John Parker
* [[Vincent Schiavelli]] as John O'Connor
* [[Dan Hedaya]] as John Gomez
* [[Mariclare Costello]] as Senator Margaret Cunningham
* [[Bill Henderson (performer)|Bill Henderson]] as Casper Lindley
* Damon Hines as Scooter Lindley
* [[Billy Vera]] as "Pinky" Carruthers
* [[Laura Harrington]] as Mrs. Eunice Johnson
* [[Yakov Smirnoff]] as National Security Advisor
* [[Jonathan Banks]] as Lizardo Hospital Guard
{{div col end}}

== Production ==
=== Development ===
In 1974, [[W. D. Richter|W.D. Richter]]'s wife read a review of ''Dirty Pictures from the Prom'', the debut novel from [[Dartmouth College]] graduate and writer [[Earl Mac Rauch]], and recommended it to her husband. Richter, also an alumnus from the college, read the book, loved it, and wrote Mac Rauch a letter.<ref name="Burns">Burns 1984, p. 56.</ref> The two men began corresponding. When the writer told him about his interest in becoming a screenwriter, Richter offered him an open-ended invitation to visit him in Los Angeles where he was attending the [[University of Southern California]]<ref name="berger">{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Dan |title=The Saga of a Hollywood Orphan: An Interview with W.D. Richter |work=World Watch One: Newsletter of Team Banzai |year=2004 |url=http://www.worldwatchonline.com/ww120th.pdf |access-date=July 20, 2007  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060322020516/http://www.worldwatchonline.com/ww120th.pdf |archive-date=March 22, 2006 }}</ref> and working as a script analyst for [[Warner Bros.]]<ref name="flynn">{{cite news |last=Flynn |first=John L |title=Across the Eighth Dimension: Remembering the First Adventure of Buckaroo Banzai |work=Sci-Fi Universe |year=1995 |url=http://pages.towson.edu/flynn/banzai.html |access-date=July 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515141240/http://pages.towson.edu/flynn/banzai.html |archive-date=May 15, 2007}}</ref>

=== Screenplay ===
Years passed and Richter became a successful screenwriter. Mac Rauch took Richter up on his offer and arrived in L.A. Richter proceeded to introduce the writer to producer/director [[Irwin Winkler]], who gave Mac Rauch rent money for the next six months.<ref name="berger"/> Over several dinners, Mac Rauch told Richter and his wife of a character named Buckaroo Bandy about whom he was thinking of writing a screenplay. Richter and his wife liked the idea and paid Mac Rauch $1,500 to develop and write it. According to Mac Rauch, his script was inspired by "all those out-and-out, press-the-accelerator-to-the-floor, non-stop kung fu movies of the early '70s".<ref name="goldberg2">{{cite news |last=Goldberg |first=Lee |title=Earl MacRauch: Living with the ''Lepers of Saturn'' |work=[[Starlog]] |date=July 1984 }}</ref> Richter remembers that Mac Rauch wrote several stories about this character, then he "would get thirty or forty pages into a script, abandon its storyline and write a new one".<ref name="Burns"/> Mac Rauch recalled, "It's so easy to start something and then—since you're really not as serious about it as you should be—end up writing half of it ... You shove the hundred pages in a drawer and try to forget about it. Over the years, I started a dozen ''Buckaroo'' scripts that ended that way".<ref name="flynn"/>

Mac Rauch's original 30-page treatment was titled ''Find the Jetcar, Said the President - A Buckaroo Banzai Thriller''.<ref name="flynn"/> Early on, one of the revisions Mac Rauch made was changing Buckaroo's surname from Bandy to Banzai. Mac Rauch was not happy with the name change, but Richter convinced him to keep the new name.<ref name="berger"/> The Hong Kong Cavaliers also appeared in these early drafts, but, according to Richter, "it never really went to a completed script. Mac wrote and wrote but never wrote the end".<ref name="berger"/> Another early draft was titled ''The Strange Case of Mr. Cigars'' about a huge robot and a box of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s cigars.<ref name="flynn"/> Mac Rauch shelved his work for a few years while he wrote ''[[New York, New York (1977 film)|New York, New York]]'' for [[Martin Scorsese]] and other unproduced screenplays.<ref name="flynn"/>

In 1980, Richter talked with producers [[Frank Marshall (film producer)|Frank Marshall]] and [[Neil Canton]] about filming one of his screenplays.<ref name="production notes">{{cite news |title=''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai'' Production Notes |work=[[20th Century Fox]] Press Kit |year=1984}}</ref> Out of this meeting, Canton and Richter formed their own production company and decided that ''Buckaroo Banzai'' would be the first film. Under their supervision, Mac Rauch wrote a 60-page treatment titled ''Lepers from Saturn''.<ref name="flynn"/> They shopped Mac Rauch's treatment around to production executives who were their peers, proposing that Richter direct it, but no one wanted to take on such unusual subject matter by two first-time producers and a first-time director. Canton and Richter contacted veteran producer [[Sidney Beckerman (film producer)|Sidney Beckerman]] at [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]/[[United Artists|UA]], with whom Canton had worked before.<ref name="production notes"/> Beckerman liked the treatment and introduced Richter and Canton to studio chief [[David Begelman]]. Within 24 hours, they had a development deal with the studio.<ref name="flynn"/> It took Mac Rauch a year and a half to write the final screenplay; during this time, the Lepers from the treatment became Lizards and then Lectroids—from Planet 10.<ref name="production notes"/> Much of the film's detailed character histories were taken from Mac Rauch's unfinished ''Banzai'' scripts.<ref name="Burns2">Burns 1984, p. 60.</ref>

The [[1981 Writers Guild of America strike]] forced the project to languish in development for more than a year. Begelman left MGM as several of his projects had performed poorly at the box office; this put all of his future projects, ''Buckaroo Banzai'' included, in jeopardy.<ref name="flynn"/> Begelman formed Sherwood Productions and exercised a buy-out option with MGM for the ''Banzai'' script. He took it to [[20th Century Fox]] who agreed to make it with a $12&nbsp;million budget.<ref name="Burns6">Burns 1984, p. 55.</ref> Mac Rauch ended up writing three more drafts before they had a shooting script.<ref name="goldberg2"/>

=== Casting ===
When considering the role of Buckaroo Banzai, Richter wanted an actor who "could both look heroic with grease all over his face, and project the kind of intelligence you would associate with a neurosurgeon and inventor".<ref name="Burns3">Burns 1984, p. 61.</ref> The studio wanted a recognizable film star, but Richter and Canton wanted to cast a relatively unknown actor.<ref name="flynn"/> Richter looked in New York City because he assumed that an actor with experience on stage and small films "would be able to ''completely'' interact with props".<ref name="Burns3"/> He had been impressed by [[Peter Weller]]'s performance in ''[[Shoot the Moon]]'' and met with him.<ref name="production notes"/> At first, the actor was hesitant to take the role because he was unclear on the overall tone of the film. "Would it be campy? Would it be a cartoon? Or would it be the sort of wacky, realistic film that would catch people sideways—and not be a cartoon", Weller remembers thinking.<ref name="flynn"/> Richter told Banzai's story to Weller and convinced him to do the film. The actor stated that he based his character on [[Elia Kazan]], [[Jacques Cousteau]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]], and [[Adam Ant]].<ref name="production notes"/>

For the role of Dr. Emilio Lizardo, the studio wanted to cast an unknown actor, but Mac Rauch had written the role with [[John Lithgow]] in mind. Like Weller, Lithgow was not sure about the character, but Richter convinced him by "claiming what a real feast for an actor this wonderful Jekyll and Hyde character was", Lithgow later said.<ref name="flynn"/> He told an interviewer, "I have had roles where I came very close to going over the top. In ''[[Twilight Zone: The Movie|Twilight Zone]]'' [in "[[Nightmare at 20,000 Feet#Remakes|Nightmare at 20,000 Feet]]"], I almost went over the top several times. But this role is completely over the top. It makes the role in ''Twilight Zone'' seem like a model of restraint. I do it in a wild, red fright wig and rotten false teeth with a thick Italian accent. It's wild."<ref name="PhilInq">{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Rick |title=An actor who has mastered versatility |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=February 19, 1984 |page=I01}}</ref> For Lizardo's accent, Lithgow spent time with an Italian tailor at MGM and recorded his voice (film credit to "Roberto Terminelli: John Lithgow's dialect coach"). Lithgow changed his walk to that of an "old crab, because my alien metabolism is supposed to be messed up".<ref name="production notes"/> He said of his character, "playing Lizardo felt like playing the madman in ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]''."<ref name="production notes"/>

[[Ellen Barkin]], who played the romantic interest "Penny Priddy", describes the film as "if [[Terry Southern]] had written ''[[Star Wars]]''. None of the characters are quite what they should be—just my kind of thing."<ref name="production notes"/> Richter's only choice to play John Bigbooté was [[Christopher Lloyd]], who agreed to the role. Richter first met [[Jeff Goldblum]] on ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'' and wanted him to play the character New Jersey; the actor admired the script and was eager to work with the cast the director had assembled. [[Lewis Smith (actor)|Lewis Smith]] was asked to dye his hair blond; it took eight hours, and he saw it go from red to orange to fluorescent yellow to white.<ref name="production notes"/> [[Clancy Brown]] said that his character is "very common sensical. He's the everyman of the film".<ref name="production notes"/> [[Robert Ito]] was so determined to get the role of Dr. Hikita that he disguised himself as an old man, designing his own make-up job to age himself thirty years.<ref name="production notes"/>

=== Pre-production ===
[[File:Buckaroo_Banzai_end_credit_cast_walk_scene.jpg|thumb|right|Getting the right look for the characters was an important part of the filmmaking and led costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers to raid LA stores looking for appropriate outfits. From left: New Jersey (Goldblum), Billy Travers (Santoro), Rawhide (Brown), Buckaroo (Weller), Reno (Serna), Pinky Carruthers (Vera) and Perfect Tommy (Smith).]]

Production designer [[J. Michael Riva]] had worked with Richter before and spent two years working on the look for ''Banzai''.<ref name="production notes"/> He and Richter studied many kinds of art and literature for the film's look, including medical journals, African magazines, and Russian history. They did not want metal spaceships and opted for a more organic look like a deep sea oyster shell.<ref name="production notes"/> Gregory Jein, Inc. and Stetson Visual Concepts built the spaceship models and worked off sketches by production illustrator Tom Cranham and used seashells as guides.<ref name="production notes"/> Richter purposely wanted the film to have an unpolished look because the "real world appears ramshackle—because people constantly repair whatever's around them".<ref name="Burns4">Burns 1984, p. 53.</ref>

The inspiration for the look of the Red Lectroids came from Riva sporting a lobster on his nose. He wanted to base their alien form on Canadian-American paleontologist [[Dale Russell]]'s "[[dinosauroid]]", an upright-posture dinosaur (based on what dinosaurs might have evolved into if they had survived), but modified the concept because it would have required prosthetics that would have immobilized the actors.<ref name="Burns5"/> Their makeup ultimately consisted of 12 separate pieces of latex appliances per alien. Each actor's makeup was unique, with casts taken of their faces.<ref name="Burns5"/> Riva consulted Russian history, as he wanted to give them a "baggy-suited, Moscow bureaucrat sort of image",<ref name="Burns5"/> yet influenced by contemporary Russian lifestyles; they went with greens, blues and yellows because, according to Riva, they are "sick and anemic."<ref name="production notes"/>

Costume designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers, who designed costumes for ''[[Return of the Jedi]],'' ''[[American Graffiti]]'' and ''[[The Conversation]],'' met Richter while working on ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''. Riva noted that "She fell right into step with the stuff I was designing for the sets," making the costumes match the color of the rooms.<ref name=press>{{cite tech report |url=https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/publicity.html |title= The Buckaroo Banzai Press Kit Contents |date=1984}}</ref> Richter wanted the Black Lectroids to have a "warrior-like demeanor, but in an elegant, not fierce fashion";<ref name="Burns5">Burns 1984, p. 54.</ref> their costumes came from African tribal markings. For Buckaroo's and his Cavaliers' look, Rodgers gathered [[Gianni Versace]], [[Perry Ellis]], and [[Giorgio Armani]] sports jackets, suits, and ties;<ref name="production notes"/> the clothing was mostly found in LA area stores. Rogers noted "We also wanted to have something a little off so that there's a kick to everything to make it unique. Rick changed something on every outfit" and that "It's an interesting style, not a cliche style. You throw stuff in there that people will recognize."<ref name=press/> Goldblum's character Dr. Zweibel was given a cowboy outfit from [[Nudie Cohn]]'s Rodeo Tailors to wear; according to costumer Radford Polinski, the character thought he was dressed appropriately for an audition for a person named "Buckaroo".<ref name="35th wwo costuming">{{cite magazine | title = Interview: Radford Polinski | magazine = World Watch One Newsletter - 35th Anniversary | date = September 8, 2019 | pages = 20–24 | first = Steve | last=  Mattsson }}</ref>

=== Principal photography ===
By the time of filming, Richter had compiled a 300-page book called ''The Essential Buckaroo''<ref name="berger"/> that consisted of notes and every incomplete script Mac Rauch had written over the years.<ref name="flynn"/> These included various references to a villain named Hanoi Xan, leader of the World Crime League. Begelman was adamant that all references to Xan be removed. This included the removal of the original opening, which showed Buckaroo's father being killed by Xan and featuring [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] as Buckaroo's mother.<ref name="Richter interview">{{cite web |url=http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/08/15/buckaroo-banzai-anniversary-sequel-trivia-director-interview/ |date=15 August 2011 |website=[[Moviefone]] |title='Buckaroo Banzai' Director Speaks About Film's Anniversary, Lost Footage and Still-Possible Sequel |first=Mike |last=Ryan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430003351/http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/08/15/buckaroo-banzai-anniversary-sequel-trivia-director-interview/ |archive-date=30 April 2013}}</ref>

Principal photography began during the second week of September 1983 on locations in and around South Gate, an industrial suburb of L.A.<ref name="flynn"/> Buckaroo's neurosurgery scene with New Jersey was shot at the Lakeview Medical Center in the [[San Fernando Valley]].<ref name="production notes"/> The jet car sequences were shot in October on a dry lake north of the [[San Bernardino Mountains]]. The vehicle was designed and built by Riva, art director Stephen Dane, and Thrust Racing owners Jerry Segal and George Hedebeck. Segal started with a [[Ford F-350]] truck, reinforced the frame assembly, added the front end from a [[Buick Regal#Grand National, Turbo-T and T-Type|Grand National]] stock car, borrowed air scoops from a [[DC-3]], and a one-man cockpit modeled after a [[Messerschmitt]] fighter plane.<ref name="production notes"/> Under the hood, Segal modified the Ford engine with an oversized carburetor and nitrous oxide injectors. [[Northrop University]] loaned the production a working GE turbojet engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/institute4.html|title=What do we know about the Jet Car?|website=figmentfly.com}}</ref> The oscillation overthruster was created by Riva and visual effects supervisor Michael Fink out of a gyroscope to which a metal frame, wires, circuits, and tiny strobe lights were added.<ref name="production notes"/>

Cinematographer [[Jordan Cronenweth]] was initially hired as the film's director of photography but, halfway through production, producers replaced him with [[Fred J. Koenekamp]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://movieline.com/2011/01/26/jeff-cronenweth-on-his-oscar-nomination-for-the-social-network-and-joining-his-father-as-a-nominee/ |publisher=Movieline.com |access-date=April 1, 2012 |date=January 26, 2011 |first=Mike |last=Ryan |title=Jeff Cronenweth on His Oscar Nomination for The Social Network and Joining His Late Father as a Nominee}}</ref> Several scenes shot by Cronenweth, including the iconic nightclub scene, are included in the final cut, though Cronenweth goes uncredited.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nowverybad.com/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-1984/ |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) - 140 Character Movie Review |date=March 31, 2015 |work=Now Very Bad |access-date=June 25, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/demanders/no-matter-where-you-go-here-it-is-the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-hits-blu-ray |title=No Matter Where You Go, Here It Is: "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" Hits Blu-ray |last=Sobczynski |first=Peter |website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date=June 25, 2017}}</ref>

The Banzai Institute exteriors were shot in [[Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles]], with the interiors filmed in an [[Art Deco]] house designed in 1931 by MGM art director [[Cedric Gibbons]] for his wife, [[Dolores del Río]].<ref name="production notes"/> Deserted rooms at [[Brentwood, Los Angeles|Brentwood]]'s V.A. hospital were used for Dr. Lizardo's room at the Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane. Lizardo's 1938 laboratory was filmed at a deserted industrial site, Alpha Tubing. The set decorators rented a collection of 1930s electrical props originally used in the original [[Boris Karloff]] [[Frankenstein]] films.<ref name="production notes"/> The interiors of Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems were shot in the abandoned [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company|Firestone]] tire factory. [[Wilmington, Los Angeles|Wilmington]]'s Department of Water and Power provided the location for Dr. Lizardo's shock tower and served as the Yoyodyne exterior, while the Armco Steel Plant in Torrance housed the Lectroid launch hangar.<ref name="production notes"/> Weller remembers that during the scene where his character is tortured by Dr. Lizardo, "I was laughing at the banter between [Christopher] Lloyd and [John] Lithgow ... I never laughed so hard in my life! They had to stop takes over and over on that segment."<ref name="niderost">{{cite news |last=Niderost |first=Eric |title=Peter Weller: Code Name: Robocop |work=[[Starlog]] |date=August 1987 }}</ref> Finally, 12 weeks of filming were done on the backlot and soundstages at MGM.<ref name="production notes"/>

Begelman continually interfered with production through the initial stages of shooting, demanding changes and sending notes. The director later described him as "our enemy for the entire movie." By the end of filming, these demands had disappeared. The crew became convinced that Begelman had "checked out", and to test their theory, added a now-famous scene in which the presence of a [[watermelon]] becomes a topic for a short discussion. When the scene was allowed into the movie without comment, they concluded that management was indeed ignoring them, and they had free rein to put in whatever they wanted.<ref name="Richter interview"/>

Begelman eventually made one more major change after seeing that the movie ended with a kiss and demanded something more. By this time, the budget was almost completely spent and postproduction nearly complete. Richter decided to have the end credits appear over a new scene that was shot in the style of a [[music video]], hiring a [[choreographer]] to arrange the action over new music by [[Michael Boddicker]]. The song was not ready in time, so the crew filmed it while playing [[Billy Joel]]'s ''[[Uptown Girl]]''. Richter described the scene as having "kind of emerged from the end of the postproduction."<ref name="Richter interview"/> The scene was shot with the actors walking in the [[Los Angeles River|LA River bed]] in front of the [[Sepulveda Dam]].<ref name="production notes"/> The scene, called "gleefully bizarre", opens with the only remaining reference to the Hanoi Xan storyline when it mentions a (never produced) sequel called  "Buckaroo Banzai against the World Crime League."<ref name="Richter interview"/>

=== Soundtrack ===
The film's music coordinator and sound designer [[Bones Howe]] began working with musician [[Michael Boddicker]] on the film's theme music and sound effects, as they had worked together on the soundtrack for ''[[Get Crazy]]''.<ref name="production notes"/> Boddicker was Howe's first choice to write and perform the film's score. Boddicker had just won a [[Grammy Award]] for his song "Imagination" on the ''[[Flashdance]]'' soundtrack. In addition to composing the score, Boddicker also produced the alien sound effects, while [[Alan Howarth (composer)|Alan Howarth]] was hired to create the sounds of the 8th Dimension.<ref name="production notes"/>

Howe selected the source music for the club scene and put together a special arrangement of "[[Since I Don't Have You]]" that Buckaroo sings to Penny Priddy. Weller, an accomplished musician, played the guitar and pocket trumpet, did his own vocals, and learned to mime piano playing. Howe and the filmmakers decided not to go with a rock music score for the film and opted for an electronic one instead. Howe wanted to "integrate music and sound effects so that everything would merge on the soundtrack with no distinction between music and sound."<ref name="production notes"/>

== Reception ==
=== Release ===
Fox hired Terry Erdmann and a team of publicists including Blake Mitchell and Jim Ferguson to promote the film at ''[[Star Trek]]'' conventions with a few film clips and free Banzai headbands, which have since become highly sought-after collector's items by fans of the film.<ref name="flynn"/> The studio made no attempts to sell the film to a mainstream audience with traditional promotion, although there were some magazine advertisements (primarily in Marvel Comics) and related licensing which served as viral advertising in limited venues. Studio publicist Rosemary LaSalmandra said, "Nobody knew what to do with ''Buckaroo Banzai''. There was no simple way to tell anyone what it was about—I'm not sure anybody knew".<ref name="flynn"/> Lithgow said, "I've tried to explain the story line to people and it takes about an hour. I mean it; it's that complicated. But it's terrific. Every time I tell people about it, I get so excited that I end it by saying, ''Buckaroo Banzai'', remember where you heard it first!"<ref name="PhilInq" />

''Buckaroo Banzai'' was originally scheduled to be released on June 8, 1984, but was pushed back to August 10. It opened on 236 screens and faced stiff competition against the likes of ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' (also featuring ''Banzai'' co-star Christopher Lloyd), ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'', and ''[[Ghostbusters]]''. It made US$620,279 on its opening weekend before finally grossing $6.2&nbsp;million in North America, earning back less than half of its production costs.<ref name="mojo">{{cite news |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2856945153/weekend/ |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984) |work=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=August 29, 2015}}</ref>

=== Critical response ===
Although reportedly "dismissed by many critics as 'strange' and 'unintelligible'" at the time of its release,<ref name="flynn"/> the film received positive reviews from {{RT data|score}} of {{RT data|count}} surveyed critics on [[Rotten Tomatoes]]. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads, "Sci-fi parodies like these usually struggle to work, but ''Buckaroo Banzai'' succeeds through total devotion to its own lunacy."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_adventures_of_buckaroo_banzai|title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{RT data|edit}}</ref> Bill Cosford of ''[[The Miami Herald]]'' praised it as "an unusual film": "Its comedy springs from that odd combination of self-effacement and self-absorption [...] [It] is basically a comic strip, relentlessly hip [...] an adventure in the [[Buck Rogers]] mold."<ref name="Cosford">{{cite news |last=Cosford |first=Bill |title=''Buckaroo'' Lies on the Lunatic Fringe |work=[[The Miami Herald]] |date=August 11, 1984 }}</ref> Dave Kehr, in the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', wrote, "Richter seems to have invented an elaborate mythology for his hero [...] but he never bothers to explicate it; the film gives you the mildly annoying sensation of being left out of a not very good private joke".<ref name="Kehr">{{cite news |last=Kehr |first=Dave |title=''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension'' |work=[[Chicago Reader]] |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-eighth-dimension/Film?oid=1068131 |access-date=January 18, 2008 }}</ref> [[Danny Peary]]'s 1986 ''Guide for the Film Fanatic'' described ''Buckaroo Banzai'' as a "scatterbrained, sloppily made science-fiction comedy for the stoned-out generation [...] a surprising failure when hip audiences were turned off by [the] conceited attempt by filmmakers and actors to show off how hip they were."<ref>{{cite book|first=Danny |last=Peary |title=Guide for the Film Fanatic |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1986 |page=16 |isbn=978-0671610814}}</ref> In his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] wrote that ''Buckaroo Banzai'' "may well turn out to be a pilot film for other theatrical features, though this one would be hard to top for pure, nutty fun".<ref name="Canby">{{cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |title=Sci-Fi Farce |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 5, 1984 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/05/movies/film-sci-fi-farce-buckaroo-bonzai.html |access-date=November 17, 2018 }}</ref> [[Richard Corliss]], for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', wrote, "its creators, Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter, propel their film with such pace and farfetched style that anyone without PhDs in astrophysics and pop culture is likely to get lost in the ganglion of story strands. One wonders if the movie is too ambitious, facetious and hip for its own box-office good".<ref name="Corliss">{{cite magazine |last=Corliss |first=Richard |title=It Came from Beyond Bananas |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=August 13, 1984 |url=https://time.com/archive/6860672/cinema-it-came-from-beyond-bananas/ |access-date=August 20, 2008 }}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]'', film critic [[Pauline Kael]] wrote, "I didn't find it hard to accept the uninflected, deadpan tone, and to enjoy ''Buckaroo Banzai'' for its inventiveness and the gags that bounce off other adventure movies, other comedies. The picture's sense of fun carried me along".<ref name="Kael">{{cite magazine |last=Kael |first=Pauline |title=The Charismatic Half-and-Halfs |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=August 20, 1984 }}</ref>

Danny Bowes, writing a retrospective in 2011 for [[Tor Books|Tor.com]], said that the film "is paradoxically decades ahead of its time and yet completely ''of'' its time; it's profoundly a movie by, for, and of geeks and nerds at a time before geek/nerd culture was mainstreamed, and a movie whose pre-CG special effects and pre-Computer Age production design were an essential part of its good-natured enthusiasm. What at the time was a hip, modern take on classic SF is now [...] almost indistinguishable from the SF cinema that inspired it in terms of the appeal to modern viewers: the charmingly old-fashioned special effects, and the comparatively innocent earnestness of its tone."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tor.com/2011/07/27/wherever-you-go-there-you-are-a-look-back-at-buckaroo-banzai/ |author=Bowes, Danny |date=July 27, 2011 |title=Wherever You Go, There You Are: A Look Back at ''Buckaroo Banzai'' |access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref>

=== Home media ===
''Buckaroo Banzai'' was first released for home media on LaserDisc, [[VHS]], and [[Betamax]] in 1985 by [[Vestron Video]], in 1990 by [[Video Treasures]], and in 2001 by [[MGM Home Entertainment]]. The film was released on [[DVD]] on January 4, 2002, by MGM Home Entertainment.<ref>{{cite web|first=Enrique|last=Rivero|url=http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/product_article.cfm?article_id=1808|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011101150105/http://www.hive4media.com/news/html/product_article.cfm?article_id=1808|title=MGM to Bow 'Mad Max,' 'Banzai' DVDs Jan. 4|website=hive4media.com|archive-date=November 1, 2001|date=September 21, 2001|access-date=September 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the DVD release a "B+" rating and wrote, "Fans will drool over the extras, including some illuminating deleted scenes (of particular note is an alternate opening detailing Buckaroo's tragic childhood, featuring [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] as Banzai's mother) and director Richter's commentary, which reveals some colorful behind-the-scenes battles with studio execs."<ref name="Kim">{{cite magazine |last=Kim |first=Albert |title=''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension'': Special Edition |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=December 25, 2001 |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,189698~21~~,00.html |access-date=December 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326092608/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,189698~21~~,00.html |archive-date=March 26, 2009  }}</ref> [[IGN]] gave the DVD their highest rating and was "thrilled by the special edition treatment that this landmark cult film has received at the hands of MGM. The video is great, the sound is great, there are tons of extras".<ref name="IGN">{{cite news |last=Sanchez |first=Rick |title=''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension'': Special Edition |work=[[IGN]] |date=January 10, 2002 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/01/10/buckaroo-banzai-special-edition |access-date=November 17, 2018 }}</ref> For the [[Blu-ray]] format, the film was featured as part of [[Shout! Factory]]'s Shout! Select Blu-ray line in August 2016; the Shout! Factory release contains a two-hour retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Weller, Lithgow, Brown, Serna, Smith, Vera, Lloyd, and director W.D. Richter, among others.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-collector-s-edition |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension [Collector's Edition] - Blu-ray/DVD - Shout! Factory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817105417/https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-collector-s-edition |archive-date=2022-08-17 |url-status=dead |website=shoutfactory.com |access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref> A Blu-ray was also released in the United Kingdom by [[Arrow Video]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Adventures-of-Buckaroo-Banzai-Across-the-8th-Dimension-Blu-ray/128699/ |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Blu-ray |website=blu-ray.com |access-date=October 28, 2024}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
''Buckaroo Banzai'' has since attracted a loyal cult following and has been popular on home video.<ref name="goldberg">{{cite news |last=Goldberg |first=Lee |title=W.D. Richter Writes Again |work=[[Starlog]] |date=June 1986 }}</ref> Richter said, "It has had the most dramatic reactions of anything I've worked on. Some loathe it and others are willing to die for it".<ref name="goldberg"/> The director feels that the film failed commercially because the narrative was too complex; he would have liked to have had more coverage for certain scenes and felt he could have edited the film better, as there were too many [[master shot]]s and [[two-shot]]s that left little for the editor to work with.<ref name="goldberg"/>

''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired Magazine]]'', in 2009, celebrated "the 25th anniversary of the release of a film near and dear to many geeks who came of age in the '80s. ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' was a great, adventurous, geeky movie, with enough silly science fiction and great characters to fill any three lousy summer blockbusters these days ... and it gave us so many great, geeky lines to quote."<ref name="Wired" /> Bill Cosford, in his 1984 ''Miami Herald'' review, had foreseen the dialogue's popularity: "I suspect that Buckaroo's odd musings, particularly the one about being there no matter where you go, are about to enter the popular argot on the scale of "[[Where's the beef?]]"<ref name="Cosford" /><ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2009/08/no-matter-where-you-go-there-you-are-happy-birthday-buckaroo-banzai/ |author=Denmead, Ken |date=August 17, 2009 |title=No Matter Where You Go, There You Are: Happy Birthday Buckaroo Banzai! |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/popculture.html |last1=Murphy |first1=Sean |last2=Wike |first2=Chris |title=What are some of the more popular quotes from the Buckaroo Banzai movie and book? |publisher=figmentfly.com |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thegeektwins.com/2013/01/10-ways-buckaroo-banzai-has-infiltrated.html#.UVBQbbHD_Qw |author=Mitchell, Nigel |date=January 7, 2013 |title=10 Ways 'Buckaroo Banzai' Has Infiltrated Pop Culture |publisher=The Geek Twins |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://filtermagazine.com/index.php/exclusives/entry/the_adventures_of_buckaroo_banzai_no_matter_where_it_went_there_it_was/ |author=Martell, Nevin |date=August 13, 2010 |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: No Matter Where It Went, There It Was |work=[[Filter (magazine)|Filter Magazine]] |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://quotebook.us/statements_aphorisms_quotes_by/Buckaroo_Banzai |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421173415/http://quotebook.us/statements_aphorisms_quotes_by/Buckaroo_Banzai  |archive-date=April 21, 2013 |title=Buckaroo Banzai: Statements, aphorisms, quotes by Buckaroo Banzai – 75 total |publisher=Quotebook.us |url-status=usurped |access-date=March 25, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nworld.squarespace.com/blog/2005/4/3/buckaroo-banzai-why-is-there-a-watermelon-there.html |author=Pearlman, Nathaniel |author-link=Nathaniel Pearlman |date=April 3, 2005 |title=''Buckaroo Banzai'': "Why is there a watermelon there?" |publisher=Political Mammal |access-date=March 25, 2013}}</ref> ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked ''Buckaroo Banzai'' as No. 43 in their Top 50 Cult Movies.<ref name="cultmovies">{{cite magazine |title=EW's Top Cult Movies |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=May 23, 2003 |url=https://ew.com/article/2003/05/23/heres-rest-ews-top-cult-movies/ |access-date=January 18, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830023948/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,452193_7,00.html |archive-date=August 30, 2008  }}</ref> The film was ranked No. 21 on the magazine's "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" list.<ref name="EWCult">{{cite magazine |title=The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=September 3, 2008 |url=https://ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20221982_5,00.html |access-date=September 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080903202336/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20221982_5,00.html |archive-date=September 3, 2008  }}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' has also cited ''Buckaroo Banzai'' as one of their "1,000 films to see before you die".<ref name="1000movies">{{cite news |title=1,000 films to see before you die |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/1000filmstoseebeforeyoudie |access-date=December 18, 2008 |location=London  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210131935/http://film.guardian.co.uk/1000films/0,,2108487,00.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008 }}</ref>

== Other media ==
=== Books ===
The film was [[novelization|novelized]] by creator Earl Mac Rauch in 1984. The book, entitled ''Buckaroo Banzai'', was published by [[Pocket Books]] and released in conjunction with the film, then reprinted in 2002 to coincide with the release of the film on DVD. Like the film, the novel teases future installments.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} The second book in the series, ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League, et al: A Compendium of Evils'', also by Mac Rauch, was published by [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse]] in November 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3005-125/Buckaroo-Banzai-Against-the-World-Crime-League-HC|title=Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League HC :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics|website=www.darkhorse.com}}</ref> Both novels are written in the [[first person point of view]] from the Hong Kong Cavaliers character Reno's perspective in a "nonfiction" style, relating the plots as if accounts of true events.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

=== Comics ===
Also in conjunction with the film's 1984 release, [[Marvel Comics]] published a comic book adaptation by writer [[Bill Mantlo]] and artists [[Mark Texeira]] in ''[[Marvel Comics Super Special|Marvel Super Special]]'' No. 33.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comics.org/issue/38144/ |title=GCD :: Issue :: Marvel Super Special #33 |website=comics.org |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> The adaptation was also released as a two-issue [[limited series (comics)|limited series]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comics.org/series/2862/ |title=GCD :: Issue #2 |website=comics.org |access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref>

[[Moonstone Books]] began publishing comic books in 2006 depicting earlier and further adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers. The first story, ''Buckaroo Banzai: Return of the Screw'', was written by creator Earl Mac Rauch. The black-and-white preview edition of the comic was released in February 2006, featuring a behind-the-scenes article by Dan Berger regarding the transformation of the rejected Buckaroo Banzai [[television pilot]] script ''Supersize those Fries'' into the present comic book limited series. The three issues of this comic have been collected into a [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]].<ref name=moonstonebooks>{{Cite web |url=https://moonstonebooks.com/banzai.asp |title=Moonstone Books - Buckaroo Banzai |access-date=August 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212131639/http://moonstonebooks.com/banzai.asp |archive-date=February 12, 2006 |url-status=deviated }}</ref> In December 2007, Moonstone released a new Banzai comic story "A Christmas Corrall" in the ''Moonstone Holiday Super Spectacular'' compilation, also written by Mac Rauch and drawn by Ken Wolak. A two-issue prequel to the film was released in early 2008 called ''Of Hunan Bondage''. It was written by Mac Rauch with art by ''[[Superman Returns]]'' storyboard artist Chewie. Moonstone released ''Big Size'' in early 2009, a special oversize [[one-shot (comics)|one-shot comic]] written by Mac Rauch with art by Paul Hanley.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

=== Video game ===
In conjunction with the film's 1984 release, the [[interactive fiction]] game ''The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension'' was released for the [[Apple II]], [[Atari 8-bit computers]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Commodore 16]], [[Plus/4]], [[IBM PC compatible]]s, [[TI-99/4A]], and [[ZX Spectrum]] by [[Adventure International]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-eighth-dimension |title=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension |website=mobygames.com |access-date=November 17, 2018}}</ref>

=== Television series ===
In late 1998, the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox Network]] announced development of a ''Buckaroo Banzai'' TV series titled ''Buckaroo Banzai: Ancient Secrets and New Mysteries''. It was never released.<ref name="Wolk">{{cite magazine |last=Wolk |first=Josh |title=Role On |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=December 16, 1998 |url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,84009,00.html |access-date=January 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011082606/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,84009,00.html |archive-date=October 11, 2008  }}</ref> The special edition DVD contains a short computer-animated sequence by [[Foundation Imaging]] made as a test reel for the series. The clip depicts a [[Space Shuttle]] trying to land with broken landing gear; Dr. Banzai maneuvers his Jet Car under the Shuttle and uses it to take the place of the broken gear.

In May 2016, [[Kevin Smith]] announced he would be adapting the film for television through [[MGM Television]].<ref name="Kevin-Smith-Adaptation">{{cite news |last1=Damore |first1=Meagan |title=Kevin Smith to Adapt 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai' for Television |url=https://www.cbr.com/kevin-smith-to-adapt-the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-for-television/ |access-date=November 17, 2018 |publisher=[[ComicBookResources.com]] |date=May 16, 2016}}</ref> [[Amazon Studios]] indicated a deal was being negotiated to produce the series.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Patten |first1=Dominic |title=Amazon Close To Deal For Kevin Smith-Adapted 'Buckaroo Banzai' TV Series – Comic-Con |url=https://deadline.com/2016/07/buckaroo-banzai-tv-series-deal-kevin-smith-amazon-mgm-peter-weller-1201790044/ |magazine=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=July 21, 2016}}</ref> However, by November, during a Facebook Live Stream, Smith revealed that he would be walking away from the project after MGM filed a lawsuit against the original creators.<ref name="Buckaroo-Lawsuit">{{cite news |last1=Jayson |first1=Jay |title=Kevin Smith Walks Away from Buckaroo Banzai TV Series After MGM Sues Creators |url=https://comicbook.com/2016/11/28/kevin-smith-walks-away-from-buckaroo-banzai-tv-series-after-mgm-/ |access-date=November 28, 2016 |date=November 28, 2016}}</ref>

=== Other references ===
The film has been seen in other media. [[Yoyodyne]] had earlier been featured as the name of an aerospace company in two 1960s novels by [[Thomas Pynchon]]. Then, the 1987 instructional book ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/wholeinternet00krolmiss|title=The Whole Internet User's Guide & Catalog|first=Ed|last=Krol|date=January 1, 1992|publisher=O'Reilly Media|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> made frequent use of "Yoyodyne" in its examples of corporate URLs, and Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems had an office on the promenade of ''[[Star Trek]]'''s ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]''.<ref>{{cite book| title=Deep Space Nine Companion |author=Terry J. Erdmann |author2=Paula M. Block |year=2000 |page=13}}</ref> The current incarnation of the comic strip ''[[Dick Tracy]]'' has seen two subtle references to the film in the storyline: In a strip dated October 22, 2013, there is a reference to a business named "Emilio Lizardo Crematorium"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2013/10/22 |title=Dick Tracy by Joe Staton and Mike Curtis for Oct 22, 2013 |date=October 22, 2013 |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> and in a strip dated November 7, 2013, Dick Tracy's granddaughter Honeymoon tells him she will be attending a Hong Kong Cavaliers concert with the hope of getting Perfect Tommy's autograph.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gocomics.com/dicktracy/2013/11/07#.UoWIV_l02Sq |title=Dick Tracy by Joe Staton and Mike Curtis for Nov 7, 2013 |date=November 7, 2013 |access-date=June 11, 2018}}</ref> The PhD thesis of [[Eric Weinstein]] was called ''Extension of Self-Dual Yang-Mills Equations Across the Eighth Dimension''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://inspirehep.net/literature/345600 | title=Inspire }}</ref> The triumphant ending of the movie with Banzai and an ever-growing group of friends walking together was copied for the ending of the 2004 film ''[[The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou]]'' (Jeff Goldblum appears in both scenes).<ref>{{cite web |title=24 'Grand' things you don't know about Wes Anderson's films |url=https://nypost.com/2014/03/11/24-grand-things-you-dont-know-about-wes-andersons-films/ |first=Kyle |last=Smith |work=New York Post |date=March 11, 2014}}</ref> Parzival, the main character of the film ''[[Ready Player One (film)|Ready Player One]]'', appears in a Buckaroo Banzai costume for a date. Aech says to Parzival, "You're going to wear the outfit from your favorite movie." His date Art3mis responds to his costume with, "I like Buckaroo Banzai!"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/watching/lists/ready-player-one-references|title='Ready Player One' Is a Vintage Pop Bonanza. Here's a Primer Before You Watch.|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* Burns, James. "An Interview with the Director of ''Buckaroo Banzai'' W.D. Richter". ''Marvel Super Special #33: Buckaroo Banzai''. New York: Marvel Comics, 1984.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
<!-- Per [[WP:EL]] try to include links as inline references instead where possible -->
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20060613213519/http://www.buckaroobanzai-themovie.com}} (archived)
* [https://archive.org/details/the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension-1984_202201 Full length film] available via archive.org.
* {{IMDb title|0086856|The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|2=The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension}}
* [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Adventures-of-Buckaroo-Banzai-Across-the-8th-Dimension-The The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension] at The Numbers
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040712080943/http://www.banzai-institute.com/ Official Banzai Institute Website] (archived)
* [https://moonstonebooks.com/shop/search.aspx?sfield=keywords&search=buckaroo+banzai Buckaroo Banzai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081710/http://www.moonstonebooks.com/shop/search.aspx?sfield=keywords&search=buckaroo+banzai |date=November 18, 2018 }} at [[Moonstone Books]]
* [https://www.figmentfly.com/bb/bbindex.shtml Buckaroo Banzai Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)], including [http://www.figmentfly.com/bb/popculture.html What are some of the more popular quotes?]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_ixer1-5M&feature=relmfu Buckaroo Banzai Intro + Q&A at New York Film Festival] (October 24, 2011)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, The}}
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s science fiction action films]]
[[Category:1980s science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:1980s superhero films]]
[[Category:1984 action comedy films]]
[[Category:1984 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1984 films]]
[[Category:1984 science fiction films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:American action comedy films]]
[[Category:American science fiction action films]]
[[Category:American science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:American superhero films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction action films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction comedy films]]
[[Category:Film superheroes]]
[[Category:Films about alien invasions]]
[[Category:Films about parallel universes]]
[[Category:Films about physicists]]
[[Category:Films about surgeons]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Films directed by W. D. Richter]]
[[Category:Films set in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American mad scientist films]]
[[Category:Whitewashing in film]]
[[Category:English-language action comedy films]]