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

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 1

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67

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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 16,367

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Movie Info

Despite mixed reviews and a disastrous initial release that dumped the film into theaters for a week in the midst of the 1984 Summer Olympics, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eight Dimension went on to become one of the major cult films of the 1980s, developing a rabid following after its release on videotape. Drifting between satire and improbable sci-fi adventure, the film stars Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai, the son of an American mother and Japanese father who is a combination

Jan 4, 2002

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All Critics (35) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (10) | DVD (22)

A state-of-the-art spaceship flying at the speed of light without narrative coordinates, Buckaroo Banzai is the very oddest good movie in many a full moon.

August 20, 2008 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
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Richter's comic genre hybrid comes complete with its own mythology, and team of established superheroes, and is curiously appealing.

August 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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It violates every rule of storytelling and narrative structure in creating a self-contained world of its own.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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The film gives you the mildly annoying sensation of being left out of a not very good private joke.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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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.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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Off-the-wall and incoherent but colorful and eccentric, this satire, benefiting from a great cast, became a cult item.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

It's a whole lot of thought put into a movie in which not very much happens.

June 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Geekweek
Geekweek

A genuine cult movie: imaginative and endearingly naff.

May 6, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Buckaroo Banzai is like decades of escapist pulp filtered through the skeptic's shrug of the mid-'80s.

March 3, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comments (2)
eFilmCritic.com

Punch lines appear without set-ups and set-ups without punch lines. Characters come and go with such bewildering speed that it is virtually impossible to keep track of the story, which jumps around enough to induce motion sickness.

June 5, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

There's so much going on here and so much fun to be had, I've never really been sure what the plot was.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

Completely out-of-control and one of a kind

June 24, 2005

An offbeat movie with a gee-whiz approach to popular culture.

August 19, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice
Spirituality and Practice

An endearing piece of trash with a devoted group of fans.

September 16, 2003 Full Review Source: Citysearch
Citysearch

Audience Reviews for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Insane Dr. Lizado and his alien allies try to steal the secret of eighth dimensional travel from neurosurgeon/secret agent Buckaroo Banzai and his band of rock and roll scientists. It's pleasantly campy and crazy and features some great throwaway lines; the one problem is that star Peter Weller is far too reserved to play the larger-than-life Buckaroo. Jeff Goldblum is underutilized as a New Jersey cowboy sidekick; if the casting department had switched Weller and Glodblum's roles they could have made a masterpiece.
April 24, 2012
366weirdmovies
Greg S

Super Reviewer

This is a wacky sci-fi adventure comedy movie that's so strange you're not sure what genre it really belongs to or why they made the movie in the first place. It stars a lot of good actors, and they do an alright job, but the story is confusing and like I said, very odd. Overall, it's okay.
September 6, 2010
ajv2688

Super Reviewer

    1. Buckaroo Banzai: No matter where you go, there you are.
    – Submitted by Richard S (15 months ago)

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Latest News on The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

August 15, 2011:
Buckaroo Banzai Director Reflects on the Film's Legacy -- and Speculates on a Sequel
W.D. Richter shares some entertaining details from "Buckaroo" lore.

May 22, 2007:
"Fanboys": It's Not Just for "Star Wars" Fans
The geek-inspired "Fanboys" is gearing up for the "Star Wars" Celebration, where...

January 3, 2006:
Vincent Schiavelli Passes at 57
Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, the long-faced veteran of over 150 film and television...

Foreign Titles

  • Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (DE)
  • Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (UK)
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