I have trouble passing up a bookstore… especially a used bookstore. My day job keeps me constantly traveling so I get to check out independent shops and Half Price Books across the country. There are so many incredible books out there! You are likely to find me in non-fiction thumbing through martial arts guides or Mandarin text books but there is always a good chance I will be over in the old science fiction and fantasy paperbacks. Not that long ago I found myself staring at a complete set of Ron Goulart’s Vampirella paperbacks and they were calling to me. Calling to me! They telling me they would set me back about $300, though, and I really could not think of $300 of explanations to give my wife! So they stayed where they were.
But this week in Sacramento, after a thorough search of the paperback shelves (and a very intense period of thought trying to remember exactly which Robotech: The Sentinels paperbacks survived a sewer back up in my old house) I stumbled across a new, hardback copy of Buckaroo Banzai Against The World Crime League, Et Al: A Compendium, which was released by Dark Horse Books last year. Somehow, the book division of Dark Horse Comics managed to sneak it out without me knowing. Recognizing the title as the sequel promised, but never delivered, at the end of 1984’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension I immediately bought it. I was ridiculously, indescribably happy to find it… and it was well over a $280 savings compared to those Vampirella books!
According to Wikipedia (so you know it has to be true), back in ’84 when Gene Siskel reviewed Buckaroo Banzai (it is a long-ass title so if I write Buckaroo Banzai assume I mean the film and Buckaroo Banzai will mean the character and I’ll call the new book …Against the World Crime League) he predicted it would become a cult film. He was right, but unfortunately it was not a great success at the time so the sequel never materialized. Neither, by the way, did an attempt just a couple of years ago to revive the franchise as a TV series. Buckaroo Banzai, sadly, has been confined to that original film, its novelization, a pair of Marvel special comics covering the film’s plot back in ’84, a Moonstone Comics series and, now, …Against the World Crime League.
Back in 1984 when Buckaroo Banzai came out, I was 12, armed with the reading comprehension level of a college student and obsessed with science fiction, fantasy and pulp stories. I lurked through the spinning paperback racks at the library searching for something new or revisiting old favorites such as Star Trek and Doc Savage. I also had an uncle who was a movie critic. That is important because before Buckaroo Banzai hit the theaters he left a copy of the movie novelization, probably from a press kit, laying around where I could find it. And I did. And I read it. And I loved it!
I was already well steeped in the adventures of Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Shadow, as well is a few more modern characters cut from the same cloth, such as Lin Carter’s Prince Zarkon. Buckaroo Banzai, the guitar playing, band leading, neurosurgeon, experimental physicist and adventurer was a brand new version of everything I loved. The film novelization was incredible. It covered the plot of the film, of course, with more backstory and plenty of footnotes. Yes, footnotes! Much like comic books and those old pulp novels I loved, it made constant references to an entire (and entirely non-existent) library of novels detailing the many adventures of Buckaroo Banzai and his Hong Kong Cavaliers. I read it twice in a weekend and a few more times over the years…
So the funny thing is I really don’t remember when I actually saw Buckaroo Banzai. I definitely did and I have seen it many, many times over the past four decades. I have it on blu-ray. I watched it again on a plane after grabbing …Against the World Crime League thanks to an Amazon Prime download. I think my uncle probably slipped us preview passes to see it (he was always flush with movie passes) but I might have begged a ride out of someone and caught it during its first run or at the dollar show. It is even possible, I admit, I did not see the film until it came out of VHS or hit cable… but I doubt I managed to wait that long!
Obviously, I am an unapologetic fan. My most recent viewing of Buckaroo Banzai did nothing to change that, either! Here is a fun fact: I gave a character in my Black Sky Ranger books the nickname Banzai because I love this movie so much. Unfortunately, the movie has dropped out of the Amazon Prime library since I watched it… When it was there it was the original version without the deleted scenes available on most home video releases. Since I have basically written a love letter to The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension up until this point, any attempt at a ‘serious’ review of the movie is pretty much out the window. Let me just sum it up by saying Buckaroo Banzai is a tongue in cheek, nostalgic, PG rated romp with an incredibly catchy theme song hitting some of your favorite pulp magazine and B-movie tropes. Instead of talking about the film’s merits, let me just go over the cast and then cut you loose to go find your own copy to watch!
Because Buckaroo Banzai emulates Doc Savage, it features a whole posse of scientist/musician/adventurers who accompany Buckaroo and the cast makes the film. An old medical school friend of Buckaroo’s, played by Jeff Goldblum, is new to the group. Lewis Smith, star of The Heavenly Kid and known for his appearances in Southern Comfort and the North and South mini-series, is a scene stealer as bleach blonde Perfect Tommy and Clancy Brown (Starship Troopers, Highlander and Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series) is, as always, a highlight. He is one of the great character actors of our time. Opposing our heroes are a group of aliens from the eighth dimension played by Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Vincent Schiavelli and led by John Lithgow. Robert Ito, Carl Lumbly, Rosalind Cash and Ellen Barkin round out the cast.
But the man who makes the movie is Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai. Weller is an under-appreciated giant in science fiction. Everyone immediately connects him to RoboCop (which is natural, but did not come out for another three years). He also played parts in Star Trek, Odyssey 5, The Strain and voiced Bruce Wayne in the animated Dark Knight Returns. As Buckaroo Banzai, he is definitely channeling then-current 1980s New Romantic singers (like Adam Ant) with a good dose of Buddy Holly thrown in. I personally think Buckaroo Banzai’s influence can be seen in the lead character of Six String Samurai. But when you take that rock n roll style and add Banzai’s expertise in science and the fact he is always one step ahead of everyone with his mind going 120 mph… well, he is basically a prototype of David Tennant’s version of Doctor Who. Seriously, watch it and adjust for the New Wave fashion sensibilities and the lack of an accent…. then tell me I am wrong.
I honestly don’t know what I am trying to accomplish with this blog post except to say there is finally a sequel to Buckaroo Banzai, written by the original screenwriter, and I can not wait until I have time to sit down and read it! But more importantly, it is the latest thing to remind me how very, very cool The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension is. If you haven’t seen it, or haven’t seen it lately, go find it. It is not on Amazon Prime (at time of writing) but you should be able to find it on Pluto and Paramount+.
Seriously, watch it. You will thank me later.