Sunday, May 5, 2024

Don't Make a Scene: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension

Well, the revised plan was to do a "Redux" of the scene from The Graduate about "outside agitators" but as that's been one of the most "hit" articles this week (no doubt from googling the words in search engines), I'm going to fall back on the original plan with this one...

The Story:  It was probably a bit ahead of its time (he said charitably), hence the bad box-office when it was released in theaters in 1984.
 
That would be The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension,* a mouthful of a title for a movie that was chock-a-block with ideas, few of which were serious, but most were not, dealing as it did with an invasion of Earth from the 'Lectroids, beings from the tenth planet in the eighth dimension, the discovery of which is due to a land-speed test to crack the sound barrier, but secretly is to test the perfected Oscillation Overthruster to crack the barrier between dimensions...and maybe...just maybe...come back sane.
 
Who could accomplish such a feat? Well, that world-famous polyglot, the neurosurgeon/physicist/test-pilot/rock n' roller/style-master Buckaroo Banzai, that's who!

Buckaroo Banzai is a post-modern update of the old "'Doc' Savage" pulp novels about a Renaissance Man of many interests and his "literal" band of experts investigating the secrets and the threats in the Universe (although screenwriter Mac Rauch claimed the inspiration was 1970's kung-fu movies). For me, there are a couple of memorable stand-out scenes from the film—this is one of them, at a point in the film when it was being lit and photographed by the brilliant Jordan Cronenweth, who had provided the distinctive look to the original Blade Runner.
 
Intended to be a series of films—the end-credits announce a sequel "Buckaroo Banzai Versus the World Crime League"—the film's slack box-office nixed those plans...Mac Rauch put out a subsequent novel versionof the story, published in 2021.

The Set-up: It's been a day for Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller): performing intricate brain-surgery, recruiting a new surgeon (Jeff Goldblum) for Team Banzai, and then heading off to a test-site to set a land-speed record and doing a test on his father's life-research—perfecting the Oscillation Overthruster that could crack the barrier between dimensions. Time to unwind at a gig with his band, the Honk Kong Cavaliers.
 
But, his past is about to catch up with him.

Action!

PA VOICE:
Ladies and gentlemen...
PA VOICE:
Tommy Talented is proud to present for one night only...
PA VOICE:
New Brunswick's own. The one, the only, the amazing...  
PA VOICE:
Buckaroo Banzai and his Hong Kong Cavaliers!
The crowd cheers. 
Horns join the drums.
Various shots of Hong Kong Cavaliers playing instruments. 
The music rises to a crescendo, 
and BUCKAROO BANZAI launches into a guitar solo.
Quick shots of people... 
...in the crowd dancing.
BUCKAROO BANZAI finishes guitar solo, 
picks up a cornet, and plays another solo. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI kicks a mike stand, 
which falls into his hand. He is just about to sing when he suddenly freezes.
The band abruptly stops playing. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
'Scuse me. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
Excuse me.  
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
Ah, is someone out there not having a good time? 
Cut to crowd. They are mystified. 
CROWD: Noooo! (assorted yells) 
BUCKAROO BANZAI: Is, ahh... is somebody... 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
is somebody crying?... out there in the darkness? Somebody crying? 
PENNY PRIDDY is visible, sitting alone at a table. 
PENNY PRIDDY: (sobs) Me... I'm sorry... 
Long shot of stage. Crowd members are looking back at PENNY PRIDDY, wondering what's going on. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI: Ummm... could we... could we get her a mike? And a spotlight? 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
Uh, Tommy, 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
could we, uh, could you give her your mike? 
PERFECT TOMMY:
Are you serious? 
BUCKAROO BANZAI: Yeah. Give her your mike.
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
(to PENNY PRIDDY) What's your name? 
PENNY PRIDDY:
Who cares? 
The crowd is getting fed up with the delay. 
DRUNK:
Right! 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
(sympathetically) I care. What's your name? 
Close up of PENNY PRIDDY. She is wearing a short pink dress and blue gloves. 
Her makeup is smeared. She has obviously been crying. 
PENNY PRIDDY:
Penny. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
Did you say "Peggy"? 
PENNY PRIDDY:
Nooo... (sobs) My name's Penny. Penny Priddy... 
PENNY PRIDDY:
But it doesn't matter, 
PENNY PRIDDY:
it's not important. 
(She tries to smile.) 
PENNY PRIDDY:
I just... 
PENNY PRIDDY:
I just sponged up a little too much Vat 69, that's all.
(laughs, turns into sob) 
PENNY PRIDDY:
I'm down to my last nickel in this lousy town. 
PENNY PRIDDY:
And they wouldn't even take my luggage in hock. (sobs) 
PENNY PRIDDY:
And I lost my room at the Y this morning. 
CROWD:
Ooooh! Wow! Somebody get her a violin! (etc.) 
PENNY PRIDDY:
(collects herself) But it's cool. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
(to crowd) Hey, hey, 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
calm down. Hey, now.
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
Don't be mean. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
We don't have to be mean. 
BUCKAROO BANZAI:
'Cause, remember, 
BUCKAROO BANZAI: ...
no matter where you go..... 
BUCKAROO BANZAI: ...
there you are.
 
 
 
Pictures by Jordan Cronenweth (and Fred J. Koenekamp) and W.D. Richter
 
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension is available on DVD from M-G-M Home Video.

Under the Command of Captain Hikaru Sulu, if I remember...


* The script went through many versions and many stories that were ultimately not finished and abandoned, but alternate titles for the film were such things as "Find the Jetcar, Said the President - A Buckaroo Banzai Thriller" and "Lepers from Saturn."

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