"The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension" (Click on the images to see slightly larger versions and names.) Reviewed by John Orr January 13, 2002 Good news, Blue Blazer Regulars!! "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" is out on DVD!! More on "Buckaroo' Director and producer W.D. Richter talks about the movie and the DVD. Actor Clancy Brown talks about playing Rawhide and his life as an actor. Buy the DVD. OK, so those of you who love this unique 1984 wry-fi flick are probably already aware that January 4, 2002, was the release day for its DVD, because you have been tracking the newsletters and/or websites devoted to it. Or perhaps you received the news via your own ion-charged receiver from transmitters in the Eighth Dimension. No matter. Because, no matter where you go, there you are. Mere Earthlings would do well to know that a writer name of Earl Mac Rauch and another writer who was acting as director, W.D. Richter, got together with a fabulous cast that included Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellin Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Carl Lumbly and many others to create a sci-fiction film so droll that much of its humor zipped over the heads of many viewers like Sparkle Plenty Space Dust over the ozone layer. Weller played the title character, a brilliant brain surgeon, physicist, comic-book hero and rock star who was so cool that he could stop his rock song mid-bar in a crowded nightclub because he could sense that one person — just one person — in the audience wasn't having fun. Of course, as it turns out, not just any one person, but a cute blond with great legs who is the spitting image of his late love. We meet Banzai when he is having a very busy day. First there is the brain surgery: "When it comes right down to it, this far inside the head it all looks the same," says Buckaroo. "No, no, no, don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to." Then there is the driving the special car through solid matter using the oscillation overthruster, which takes him into and out of the Eighth Dimension. Then, rocking the house at a Joisey nightclub: "I don't care if you drove through a mountain in Texas," says the nightclub manager. "This is New Jersey, and when you play my joint, you're just another act. I want some music outta you characters." But it was that second thing — the travel through the Eighth Dimension -- that sets off a whole bunch of other excitement that could lead to the destruction of Earth unless Buckaroo and his bands of do-gooders, the Hong Kong Kavaliers and the Blue Blazer Regulars, can stop the evil Lord John Whorfin from Planet 10 — who is played by John Lithgow in the funniest role of his career. The DVD is a complete blast, a clean and beautiful transfer with new commentary from Richeter and Rauch, and with lots of extra features. It is highly recommended. Get the DVD at Amazon.com. Get information about "Buckaroo Banzai" at IMDB