The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
1984 · Directed by W.D. Richter
A brain surgeon / physicist / rock star / test pilot fights interdimensional aliens in the Eighth Dimension. That premise is the plot. Nothing is explained.
Why It's Cult
Buckaroo Banzai is the great in-medias-res cult film — it begins like the sequel to a movie that never existed and proceeds as if you already know everyone. Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd. Beloved by those who have seen it; impenetrable to everyone else. "No matter where you go, there you are."
The Plot, Officially
Brain surgeon, rock musician, adventurer Buckaroo Banzai is a modern renaissance man and has made scientific history. He perfected the Oscillation Overthruster, which allows him to travel through solid matter by using the eighth dimension. But when his sworn enemy Dr. Emilio Lizardo devises a plot to steal the device and bring an evil army back to destroy Earth, Buckaroo goes cranium to cranium with the madman in a battle that could spell doom for the universe. Along with his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Buckaroo must stop the evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer our dimension. He is helped by Penny Pretty, the long-lost twin sister of his late wife, and some good extra-dimensional beings who look and talk like they are from Jamaica.
Starring
Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin
Where to Watch
via JustWatch →
