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MonoStereo's avatar

Great read about one of my all-time favorites. Didn't see if until VHS back then, but in the last decade or so I've been lucky enough to finally see it on the big screen twice.

Joe Valdez's avatar

Thank you! I always notice something new when I see one of these classics on the big screen, and imagine in the case of Buckaroo Banzai there's a bunch of marginalia that we miss at home.

Bev Larkin's avatar

BTW not a bugle, pocket trumpet - Peter Weller as a musician played all the instruments seen on screen. :) I know, "so what? big deal" But there is a distinction on the brass man.

Joe Valdez's avatar

Thanks for the comment, Bev! I legitimately enjoy constructive criticism like this. Of course, there's a difference, and most journalists or people who've never played in a brass band wouldn't know it.

Bev Larkin's avatar

I play percussion in a local Austin TX community brass band so I've been schooled...!

Jim's avatar
Jan 14Edited

I’ve found that it gets better after repeated viewings. Also, I suggest listening to this podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-minutes-of-banzai/id1309313813

Joe Valdez's avatar

Yes. Just like a lot of Coen brothers movies. Thank you for the comment and for following, Jim! I'll give the podcast a listen.

Ezekiel “Zeke” St James's avatar

Hey Joe, good morning! I heard a lot about this movie when it first came out, all kinds of different opinions, but usually none of them bad or thumbs down… I finally saw Buckaroo Banzai maybe 10 to 15 years later, and on a television, and probably should’ve seen it on a big screen… I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, for me, it’s about a 7.5… I didn’t really feel the plot, and to me, it was just just a lot of scenes strung together… But then, I’m not much of a sophisticated viewer. As always, your background research, and analysis and opinion, made this picture much more interesting than I remember it being… great job, as always, thanks! Peace! CPZ.

Joe Valdez's avatar

Thanks, Zeke! Buckaroo Banzai is not a movie for everybody. I dragged my stepbrother to see this when I was 11. This was the summer of Ghostbusters, Gremlins and The Karate Kid, and he didn't understand what the hell we were watching. I loved it.