THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI Getting Blu-Ray Edition In August

One of the greatest films of the 1980s was the rousing science-fiction adventure The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai: Across The Eighth Dimension. Director W. D. Richter and screenwriter Earl Mac Rauch collaborated to create an insanely fun mix of rock and roll, particle physics and invading aliens who plans are foiled by a scientist and his friends. The film did not do well in its theatrical release, thanks in part to a bungled ad campaign overseen by an incoming studio head who did not get the film, but found its audience via the burgeoning home video boom.

It seems odd that a film that owes so much to home video hasn’t received a blu-ray release yet, but the folks at Shout Factory are looking to rectify that. On August 16th, the home video distributor will be releasing The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai in a new blu-ray edition that will serve as the kick off to their Shout Selects line.

When Buckaroo Banzai was released on DVD back in 2006 with a plethora of special features and damn ugly covert art. The new package is certainly an improvement in that respect. According to Shout Factory, the special features for this new release have yet to be finalized. But if they are working on new material they will have to work hard to surpass the plethora of material from the older, now out-of-print DVD which included deleted scenes, the film’s unused alternate opening which featured Jamie Lee Curtis, a commentary track and a subtitle trivia track, selections from the Banzai Institute archives and more. I am sure that a lot of fans would welcome a music-only audio track. Michael Boddicker’s music for the film has never had an official release and is a perennial favorite among bootleggers. Shout Factory’s release will contain two discs, so we can anticipate a wealth of material no matter they have in the works.