Classic Sci Fi Trailers: The Original Trailer for Buckaroo Banzai

1984's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension has become a cult classic and a must-watch sci fi film, but when it came out in the 80's promoters just didn't quite know what to do with this odd genre satire that entered the theaters with its tongue firmly planted in cheek.  Bowing six years before David Lynch's Twin Peaks made quirky cool, Buckaroo Banzai threw audiences headlong into a movie that seemed to start in the middle and never gave them the time to catch their breath.  That, of course, was part of the charm of the film, but Hollywood marketers don't like things that they can't easily package for the mass audience.  And the original trailer for the film surely seems to demonstrate that.  It is taken mostly from the end-credits sequence where we see Buckaroo and crew walking in step to the ultra-cool theme music.  Interspersed are a few quick clips from the film like a shot inside of the Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems warehouse and a glimpse of the Black Lectroid's ship in space, and then the trailer ends with the famous quote where one of Buckaroo's crew tells him that the president is on the line asking "is everything okay with the alien spacecraft from Planet 10, or should he just go ahead and destroy Russia?"  Of course this doesn't give audiences much of an idea of what to expect from the film, and the spot didn't get too much exposure either.  But those of us who know the movie rather like the clip because we love the end-title sequence anyway and this gives us a throwback to the time when we first encountered it in the 80's (most likely on its home video release because it disappeared from the theaters so quickly).  So enjoy the trailer then pull out your DVD and invite some other members of the Blue Blaze Irregulars over to relive this fun little sci fi send-up all over again.

Buckaroo Banzai at Amazon.com:

Classic Sci Fi Trailers: Early Trailer for Return of the Jedi Before Its Name was Changed

This clip is another throwback to the days when trailer-making wasn't quite the art-form it is today (when they can make any move look good), or perhaps it was just laziness because they new everybody was going to go see the movie anyway.  But the most interesting thing about this is that the movie is still titled REVENGE of the Jedi.  That's before George Lucas decided that revenge was too harsh of an action for his noble Jedi Knights who follow the light side of the force, and the movie that hit the theaters would eventually go out as RETURN of the Jedi.  But this is a fun throwback clip, even though its pretty short (probably planned as a TV spot).  Of course, this movie would represent the point when the rot would start to set in for the franchise and the product would become more important than the story, but it still had its moments and it was much better than the prequels that would push the franchise over the edge beginning in 1999.  And for another retro-Star Wars clip, take a look at the trailer for the first movie at this link.

Buy the Star Wars Movies on Blu-ray from Amazon.com: