The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension (1984) Hello, I am Randy Andrews and today I’ll be discussing The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension. I’ll talk about the cast, the background, the technical aspects and also the soundtrack. It’s all today on Soundtrack Alley! Play Intro So today I’ll be talking about the cult classic from 1984 Buckaroo Banzai. Let’s get into some of the discussion on the cast… Play quote. Jamie Lee Curtis played Buckaroo's mother in a flashback, but this scene was cut. The scene is available on the recent DVD release as an optional prequel to the theatrical version, and as a special feature. Jamie Lee Curtis is visible in a photo on the dashboard of the jet car in the wide-screen version. John Lithgow's dialect coach, Roberto Terminelli, was actually a tailor on the 20th Century Fox lot with a heavy Italian accent. John had Roberto speak his lines from the script into a tape recorder, which he then used to practice the accent. John then got him credit in the movie as the dialect coach for his help. John Lithgow appeared as Dr. Lizardo on Saturday Night Live (1975) during the opening of show he hosted. Many of the lines given by Lord John Whorfin (Dr. Lizardo, John Lithgow) are misquotes of actual common phrases or quotes from famous people. For instance, "Home is where you wear your hat", as a corruption of, "Home is where you hang your hat." His line, "Character is who you are in the dark", is a corruption of Dwight Moody's quote, "Character is what you think in the dark." Other, similar lines include: "I feel so broke up, I want to go home" (from Sloop John B), "Persecute him without a quarter!" ("Pursue him without quarter!") Buckaroo sings "Since I Don't Have You" in the nightclub scene. Released in December 1958 by The Skyliners, the song became their greatest hit and remains an all-time doo-wop classic. New Jersey's (Jeff Goldblum's) response to Buckaroo (Peter Weller) (He couldn't sing, but he could dance) is a reference to screen-test results from Fred Astaire's early auditions According to Peter Weller, he had a particularly tough time filming the scene without laughing where Lord John Whorfin (Dr. Lizardo) is torturing Buckaroo with electricity, because it was the first time he had heard John Lithgow perform what Weller likes to refer to as John's "Italian/Martian accent". When John Whorfin calls collect for John Bigboote (Christopher Lloyd), he tells the operator he is calling "Grovers Mill". Grovers Mill was a real-life community in New Jersey, which was used in Orson Welles' famous radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds", and is now a part of West Windsor Township in Mercer county. When it came time to film the end titles sequence, where Buckaroo and pals are walking around a dry Los Angeles aqueduct in step to the music, the music wasn't ready. Composer Michael Boddicker told the film crew to use the song, "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel as a placeholder, because it was the exact same tempo. Those scenes were filmed with "Uptown Girl" blaring from a boom box tied to the back of the camera truck. Now let’s talk about some of the background on the film. Play quote Some of the dialogue used in the Jet Car sequence is taken directly from Mission Control chatter heard during a shuttle launch countdown. The U.S. DVD release includes a caption portion titled "Pinky Caruthers' Unknown Facts", which actually adds to the storyline and character development of the film. In the original script, Buckaroo was supposed to have an archenemy named Hanoi Xan, who was never seen, but referenced to by Buckaroo and the other characters. All scenes containing dialogue regarding Xan were deleted from the film's theatrical release, but are now available on DVD. Xan was supposed to be the mysterious head of a crime syndicate called the World Crime Leagu