Buckaroo Banzai: The VHS TV Edition

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9.8 (12)
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12 reviews
 
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.9(12)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(12)
Visual Editing
 
9.6(12)
Narrative
 
9.7(12)
Enjoyment
 
9.8(12)
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(Updated: August 11, 2021)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Today, for sixty minutes, I was 8 years old again. Memories of being glued to the TV screen watching shows such as "Knight Rider" or "The A-Team" or "Street Hawk" or 80s airings of "Buck Rogers" and the sixties "Batman", right before going outside to play with friends and pretend to be the characters from the shows, warmly flooded back. This edit is exactly the kind of stuff I would have loved back then and never ever miss the week's (or day's) episode. So much fun, and so close to the real thing! The recreation was spot-on. It does help, of course, to have been raised on this style of TV (I wonder what younger people would make of it), and/or being fond of the Buckaroo Banzai movie (and how can you not be? It's a complete mess, for sure, but the kind of mess that is so out there that it jumps right at you, covers you in puppy kisses, and dares you not to love it. Just like a lot of 80s TV!) Beyond the visual treatment, we're also presented with a few easter eggs from other shows and movies, and vintage ads that are both fun and, for those like me who hadn't seen most of them due to not being from the US, quite surprising (Stanley Tucci, of all people, in hunk mode?) Even some small audio imperfections don't detract at all, due to the "found footage" angle of this. And special mention must go to the watermelon vanity plate! That made me chuckle.

Gosh, I miss the 80s. And being young. At least this edit provided me with a reasonable facsimile of both for an hour. Now, someone please unearth more episodes from this lost show! I've heard that the "World Crime League" arc was a real highlight...
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This is my first fan edit ever and it is the best ever! The way BionicBob adds ad breaks in between is genius. If I could, I would put this on blu-ray to own forever.

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Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
T
Top 1000 Reviewer 3 reviews
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Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
BionicBob does what he does best in this edit by mixing his love of great (even if sometimes lesser appreciated) gems and re-imagining it through his encyclopedic knowledge and love of numerous genres; in this case, the greatest decade of them all, the 1980s (You can disagree with that statement, but you'd be wrong!)

I love the concept of this project on multiple levels, from the re-worked mythos of BB as an ongoing T.V. show to it's bitter ratings drop to comic-con cult-trading classic. Many of us remember the days before the interwebs where bootlegs were not just a magical holy grail, but getting them was often a mythic (and sometimes expensive) journey, and Bob blends all of that nostalgia wonderfully in this lost video tape concept.

Now, to the actual product and ratings.

Technical (A/V quality, Visual Editing and Audio Editing): 10 across the board.
It's a little cheat I suppose because the goal here is to degrade the quality, but to do it convincingly is actually a bit of an art, and he pulls off the balance just right here making it feel authentic. The edits are seamless, and the audio work is great, particularly with the intros and outros to the commercial breaks. It takes some work to get the right 'natural' feel and everything about this feels authentic for the era it replicates, including the fantastic work on making it a 4:3 frame. Great work!

Narative: 10
Being a 1 hour episode (minus credits and tv breaks) Bob does a great job of creating a compelling chapter within the broader story, with an appropriate "previously" section so that as a viewer we have everything we need to dive in. I would say the only thing missing for me would be a "Next week" teaser at the end that sometimes ran with such projects.

Enjoyment: 10
The most subjective category, I have to give a 10. This was FUN. Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, this edit speaks directly to that innocent version of me who adored all the lunatic television and films in a world where cable was an extreme luxury and the closest thing to the internet was a BBC you'd access with your phone modem. My brother in law was wandering in and out of the kitchen as i watched this and he in particularly loved the commercial breaks and NBC spots.

If you didn't grow up in or live through the 1980s, this is absolutely an authentic treatment of what TV was like.

I'm square in the middle of the target audience for this, and it delivers. Great job Bob!
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(Updated: December 18, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This was a really fun way to watch this movie. The whole movie is nonsense, and this really does work to make it something digestible in an hour. It's really fun from the start with the local news bumpers and such. The quality is consistent through the film and the sound editing is great. I commend BionicBob for making something like this, it was a lot of fun - especially the lore and set up. Thanks for the work you put into this.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
6.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This actually felt like an actual episode from an Buckaroo Banzai show. The VHS filters and look could be better, but its still a pretty fanedit. Great job in converting the movie into an 1-hour movie.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
C
1 reviews
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