Customer Reviews

Where the Buffalo Roam [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

WARNING! Do not buy the DVD, Buy the VHS (it's on Amazon)

I am a huge Bill Murray fan and have seen this movie at least 50 times. I obviously like it and I rank it near Murray's top behind Ghostbusters, Shack, Stripes and Ground Hog Day. However, one of the the great aspects of the movie is its amazing soundtrack: Jimi Hendrix's ax grinding staccato of Purple Haze as Thompson boards the Zoo press plane, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 on the road, Neil Young and more...

For some reaosn or another, the producers of the DVD cheaped out and put some candy-licking 80s mall music in its place because they did not want to pay for the rights to these phenomenol tracks.

STOP! If you have an ounce of respect for classic Bill Murray, do not buy the DVD. Furthermore, do not watch this decoy cotton candy Debbie Gibson meets Mr. Rogers DVD and walk around saying the movie sucks. You may only say that if you saw the original version. It's available on Amazon.

-The Doomed (obscure movie reference)

(don't buy it unless the cover has a typewriter on the front)

Here are the original tracks...
BUFFALO STOMP/Neil Young
ODE TO WILD BILL #1/Neil Young
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER/Jimi Hendrix
ODE TO WILD BILL #2/Neil Young
PAPA WAS A ROLLING STONE/The Temptations
HOME, HOME ON THE RANGE/Neil Young
HIGHWAY 61/Bob Dylan
I CAN'T HELP MYSELF/ Four Tops
ODE TO WILD BILL #3 WITH DIALOGUE/Neil Young
KEEP ON CHOOGLIN'/Creedence Clearwater Revival
ODE TO WILD BILL #4/Neil Young
PURPLE HAZE/Jimi Hendrix
BUFFALO STOMP REFRAIN/Neil Young

Just a 'heads-up" for all the fans of the original soundtrack. This new DVD edition released today by Universal, has the same soundtrack as the Anchor Bay DVD release. This is really a pity and just goes to show you what a studio will do to make a quick buck. This year is the 25th anniversary of this movie and I would think that Universal would want to do this right, but this is not the case. Loud boo's and hisses for Universal Pictures!

Anchor Bay bought the rights to this film and for some reason only included a couple of the original songs. And they still advertise on the package that there is music from Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. This music was taken out! Curse their flagrant lies! The music they added is some horrible studio band. The original music is a key part to this film. Why would any respectable video release company change an origianl film, and on top of it boast an advertisement for something that is not there? Find an original version of this film and
BOYCOTT ANCHOR BAY!

Took the advice of warning not to buy the DVD version & STILL ended up with a rescored soundtrack. Painful to watch despite being one of the funniest movies out there. I curse the greedy souless schmuck behind this artistic desecration. The box even "boasts a record score...hit-crammed soundtrack." Hey, you heartless bastard, may you wake up in a pile of rabid weasels to an endless tape-loop of "You light up my Life!"

I've just found that "Where the Buffalo Roam" with the original unedited soundtrack can be found as part of netflix's streaming video selection. It's from the same widescreen master as the DVD, only that horrible 80s temp music is gone. I guess the music rights could be released for instant viewing on the web. Maybe we'll eventually see the right version on DVD one day...

The person that "warned" the viewers about the "Original score" for the DVD version is false. I recently bought the VHS "original version" with the typewriter on the cover as he or she specified and found that it is the same music as the DVD release. DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THAT FALSE WARNING!!! The truth is ALL releases of "Where the Buffalo Roam" do not include the "original score", featuring Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, etc. Not even the VHS. Why this happened was due to copyright issues. There are no longer "original versions" containing the "original score", unless you bought the video in 1980, I suppose. DO NOT BE FOOLED ONCE AGAIN!!! ALL RELEASES (DVD & VHS) ARE THE SAME NEW "80'S CHEESY MALL MUSIC" implied falsely by someone who hid their identity. Probably to avoid any interaction from other viewers who own both original and re-release versions like myself. The movie that "A Viewer" owned must of been a bootleg or a special "theatre version", I have no clue. This movie is still highly enjoyable without the "original score".

When I first saw the movie a year ago,
I had rented it from Hollywood Video
on VHS. The VHS must have used the same
music on the DVD, because the DVD I
just recently rented used the same
chronologically distracting music.

Although it fit the time the movie
was made and it reminded me of the Cheech &
Chong movies from that time, it didn't
fit the time period the movie took
place... "why would HST be listening
to music like that in 1968???"
I honestly wasn't aware that this was new
music, and so I originally got the feel that this
was a just "low-budget" college flick,
with some really well-done scenes.
"Why does it say Neil Young did the music?
There's only a few parts he did... most of the
rest of the music sucks!" I thought back then.
Although the rest of the movie got better and
better the more I watch it, and I was
able to get past the music, it still
brings the rest of the film down
considerably. Hopefully, one of these
days I'll get a chance to view the original
production of this great film...

If you like the outlandish antics of Hunter S. Thompson and the comedic acting of Bill Murray, this movie will become one of you favorites. Although not as visualy stunning as Fear and Loathing, this film relys on the talent of its actors, and it does not disappoint. Also the character development in this movie is stellar, you really get some insight into these charactors. That coupled with a crazy story that seems to go nowhere until the end when you realize the movie has come full circle, makes this flick a classic. Period.

in the case of writing a review,
well, in my case,
if you can call this a case
uhh, an accurate assessment herein lies
with your tolerance of absurdity

this BUFFALO has no idea of a structured plot
it roams through the desolate wasteland of
wacked-out gonzo journalist Hunter S.Thompson
who grazes on booze, drugs, guns...
offering a reverse coma trancelike report on life
or some kind of imitation

have some fun
before the fear and loathing
=w@rning=
it might make some feel like
the only sober guy at the party

The movie, of course, is quite funny... in it's original form. I've seen it many times, and own it on VHS. Imagine, if you can, the bizarre and jarring effect of replacing all of the great sixties music (Highway 61, Purple Haze, etc.) with awful sounding 80's era fake rock. The description says it has all of this great music, but, obviously, Artisan was too ... to buy the rights to the music. Better off looking for an original VHS copy.
Very funny, though, and infinately more light-hearted than Terry Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"... a movie that somehow did the unimaginable - made riding around in cars with a head full of acid seem like something you wouldn't want to do!