Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Where the Buffalo Roam Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 14, 2018

While 1985’s “The Razor’s Edge” is largely credited as the time Bill Murray finally decided to go dramatic, dialing down his habitually goofball ways to try out more introspective work, 1980’s “Where the Buffalo Roam” is perhaps a more accurate starting position for the actor’s career expansion. Building his name on “Saturday Night Live” and finding mainstream success with 1979’s “Meatballs,” Murray tries to go incognito for his portrayal of Hunter S. Thompson, the famed “outlaw journalist” who craved excess, using wild experiences and relationships to fuel his writing career. Endeavoring to become Thompson, Murray loses himself in an interesting way, but the movie doesn’t reward his method intentions, with director Art Linson trying to herd cats with this adaptation of Thompson’s stories. Linson wants to make a comedy. Murray wants to create a tribute. The film craves any scrap of structure it can find.

Situated comfortably in his office in Colorado, Hunter S. Thompson (Bill Murray) is banging away on a typewriter while enjoying the company of his demons, drinking and shooting away the afternoon. His focus is on a relationship with Carl Lazlo (Peter Boyle), his lawyer and occasional friend who keeps reentering his life, bringing with him new opportunities for troublemaking. From 1968 to 1972, Thompson and Lazlo embark on a series of misadventures that deal with legal warfare, Super Bowl VI, gun running with Latin American freedom fighters, and Nixon’s reelection campaign, giving the men a chance to enjoy chemical imbalance and near-insanity while interacting with a world they view as corrupt, in need of dynamic change, which also feeds Thompson’s journalistic endeavors.

Murray’s performance as Thompson is the main attraction in “Where the Buffalo Roam,” but Linson and screenwriter John Kaye are determined to make it a buddy comedy, only without the buddy element. Lazlo is a supporting character in Thompson’s life, arriving intermittently to shake things up, with the lawyer positioning himself as a leader in the counterculture revolution, defending hippies on petty drug charges, and giving himself over to wild ideas on revolution and the creation of a socialist utopia, working tirelessly to challenge the establishment whenever he can. But Lazlo isn’t the primary focus of the theatrical edit, with Thompson’s perspective on madness prized most highly, following the writer through the years as he witnesses and enables chaos. Kaye labors to connect the men, to fashion a tag team of overindulgence and mischief, but Linson pulls the opposite way, inadvertently making Lazlo the biggest drag on the picture’s pace and timing, while Boyle is miscast as the animalistic defender of justice, sharing no particular chemistry with Murray.

Kaye also struggles with the episodic nature of “Where the Buffalo Roam,” which doesn’t deliver any particular plot, just a series of scenes where Thompson tears up the room with his caustic personality, sucking, sniffing, and swallowing his way to underground glory. This is the Raoul Duke version of Thompson, and Murray digs into the role with both hands, trying to locate the rhythm of the author’s clenched-jawed speech and his general boozy sway, giving him a proper challenge of interpretation that teases cartoon extremes. Murray is interesting to watch, and he helps the feature wade through tedious sequences of tomfoolery and destruction, but there really isn’t enough here to support 95 minutes of screen activity. Asides with pranks and observations are tolerable in short bursts, but Linson lingers on the mischief as though he’s capturing the funniest footage in film history, giving the effort a heaviness that doesn’t work well with the speed of Thompson’s mind. If there’s anything moderately effective, it’s Thompson’s war on Nixon, which is explored in the final act of “Where the Buffalo Roam,” tracking the journalist’s attempt to remain on task while joining “The Candidate” on the campaign trail, turning a simple flight into a mess of drink, dares, and a personal encounter with a man he loathes. It’s the best moment in the movie.

Where the Buffalo Roam Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is already dealing with a flat-looking film, and one that's not cinematographically advanced or even adventurous. For a Universal catalog title, "Where the Buffalo Roam" remains presentable, with adequate detail to help examine the grimy, dusted particulars of the Thompson experience. Sweat-laden faces are secured, and period decoration remains available to study. Colors lack some oomph, but costuming has moments with brighter yellows and greens, and graphic art examples retain heft. Skintones are acceptable. Delineation does fine during evening sequences. Source isn't problematic, without major elements of damage.

Where the Buffalo Roam Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers a crispy listening experience, with persistent crackling that chases all dialogue exchanges and musical efforts. Age-related issues are present throughout, weakening the overall force of the track. Dialogue exchanges aren't completely tarnished, as most of Thompson's mumbling and assorted tics are relatively easy to follow, while more madcap fits of anger are acceptable. Soundtrack cuts blend too easily into the background, lacking authority, and instrumentation is adequate, never defined in an exciting manner. Sound effects are blunt, without much definition.

Where the Buffalo Roam Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (41:58, HD) with screenwriter John Kaye gives a brief overview of his time with Thompson, with the pair enjoying drugs and drink before work commenced on "Where the Buffalo Roam," building a friendship along the way. Kaye covers his time on-set, with Universal Pictures unsure about Art Linson's directorial competency -- a concern the writer agrees with, suggesting that the helmer was in over his head on the project. Talk of Bill Murray and his combative behavior is included, unable to provide script changes Kaye refused to make. The conversation turns a little darker with the movie's release, with Kaye detailing the "critical bloodletting" the feature received, which stalled his career and eventually killed his relationship with Thompson after the subject badmouthed the work. While Kaye declines to go into specifics about his time with Thompson, he does share an anecdote about his then-friend, a bag of cocaine, and author Dennis Murphy. The conversation closes with a summation of Thompson's true potential and Kaye's philosophy on failure.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (3:14, SD) is included.

Where the Buffalo Roam Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Where the Buffalo Roam" bombed hard in 1980. Terry Gilliam tried to do Thompson with 1998's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and nobody cared then either. He's a polarizing figure, and one only for a select portion of society tuned into his work and lasting cult presence. His literary accomplishments are set aside here to focus on the hellraising, with makes for more playful cinema, but a little of his antics go a long way. "Where the Buffalo Roam" doesn't work for various reasons, but most of the blame belongs to Linson, who spends a great deal of the run time hanging on for dear life, unsure how long to remain on destructive antics before the entertainment value expires, and his attempts to introduce any sense of emotional resonance evaporates immediately. Perhaps there's no reason for Thompson's misadventures to be committed to film at all, finding their greatest power on the page, where the reader's imagination is triggered by evocative prose. The big screen only offers mimicry, and while Murray is game to try, he can only do so much without a story.