Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Bill Murray delivers a noteworthy portrayal of Hunter S. Thompson, but Where the Buffalo Roam strains to get through its rambling narrative.
Where the Buffalo Roam Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Hunter S. Thompson
as Lazlo
as Marty Lewis
as Judge Simpson
as Harris
as Porter
as Rojas
as Desk Clerk
as Super Fan
as Man #1
as Dooley
as Billy Kramer
as Willins
as Ruthie
as Narcotics Agent
as Waitress
as Alice
as Mary
as Secret Service Man #3
as Reporter #2
as Rojas' Man
as Young Reporter
as Questioner
as Stepanian
as Billy Kramer
as Chauffer
as Sportscaster #2
as Hotel Waitress
as Pilot
as Sportscaster #1
as Briggs
as Campaign Plane Stewardess #2
as Lil/Nurse
as Stewardess
as Co-Pilot
as Red Cross Nurse
as Bell Man
as Questioner
as Sheriff's Deputy #1
as Reporter #1
Critic Reviews for Where the Buffalo Roam
All Critics (25) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (21) | DVD (1)
The movie is about manic energy, but you can feel everyone straining just to get the next shot on the screen.
Where the Buffalo Roam is a shambling stiff, destined to tarnish the reputations of everyone responsible for it.
[Where the Buffalo Roam] features a number of amusing set-pieces of irreverent lunacy, but lack of serious substance renders film too frivolous and detached from reality.
Laughs aplenty for people who use drugs as a pose, but most will be left wondering if half a pint of Bass doesn't qualify as a revolutionary action.
Mr. Murray is clever whenever he is audible... But the story rambles desperately, and there are times when the screenplay is barely there. Mr. Thompson's only identifiable quality soon becomes facetiousness, and it wears terribly thin.
This is the kind of bad movie that's almost worth seeing. But there are large things wrong with Where the Buffalo Roam.
Audience Reviews for Where the Buffalo Roam
It's about Hunter Thompson and is with Bill Murray, so it have everything to go right. But a screenplay kill a probably good movie that become silly and flat picture.
Super Reviewer
Ridiculous but still entertaining.
Super Reviewer
This was the Hunter S. Thompson movie before Terry Gilliam decided to do his version. It's more of a series of episodic vignettes based on several of Thompson's stories instead of being an adaptation of just one. It basically covers Thompson's relationship with Chicano lawyer "Carl Lazlo Esq." during Hunter's attempts to cover Super Bowl VI and the '72 Presidential Campaign, as well as some other crazy shenanigans. The film doesn't quite do justice to Hunter, his relatiosnhip with Lazlo, or the source material, but it is faithful to the spirit of gonzo journalism and Thompson's nuttiness. Plus, the performances are not too bad. Their far less histrionic than the ones in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but the actos still really get into character, and it's funny as hell watching Bill Murray and Peter Boyle do Thompson and Lazlo, respectively. This is a chaotic mess of a film, but it is rather fascinating to watch. It's not really a complete success as a movie, but it is entertaining. It's kind of a bummer that this is so underappreciated and not given all that much time of day. You gotta be in the right mood for something like this, but it is worth a watch, despite the flaws.
Super Reviewer
Where the Buffalo Roam Quotes
| Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: | What is this country doing for the doomed? |
| Carl Lazlo Esq.: | You don't write any postcards when you're on the road to self-discovery. |
| Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: | Boy, it was hard finding people to eat acid with as the age of Nixon wore on. |
| Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: | I think it could be the best thing I've ever done. All I have yo do is write it up. |