Buckaroo Banzai was first released for home media on LaserDisc, VHS and Betamax in 1985 by Vestron Video, in 1990 by Video Treasures, and in 2001 by MGM Home Entertainment. The film was released on DVD on January 4, 2002, by MGM. Entertainment Weekly gave the DVD release a "B+" rating and wrote, "Fans will drool over the extras, including some illuminating deleted scenes (of particular note is an alternate opening detailing Buckaroo's tragic childhood, featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as Banzai's mother) and director Richter's commentary, which reveals some colorful behind-the-scenes battles with studio execs." IGN gave the DVD their highest rating and was "thrilled by the special edition treatment that this landmark cult film has received at the hands of MGM. The video is great, the sound is great, there are tons of extras". For the Blu-ray format, the film was featured as part of Shout! Factory 's Shout! Select Blu-ray line in August 2016; the Shout! Factory release contains a two-hour retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Weller, Lithgow, Brown, Serna, Smith, Vera, Lloyd and director W.D. Richter, among others. A Blu-ray was also released in the United Kingdom by Arrow Video.