FILM · 1998 · USA
Buffalo '66
- Directed by
- Vincent Gallo
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Studio
- Gray Daisy Films, Muse Productions
84 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
84 Interesting Facts About Buffalo '66
Interesting Facts (11)
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Christina Ricci said of working with Vincent Gallo: "I was seventeen, yeah. It was my first film away from home without my mom. It wasn't a smart choice. A lot of the time I didn't really understand what was happening, working with a crazy madman. I'd never encountered that much craziness… He's one of those people who is sometimes really nice to you and then imagines you've done something terrible and starts yelling at you. It's hard to keep going. So, someone like that." When asked if she saw Gallo's next film The Brown Bunny (2003), she responded, "Oh, I didn't see it, I'm not interested in seeing anything he does again."
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The bus Billy takes from prison is one of the last MCI MC-5 buses ever produced. This particular bus was originally supplied for service in Saudi Arabia, and it has a unique feature in the form of a second roof layer to help keep it cool (in addition to an upgraded air conditioner). These buses returned to the United States and continued in revenue service.
Production Story (30)
- #012
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- #015
Kevin Corrigan originally turned down the role of Goon because he was uncomfortable with it. He later changed his mind and asked for the role back. Gallo had hired another actor to play the role but fired him and re-hired Corrigan. After filming, Corrigan was still uncomfortable with his performance and asked to be uncredited.
- #016
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- #018
Original cinematographer Dick Pope was fired during preproduction for opposing Vincent Gallo's decision to shoot on reversal film. Gallo intended to act as cinematographer himself but the bond company insuring the film would not allow it. Gallo then hired Lance Acord, who was at the time a non-union cinematographer who had never shot a feature.
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Vincent Gallo used the $200,000 he earned from his three days of work on Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) to cover the production costs of six songs featured in Buffalo '66. In this way, the film's music came to life through Gallo's own compositions. The soundtrack became one of the elements that contributed significantly to the film's atmosphere.
- #024
Cinematographer Dick Pope was fired during pre-production because he objected to Vincent Gallo's decision to use reversal film. Gallo wanted to handle the cinematography himself, but the film's insurance company would not allow it. He then hired Lance Acord, who was non-union at the time and had never shot a feature film before; it was director Stephane Sednaoui who recommended Acord. Although Acord is widely credited with the film's distinctive visual style, Gallo claimed he designed most of the cinematography himself and belittled Acord, saying he had 'no ideas, no conceptual thoughts, no aesthetic point of view.' Gallo decided to shoot on reversal film (the motion picture equivalent of color slide film, expensive both to shoot and to process) without even knowing whether it was available in 35 mm or whether any lab could develop it.
- #025
- #026
When Billy tries to drive Layla's car, he realizes it has a manual transmission and gets angry, because he does not know how to drive a stick shift. Ironically, Christina Ricci did not know how to drive a manual either, and Gallo got very angry with her when she kept stalling the car during filming.
- #027
The bus Billy boards after leaving prison is one of the last MCI MC-5 models ever produced. This bus had originally been sent to serve in Saudi Arabia; it has a unique feature in the form of a second roof layer and reinforced air conditioning to keep the vehicle cool. These buses later returned to the United States and continued to be used on scheduled routes.
- #028
In a 2017 interview, Christina Ricci spoke about the difficulties of working with Vincent Gallo. She stated that Gallo kept her mother, who had come along as her chaperone, away from the set and often yelled at her during filming. Asked whether such situations would happen on today's sets, Ricci replied, "Just because he's bad at hiding it doesn't mean everybody else is so great at hiding it. Everyone's creepy, he just does it loudly." She also added that Gallo was not lecherous, just a bit grumpy.
- #029
Christina Ricci described working with Vincent Gallo as "a crazy experience with a crazy man, where I mostly didn't understand what was going on." She said it was her first film made without her mother, at the age of 17, and that this was not a wise choice. She stated that one moment Gallo would treat her very well, and the next he would start yelling at her over an imagined offense. Ricci said she had not watched Gallo's next film, The Brown Bunny, and did not want to see any of his work ever again.
- #030
Christina Ricci and cinematographer Lance Acord had a difficult working relationship with Vincent Gallo. After the film's release, Gallo belittled Ricci as a "puppet" and overweight, and Acord as "the one who pushes the button." Anjelica Huston also did not get along with Gallo, and Gallo claimed that Huston was the reason the film was not accepted into the Cannes Film Festival.
- #031
- #032
Kevin Corrigan initially turned down the role of Goon because he was uncomfortable with it, but later changed his mind and asked for the part back. Gallo had hired another actor, but fired him and brought Corrigan back into the cast. After filming, Corrigan was still unhappy with his performance and asked that his name not appear in the credits.
- #033
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- #037
Vincent Gallo used the $200,000 he earned from his three days of work on Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) to cover the production costs of six songs featured in Buffalo '66. In this way, the film's music came to life through Gallo's own compositions. The soundtrack became one of the elements that contributed significantly to the atmosphere of the production.
- #038
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- #041
In an interview following the 2 August 2004 screening of The Brown Bunny, Vincent Gallo said that Bud Clay's license plate number has no meaning, just as the plates in Buffalo '66 are entirely meaningless. Gallo admitted that in both films he had almost no control over the vehicles' license plates. He also confirmed the insinuations that the plates in Buffalo '66 are a tribute to the Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu; he said he likes Ozu and some of his films, but that he would never pay tribute to any director or film in his own films. Gallo further stressed that he dislikes such cheap tricks, particularly in the works of directors like Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson.
Behind the Scenes (16)
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- #043
When Billy (Vincent Gallo) tries to drive Layla's (Christina Ricci) car, he discovers that it is a stick shift (manual transmission) and gets annoyed because he doesn't know how to drive a stick shift. Ironically, Ricci didn't know how to drive a stick shift and kept stalling the car during takes and Gallo got very annoyed with her.
- #044
- #045
- #046
The bus Billy takes from the prison is one of the last MCI MC-5 buses made. This specific bus was originally supplied for service in Saudi Arabia. It has a unique feature of a second roof skin to help with keeping the bus cool (in addition to uprated air conditioning). These buses returned to the US and continued in revenue service.
- #047
- #048
Original cinematographer Dick Pope was fired during pre-production because he objected to Vincent Gallo's decision to shoot on reversal film. Gallo considered serving as his own cinematographer, but the bond company insuring the film would not allow it. Gallo then hired Lance Acord, who was a non-union cinematographer at the time and had never shot a feature film before.
- #049
During a 2017 interview, when a reporter asked Christina Ricci whether working with Vincent Gallo on this film was difficult, she said her mother, who was to chaperone her, insisted on staying away during the shoot and then regularly yelled at her during filming. When the reporter asked whether such a situation (a very young woman working alone with someone creepily creepy) would be allowed on sets these days, Ricci replied: "Just because he's bad at hiding it doesn't mean other people are really good at hiding it. Everyone is creepy. He just talks about it very loudly. And he's not even that creepy. He's just kind of a dirtbag, but not lecherous."
- #050
When Billy (Vincent Gallo) tries to drive Layla's (Christina Ricci) car, he discovers it is a manual transmission and gets angry because he does not know how to use a stick shift. Ironically, Ricci did not know how to drive a stick shift and kept stalling the car during filming, which made Gallo very angry at her.
- #051
- #052
- #053
- #054
Cinematographer Dick Pope was fired during pre-production because he objected to Vincent Gallo's decision to use reversal film. Although Gallo wanted to handle the cinematography himself, the film's insurance company would not allow it. He then hired Lance Acord, who was non-union at the time and had never shot a feature film before; it was director Stephane Sednaoui who recommended Acord. Although Acord is widely credited with the film's distinctive visual style, Gallo claimed he designed most of the cinematography himself and belittled Acord, saying he had 'no ideas, no conceptual thoughts, no aesthetic point of view.' Gallo decided to shoot on reversal film (the motion picture equivalent of color slide film, expensive both to shoot and to process) without even knowing whether it was available in 35 mm or whether any lab could develop it.
- #055
- #056
When Billy tries to drive Layla's car, he realizes it has a manual transmission and gets angry because he does not know how to drive a manual. Ironically, Christina Ricci did not know how to drive a manual either, and when she kept stalling the car during filming, Gallo became very angry with her.
- #057
The bus Billy boards after leaving prison is one of the last MCI MC-5 models ever produced. This bus had originally been sent to serve in Saudi Arabia; it has a unique feature in the form of a second roof layer and a reinforced air conditioning system to keep the vehicle cool. These buses later returned to the United States and continued to be used on scheduled routes.
Characters & Cast (12)
- #058
Christina Ricci said of working with Vincent Gallo, "I was seventeen, yeah. It was my first movie away without my mother. Not a wise choice. I really didn't understand what was going on most of the time working with a crazy lunatic man. I'd never encountered such insanity... He's one of those people who sometimes he's so nice to you and then the next he imagines that you've done something horrible and he'll start screaming at you. It's difficult to get on well with someone like that." When asked if she saw Gallo's next film The Brown Bunny (2003), she responded, "Oh, I didn't see it. I have no interest in seeing anything he ever does again."
- #059
During an interview in 2017, when a reporter asked Christina Ricci if Vincent Gallo was difficult to work with on this film, she said that he insisted her mother, who would chaperone her, stay away during filming, and then he would regularly scream at her during the shoot. When the reporter asked her if she thought a situation like that (a very young woman working largely alone with someone who is notoriously creepy) would be allowed on sets these days, Ricci replied, "Just because he's bad at hiding it doesn't mean other people aren't really good at hiding it. Everybody's creepy. He just happens to be really loud about it. And he's not even that creepy. He's just kind of a jerk, but he's not lascivious."
- #060
Christina Ricci and Lance Acord both had difficult working relationships with Vincent Gallo resulting in Gallo publicly disparaging them after the film's release, calling Ricci a "puppet" and overweight and Acord a "button pusher". Anjelica Huston also did not get along with him, and Gallo claimed Huston caused the film to be turned down by the Cannes Film Festival.
- #061
- #062
Kevin Corrigan initially turned down the role of Goon because it made him uncomfortable. He later changed his mind and asked for the role back. Gallo had hired another actor to play the part but fired him and rehired Corrigan. After filming, Corrigan was still uncomfortable with his performance and asked not to be credited.
- #063
In a 2017 interview, Christina Ricci described the difficulties of working with Vincent Gallo. She stated that Gallo kept her mother, who had come as her chaperone, away from the set and often yelled at her during filming. When asked whether such situations would happen on today's sets, Ricci replied, "It's not that other people hide it so well because he's bad at hiding it. Everyone is creepy, he just does it out loud." She also added that Gallo was not lecherous, just a bit grumpy.
- #064
Christina Ricci described working with Vincent Gallo as "a crazy experience with a crazy man, most of which I didn't understand." She said it was her first film shot without her mother, at age 17, and that this was not a wise choice. She stated that one moment Gallo would be very nice, and the next he would start yelling over an imaginary transgression. Ricci said she had not seen Gallo's subsequent film The Brown Bunny and did not want to see any of his work again.
- #065
Christina Ricci and cinematographer Lance Acord had a difficult working relationship with Vincent Gallo. After the film's release, Gallo belittled Ricci as a "puppet" and overweight, and Acord as "the one pressing the button." Anjelica Huston also did not get along with Gallo, and Gallo claimed that Huston caused the film not to be accepted into the Cannes Film Festival.
- #066
- #067
Kevin Corrigan initially turned down the role of Goon because he was uncomfortable with it, but later changed his mind and asked for the role back. Gallo had hired another actor but fired him and brought Corrigan back into the cast. After filming, Corrigan was still unhappy with his performance and requested that his name not appear in the credits.
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Easter Eggs & References (6)
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At an August 2, 2004, The Brown Bunny (2003) post-screening Q&A, Vincent Gallo was asked what the significance of Bud Clay's license plates number might be? Gallo said there was nothing to them, moreover, they're just as significant as those in Buffalo '66; rather, absolutely meaningless, acknowledging he had little or no control over the vehicle tags in either films. Gallo went on to acknowledge the implied lore of the tags in Buffalo '66 homage Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu, and that he does in fact appreciate the director, as well as some of his films, but he would never pay homage to him, any filmmaker, or movie in one of his own feature films. Furthermore Gallo outlined his distaste for such trivial gimmicks, especially in other filmmaker's works, citing Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson as examples.
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- #075
At a post-screening Q&A for The Brown Bunny (2003) on August 2, 2004, Vincent Gallo was asked what Bud Clay's license plate number meant. Gallo said they meant nothing, and certainly no more than the ones in Buffalo '66; rather, they were absolutely meaningless, acknowledging that he had little or no control over the vehicle tags in either film. Gallo acknowledged the implied knowledge that the tags in Buffalo '66 were a tribute to Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu and that he did in fact appreciate the director and some of his films, but said he would never pay tribute to him, to any filmmaker, or to film in one of his own features. Gallo also underlined his displeasure with such trivial tricks, particularly in the work of other filmmakers, citing Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson as examples.
Deeper Meaning (7)
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- #080
In an interview following the 2 August 2004 screening of The Brown Bunny, Vincent Gallo said that Bud Clay's license plate number has no meaning, just as the plates in Buffalo '66 are completely meaningless. Gallo admitted that in both films he had almost no control over the vehicle license plates. He also confirmed the insinuations that the plates in Buffalo '66 are a tribute to Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu; he stated that he likes Ozu and some of his films, but that he would never pay tribute to any director or film in his own films. Gallo also stressed that he particularly dislikes such cheap tricks in the works of directors like Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson.
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Career & Awards (1)
Life & Family (1)
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