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RoboCop: 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition


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RoboCop ( ロボコップ )

Orion Pictures, 1987

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment/20th Century FOX Home Entertainment, 2007

Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct)

Created by Edward Neumeier (Starship Troopers) and Michael Miner (Anacondas)

Running Time: 102 minutes (R-Rated version); 103 minutes (Unrated version)

Not Rated (originally rated R). Contains extreme violence and gore, nudity, drug use, mature situations and profanity.

Bob Morton: "What are your Prime Directives?"

RoboCop: "Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law."

Cast

Peter Weller (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai) as Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop

Nancy Allen (Chris in Carrie) as Officer Anne Lewis

Dan O'Herlihy (1919-2005) (Grig in The Last Starfighter) as The Old Man

Ronny Cox (Bogomil in Beverly Hills Cop I-II) as Dick Jones

Kurtwood Smith (Red in That '70s Show, Federation President in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) as Clarence Boddicker

Miguel Ferrer (Dr. Macy in Crossing Jordan) as Bob Morton

Felton Perry as Johnson

Robert DoQui as Sgt. Warren Reed

Ray Wise (Perry White in Superman: Doomsday) as Leon Nash

Paul McCrane (Graem Bauer in 24) as Emil Antonowsky

Jesse D. Goins as Joe Cox

Calvin Jung as Steve Minh

Mario Machado as Anchorman Casey Wong

Leeza Gibbons as Anchorwoman Jesse Perkins

S.D. Nemeth as Bixby Snyder

ED-209: "You have five seconds to comply. Four...three...two...one. I am now authorized to use physical force."

Synopsis

In the near future, Detroit, Michigan, is in financial ruin and has fallen in the hands of violent crime lords. The city has commissioned Omni Consumer Products to fund and operate (and, in effect, privatizing) the police department. Rather than rebuild old Detroit, OCP plans to tear down the metropolis to build their utopia called "Delta City." But before that can happen, OCP has to beef up their police efforts, as cop-killings have gone rampant and the police are considering going on strike.

Clarence Boddicker: "You probably don't think I'm a very nice guy...do ya?"

Murphy: "Buddy, I think you're slime."

Clarence: "You know, I got this problem. Cops don't like me, so I don't like cops."

Officer Alex J. Murphy, who has just transferred to the notoriously hostile Metro West precinct, is violently gunned down by crime boss Clarence Boddicker and his gang. After being pronounced dead in the hospital, Murphy's remains are acquired by OCP employee Bob Morton and his team. In a span of a few months, Murphy is reborn as RoboCop. Part man, part machine, all cop, RoboCop is equipped with a bulletproof body, advanced electronics and a deadly assault handgun. But while RoboCop makes a name for himself in Detroit by stopping criminals in his path, memories of his former life return to torment him, sending him to bring his former killers to justice.

Morton: "We get the best of both worlds. The fastest reflexes modern technology has to offer, on-board computer-assisted memory, and a lifetime of on-the-street law enforcement programming. It is my great pleasure to present to you...RoboCop."

Lowdown

The '80s was a great era for both action and science fiction. That decade brought us classics like Alien, Blade Runner and The Terminator. And it also brought a band of lesser-known actors and filmmakers into stardom with this masterpiece of a film. It also introduced us to a Dutch director who would later on churn out a string of hits and misses in Hollywood.

"Your move, creep!"

While many viewers see it as an ultraviolent action flick, RoboCop is actually a satire on the decadence that defined America in the '80s - particularly the consumerism and then-president Ronald Reagan's economic policies (a.k.a. "Reaganomics"). In the beginning of the film, we're introduced to a mock news program with reports that practically foreshadowed certain events that happened over the past decade. And according to director Paul Verhoeven, RoboCop was his interpretation of a modern-day Jesus Christ.

"Come quietly, or there will be...trouble."

Peter Weller always has been, and always will be, a stiff actor. His performances are simply wooden; which is why he fits perfectly as the title character. Other than that, the producers couldn't find anyone skinny enough to fit into the RoboCop suit, much less tolerate 11 hours of putting it on and wearing it in the burning climate of Dallas, TX (which was used to substitute Detroit during filming). Weller even reported that he lost three pounds a day during filming. Nevertheless, he delivered his most unforgettable performance in his career.

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me."

Other notable performances include Nancy Allen, who plays Murphy's partner Lewis - a tough-as-nails female officer who is the first to discover RoboCop's identity. Ronny Cox and Kurtwood Smith deliver unforgettable performances as Dick Jones and Clarence Boddicker, respectively - both of which being among the most villainous characters on film.

Clarence: "Can you fly, Bobby?"

Perhaps the greatest parts of the film involve the special effects. Visual effects creator Craig Davies was responsible for bringing the menacing ED-209 drone to life through stop-motion. Even after 20 years, ED-209's movements still look great on screen. Why replace him with CG? Make-Up Effects creator Rob Bottin (John Carpenter's The Thing, Fight Club) designed the RoboCop suit - undeniably one of the most iconic cyborgs in film history. The film's weapons - namely RoboCop's Auto-9 (a heavily modified Beretta 93R) and the Cobra Assault Rifle (based on the Barrett M82A1A sniper rifle) - are simply badass.

The music by the late Basil Poledouris (1945-2006) (Conan the Barbarian, Starship Troopers) is another memorable highlight of the film. Despite its use of synthesizers, the orchestral score is still timeless.

If you haven't seen RoboCop, pick up this DVD immediately. Forget the sequels, and don't even ask about the cartoon shows. This is the only one in the entire RoboCop franchise worth watching. (But then again, I haven't seen RoboCop: Prime Directives yet; so I don't know if that series is worth it.)

The Old Man: "Nice shooting, son. What's your name?"

RoboCop: "Murphy."

Rating: A

DVD Extras: A+

To celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, MGM and 20th Century FOX has re-released it in a 2-disc set, packaged in a beautifully printed metal case. The film transfer has never looked better than this. Unlike the old Criterion edition, which was pretty grainy and limited to 2.0 stereo, this new DVD is much sharper and features 5.1 DTS or Dolby Surround. Both R-rated and Unrated Director's Cut versions are on the separate discs, along with these extras:

- "Flesh and Steel: The Making of RoboCop" - A 2001 documentary featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

- The original 1987 featurettes "Shooting RoboCop" and "Making RoboCop."

- "The Boardroom" - Storyboard featurette with commentary by animator Phil Tippett (Star Wars, Evolution)

- Deleted scenes (including the "Topless Pizza" scene you'd buy for a dollar).

- Photo gallery.

- Original trailer.

- "Villains of Old Detroit" - Interviews with Kurtwood Smith (Clarence), Ronny Cox (Dick Jones), Ray Wise (Nash), Miguel Ferrer (Morton), and others.

- "Special Effects: Then and Now" - How matte painting and stop-motion animation defined the film.

- "RoboCop: Creating a Legend" - Peter Weller and the film crew talk about the film icon.

Reference

The Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

"Thank you for your cooperation. Good night."

Bixby Snyder: "I'll buy that for a dollar!"

Edited by areaseven
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nice review. damn i have the criterion collection version but i want to see those extras. maybe they have it for rental.

While some of the documentaries may be new, the unrated cut was released again after the criterian disc in a 3 disc set (with Robocop 2 & 3).

http://www.amazon.com/Robocop-Trilogy-Pete...7314&sr=1-3

Note that, that version only had the unrated cut, of Robocop though, no theatrical version.

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I have this version

http://www.amazon.com/Robocop-Peter-Weller...2786&sr=1-2

will the Picture Quality and Sound be A LOT better in the new version?

I have not yet seen any DVD version after the Criterion edition. And my local video stores no longer carry any version before the 20th Anniversary release. Hell, I got lucky today, as I got the last one at Best Buy.

My guess is that MGM may have tweaked the quality a little bit from the 2004 re-release. I'll see if any of my friends have the Trilogy DVD so I can make a side-by-side comparison.

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i liked the first robocop vs terminator clip. that predator didn't really need to be there though.

Yeah, I know. It's like WTF was he doing there? I mean, most Predators wouldn't just jump in the middle of a fight unless one of them is left standing. It's even more uncharacteristic for a Predator to just throw his self-destruct device and run off, especially if the targets do not pose a major threat to him.

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Funny, I was just thinking about Robocop today and went to watch the opening of the first cartoon on youtube, since I remember watching it as a kid... And being horribly disappointed that Robocop didn't kill anyone like he did in the movie. :p Much like how I was disappointed that Beetlejuice was a hero-ish character with bad sides in that cartoon incarnation.

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Much like how I was disappointed that Beetlejuice was a hero-ish character with bad sides in that cartoon incarnation.

I thought it was odd that Beetlejuice was bumped up to a protagonist role and the goth looking daughter (who I thought had gave up her goth ways at the end of the movie) was hanging out with him. But I thought the humor of the cartoon was quite good (especially the puns).

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Well, I might as well review the sequels and tell you all how much they suck.

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RoboCop 2 ( ロボコップ2 )

Orion Pictures, 1990

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, 2004

Directed by Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Never Say Never Again)

Screenplay by Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Walon Green

Based upon characters created by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner

Running Time: 117 minutes

Rated R for graphic violence, drug use, mature situations and profanity.

"Oh, my. This isn't very nice. Though you may think you're having fun now, you only hurt the one you love. Think of mom and dad. What kind of lesson are you teaching them? And now, a word on nutrition..."

Cast

Peter Weller (Henderson in 24) as Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop

Nancy Allen (Allison in The Philadelphia Experiment) as Officer Anne Lewis

Tom Noonan as Cain/RoboCop 2

Belinda Bauer as Dr. Juliette Faxx

Gabriel Damon as Hob

Galyn Görg as Angie

Dan O'Herlihy (1919-2005) (Grig in The Last Starfighter) as The Old Man

Felton Perry as Donald Johnson

Robert DoQui as Sgt. Warren Reed

Angie Bolling as Ellen Murphy

Mario Machado as Anchorman Casey Wong

Leeza Gibbons as Anchorwoman Jesse Perkins

Officer Anne Lewis: "Hit the gas, Murphy."

RoboCop: "The posted limit is 35. We should set an example, Anne. Your hair looks lovely that way."

Lewis: "It's OCP. They did something to you."

RoboCop: "I'm fine."

Synopsis

A year has passed since RoboCop was first introduced to the streets of Detroit. However, the crime rate has worsened, all thanks to OCP inciting a police strike by cutting police pension plans. Because of this, RoboCop must spend more hours on duty, where he encounters a drug dealer named Cain and a ten-year-old crime boss named Hob. Unfortunately for our hero, he falls into a trap and is disassembled by Cain's gang before being tossed at the cops on strike.

RoboCop: "Isn't the moon wonderful?"

Lewis: "It's still daytime."

RoboCop: "It's the thought that counts."

OCP considers RoboCop "off warranty" due to the massive repair costs, but later on decides to putting him back into one piece under the recommendation of Dr. Juliette Faxx, a psychologist who now heads the RoboCop team. She then adds over 300 new directives that make him completely harmless and dull. Fortunately, RoboCop breaks free of the directives by giving himself an electric shock before squaring off against Cain.

Cain: "You want me?"

RoboCop: "Dead or alive."

Cain: "One of us must die."

RoboCop: "Dead, then."

RoboCop stops Cain, critically injuring him. As Hob takes over the drug cartel, Dr. Faxx takes Cain's brain and transplants it into RoboCop 2, OCP's new law enforcement weapon. After RoboCop 2 kills Hob in a botched attempt to also assassinate the city mayor, RoboCop steps in to confront the new prototype, which has gone out of control and into a killing spree.

"Cain, let's take this outside!"

Dr. Juliette Faxx: "You! Get out of here! You're obsolete!"

The Old Man: "BEHAVE YOURSELVES!!!"

Lowdown

With the success of RoboCop, it was evident that a sequel would follow. But would RoboCop 2 meet all expectations?

"Bad language makes for bad feelings."

Hell no.

Although most of the original cast from the first film are still around, the same cannot be said for the production team. Paul Verhoeven decided not to return to the director's chair, as he was working on Total Recall. Replacing him is Irvin Kershner. Sure, he directed The Empire Strikes Back, but did he care about RoboCop? Definitely not.

"Waste makes haste; for time is fleeting. A rolling stone is worth two in the bush."

RoboCop 2 can also be remembered as the time Hollywood screwed Frank Miller. His original script was exceptionally good, but deemed unfilmable by the producers and eventually rewritten with disastrous results. And unfortunately, Miller was the scapegoat amidst the backlash from critics and fans. It took him over a decade to return to Hollywood and clear his name through the blockbuster hits Sin City and 300. And if you want to see his original interpretation of this film, pick up the 2003 comic book series Frank Miller's RoboCop.

The new characters are just uninteresting. One reason why we love the first film is its array of villains we love to hate. Cain, however, is just some junkie. so what if he performed an operation on someone wide awake? And a ten-year-old gangster is just too random for any type of film.

As bad as Cain is by himself, he's even worse as RoboCop 2. ED-209 from the first film has always been badass simply for its menacing stance. RoboCop 2, on the other hand, is just a walking stick wrapped in tin foil. Whoever came up with that design should be jettisoned into the far reaches of space.

Even more bad news is the disappearance of Basil Poledouris' enigmatic score. Instead, we're treated to Leonard Rosenman's (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) dull and boring soundtrack that sounds nothing like the first film.

Overall, RoboCop 2 is one reason why great movies should never have sequels. Don't waste your time and money on this POS; go rent something else.

Lewis: "That son of a b*tch is getting away with it and we can't even touch him."

RoboCop: "Patience, Lewis. We're only human."

Rating: D

DVD Extras

Bad enough I saw this on VHS. I am not picking up the DVD version anytime soon.

Reference

The Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

"Thank you for not smoking."

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RoboCop 3 ( ロボコップ3 )

Orion Pictures, 1993

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, 2004

Directed by Fred Dekker

Screenplay by Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and Fred Dekker

Based upon characters created by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner

Running Time: 104 minutes

Rated PG-13 for violence, mature situations and strong language.

RoboCop: "I must commandeer your vehicle for police use."

Pimp: "Man, what is your problem, sucka?"

(Pimp turns around and pulls his knife, only to gape at Robocop holding a gun.)

Pimp: "I mean, Officer..."

Cast

Robert Burke (Father Mickey in Rescue Me) as Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop

Remy Ryan as Nikko

Jill Hennessy (Crossing Jordan, Claire in Law & Order) as Dr. Lazarus

John Castle as Paul McDaggett

Bruce Locke as Otomo

Nancy Allen as Officer Anne Lewis

Rip Torn as the CEO

Mako (1933-2006) (Aku in Samurai Jack, the Wizard in Conan the Barbarian) as Kanemitsu

Robert DoQui as Sgt. Warren Reed

Jodi Long as Nikko's mom

John Posey as Nikko's dad

S.D. Nemett as Bixby Snyder

Mario Machado as Anchorman Casey Wong

Leeza Gibbons as Anchorwoman Jesse Perkins

"She said, 'No.' Maybe you have a hearing problem."

Synopsis

After years of attempting to revamp Detroit, OCP is in the verge of bankruptcy. After acquiring a controlling stake in OCP, the Kanemitsu Corporation sends a mercenary army led by Paul McDaggett to flush out the inhabitants of Cadillac Heights in order for the Delta City project to proceed. In addition, Kanemitsu unleashes "Otomo," a highly advanced ninja robot.

After giving up hope of seeing his family ever again, RoboCop embraces an orphaned girl named Nikko and the residents of Cadillac Heights as his extended family. But when the town is threatened by the mercenaries and his partner Lewis is killed in the process, RoboCop must stand forth and protect Cadillac Heights from destruction, even if it means dismantling OCP altogether.

"You may want to call the fire department."

Lowdown

RoboCop 2 was a travesty of justice to the first film. Could it get any worse? Absolutely.

First off, RoboCop 2 was so bad, Peter Weller called it quits. So we have Robert Burke taking over his spot as RoboCop. Not only does he not look the part, he doesn't sound the part at all. Lewis gets killed within the first half of the film. At least she didn't have to go through the monstrosity of the second half. (As it turns out, the producers made an agreement with Nancy Allen to have her character killed. That's how much she hated the film.)

And then we have yet another array of uninteresting villains. A mercenary army gets a big "Meh" from me. And Otomo is just asking to be blasted to bits by ED-209.

"You are under arrest for assaulting an officer...

(Otomo chops off RoboCop's fingers.)

"...and destruction of police property."

Just as he did on RoboCop 2, Frank Miller co-wrote the screenplay of this film. And, much like RoboCop 2, we're not sure about what parts he wrote. Even his worst comic book stories (Spawn/Batman, anyone?) couldn't have been worse than this.

Paul McDaggett: "How may I help you, Officer?"

RoboCop: "By resisting arrest."

Basil Poledouris may have returned to compose the score, but it's not enough to save this sinking ship of a film.

RoboCop 3 was the final stake in the coffin of the film franchise. Unfortunately, it didn't end there, as we were treated to a dull TV series and an even worse cartoon show called RoboCop: Alpha Commando. Just like RoboCop 2, you can forget about this one.

And to think that the chick from Crossing Jordan actually starred in this...

The CEO: "Well, I gotta hand it to you...what do they call you? Murphy is it?"

RoboCop: "My friends call me Murphy. You call me... RoboCop."

Rating: D-

DVD Extras

Bad enough I saw this on VHS. I am not picking up the DVD version anytime soon.

Reference

The Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

ED-209: "I am now authorized to...be loyal as a puppy. "

Edited by areaseven
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RoboCop 2 has its moments. I liked that they followed through a little with Robo literally haunting his wife. Some of the parody commercials and media bits are ok, but not near as good as the ones in the previous movie. Cain's the primary problem in human and robot mode though. There just something "cheap" about the casting and some of the set pieces, and Cain's bits dominate that feeling. Unlike ED-209, the RoboCop 2 design is just too busy, so it's difficult to focus on and appreciate the mecha scenes during initial viewings.

RoboCop 3 has a good idea at summing up the whole OCP storyline. That's the only nice thing I can say about it because it does it in such a longwinded way that it's painful to sit through especially when the title character is not the main character. Everything that was wrong with the previous movie is in full force here: poor casting with the budget being obviously low to non-existent. They even managed to make ED-209 look like the giant piece of plastic he is in real life.

I can still watch RoboCop 2 after RoboCop 1 and be entertained. It's not the classic that 1 is, but I find it watchable. In fact, I kind of caught on to what the ideas were for Robocop 2 that are difficult to understand due to bad storytelling. The thing that always bugged me about the movie was the wreckless motivation they gave for RoboCop 2 who was designed to completely eliminate the nuke drug problem in Old Detroit. This is why the leniency in it being "fueled" by nuke, which the corporate big wigs assumed was an energy convertor, but the developing scientists did because they knew that it was just a junkie's craving. RoboCop 3, OTOH, is pure cheap crap. Maybe a fan editor could remove an hour's worth of film from it and have something watchable.

Anyone have any comments on the Prime Directive series that was on sci-fi quite a whiles back? I remember it looked somewhat decent for a tv production and seemed to go back to RoboCop 1's roots.

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Anyone have any comments on the Prime Directive series that was on sci-fi quite a whiles back? I remember it looked somewhat decent for a tv production and seemed to go back to RoboCop 1's roots.

Prime Directives was decently passable. It takes place as a sequel to the first film and totally ignores the other two. Some ideas were great and well-founded, other plot points... weren't. But the big killer is the actor they got to play Alex Murphy. He did a fine job acting, make no mistake, but he just didn't wear the RoboCop suit well. Peter Weller worked with a mime artist to get the motions and movements to work, and this new guy didn't. He comes across as looking like he's got a rod crammed up in places that sun doesn't shine. That one flaw is big enough to keep me from really enjoying the series, which is a shame since they have so many other good moments and homages to the film that do work.

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This DVD release of one of my all-time favorite films is... tempting. But I spent a fortune on the Criterion version when it first came out. I'll probably just hang on to it, outdated or not, until a Blu-ray release.

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One thing I liked about Robocop 2 was the humor of seeing poor Robocop being turned into a big PC wimp and seeing him deal with deadly serious situations with said PC programming. :p

As for Robocop 3, one footnote to that movie is that it was pretty much all shot and complete in 1991 just a year after Robocop 2 was released, but due to Orion Pictures going down the tubes, the movie languished in a state of limbo for almost 2 years before it was released in the fall of 1993.

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This DVD release of one of my all-time favorite films is... tempting. But I spent a fortune on the Criterion version when it first came out. I'll probably just hang on to it, outdated or not, until a Blu-ray release.

There's a site that shows some comparisons between the Criterion DVD and the new DVD and I thought the Criterion one looked better. But of course the new DVD set has a lot more extras.

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  • 7 months later...
  • 4 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Never did like Robocop all that much. I could never get past the people running away form him, yet he walks slowly and manages to keep up. Yeah it had somecool mmoments, and i always loved the gun in his leg, but i just didn't love it the way that many others seem too.

As a kid, i seem to recall loving the Robocop TV show. I know i had some robocop toys, including Murphy, Lewis and a cop car that was pretty cool.

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  • 3 months later...
One thing I liked about Robocop 2 was the humor of seeing poor Robocop being turned into a big PC wimp and seeing him deal with deadly serious situations with said PC programming. :p

As for Robocop 3, one footnote to that movie is that it was pretty much all shot and complete in 1991 just a year after Robocop 2 was released, but due to Orion Pictures going down the tubes, the movie languished in a state of limbo for almost 2 years before it was released in the fall of 1993.

Yeah, I remember that. And I think that the computer-game versions of the film came out a long time before the film itself. (This is another saga where I only watch the original and ignore the sequels though)

Taksraven

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  • 1 year later...

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