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Robocop Trilogy [1987]

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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Paul Verhoeven was almost unknown in Hollywood prior to the release of RoboCop in 1987. But after this ultra-violent yet strangely subversive and satirical sci-fi picture became a huge hit his reputation for extravagant and excessive, yet superbly well-crafted filmmaking was assured. Controversial as ever, Verhoeven saw the blue-collar cop (Peter Weller) who is transformed into an invincible cyborg as "an American Jesus with a gun", and so the film dabbles with death and resurrection imagery as well as mercilessly satirising Reagan-era America. No targets escape Verhoeven's unflinching camera eye, from yuppie excess and corporate backstabbing to rampant consumerism and vacuous media personalities. As with his later sci-fi satire Starship Troopers the extremely bloody violence resolutely remains on the same level as a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

The inevitable sequel, competently directed by Irvin Kershner, thankfully continues to mine the dark vein of anti-consumerist satire while being reflexively aware that it is itself a shining example of that which it is lampooning. Sadly the third instalment in the series, now without Peter Weller in the title role, is exactly the kind of dumbed-down production-line flick that the corporate suits of OCP might have dreamed up at a marketing meeting. Its only virtue is a decent music score from regular Verhoeven collaborator Basil Poledouris, whose splendid march theme returned from the original score.

On the DVD: Packaged in a fold-out slipcase these three discs make a very collectable set. All are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic prints, although only the first movie has any extra material worth mentioning. Here the Director's Cut option allows the viewer to see Paul Verhoeven's more explicitly violent versions of Murphy's "assassination", ED-209's bloody malfunction and the shootout finale. These extended sequences are handily signposted in the scene selection menu, and the filming of them can be seen in a sequence of Director's Cut footage. Deleted scenes include "Topless Pizza" ("I'll buy that for a dollar!") and there are two contemporary "making of" featurettes plus a good, new half-hour retrospective. Both the latter and the director's commentary make abundantly clear the Reagan-era satire and are chock full of quotable lines from Verhoeven--"I wanted to show Satan killing Jesus"--and his producer--"Fascism for liberals". Stop-motion animator Phil Tippett gives a commentary on the storyboard-to-film comparisons, and there are the usual trailers and photos. Showing just how much the sequels are rated in comparison, the second and third discs have nothing but theatrical trailers and their sound is just Dolby 2.0 whereas the original movie has been remastered into Dolby 5.1.--Mark Walker

Kein deutscher Ton auf Disc/Teil 1!
Review date: 2008-01-31 Rating: 8 out of 10

Deutsche Kunden sollten wissen, dass nur Teil 2+3 deutschen Ton haben, Teil 1 gibt es nur in der englischen Originalfassung. Dennoch ist es ein Genuss, den ersten Teil nach vielen Jahren wieder einmal ungeschnitten zu sehen.
Aus der Disc-Discription (wenn schon Denglisch, dann bitte richtig!) /Produktbeschreibung ist nicht ersichtlich, dass Teil 1 keinen deutschen Ton hat.

Reviews

Outstanding Films(Poor DVD Quality, though)
Review date: 2007-07-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Robocop Trilogy was simply amazing(well, except for Robocop 3, which was just a production-line movie created by board-members with no knowledge of the movies).

Robocop 2 is brilliant, though critics often mistakenly view it in a negative light. In many ways, it's plot is set out better than in the first movie, and the violence and humour is even greater than in the first movie, and closer in style to the Cyberpunk genre that Robocop franchise is imitative of.

"DEAD OR ALIVE, YOU'RE COMING WITH ME..."
Review date: 2007-06-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

This trilogy was the first ever DVD set I brought - i've really expanded my collection since, and I have to say, that I have never grown tired of it.

Robocop, the original directed by blood and guts, nudity loving Paul Verhoven is an absolute masterpiece. For me, once you have seen the Director's Cut version of this film, you'll never go back to the theatrical release. Robocop, for anyone that is unfamiliar with the story is about Alex Murphy. A cop transferred from his peaceful precinct to the distinct hell hole of the one he's in now. (I am writing this quite some time after watching the film, so which Metro district it is escapes me)

He is partnered with a short haired Nancy Allen, who plays Lois, a bubble gum blowing, no nonsense cop who can more than defend herself. It is interesting to view that Lois is almost stripped of her sexuality - the short hair and body armer disguising female curves. If you listen to the excellent audio commentary from Paul Verrhoven, this was because the director didn't want Robocop to have any kind of sexual attraction to Lois, hence the unflattering body armour and very short hairstyle. I have to say, it works very well, and I do prefer it, rather than the idea you have a helmet removed and the cliche of long flowing blonde hair cascading down as she does so. Paul Verhoven thought the same.

Anyway, back to the film. The supporting cast is excellent, and the action is non stop. With the uncut version, the violence is definitely upped, especially within the first half hour - Murphy's "death" and ED209's unfortunate debut involving Mr Kenny are unflinchingly visceral. Little else changes, except for more violence, but it does complete Paul's wonderful vision of a corrupt business empire which allows a city to slide into the 7th level of hell, simply so they can build their precious Delta City. ED209's debut is dealt with by stop motion wizard Phil Tippit, and the film has dated well.

Needless to say, it's down to Robocop to save the day (and the Company President) from the evil Vice President, Dick Jones. With great acting from everyone involved - especially lunatic Clarrence Bodiker - this is the best of all three, and a Cult Classic which would later have references to it in the 90's with hit comedy, "Spaced."

Now, this review is supposed to be based on all three, so I'd better get a move on...

Robocop 2 is a darker view, directed by Empire Strikes Back Director, Irvin Krishner, it's a much more sombre, darker sequal and suffers from some awful special effects and looks older than its predocessor. It follows the continuing exploits of OCP trying to build Delta City and Cain, a notorious drug dealer, dealing in the incredibly addictive narcotic Nuke. It's nowhere near as good as the first film, but does have its high points.

Robocop 3 is a terrible end to the triology. It suffers from awful acting, a lack of plot, characters you don't care about and isn't really watchable at all.

This boxset is still worth owning though for the first film alone.

Robocop is the best movie ever
Review date: 2005-06-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

I don't have words and amazon doesn't have enough stars. Although Robocop 2 is far from the orginal (but still charming) and Robocop 3 is pure crap (it should - and could just aswell - have starred governator Schwarzenegger) Robocop 1 is:
1. The most emotional and "touching" movie ever made.
2. Presenting supreme dramatic art. The characters...
3. The only movie I know of that mobilizes adaqute sympathies concerning good vs. bad guys, while portraying them all as functions of the same (capitalist) system - WITHOUT turning it all into some kind of "Sin City" or "L.A. Confidential"
4. The best social satire (masquerading as an action movie) ever made, more relevant today than ever before, depicting the omniscient media as a well functioning propaganda machine. Consequentially the media is given the role as - and that's the beuaty of this film - THE narrator, kindly guiding us through the death and violence while promoting the corporate takeover of our cities and our lives that leads to this destruction. It's so elegant that few even see that it is satire... and well it's not: it's just how it is.

Definitive set of a scifi classic
Review date: 2005-01-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

Lets make it clear - none of these films are that great as films. The success of the original has far more to do with the cool design for Robo and the ED-209, which sadly is hardly used in any of the films, than it does for the actual story or direction here.

That said, to put all 3 together in this set with a couple of nice special features- the documentary and the directors cut and deleted scenes - makes this the definitive set and a rgeat collection piece.

Robocop 1 - unfortunately it seems they gave up on the directors cut after the first half hour, and after a much better start, it drops back to the same plodding pace of nothing much going on with some key lines and scenes providing spikes in the interest. The chronology of the different threads - Robocop, OCP and the gangsters, is all out of sync though. The much vaunted showing up capitalist 80s USA is done better in other series than this, and the Director only finally hit the nail on the head when he took the mick out of the likes of George W in Starship Troopers.

Robocop 2 - Much better as an action/scifi/sfx film, even if its not quite as clever as the first one

Robocop 3 - Nowhere near as good as the other two, but still much better than its widely credited for. Certainly its superior to the various TV mini series. The problem here is not the story - the Japanese involvement, Robo turning against OCP - its just the final screenplay and the terrible acting. I still like it though.

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Nancy Allen
Rip Torn
Peter Weller
Robert Burke
Willard E. Pugh

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5050070006797
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 3
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-02-04
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 309 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1987
Language: Czech (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Hebrew (Subtitled)
Language: Hungarian (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: German (Dubbed)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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Robocop Trilogy [1987]

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