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Robocop [Blu-ray] [1988] [US Import] [1987]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop was like a high-voltage jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie was a huge hit, and has since earned enduring cult status as one of the seminal science fiction films of the 1980s. Followed by two sequels, a TV series, and countless novels and comic books, this original RoboCop is still the best by far, largely due to the audacity and unbridled bloodlust of director Verhoeven. However, the reasons many enjoyed the film are also the reasons some will surely wish to avoid it. Critic Pauline Kael called the movie a dubious example of "gallows pulp," and there's no denying that its view of mankind is bleak, depraved, and graphically violent. In the Detroit of the near future, a policeman (Peter Weller) is brutally gunned down by drug-dealing thugs and left for dead, but he survives (half of him, at least) and is integrated with state-of-the-art technology to become a half-robotic cop of the future, designed to revolutionize law enforcement. As RoboCop holds tight to his last remaining shred of humanity, he relentlessly pursues the criminals who "killed" him. All the while, Verhoeven (from a script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner) injects this high-intensity tale with wickedly pointed humour and satire aimed at the men and media who cover a city out of control. --Jeff Shannon, amazon.com


A great film, much more than just an action movie.
Review date: 2008-10-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

Alex Murphy is a good cop and dedicated husband. So when he is killed by gangsters, everyone is devastated. Then Robocop, the crime-ridden big city's first robotic police, officer arrives and takes on the criminals. It isn't long, however, before Murphy's work partner recognises this crime-fighting machine as the supposedly deceased cop. In time, Robocop begins recalling his former existence.

This film is sometimes unfairly treated as a simple action movie. It certainly has plenty of gore and violence, but at the same time it is a parable concerning the de-humanising of the police and the way the force can take over an officer's life, resulting in him losing his family. It's also a dark social satire concerning consumerism, Reagan-era politics and the ruthlessness of big businesses. Gangster Clarence Bodiker and corporation boss Dick Jones are excellent villains, and Robocop himself is fantastic creation. With its combination of excitement, black comedy and tear-jerking moments, this really stands out from the crowd of acton movies.

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Reviews


The long arm of the law just got a whole lot longer
Review date: 2008-09-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

You don't really hear a lot about Robocop anymore, but this really was one of the biggest films of the 1980s. For a teenager like me, Robocop was the baddest dude in town back in 1987 - and now, twenty plus years later, he's still pretty much the baddest dude in town. The film really hasn't aged much at all, which came as a pleasant surprise to me. Some of the special effects involving the giant Enforcement Droid (ED-209) aren't impressive as they used to be, and that one shot looking down at someone falling to his death looks absolutely awful, but everything else, especially Robocop himself, works like gangbusters. It's still quite a gritty film, with loads of realistic violence (vintage Paul Verhoeven, in other words). In fact, Verhoeven had to edit out some of the film's over-the-top comic violence just to secure an R rating (and the film was absolutely butchered for its foreign release in several countries). Even the political satire and emasculation of an overly exploitative mass media still ring quite true, as we intermittently watch a couple of newscasters smile and laugh their way through one tragic news story after another. And those commercials! The brand new 6000 SUX that gets an impressive 8.2 miles per gallon, all of the stupid "I'd buy that for a dollar!" ads, etc.

In this film's near-future setting, almost everything has been privatized, including hospitals and the entire police department of Detroit (now owned and run by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products). The Old Man (Dan O'Herlihy) has long dreamed of replacing Old Detroit altogether with his own marketed utopia, but he needs to get crime under control before he can make Delta City a reality. Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) claims to have the answer - a gigantic, fully automated, heavily-armed Enforcement Droid known as ED-209. Unfortunately, ED's debut presentation runs into a pretty bloody "glitch." In steps Bob "It's All About Me" Morton (Miguel Ferrer) with his own idea of a part-human, part-cyborg super-cop. When newly-transferred Detroit police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) gets brutally gunned down by the local crime boss and his henchmen, Robocop is born. He's a darn good cop, as many a criminal lowlife in town soon learns, but there's just one problem - he begins to remember his human past, especially his death at the hands of Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his gang. Whether or not what is left of Murphy ever recovers a measure of his humanity, though, one thing is certain - the bad guys are going to go down and go down hard.

You'll find a few of the most memorable scenes of the 1980s in this film - the unveiling of ED-209, Robocop's highly skilled shooting of a purse-snatcher using his victim as cover, and the big throw down between Robocop and ED-209. It's a great story with a great script, one that combines humor alongside lots of impressive violence and deep human themes (revenge, humanity, etc.). The acting is also quite good up and down the line, with Kurtwood Smith (best known today as the dad on That 70's Show) turning in a particularly strong performance as a bad guy's bad guy. This could have been nothing more than a high-tech shoot-em-up, and that alone would have made it a big summer box office hit, but Robocop is a much more complex film than you would normally expect, and that is why it continues to stand the test of time very well. This is just a darn good movie any way you look at it.

Top Notch Special Edition
Review date: 2008-06-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

I haven't seen Robocop properly since watching a dodgy VHS copy at a mate's house in the early 90s, and since I've become a huge Verhoeven fan I thought it time I saw this in high quality.

And what a joy it was - the picture is crisp and vibrant, showing off the contrasts between the low-fi tv clips and the main film. Old Detroit comes alive in widescreen, showing off Verhoeven's incredible eye for a shot. The "uncut" version of the film was a revelation (though the DVD does pause momentarily as it moves to the uncut version of each relevant scene): as the director explains in the fascinating Making Of..., it's the excess of violence in the key scenes that brings the humour of the film to the fore. The cut-down version is actually more morally ambiguous, ironically enough.

The soundtrack is also good - not the most daring surround mix ever, but it definitely helps immerse you in the action, and it's a joy to hear Basil Poledouris' celebrated score in its full glory.

With a bunch of decent extras and a good documentary including some detailed interview with Verhoeven, this is an absolute steal at its current low price tag. I'd buy that for a dollar!

Excellent film, shame it isnt the Steelbook CE as the illustration shows!
Review date: 2008-02-17 Rating: 6 out of 10

Robocop is one of the best scifi films, not much can be said about it's awesomeness, especially this cut w/ DTS!
However - I once again fell victim to the "non-steelbook edition" syndrome that has been haunting these Definitive Edition DVDs recently (see Alien DE) hence the 3* rating - the piccie here definitely shows the steelbook version. I received a standard card slipcase version instead. Can't really complain as I sold it on straight away & got my ££ back but it's still disappointing... If you are after the steelbook / tin versions of DE's then contact the seller FIRST!

An outstanding and unforgetable 1980's futuristic vigilante classic
Review date: 2007-07-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

I don't know why but this film never gets the respect that it truly deserves, Is it snobbery against it or is is just misunderstood, either way I couldn't give a flying circus because as far as I am concerned this is a 1980's action packed five star classic. I do have to say though and I am not embarrased to admit it but I do get a little nostalgic just thinking about this film as (at the time of writing) I really can't believe that this is twenty years old, but enough of that.

I can remember when this was at the cinema and I desperately wanted to see it but I couldn't as I was too young and so I had to wait till it was available to rent on video, if you are too young, you are probably thinking so what but in those days (God that makes me sound older than I am) you had to wait ages until a film was available to rent, unlike now where a film is available to buy let alone rent almost instantly after it's cinema release. Anyway when I finally got to see it on video rental, it definitely lived up to my expectations and more.

If you have never seen this, to put it simply (don't worry I won't go into too much detail of the story) it is set in a futuristic Detroit which is in absolute chaos with crime at an all time high with some of the most repulsive and violent thugs ever to appear in a movie causing mayhem on the streets of Detroit, but they get what they deserve in the end as things are about to change. This movie is about a cop called Murphy (Peter Weller) who's bravery almost costs him his life when he takes on a gang of thugs and is almost left for dead (I remember finding these scenes in particular absolutely brutal and upsetting), he his then saved and rebuilt into a part man, part robot cyborg by the people in charge of the police force and this is where Robocop truly begins.

I admit that this film is incredibly violent at times but it is also incredibly emotional and moving at times, especially the scenes in which Robocop starts to remember his family, it is also funny at times and those sensationalised news reports are brilliantly done. I have always thought that the director of this PAUL VERHOEVEN is underrated, his films have a very over the top but unique style to them especially this, TOTAL RECALL and STARSHIP TROOPERS, these three in particular are my favourites of his.

Just one more thing that I must mention is that fantastic, underappreciated and uplifting music, I say uplifting because everytime this comes on you know that something positive has just happened and that it is another victory for Robocop against the criminals, I really can't help but smile everytime I hear it.

So then, if you like your films action packed and are intelligent enough to see past some of the brutal violence in this or for some reason you have just never seen this or any of the other films I have just mentioned, then you are in for an absolute treat. ENJOY.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Tyrees Allen
Angie Bolling
Mark Carlton
Nancy Allen
Darryl Cox

Creators:
Nancy Allen (Primary Contributor)
Tyrees Allen (Primary Contributor)
Jost Vacano (Cinematographer)
Rob Bottin (Composer)

Recording label: MGM
Manufacturer: MGM
EAN: 0027616091635
Binding: Blu-ray
Number of items: 1
Format: AC-3, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen,
Release date: 2007-10-09
Universal product code (UPC): 027616091635
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Running time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1987
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Cantonese Chinese (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: Korean (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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