Note: I’ve borrowed heavily from the awesome review that @t1g3r5fan did for the recent bluray edition.
In the near future, the city of Detroit is overrun by crime and Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is just one of many cops trying to keep the peace. Unfortunately, on his first day on the job for the city’s West Precinct, he is violently tortured, shot, and left for dead by the ruthless Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his gang when Murphy tries to bring them in following a bank robbery. However, through the use of his body by enterprising OCP executive Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), he is reborn as RoboCop, the city’s latest line of defense against the crime wave. But Murphy’s memories start to gradually return, and this combination of half man and half machine is set on the path against not only Boddicker, but a high ranking member of OCP (Ronny Cox) who may just be responsible for the chaos in Old Detroit.
The Production: 4/5
One area I think a lot of films that try to be “In the Robocop vein” miss out on is the grounding that the writers put in to his human counterpart, Murphy. That underlying humanity grows every minute Robocop is on screen. He becomes more human as he kicks more ass. He’s both a family man and has sexual tension with his partner Anne (Nancy Lewis, who doesn’t always get the credit she deserves).
The other elements that stick out are the corporate greed that resonates throughout, and the ties between the corporations and the street rats that make a perfect vicious circle. An arms race that both sides amp up together to milk society and undermine justice. It’s almost too close to real life for my taste =)
Add on top of that Verhoeven’s legendary satire and you get a classic. Robocop spawned sequels, comic books and video games, yet none of them hold a candle to the original, and Verhoeven’s touch had to have been the secret sauce for that. Ultimately it’s a goofy idea with goofy gags throughout, yet the whole thing gels together and works. If that’s not genius movie magic, I don’t know what is.
Video: 3.5/5
3D Rating: NA
From Tiger’s review: “Both the original theatrical cut and the unrated Director’s Cut are presented in the original 1:85:1 aspect ratio for this release, taken from a 4K restoration of movie from the original camera negative, performed in 2013 and approved by director Paul Verhoeven. Both versions have organic film grain that’s sturdy throughout with some fluctuations in some scenes; color palette is also strong too, with fine details rendered faithfully and some instances of crushed blacks apparent in scenes involving dark interiors. There’s very minimal instances of issues like tears, scratches, and dirt present, which means that both versions of the movie have likely been given the best presentation on home video.”
This version is the actual 2013 4K capture presented in full. As an early 4K capture it’s got its share of problems, but overall it looks acceptable. There’s tons of grain and the circa 1987 SD television clips in the film do not hold up well. Surprisingly the practical effects shots like those of ED-209 in action DO hold up well, which is awesome because they are some of the best parts of the film.
Audio: 3.5/5
From Tiger’s review: “There are three options on this release for both versions of the movie: a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track (the original lossless stereo), a 4.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track (the original four channel mix), and a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track (the surround sound; carried over from the previous MGM Blu-ray). Dialogue is both strong and clear, with the sound mix given great clarity and ambiance as well; Basil Poledouris’ propulsive score is also given great fidelity and ambiance. There’s next to no instances of issues like distortion, crackling, or hissing present, which means that this release is likely the best the movie will sound on home video.”
This UHD adds an Atmos option that improves upon the DTS-HD tracks which are all also on the disk. Unfortunately the disk does not default to Atmos so be sure to flip that switch before watching. Dialogue and effects are both improved, tho not as dramatically as you might expect (It’s still late 80s sound after all!). Still it’s probably the best we will ever hear this film.
Special Features: 4/5
All extras are identical to the version Tiger reviewed. He scored it a 5/5, I am calling it a 4/5 because there is nothing new in this edition and a few of the pack in physical items are now gone. Here’s what he had to say about each extra and I agree on all fronts:
Disc 1 – Director’s Cut
Commentary by director Paul Verhoeven, producer Jon Davison & screenwriter Ed Neumeier – Originally recorded in 2001, and re-edited in 2014 for the MGM Blu-ray, the trio talk about the movie and some of their personal experiences.
Commentary by Paul M. Sammon – Newly recorded for this release, the film historian and former Orion Pictures executive goes over more of the substantial details of the production and the themes of the movie.
Commentary by Christopher Griffiths, Gary Smart & Eastwood Allen – Newly recorded for this release, the three fans of the movie go over some of the production details with great enthusiasm.
The Future of Law Enforcement: Creating RoboCop (16:51) – In this new interview, co-writer Michael Miner talks about some of the influences on the film’s script as well as a bit of his own career.
RoboTalk (32:08) – In this round table discussion, co-writer Ed Neumeier, David Birke & Nicholas McCarthy talk about the movie as well as some of the stories involved with the production.
Truth of Character (18:26) – In this newly filmed interview, Nancy Allen talks about her performance and her involvement in the movie.
Casting Old Detroit (8:20) – This newly filmed interview shows casting director Julie Seltzer talking how she manage to help get the cast in place for the movie.
Connecting the Shots (11:06) – Mark Goldblatt talks about the work he did for this movie as well as Paul Verhoeven’s later efforts in this newly filmed interview.
Analog (13:10) – In this newly filmed featurette, Peter Kuran & Kevin Kutchaver talk about their work in creating the visual effects for the movie.
More Man Than Machine: Composing RoboCop (12:04) – This newly filmed featurette goes over Basil Poledouris’ impressive score and the themes and motifs within it; featuring interviews with Jeff Bond, Lukas Kendall, Daniel Schweiger & Robert Townson.
RoboProps (12:50) – Collector Julien Dumont show offs some of the memorabilia from the movie and its two sequels in this newly filmed featurette.
2012 Q&A with the Filmmakers (42:36) – The 25th anniversary panel at UCLA is presented here, with Paul Verhoeven, Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ed Neumeier, Michael Miner and Phil Tippett fielding questions about their memories of making the movie.
RoboCop: Creating a Legend (21:10) – How the movie and character came to life is the focus of this vintage 2007 featurette; among those interviewed include Peter Weller, Paul Verhoeven, Jon Davison, Ed Neumeier, Michael Miner, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Ray Wise and Paul Sammon.
Villains of Old Detroit (17:00) – In this 2007 featurette, the villains of the movie get their close up; among those interviewed include Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, Ray Wise, Miguel Ferrer, Ed Neumeier, Michael Miner and Paul Verhoeven.
Special Effects: Then & Now (18:21) – This 2007 featurette looks at the practical and visual special effects of the movie; among those interviewed in Paul Verhoeven, Phil Tippett, Rocco Gioffre, Craig Hayes, Paul Sammon, and William Sandell.
Paul Verhoeven Easter Egg (0:39)
The Boardroom (6:02) – The storyboard for the boardroom scene in presented with commentary by Phil Tippett in this legacy featurette from 2001.
Director’s Cut Production Footage (11:34)
Deleted Scenes (2:50) – Four scenes cut from the movie, including the original ending, are presented here.
Theatrical Trailers – The teaser (1:23) and original theatrical trailer (1:38) are presented here.
TV Spots (3) (2:03)
Image Galleries – Three galleries are presented here: Production Stills (108), Behind-the-Scenes (83), and Poster & Video Art (55)
Disc 2 – Theatrical Cut
Commentary by director Paul Verhoeven, producer Jon Davison & screenwriter Ed Neumeier – This is the original unedited commentary track recorded for the 2001 MGM DVD release of the movie.
Isolated Score Tracks – Both Basil Poledouris’ original score and the final mix for the movie are presented on separate DTS-HD Master Audio tracks.
TV Version – The 95 minute version of the movie, edited for national TV broadcast, is presented from a standard definition source.
Split screen comparisons – There are two comparisons between different versions of the movie: one is between the four scenes in the Director’s Cut and the Theatrical Cut (4:02) and a comparison between the Theatrical Cut and the TV version (20:16).
RoboCop: Edited for Television (18:35) – This is a compilation of the scenes edited and redubbed for television, some coming from different broadcast versions.
—
Note that the Limited Edition Tiger reviewed had an 80 page booklet, some postcards and other trinkets in it. This Steelbook has a 42 page booklet inside, and I have not been able to compare that to the LE version.
Overall: 4/5
In his wrap up, Tiger noted:
“A hit with both audiences and critics alike, RoboCop has survived as one of the quintessential movies of the 1980’s, packed with both action and satire and a wicked sense of humor. Arrow has delivered likely the most definitive home video release of the movie, with both theatrical and Director’s Cut versions given high marks in both picture and audio quality as well as an amazing slate of special features as well. One of the best Blu-ray releases of 2019 and very highly recommended.”
I’ll add this: Robocop holds up, mostly, if for nothing else as one of the high points of in camera practical effects. With both Phil Tippet and Rob Bottin providing their genius expertise along side some of the last (and best) non digital matte work, Robocop was the culmination of everything I loved about practical effects. Sure CGI can do everything today, but it took 20 years to get there and there is still something mysterious and awesome about stop motion and in camera work. The music is also great, the characters are fun and interesting, the satirical commercials still make you scratch your head (I’ll STILL buy that for a dollar!), stuff blows up good and the badguys all get their due in the end. What’s not to love?
Sam is both a moderator and reviewer at Home Theater Forum and is the voice behind Home Theater United, the Home Theater Forum Podcast which he started with cofounder Brian Dobbs. Sam has long advocated modest, best “bang for the buck” theater components and is loving every minute of this golden age of home audio-visual magic. Sam is a software engineer, a former volunteer firefighter, a current planning commissioner, leader of a large board gaming group and the personal servant of two tuxedo cats.
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