Rating: 
Summary: Great bonus material, but...
Review: A couple of words on this DVD edition.Though this is the "director's cut" of the film, I find the theatrical version superior. The excised material is extremely violent, but that's not why they don't work as well -- after all, ultraviolence is a motif in this film. The extra two, three shots of "Mr. Kinney' being shot even after he's sprawled on the table are actually funny (if excessively gory), but the Murphy death scene is actually hurt by the extra material. The original scene was already highly arresting; the extra shots of Murphy screaming, his arm being blown off, and the loving close-up on the hand actually took some of the momentum from the sequence (while upping the sadistic factor). The worst part, though, is that the extra shots of Murphy's shooting pointed out the poor sound editing in the sequence: During the reaction shots on Emil, Clarence and Joe, you don't hear Murphy's moans, making the shots on Murphy and the shots on the crooks seem like they're in two different worlds. And the virtuoso 180-degree dolly on Murphy before Clarence shoots him in the head? That slowed down the pace and didn't offer much that was new. Other than that (thankfully the "restored footage" only applied to two scenes), this DVD edition is great -- with Criterion's usual care for production history, commentary tracks (Verhoeven and Neumeier sound awfully interesting, pointing out the potential "silliness" of the script in its development stages), and extra options, you can't lose. I *did* experience two glitches when I got this DVD, but hopefully those weren't across-the-board defects that occur on every copy.
Rating:
Summary: Non-anamorphic!
Review: I was about to buy this until I clicked on the technical details and found that this robocop dvd was plain old non-anamorphic letterbox. There is absolutely no excuse to waste so much of a dvd's potential resolution. I refuse to buy any non-anamorphic widescreen movies as should you all.
Rating:
Summary: Verhoven Rules!
Review: This is the work that introduced most of America to Paul Verhoven. "Flesh and Blood" may have had some sucess but if you quized the average movie watcher, if they've seen the film, they probably don't associate it with Verhoven. Although not for the kids or the easily squeemish, this is a fun movie. Here, in all it's glory, is the nearly subversive foreigner's view of America. Verhoven's futuristic America is a nation with a tolerance for incredible levels of violence (not at all unlike modern American society.) His American future is ironically set in Detroit, a city that many American's imagine as an urban war-zone already. This future Detroit is also largely a police state that accepts brutal police violence as a part of society. Watching this movie is a glimpse inside the absurdity of American military, gun-laws, drug-culture and popular culture as seen by many Europeans. Not only is the film fine sci-fi adventure but it's also excellent satire. Basically, the plot is simple. A good Detroit cop (Murphy, played by Paul Weller) is killed (in particularly brutal fashion) on the job right about the same time that OCP, a mega-corporation, is taking over management of the Detroit police force. OCP uses what's left of Murphy's body to create a super "Robocop." The iteresting point is that this cops' weaponry and targeting systems aren't even romotely designed for stopping crime, they're all about killing the perpetrators. This would resonate entirely to well as a Fascist concept in Europe but in America, land of Texas executions and future home to Rodney King beatings, this is acceptable. At the same time as OCP is becoming responsible for law-enforcement one of it's chief executives is using his postition within OCP to consolidate his power in local organized crime. Verhoven goes after a lot of targets in American culture here. The cut-throat (or in this case blown-up while partying with prostitutes) corporate culture of OCP takes a few hits. Consumerism takes it's lumps. ("I'd buy that for a dollar.") The occasional news reports interspersed throughout the film are particularly funny. He even touches on the global concern of machinery taking over many of the functions of skilled human workers. None of the satire is very subtile but it's all very effective. Add in some of the most inspired cinematic violence and special effects gore (The guy getting sloshed over the windshield is inspired filmmaking) and this a hugely enjoyable film. But one of the sub-plots is very telling in that while all of the violence is going on around him, Murphy/Robocop is searching to find some link to humanity and his former self. Some other Verhoven films that also take a crack at American values are "Starship Toopers" (Not a film I would necessarily recommend but it's hard not to be amused by "Doogie Howser" running around in his little Nazi uniform) and "Total Recall" (Elected government has been replaced by Corporate state.) Then there's the so amazingly bad it's actually enjoyable "Showgirls." I have a lot of respect for Verhoven in that, for "Showgirls," he is the only director ever to show up for and give an acceptance speech at the "Razzie Awards," held every year a week before the Oscars in order to honor the worst films of the year.
Rating:
Summary: robocop vs ocp
Review: I liked this DVD version because it had the extra parts in it that VHS cut out like when alex murphy gets his arm blown off. it was a good movie the plot was great and smart. this wasn't a movie where they just put something together and leave you feeling sick that you bought it. the effects are good and the acting was great.
Rating:
Summary: RoboCop Gorefest
Review: This is one of those movies which is largely unappreciated; most people watch it because of the cool hero and the awesome (if somewhat campy) special effects, especially the animation for ED-209. But the movie also has a lot to say about the nature of consciousness, and about where the machine ends and the person begins in modern mechanized society. The feature-length commentary adds a lot of context to the movie, and the added footage adds a lot to the movie; in the scene where Murphy is executed by Clarence's gang, his death has a lot more impact, and therefore, we end up feeling even more sympathy for him than we did before. If you liked the theatrical release of RoboCop, the DVD is definitely worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: One more 5 Star Review! Why not?
Review: This DVD is very cool! Although I was dissapointed that the "Rated-X" violence scenes really weren't very long or super-special, this DVD is still an excellent buy. I bet if this movie was released in theatres today, all that "Rated X" footage would be in it - no problem. Compared to the violence in "Saving Private Ryan", this is nothing! The intro playing behind the menu is very cool, as are all the menu choices such as viewing the storyboards or the director's voice over. I thought the voice-over would be lame but it was very entertaining and informative! If you love Robocop - you own this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Very Entertaining.
Review: Robocop is a great movie because it shows how a city can become corrupt when you think about money all the time. OCP owns just about everything even the cops! I am telling you it's that bad. Then they decided to play God by making Robocop who is part man and part machine. I mean I am not saying what they made is stupid. It's certainly a great creation and, Robocop takes put the bad guys and all. He tight, but not to have consent from Officer Murphy family to do this isn't right. Robocop is about fighting the bad guys who did Murphy wrong and taking him away from his family, and also is about what morality play into this.
Rating:
Summary: Robocop-Criterion Collection
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen. Although violent, there is an underlying thread that runs throughout the movie. This movie satires big business, and the excess of the mid-80's. The special effects, and the robots(ED 209 and the RoboCop suit) still are visually appealing in 2000. What makes this addition so great is the running comentary of the writers and director. I have watched this movie many times, but the extras that come with this version made this viewing as enjoyable as the first time!
Rating:
Summary: The best version of the film - get this unrated DVD now
Review: This is the best edition of Robocop. It beats any VHS version and the Verhoven commentary track is both interesting and funny. The Criterion disc is the best version of Robocop available. Stop reading this and buy it now!
Rating: 
Summary: the future of law enforcement
Review: This is a pretty good film and when I first saw it, the scene where Emil gets toxic waste covered on him was pretty scary, as we watched him horribly melt away then get splattered. Robocop is often considered a joke, but this film is quite powerful, in violence especially.
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