Robocop

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Summary: Australian disc review of the S.E
Review: This dosent appear to be the same version i have! Here in Australia you are currently seeing at a very cheap price millions of copys of ROBOCOP Speichel edition! And its beeing sold Dirt Cheap when i would have payed more for this, knowing now whats its packed with!

IT has 2 versions first off, you can veiw the theatricl release and you can also choose the Directors cut... mainly its just where murphy gets blown away, its a bit longer and bloodier, but youll hardly notice the diffrence!

its presented in 5.1 surround sound
bonus features of
- theatrical, and directers cut
- audio commentry
- The making of documentry
- featurette
- another featurette
- deleted scenes
- trailers and tv commericals
- story board stuff
- photo gallery
- the usual subtiles n stuff

if thats not on the regoin 1 version as on this regoiun 4 version, then i hope they release this S.E there! its packed cocha black full of extra goodies and great things to check out if your a fan!

Rating:
Summary: You Now Have Ten Seconds To Comply...
Review: In a dark, not-so-far-off-nor-far-fetched time, Detroit is a violent wonderland of criminal activity. Murphy (Peter Weller) and Lewis (Nancy Allen) are partners in a police force under siege. While sneaking into the hideout of some particularly bloodthirsty and disgusting badguys, led by the reprehensible Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), Murphy is captured, tortured, shot full of holes, and left for dead. This scene is rather disturbing to watch (much like Verhoeven's brain-sucking scene in "Starship Troopers"). Murphy survives, only to become the latest experiment in crime prevention under the control of a mega-corporation called OCP (Omni Consumer Products). He becomes ROBOCOP. His body destroyed, he now has a mechanical one, and is a walking weapon of mass destruction! He sets out to clean up the streets and uphold justice. Unfortunately, the scientists forgot that he was human, and robocop is haunted by memories of his wife and son. He also remembers those who mutilated him. This sets up one of the best revenge films I've ever seen. ROBOCOP uncovers the sinister secrets of OCP's #2 man (Ronny Cox) and must do battle with the ED-209, an earlier robotic crimefighter design with heavy-duty guns and missiles. This battle is ferocious! ROBOCOP is a gruesome tale. However, it also has lots of humor to offset the grim storyline. Verhoeven's portrayal of the media as a blood-circus and vacuous wasteland is pretty accurate, even though he was doing a parody of it. I highly recommend ROBOCOP to all sci-fi / action / black humor fans out there...

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Summary: Criterion's Robocop--well worth finding
Review: This is definitely one DVD worth getting. I have myself owned it for some years, and it is worth having if only because of the content it carries, which MGM does not include in their version. There's been a lot of grousing about the presentation of this version of the film--the sound isn't 5.1, it's not anamorphic, no really cool features, and all that--but bear in mind that this version was produced during the relative infancy of the DVD format, when the capabilities of the disc had yet to be fully exploited as they are today. For its time, it was a good package, even at its "collector's" price level (which was typical of such a product at that time, at least coming from Criterion). If you can find it, by all means get it--I doubt much of the content will be repeated in future editions from MGM, even in a "Special Edition".

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Summary: Robocop vs Terminator?!
Review: First time I've ever watched this movie, and I only watched it cos I got it as a Christmas present. I was surprised how good it was! OK, it's a bit slow to start with, and I was getting slightly annoyed with the constant TV news clips.

I got the box set of the trilogy, and found there were two versions of the film to watch - the theatrical version and the director's cut. Which isn't something you often see on DVDs. Of course, I chose the director's cut, and regretted it. My dad had seen the original, so he was noticing the bits that weren't in the original. And I couldn't look at the screen, especially when Murphy was getting shot to smithereens. It was so graphic! You can see why it was probably sliced when it went to the cinemas. I didn't really notice what else was maybe sliced out.

Nancy Allen also stars in this. It took me a while to place her, as she a very severe, bad 80s haircut in this, but when I did place her, I couldn't believe it! It's Chris Hargensen from Carrie! The bad girl who pulled the rope on the bucket of blood.

Towards the end, you also see Robocop take off his headgear, which I hated, due to the fact that his face is so stretched! Ugh. Not a pretty sight.

I've always heard this film compared to Terminator. It is slightly. I found myself sympathising and feeling sorry for Robocop, the same way I did with the Terminator (mainly in the second & third movies though). Robocop evokes the same feelings in you that happened during Terminator - if you don't have a heart of stone that is.

The action only really starts towards the end of the movie, and you feel so sorry as you watch Robocop have flashbacks of his previous life etc. But after watching the first one, I'm glad I have the second one to watch when I feel like it - I've been told bad things about the final in the trilogy!

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Summary: The best of the series
Review: When this film was first released it blew everybody away. The follow films were dia, but this is by far the classic of the pack. A must!

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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST COP MOVIES EVER
Review: A COP [PETER WELLER] IS VIOLENTLY MURDERED BY A GANG OF CRIMINALS. SOON, A COMPANY NAMED OCP USES HIS FACE FOR A ROBOT THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A PERFECT COP. BUT, PROBLEMS COME WHEN HE SEEKS VENGEANCE AGAINST THOSE WHO KILLED HIM AS A HUMAN. THIS EXTREMELY VIOLENT ACTION/SCI-FI MOVIE IS ONE OF THE BEST COP MOVIES EVER MADE. THE ACTING IS GOOD, THE ACTION IS GREAT, AND THE PLOT TWISTS ARE CLEVER. ANY ACTION FAN SHOULD LOVE THIS MOVIE. FOLLOWED BY TWO SEQUELS, AN ANIMATED TV SERIES, A LIVE-ACTION TV SERIES, AND FOUR DIRECT-TO-VIDEO MOVIES.

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Summary: Sci-Fi Perfection
Review: Seek it out. Buy it. Not for the squeamish.

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Summary: Great film; need to get the Criterion Collection DVD, though
Review: Eclectic (some would say eccentric) Dutch director Paul Verhoeven broke into the U.S. market in a very big way with his ROBOCOP (1987), which is not so much an action film as a high-energy adrenaline rush. Its futurism is two-fold; it is a work of futuristic sci-fi but, even more significantly, when it was released in 1987, it heralded the future of action films: bigger, badder, faster, ultra-violent and extremely well-written. Boasting a killer script by Michael Miner and Edward Neumeier, ROBOCOP manages to be intelligent, cynical, metaphorical, bleak, allegorical, nihilistic, bloody, stoic, emotional and very funny--often in the same scene.

It is also extremely well-acted. Peter Weller brings a lot of subtlety to his doomed Officer Alex Murphy, while veteran blond actress Nancy Allen (previously known for her varied roles in some of the best '70's and early-'80's films by Brian De Palma, to whom she had been married during that period of time) brings a lot of strength as well as sensitivity to her Officer Anne Lewis. But most memorable are the bad guys: Ronny Cox as Dick Jones, the cold-blooded Senior VP of OCP. Miguel Ferrer as the smarmy young exec Bob Morton, who tries to knock Jones off his perch. Lastly, and undoubtably most memorable, is Kurtwood Smith as the ultra-violent gang leader Clarence Boddicker. Among the most sadistic villains in film history, Clarence Boddicker is two parts creepy and three parts bada$$; a supervillain beyond compare to most others portrayed in movies. Kurtwood Smith, now known to the younger two generations as Red Foreman in the wonderfully funny series "That '70's Show," plays Clarence Boddicker so well--vulgar language & all--that it's absolutely shocking to revisit him in this role after having gotten to know him over the past five years as a TV dad, even one as gruff as his Red Foreman.

I decline to summarize the plot of ROBOCOP, since so many reviewers have already done so. Besides, most of you reading this have most likely already seen it at least once. Let's face it, ROBOCOP ushered in a new era for film; afterwards we got other Verhoeven mega-hits such as TOTAL RECALL and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Other filmmakers inevitably tried to copy him, such as Robert Longo with the mega-bomb JOHNNY MNEMONIC (which should be retitled JOHNNY MORONIC); the fact is, nobody can do futuristic sci-fi like Paul Verhoeven. Of course, let's not forget that Verhoeven himself was probably influenced to some extent by James Cameron, who had set the original cyborg gold standard with his 1984 classic THE TERMINATOR. However, ROBOCOP is unique--its dark humor and cynicism sets it completely apart in style from THE TERMINATOR. (Both are great films, and any comparisons between the two are tantamount to comparing apples with oranges.)

I give this DVD four stars because it only contains the film and original theatrical trailer, plus ads for the remastered DVD versions of three films, including CARRIE. That's it. In order to get the extras the this film demands, I will need to purchase the Critierion Collection DVD, which has extensive commentary by Verhoeven and a few others, plus storyboards, a "making-of" video, etc. But for now, this plain-jane DVD will have to do. Too bad, because ROBOCOP is anything but plain-jane. Even by today's standards, it kicks major you-know-what!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Summary: He's Part Man, Part Machine. But He's All Cop.
Review: After a Detroit police officer (Peter Weller) is sadistically murdered by a group of thugs sometime in the near future, he is resurrected--well, sort of--when his head and brain are used as the CPU of the latest law-enforcement experiment: RoboCop, a high-tech cyborg police officer designed to be impervious to corruption and nearly indestructible. RoboCop is a very effective law-enforcement tool, but when the thugs that killed him try to thwart the cybernetically revived policeman, their efforts backfire as they inadvertently unlock his repressed humanity and thereby make him an even better cop. Thus goes the basic plot of 1987's ROBOCOP.

Though many filmgoers don't seem to "get it," ROBOCOP is more than an action or sci-fi flick; it is actually a dark comedy. Or rather, a darkly humorous satire. Director Paul Verhoeven and writers Michael Miner and Edward Neumeier take pokes at several American institutions and subcultures, not the least of which are law enforcement, corporate politics, goverment, and mass media. In addition, they satirize a popular science-fiction and comic-book vision of the future, one in which society at large decays to near anarchy while science and private business still manage to crank out high-tech toys. It could even be argued that, on a broader level, ROBOCOP is a parody of the popular 1970s TV show THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, with RoboCop as a dime-store reflection of the cyborg Steve Austin and corporate lackeys and degenerate street thugs filling in for the various threats to the American way of life.

The special FX in ROBOCOP are pretty cool, especially for their time, and the acting is just fantastic. Die-hard genre fans will no doubt recognize star Peter Weller from 1984's THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8th DIMENSION, as well as numerous other sci-fi and horror flicks. In his performance as the titular character in ROBOCOP, he does a perfect job running the gamut of human emotions as he goes from man to robot to a cyborg who regains his humanity. The adorable Nancy Allen is very effective as RoboCop's human partner, as she emotes genuine concern when she recognizes the human portion of RoboCop and subsequently helps him to get in touch with his humanity. Genre fans may recognize her from her supporting role in Brian De Palma's CARRIE (1976) and co-starring roles in 1981's BLOW OUT and 1983's STRANGE INVADERS. Other good supporting performances are delivered by veteran actors Ronny Cox (1972's DELIVERANCE and 1990's TOTAL RECALL), Kurtwood Smith (Red Forman on TV's THAT '70s SHOW), Miguel Ferrer (the 1994 TV mini-series THE STAND), and Ray Wise (1982's SWAMP THING and TV's TWIN PEAKS).

As one would expect from a movie depicting a grim future, ROBOCOP is very violent and there are some pretty gruesome scenes. Fans of sci-fi action flicks or slasher films will probably not get put off the gruesome killing of Officer Murphy (who becomes RoboCop), and they may actually enjoy the scene where a thug starts melting after getting dowsed with toxic waste. But the average viewing audience may want to consider the high level of graphic violence when deciding whether or not to view or purchase this film.

The no-frills DVD from MGM offers a nice widescreen transfer of the film but no extras. Still, it's cheap enough that frugal sci-fi fans should grab it up for their collections. The Criterion Collection DVD offers lots of extras--including a feature commentary from the director and other crew members, trailers and TV spots, and more--but its steep price may deter all but die-hard ROBOCOP fans.

Rating:
Summary: Blowing the bad guys away, but with a masseae
Review: "Robocop" is the tale of a murdered cop ressurected into a super cyborg police officer to dispence equal but tough justice in an anarchic Detriot of the future. Instead he goes out for revenge against the men who killed him. Peter Weller played Officer Murphy/Robocop. At the center of this extreamly gory movie are several heavy questions, such as man vs. machine, as Robocop struggles to go against his programing and arrest the crooked exec. Also how far can big buisness excess go? To position police men so they get shot up for the company's research program. Also the oft used plot of revenge for himself. The villian of the piece is Clearence Bonagger, played with sadistic glee by Kurtwood Smith. Bonagger is one of the most ruthless and genuinely evil men in film history, he belongs on my short list of all time bad guys with Freddy Krugger, Scorpio Killer (from "Dirty Harry") and Hannibal Lector. And Peter Weller dose a sympathetic hero as well. Sure he is tough, shoots first and asks questions later, and is nearly indestructable. His face is covered by a mask most of the film, but it's his subtle body movements and some confused and slow speech that really delivers the saddness, regret and sense of huge loss that really comes through. But above all the emotion that dose come through, it is first and for most an action movie. The violence is sadistic, often over the top, and very mean spirited. The murder of Murphy, the accidental death of a junior executive, and the toxic waste death are the bloody highlights of the movie, all though there is no shortage of the wetworks all over the movie. So it's good acting, good action, and a deeper message that will not be lost on it's viewers. You really can't ask for a better movie. But do not get the sequals, they are a disgrace to this masterpiece.