Robocop - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: Part man, part machine, all cop.
Review: Robocop is a movie that many find gratuitously violent. It is a violent film, yes. But the violence is necessary to illustrate how far the future world has spiralled down that path. The mood of the movie is black, depressing and almost hopeless. I say "almost" because the efforts of our hero, Murphy, (AKA Robocop), and his partner, Lewis, do offer us a glimmer of hope.

The plot follows a big business, (OCP), and its attempts to clear the way for the demolition of a large part of Detroit to make way for a new and profitable city center. Unfortunately one of the top executives is involved in a little organized crime, on the side. He is trying to squeeze as much personal gain out of that area of the city as he can. To this end, he has aligned himself with an especially cold blooded criminal, so as to take over the city's drug market.

This particular criminal is also responsible for the murder of officer Murphy who is then volunteered to be the test subject for some new cyborg technology which a small division of OCP is developing. Robocop is born. He is then put back into the regular police force as a better than regular cop.

Naturally Murphy becomes involved in tracking down the crime lord who is also his killer. This then leads him back to the OCP executive and a definite conflict of interest between Murphy's human part and his OCP programming. There are many circular plot devices in the movie as you can see.

This is the sort of movie that on first viewing will cause your jaw to drop to the floor and stay there. For those who strive for meaning in film, it also has some powerful messages about the impunity of criminals in American society as well as the dangers of unregulated big business.

Rating:
Summary: The extra violence doesn't help much!
Review: First off i love Robocop. The original theatrical release is terrific. I bought this movie thinking it would be cool to have the directors cut. I now see why they cut out all the "excessivly violent" scences. They really aren't needed. This movie isn't really a "must have", maybe a must rent if you are a Robocop fan. All in all its still good, just not really worth the extra price.

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Summary: RoBo Rocks
Review: This is a must have in your SiFi Collection,and for it's novel plot and graphics.But I am giving it a 4 for it's poor music and background.But I think you should own not just 1 or 2 or 3 but the whole Collection for your opinion too.

Rating:
Summary: DVD review
Review: A fairly weak Criterion Collection DVD. The storyboard to film comparison, compares a storyboard to the actual scenes shot in the first scene with ED-209. Who cares how it compared? They looked the same to me. Two storyboards of scenes never shot are included. The first is a long action sequence that was to come before the final shoot-out at the factory that I found interesting. The second a sequence of Robocop going to Murphy's grave that was cut in favor of the scene where Robocop goes to the database center. This unshot storyboard is very short, boring and could have been excluded. The illustrated essay is a lot of reading. This is something that should have been a documentary or even an interview. If I wanted to read about the movie, I'd buy a book about it. Finally the commentary is a sound mix of the director, writer, producer and others. It gives interesting views on making, writing and producing the film. The commentary is the only redeeming value of this DVD. The director, for example, gives his view on the symbolism to Christ he was trying to impart. Who knew this wasn't a simple action flick? Overall, for the money, I'd stick with the standard DVD unless this was a movie that is on your all-time favorite list.

Rating:
Summary: Criterion Collection Version Disappointing
Review: RoboCop is clearly among the best science fiction films that "Hollywood" has put out in the last twenty years. You can easily get distracted by the "comic" violence, by the special effects, by the cynicism, by the less than complimentary perspective on "capitalism" and consumerism, whatever. Yet the essence remains that this is a great science fiction film. The DVD Criterion Collection edition of RoboCop is a real disappointment, however, and I do not recommend buying it! This is supposed to be a "director's cut," but it is really inferior to the theoretical version and it is inferior to DVD collector editions overall. The print quality of this "version" is most unsatisfactory. The "non-anamorphic letterbox" is decidedly, unmistakenly inferior. Why was this done? There is no excuse for this. The added footage really diminishes the film. It adds no substance, it adds no special dialogue, it adds no special effects, it provides no additional insight into the characters or story, it adds nothing for a film making artist to learn from. RoboCop is such a great story. I hope Verhoven will work to pull the Criterion Collection edition off the market and help put together a great DVD version, a version that fans will respect, appreciate, and remember.

Rating:
Summary: robocop X
Review: The unrated directors cut of robocop is the reason I bought a dvd player. When it came out on laserdisc years ago i begged my parents to buy me 1 so i could see it they then looked at the price of the player and the robocop ld and flipped out. Later i found a book called the cutting room floor and it eased my pain of not being able to see it.Now i have it on dvd criterion and i couldnt be more thrilled with it. Although it doesnt have that much extra material it does change the feel of the movie. At the beginning when the executive gets blown away and some1 says "will some1 call a g.d. ambulance" is now hilarious and murphy's death has a much more lasting impact. Murphy's death is the most sadistic i have ever seen in a movie and with the added details its almost impossible to watch albeit there r some very noticeable editing spots in it. The commentary is really good pointing out the only time verhoven has ever appeared in one of his movies and how orion felt about the movie in general.This movie is one of the all time sci-fi classics and probably the most adult ever made definately not for the jar jar binks crowd.

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Summary: ROBOCP!
Review: This movie is way cool! But it had too much voilence. It had cool special effects, though. ED-209 is awesome! If you like SCI-FI movies this is just for you.

Rating:
Summary: What a Thrill Ride
Review: Robocop is still Paul Verhoeven's best work to date. This movie is great. The story is clever and sharp. A policeman that is gunned down by criminals, comes back as a high-tech robot and seeks the revenge on the crimals that took his life. High-voltage action, thrills, wicked satire and a nice touch of humor make this movie a true cult hit for SciFi and Action viewers. Avoid the sequels.

Rating:
Summary: Extra violence does not make a movie better
Review: Putting back extra scenes that show more violence does not improve a movie and audiences are now voting with their feet as this directors latest films(Starship Troopers for example)have flopped.
The extra and much bloodier scenes of Peter Weller's character getting his arm and legs blown off just make this film look even more cheesy and second-rate that it already was.
Please note the example of the film The Sixth Sense-less is more.More suspense and story and less sadistic violence.

Rating:
Summary: Dead or Alive You're Coming With Me
Review: Blood, Blood, more Blood! This is a pivotal Sci/Fi cornerstone of the late eighties. The special features are great on this DVD. The picture is so clear it looks like a brand new movie. Sound is very clear for AC-3. This is the best edition to buy if you want to add this to your collection. The additional scenes are scarce but, they do give you Verhoevens vision. Verhoeven has a unique way of satiring the silly things we do as a society. Check out Starship Troopers to get a glimpse of what I mean. A fine aquisition to your DVD collection.