RoboCop

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domino harvey
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RoboCop

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri Aug 30, 2019 10:48 am

Image

PART MAN, PART MACHINE, ALL COP.

RoboCop, from Orion Pictures, marked director Paul Verhoeven’s (Flesh + Blood) Hollywood debut and instantly became an enduring sci-fi/action classic when it landed in theaters in the summer of 1987. Verhoeven’s peerlessly exciting and kinetic visuals were matched by a sharp script, iconic cast and exceptional special effects by Rob Bottin (The Thing) and Phil Tippett (The Empire Strikes Back).

The film takes place in Detroit in the not-too-distant future. Heroic cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai) is gunned down in the line of duty, only to be resurrected as RoboCop – a cybernetic mix of spare human parts and Motor City steel, and the latest defense against crime designed by the all-powerful OCP Corporation. As RoboCop’s memories of his former life as Murphy resurface, only his ex-partner (Nancy Allen, Dressed To Kill) stands beside him to fight against the vicious thugs responsible for his death, as well as a nefarious top-level OCP executive orchestrating the chaos from above.

Unsurpassably thrilling, unexpectedly moving and unforgettably hilarious in equal measure, the future of law enforcement is back in a definitive Blu-ray™ presentation packed with hours of brand new bonus features and exclusive collectable packaging.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
  • 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative by MGM, transferred in 2013 and approved by director Paul Verhoeven
  • Newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
  • Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film on two High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ discs
  • Original lossless stereo and four-channel mixes plus DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround sound option on both cuts
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both cuts
  • Six collector’s postcards (Limited Edition exclusive)
  • Double-sided, fold-out poster (Limited Edition exclusive)
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
  • Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Omar Ahmed, Christopher Griffiths and Henry Blyth, a 1987 Fangoria interview with Rob Bottin, and archive publicity materials (some contents exclusive to Limited Edition)
DISC ONE – DIRECTOR’S CUT
  • Archive commentary by director Paul Verhoeven, executive producer Jon Davison and co-writer Ed Neumeier (originally recorded for the Theatrical Cut and re-edited in 2014 for the Director’s Cut)
  • New commentary by film historian Paul M. Sammon
  • New commentary by fans Christopher Griffiths, Gary Smart and Eastwood Allen
  • The Future of Law Enforcement: Creating RoboCop, a newly filmed interview with co-writer Michael Miner
  • RoboTalk, a newly filmed conversation between co-writer Ed Neumeier and filmmakers David Birke (writer of Elle) and Nick McCarthy (director of Orion Pictures’ The Prodigy)
  • Truth of Character, a newly filmed interview with star Nancy Allen on her role as Lewis
  • Casting Old Detroit, a newly filmed interview with casting director Julie Selzer on how the film’s ensemble cast was assembled
  • Connecting the Shots, a newly filmed interview with second unit director and frequent Verhoeven collaborator Mark Goldblatt
  • Composing RoboCop, a new tribute to composer Basil Poledouris featuring film music experts Jeff Bond, Lukas Kendall, Daniel Schweiger and Robert Townson
  • RoboProps, a newly filmed tour of super-fan Julien Dumont’s collection of original props and memorabilia
  • 2012 Q&A with the Filmmakers, a panel discussion featuring Verhoeven, Davison, Neumeier, Miner, Allen, star Peter Weller and animator Phil Tippett
  • RoboCop: Creating a Legend, Villains of Old Detroit and Special Effects: Then & Now, three archive featurettes from 2007 featuring interviews with cast and crew
  • Paul Verhoeven Easter Egg
  • Four deleted scenes
  • The Boardroom: Storyboard with Commentary by Phil Tippett
  • Director’s Cut Production Footage, raw dailies from the filming of the unrated gore scenes
  • Two theatrical trailers and three TV spots
  • Extensive image galleries
DISC TWO – THEATRICAL CUT
  • Archive commentary by director Paul Verhoeven, executive producer Jon Davison and co-writer Ed Neumeier (originally recorded for Theatrical version of the film)
  • Two Isolated Score tracks (Composer’s Original Mix and Final Theatrical Mix) in lossless stereo
  • Edited-for-television version of the film, featuring alternate dubs, takes and edits of several scenes (95 mins, SD only)
  • Split screen comparison of Theatrical and Director’s Cuts
  • Robocop: Edited For Television, a compilation of alternate scenes from two edited-for-television versions, newly transferred in HD from recently-unearthed 35mm elements

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Banasa
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Re: Robocop

#2 Post by Banasa » Fri Aug 30, 2019 12:03 pm

Great to have the original cut in the original theatrical version. As its the same blu-ray transfer as the last its pretty superb.

Perhaps the only loss is not getting a potential aspect ratio change that was on the Criterion DVD decades back, but what can you do.

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colinr0380
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Re: Robocop

#3 Post by colinr0380 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 1:11 pm

Never heard of this one, is it any good?

EDIT: Ah, I found that Half In The Bag discussion of the film (NSFW). Looks fun, though a little over the top.

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tenia
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Re: Robocop

#4 Post by tenia » Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:35 am

Small remark : Chris, you wrote in your review that "Not only does Arrow port over all of the features from the previous MGM editions". Actually, it's missing 3 short archives featurettes that can be found on the remastered 2014 MGM disc : 1987 Featurette: Shooting RoboCop and 1987 Featurette: Making RoboCop. It's also missing the 37 min Flesh and Steel: The Making of RoboCop.

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dwk
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Re: Robocop

#5 Post by dwk » Thu Nov 28, 2019 12:28 pm

Also, the 2012 Q&A was on the MGM release.

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Re: Robocop

#6 Post by cdnchris » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:31 pm

I somehow missed that. Thanks for correcting!

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CSM126
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Re: Robocop

#7 Post by CSM126 » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:55 pm

On a very minor note, Chris, you used the synopsis of Flowers in the Attic, which had me really confused for a minute when I read the review. :lol:

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Re: Robocop

#8 Post by cdnchris » Mon Dec 02, 2019 1:02 am

Yeah, I haven't been firing on all cylinders the last couple of weeks so my bad there on both counts. I have corrected the issues, though.

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tenia
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Re: Robocop

#9 Post by tenia » Mon Dec 02, 2019 5:42 am

tenia wrote:
Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:35 am
1987 Featurette: Shooting RoboCop
Having now received my release : the omission of this featurette is all the more surprising than a writing in the Arrow LE booklet mentions it !

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JamesF
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Re: Robocop

#10 Post by JamesF » Wed Dec 04, 2019 8:06 am

Not for lack of trying, I assure you. All due to boring external stuff beyond our control that I can't get into on a public forum; needless to say, if we could have carried those three missing featurettes over, we would have. Hopefully all the new stuff is enough to compensate!

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tenia
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Re: Robocop

#11 Post by tenia » Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:56 am

It does ! It's just surprising that amongst all that is ported away, a couple of things managed to got away.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Robocop

#12 Post by DarkImbecile » Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:37 pm


flyonthewall2983
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Re: RoboCop

#13 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Sat Dec 18, 2021 7:30 pm

Hated this movie as a kid, grew lukewarm on it in my 20’s, am now considering buying this in 4K just because how good it’ll look. Circle of life.

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hearthesilence
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Re: RoboCop

#14 Post by hearthesilence » Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:29 pm

I saw this as a kid too and Jesus was Robocop's "origin" traumatizing.

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Finch
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Re: RoboCop

#15 Post by Finch » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:52 pm

For me, it's still Paul Verhoeven's best film. The cast is just perfect (Ray Wise's face lit up when I asked him about Robocop at the Twin Peaks panel in May 2020 in Seattle: he had such great memories of shooting this film). When Paul Crane resurfaced in ER and the Blob remake, I did a double take: "It's Emil!" The poignant scene where Robocop visits Murphy's old home on its own resonates more with me than the entirety of Starship Troopers (as much as I like that film). I don't know if they're still going ahead with a new sequel but the only reason I'm kind of intrigued is that the original writer is doing the screenplay. Anyway, bring on the 4k and I might even splurge on the steelbook because if there's one film a steelbook feels appropriate for, it's this one.

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Finch
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Re: RoboCop

#16 Post by Finch » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:58 pm

I forgot to ask: anyone who has the Blu-Ray LE from two years ago, is the booklet worth going for the 4k LE? I don't care about the poster and cards. From my understanding, the disc content for this new release is identical to the last one but for the 2160p upgrade of the film itself (and the new scan of the Director's Cut footage).

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dwk
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Re: RoboCop

#17 Post by dwk » Sun Dec 19, 2021 12:58 am

It seemed to have a higher percentage of pages of text than the usual Arrow booklet, but I didn't find it to be that interesting.

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Finch
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Re: RoboCop

#18 Post by Finch » Sun Dec 19, 2021 1:29 am

Thank you, dwk, really appreciate that feedback.

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Re: RoboCop

#19 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:32 am

hearthesilence wrote:
Sat Dec 18, 2021 8:29 pm
I saw this as a kid too and Jesus was Robocop's "origin" traumatizing.
It was more or less unwarranted exposure to the inferior sequels (and the subsequent television iterations, which one after the next became exponentially ridiculous) and it’s weird positioning as the character becoming an action figure more than Frankenstein for the Reagan years.
Last edited by flyonthewall2983 on Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: RoboCop

#20 Post by colinr0380 » Sat Dec 25, 2021 9:27 pm

If you want more trauma there is that astonishing scene from the parody Our Robocop Remake film (produced by multiple different directors tackling one scene each from the film that came out around the time of the 2014 Robocop remake) that takes that attempted assault scene that ends with crotch shooting from the original film, eerily recreates it and then exponentially multiplies it outwards by a couple of dozen extra thugs just begging to get shot in the crotch! It is incredibly NSFW (which is why I'm not linking to it here, but its on YouTube. Here's the more family friendly boardroom scene but with muppets and a War Horse-style ED-209 instead) but it is so gobsmackingly over the top that it is kind of amazing. Its like that Neo versus Agent Smith scene from The Matrix Reloaded, except if instead of kung fu pole fighting it was gunshots obliterating genitals!

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Re: RoboCop

#21 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:13 pm

The isolated scores alone justify the purchase.

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