Robocop
STARS : PETER WELLER, NANCY ALLEN, DANIEL O’HERLIHEY & RONNY COX
Ah Robocop, in my youth is symbolised everything I wasn’t allowed to watch : ie gratuitous violence. And now some 15 years on I can understand why my parents were so vehemently opposed. It’s simply uncalled for and destructive violence.
I doubt there are many people out there who either haven’t seen this film or at the very least don’t have an inkling of what it’s about but here it is. Like most of Verhoeven’s films, the plot is extremely simple.
A good cop, Murphy (Weller), gets gunned down whilst on the job and is repaired using machinery hence the film’s title. There’s not much left of the man he used to be as he is now mainly machinery and his memory has been erased and he is now the “Cop Of The Future”. That’s pretty much all there is too it really. Sure, there’s a sub plot about a crooked town official (Cox), Murphy’s partner Lewis (Allen) suspecting that the new cop on the beat is really familiar and Robocop remembering elements of his past that make him go renegade to get those who turned him into what he is now.
The DVD contains seamless branching which means that you have the choice of watching the theatrical cut or the slightly longer, much more violent, director’s cut which is the real reason for the R rating the DVD has. This is a feature that needs to be utilised a whole lot more in my opinion. There have been reports of the branching feature causing problems for people and I have to agree with them. It seems like the DVD has about 8 layer changes all up and is mildy annoying to say the least.
I know that I’m definitely a whole lot older than when I first saw this film and hopefully I can say wiser as personally I found this film to be a LOAD of uninspired rubbish this time around. It is well known that you cannot recapture your youth but if this is what I considered to be a great film in my teens I am so glad that I’ve left them behind and acquired some decent taste.
THE EXTRAS
* Flesh & Steel - The Making Of Robocop (37 Minutes) : This documentary was made in 2001 and features interviews with Director Paul Verhoeven, Writers Ed Neumeier and Mike Miner, producer Jon Davison and more. There are lots of pics of Peter Weller during filming, original concept drawings of the Robots in the film as well as the obligatory behind the scenes footage. They even touch on the religious overtones that Verhoeven placed in the film. One cool piece of info that comes out is that Michael Ironside was the original choice for the role that eventually went to Peter Weller. The main disappointment is that none of the principal actors make any contribution to this featurette as it would of been great to see what they thought of the movie 15 years on.
* Commentary : Director Paul Verhoeven, Writer Ed Neumeier and Producer Jon Davison have a hearty discussion about not only every aspect of the film but anything that comes into their minds as well. What does this mean? A very informative and animated discussion that will keep you entertained from start to finish. There is nary a quiet moment although at times they seemed to be cut off mid sentence during editing which sometimes is disruptive overall.
* Shooting Robocop (8 minutes): This was filmed in 1987 and starts as an interview with Robocop which is a nice touch. It then goes on to have interviews with the same people from the 2001 making of. It’s amusing to see how much they’ve all changed and also how their recollections of events differ to that more recent. At least there are interviews with the main actors here.
* Making Robocop (8 minutes) : The second of the featurettes from 1987 is an extended trailer more than anything else with some behind the scenes footage thrown in with some more interviews with the same people as the previous featurette. Tends to touch on the same topics an the former to boot and in fact some of the interviews were done at the same time.
* Deleted Scenes : There are 4 deleted scenes running about 3 minutes. All are pointless and wisely left out. There is also deleted directors cut footage to view which runs about 11 minutes and incudes multiple viewings of the scenes cut with different angles and sometimes no sound.
* Storyboard Comparisons (6 Minutes) : This sequence looks at the ED 209 running amok scene and has this footage along with the storyboards for your viewing pleasure. Phil Tippet also adds his commentary for you to listen to.
* Still Galleries : This has been thankfully broken down into the following sections : Cast, Paul Verhoeven, Design, ED 209, Effects and Behind The Scenes. Each photo in on screen for about 2 seconds but you can forward search to get through them quicker.
* Theatrical TrailersTwo trailers for Robocop, One for Robocop 2, one for Robocop 3 and a TV commercial.
CONCLUSION
Paul Verhoeven has never been a favourite of mine as he comes across as an advocate of violence over plot and of destruction over style. That said however, Robocop is not that bad a film although the none to subtle religious overtones are terribly out of place.