I was at the Dollar Tree and the Blu-ray of RoboCop was in the bin. I yelled "I'd buy that for a dollar" and disturbed a few people, but I was pretty proud of taking advantage of that moment.
If it was the last one in the bin and some other person was going to grab it, you could've also used the line "Your move creep", or "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" when you're down to your last dollar.
I used to like this movie because of the cool sci-fi premise, as I've grown older I've come to appreciate the biting social commentary a lot more. Plus the soundtrack is ageless.
RoboCop is one of those rare stories that is somehow even more relevant now than when it was made. Amazon is literally an "omni consumer products" corporation, and it has divisions for AI and robotics, and it routinely works closely with the police doing things like giving them warrantless realtime access to Ring doorbell cameras. All that sort of thing was fictional in the 1980's. It's a shame so few people really "got" what it was talking about back in the day.
2 is just as good. Although the development of Murphy is a rarity in robocop. The filming techniques used to characterize him and his development as well as his perspective literally and within that narrative, isn't something very many filmmakers have the skill for in modern films. There's a reason robocop will be timeless but most moder films you forget about a week later.
@@HealthySkepticism1775 Just before Hollow Man, almost 25 years ago, I was praising him on RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. He sent me a black and white image of himself on the set of Starship Troopers, and drew 3 boobs on himself with his Sharpie 🤣🤣. Talk about Last Resort 😁
I cannot belive it took only 12 milion. The fine details on the art design were all over the place. All the characters had a unique charisma, even the smallest parts. The cast worked so well that I don't think that Ironside or Schwartzenneger could make the film any better. And the immersive tone of the whole movie in this cheap cyberpunk setting is unmatched in its generation.
Damn straight. The whole "face search" sequence to identify Emil Antonowski was really cutting edge for its time. Pure sci-fi at the time, but apparently in use right now by police...just like with the black riot gear and face-shielded helmets for the OCP police force; another instance of Robocop pre-empting reality. :P
One of the more interesting characters in Robocop is Miguel Ferrer’s Bob Morton. You start out sort of rooting for him, because he is in competition with the definitely evil Dick Jones and he’s the underdog at OCP. It’s only when you listen that you realize that he doesn’t give a crap about the humans who might be in that suit. Not only does he tell his team to remove Murphy’s arm, but it was his orders that transferred cops to that beleaguered station as fodder for Bodecker and his ilk just to get more Robocop candidates into the pipeline. He richly deserved that grenade.
I always appreciated that the movie concludes that he’s only the lesser of two evils. Would have been so easy to go the ‘rotten apple’ route with Dick and presented Bob as the model, ‘moral corporate executive’. Glad they stuck to their guns and made sure they stayed on message.
Pouledoris was absolutely one of the best ever. Conan, Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers all had amazingly fabulous scores. All of them are bombastic and epic enough to have been written by a German composer! :P
A great movie that aged well along side me growing up. From a fun, cool action flick when I was a kid to a biting satire as I became older and more aware this is a movie I can always watch and gain immense pleasure.
I saw this as the 'B' movie at a 20 cent drive in movie night. This became my yardstick of film excellence, with Starship Troopers and Total recal in the same list.
I always thought that if Lewis had been given more to do, we'd be talking about her the same way we talk about Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor as an example of a kickass sci-fi heroine done well. Not that she isn't, but she doesn't get quite the chance to shine that the character and the actor deserves.
I had the pleasure of sneaking into this movie with my best friend as a young teen. Even then it seemed so far past the usual 80's movies we had seen together. Damn those were the days.
I already loved this channel for your Star Trek retrospectives, but now I love it even more, when you started to reference Star Trek everywhere, RLM style :)
Oh, man. One of my favorite movies ever. Was probably too young to see at the age of 5 or 6, but the movie has stuck with me all these years. I'm now 37 and I still love this one and it's one of my favorite movies.
I love this movie, as a kid I watched it over n over, but watching now as an adult I inderstsnd the plot etc more than I did,, love it, true classic and my all time fav movie
I was 6 when I first watched this film. On home video (vhs), I watched it every night for a year. Its still my favourite film now, I'm not a fan of the sequels or the TV shows, but I still watched them. This is the one I give as an answer when people ask me what is the best film from my childhood
This movie eventually aired on ITV in the UK and it was hilarious how they dubbed over the swearing (and some of the violence). For example Bob Morton calls his boss an "airhead". Also the criminal in the store with the shotgun yells "Why me?" over and over as he shoots at Robocop. I still remember it 30 or so years later.
1987, holy smokes...I was about to get out of the Navy, and was only 6 years after I had left HIGH SCHOOL..Man, I am old. Oh well. When this came out, it was BIG for us military people. In the US Navy, and this MAYBE something you did not know, while we are out at sea, we got ALL the movies sometimes BEFORE they hit the theater. I mean really, at the time, who are we going to tell, we were in the middle of the Ocean. I remember THIS movie because every guy, in every what we call berthing compartment (where we slept and lived) was in front of the TV. I think they played it 4 times in a row so EVERYONE on the ship, that might of been on duty and missed it could see it. It was one of those special movies EVERYONE had to see... and see multiple times. I can't even count how many times I have seen it, but I have fond memories with my Navy buddies watching it... Good Times.
Can't disagree with anything you have said. Well done. You for me captured the very reasoning behind why I loved and still love this movie. And is such a classic
I can still clearly remember watching Robocop in the small cinema of a passenger ferry between somewhere in Denmark (Copenhagen, maybe?) and London, UK. It was such an incredible experience, and even then in my teenage youth in the summer of 1988 (we didn't get US movies immediately over here back then) and my own inherent joy for action movie carnage, I could still pick up on a lot of the social satire of the film. Such was the strength of the direction, the script, and the acting. Not to mention that fabulous score, chills still travel down my spine when I hear that throaty synth sound when Murphy sees his own face for the first time after becoming Robo reflected in that dented, dusty piece of metal. That whole sequence never ceases to move me. This is the strength of Robocop, it's not just a schlocky B-type action movie like say, Arnold's Commando or whatever (even though it has plenty of that!), it has onion layers upon onion layers underneath the surface. And stellar actors everywhere. I mean - who can forget Keva Rosenberg, Unemployed Person?! :D I don't think Robocop will ever cease to be the greatest action movie, in my view. It has such tremendous heart, and soul. Dang, now I gotta go watch it again! lol
All of Paul Verhoeven’s sci fi movies are so fun because when you watch them when you’re younger, you can get kickass action movies but when you get older, you can appreciate the layers and satire to them.
It's great to look back at the films of my childhood and (mostly) adolescence and gain a new appreciation for them. Back then, I credited the actors and director, but with time it's clearly apparent that every film involves numerous influences and this particular film was an exceptional team effort.
Great Video RJC but I really worry for this video because the rights holders of Robocop are infamous for copyright claims against simple UA-cam Videos about it. I really hope I'm wrong but good luck regardless
Starship Troopers is my favourite Paul Verhoeven movie, I have the movie, the Roughnecks The Starship Troopers animated series that is a mesh between the movie and the Heinlein book, the Japanese two animated movies, I really love the satire that is more relevant now at days more than ever.
So many themes in this movie, as well as body horror, and deciding what being human is. As you mentioned, the emotional peak of the movie, other than the fight with Boddicker near the end, is the scene where he uses his old home to realize who and what he was, and relives the tragedy of what he is all over again. What an incredible and still somewhat underrated movie. One of two genius movies by Verhoeven, Starship Troopers being the other bookend to the themes explored here. Both are harsh parodies and social critiques of culture.
To me you can't go wrong if you want a action filed 80's triple feature with Robocop, The Terminator and Predator! You may have different shows but that's my keep the popcorn coming film night
@@andersonrusnell3102 funnily enough, the sleeker design was what tipped me off they weren’t doing the same satire as the original, even before it properly came out. RoboCop being chunky and clunky is part of the satire, he’s built by the lowest bidders as a rush-job to try and dethrone a different, better-funded project. So the visible joints and seams really sells that to me.
They aren't the lower bidders, in fact during Murphy's transformation you see they're able to save his arm which would've been cheaper but Morton insists on full body prosthesis. Incidentally the reason the suit looks that way was because when he 1st put it on Peter Weller could barely move so they started cutting pieces from the joints, so you're right it ended up being part of the satire although that wasn't the original intention. Peter Weller describes the movements he prepared as stacatto and snake like, but because of limitations became more of a small tank.
I can recall the movie in its utter entirety, I have not had to watch this movie since the mid-1990s. At most I just need to hear the music and I'm good.
Your reviews are fantastic! Thank you for the wonderful overview of one of my favorite films! Great action but also a lot of heart... and terrific satire of corporate America (which doesn't feel that far from reality today).
Oh, no... I NEVER forget Basil Poledouris. His original Conan the Barbarian soundtrack is the best soundtrack EVER created for any movie or series. Bar none. It's epicness put into notes. ;-)
Verhoeven is a director who really needs to be recognized for his one-ers. They are subtle, but I would put them up against DePalma's and Scorsese's one-ers any day of the week.
Clarence, Dick/Cohegan, and Hans, are the best 80s villains EVER!!!!! (Robocop, Diehard, Total Recall) Basil’s Conan, Robocop, Hunt for Red October, and Flight of the Intruder are AMAZING SCORES!!!
I can never get enough of the praise for Robocop. IMO, it's the sort of thing that budding film makers should study extensively. I'm 41 and saw it as a kid and ad I've got older it's just become better and better. I've mentioned it to older people who saw it as adults in the day and none of them really understood the undertones. They saw it as a big dumb action film, often thinking it was for kids (hence why I was allowed to watch it!)
I always loved that bit in Spaced where they Pegg and Frost build their own robot. Edgar Wright directs the whole scene just like the one in which Robocop comes online.
my only real criticism with this film is that we didn't get more time with murphy before he died. meeting his family at their home. this could have been 5-10 minutes before he arrives at the station on his first day.
I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts on the miniseries and the live-action TV series. I feel like a lot of people prefer the miniseries for keeping the gritty ultraviolence of the first movie, but I believe that the regular series stays closer to the metacommentary of the movie, despite the veneer of family-friendly sanitization and slightly silly additions. I don't think that the miniseries has nearly as much going on underneath the grimdark angst and explosions.
Great review. One of my favourite movies of all time - remember watching it in the 80’s. It’s a shame that Robo2 missed the satirical and character evolution mark. I’m not even going to mention Robo3…
I may be prejudiced because I'm Dutch, but I like ALL of Verhoevens films. Yes, even Showgirls. I saw Robocop in the theater and it blew me away. Hilarious, serious, sarcastic.
Funny you should refer to RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers as a "loose trilogy" of Paul Verhoeven-helmed sci-fi films, as there are more than a few online fan theories that have popped up in recent years about these movies being parts of a Paul Verhoeven Sci-Fi Cinematic Universe. Of course, I never really noticed any of these glorified headcanons appearing on the interwebz until the MCU became fairly well established... BTW does this mean that Basic Instinct, Showgirls, and Hollow Man make up the PVSFCU prequel trilogy? Just putting it out there...
I always had a personal narrative that Clarence was probably a teacher who oneday just snapped and turned to crime. Maybe he wiped out a couple of kids in the process.
"Fun to watch."? They erase Weller's memory. I thought it was such a downer. Barely got through it the first time. Every time it pops up on tv I try to get into it- but the awful writing and plotting just turn me off.
@@B33FY2011 no I haven't but thanks for the info I'll check it out right now. That thump thump of his walk was just perfect for him. It really showed the viewers, even if they didn't realise it, js5 how mechanical he was and how heavy.
I worked for a computer games magazine in the late 80's-early 90's and we were invited to Pinewood Studios for a screening of this movie (a computer game tie in was planned so I think that's why we were invited). To this day it is still one of my favourite action movies. I'd buy that for a dollar 😄
@@dragonmac1234 I never read it but I do know of it and I also know it was quite popular. I think Robocop on the ZX Spectrum was also well received. Did you know that Crash was 'revived' in a form? It now focuses on reviewing newly made Indie games as well as oldies of the ZX Spectrum.
@@TheDutchGhost Yes, I have heard that Crash has been revived for the modern day (I think Zzap 64 our Commodore 64 sister magazine also received a revival). It's good to know interest in the ZX Spectrum is still there.
@@dragonmac1234 My brother used to have one back in the day and when I was young I played games like Jet Pac and Psst! on it. By my first home computer was the MSX2, and later on I moved on to console gaming before I switched to the PC. But these last twenty years I developed an interest in retrogaming. Games on old home computers I had played but also games that I never had the chance to play. And while looking into this I also discovered that there was quite an active retro developer scene for home computers like the ZX Spectrum, C64, Amiga and Atari ST, and other home computers. I have been playing a number of newly made games on the emulators such as Aliens Infestation, Dead Zone, Castlevania Spectral Interlude, Power Blade: Shadow of Delta, Rocky Memphis - The Legend of Atlantis, Shadow over Hawksmill. I do wonder how you and the others would have reacted if some of these titles from the last ten years had been released on the Speccy during your review days.
There's this wonderful camera trick Verhoeven uses with RoboCop - when we first see him as a cyborg, the camera tends towards frog's eye view angles, emphasizing his power and superiority. But as he slowly regains humanity, the camera moves up more and more until it mostly stays around or even above him. And then in the board room...frog's eye view again. But it's _Murphy's power,_ not the cyborg's.
And that's why films like Robocop are timeless. It's also not just perspective for Murphy's development, but framing, positioning, how much Murphy is seen, how he sounds when he talks, how he uses his voice when he talks, what he does with he walks, etc. Robocop, the entire time, is building to his humanity scene by scene and frame by frame and we watch that journey from start to finish. Most modern films lack the creativity and effort to make a character like that and give it the depth and respect Verhoeven did with Robocop. Which is one of the reasons why it will be timeless and the vast majority of modern films you forget a week later.
The "news report" feature is one that Verhoven returns to in Starship Troopers, another movie which satirizes American society, violence, and capitalism.
Compared to those who deal in "subversion of expectations" in today's Hollywood, Verhoeven did a truly intelligent subversion with Starship Troopers. Robert Heinlein's book was a more serious take on militarism and criticisms at the time called it "fascist" because military service was a prerequisite to voting in the world of the book. Considering when it was written and Heinlein's military experience, it is a product of it's time. Verhoeven took that concept, dialed it up to 11 (the sweet spot for satire, 10% beyond believability), and created a master satire of a fascistic, militant society. I remember the howling of book purists about the subversion of the themes, but I think time has shown that both stand on their own merits. I loved Heinlein's book and I love Verhoeven's movie. It is truly subversion done correctly. Brilliant film!
Many actors who played in RoboCop ineeed also played guest star roles in Star Trek series and films including Peter Weller himself as John Frederick Paxton in Star Trek Enterprise's two parter Demons and Terra prime! Yet again a very nice retrospective! Really enjoyed watching!👍🏻
This movie is a masterpiece. I showed it to a friend about a year ago who thought it would probably look outdated and too "80's"... he considers it one of the best movies ever made. tbh, it's amazing how well this movie holds up even today.
At the age of 10, I loved it for the violence. At the age of 20, I loved it for its political commentary At the age of 30, I loved it for its satire At the age of 40, I just love it, all of it, every last detail
Paul Verhoeven is my favorite Director and RoboCop is up there as one of my favorite movies ever. I love this film. It really captured the era of the Reagan 80s and I feel it’s starting to resonate again today.
I liked the gun Robocop used . That "f!kin gun" with that burst mode when fired is simply awesome. I think it's a heavily modified Baretta , but I don't know for sure . Great 80's scifi masterpiece !
Cheers Rowan. An excellent Essay. Muchly appreciated. Robocop could have been a disaster in the hands of a lesser Director. Fortunately, we have one damn fine Film to celebrate.
What I find interesting is the original screenwriter had a pretty clear vision of what he wanted his story to tell but constantly had a challenging up hill battle to convince EVERYONE (studio execs, the director, actors) that this wasn't some goofy direct to video bargain bin action movie shlock but a action movie with some very deliberate messages and social commentary
This is nearly a perfect film and one of my favorites since I was a kid. The only thing that ever bothered me was the scene where Robocop saves the woman from those two animals. They cut the end of the scene way too short. They should’ve held on to her face for just a few more seconds. That would’ve given us more time to see her realization that she’s pouring her heart out to a machine and not a man. I’ve always felt like they missed a great emotional opportunity there.
The scene when the criminals are torturing the main character is deeply horrific. The acting is horrifically good, the shock of it is depicted horrifically well. It made it nice to watch the toxic waste guy suffer. That's how I remember it. This is after they reduced it to R rating? Wow. ED-209 fan though.
I thought this film was on par with the original Terminator. I never consider it in the same breath as Blade Runner and the like. Even Total Recall and Starship Troopers are in a different class. Terminator like Robocop has the same great musical score, casting and directing talents on display. Like Robocop, the only part of Terminator that did not age well was the stop motion--even the revamped version. While Murphy is not much of a comparison with either Sarah or the Cyberdyne 101, that is what separates the two films. Like Sarah, Murphy does have to FIND himself once the situations engulfs them. I did not see much of a comparison between Kyle and any of the Robocop side characters--not even Lewis--I do think that it is Nancy Allen's portrayal of Lewis that, like Michael Biehn's portrayal of Kyle, that brings the heart to what would otherwise be little more than an action picture. When Kyle tells Sarah that he 'came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have.' You feel it, feel the connection across time that he must have felt when the chance came to volunteer for the mission. Lewis had only one good scene like that, and it too--more so even than Murphy's return home--sweeps into an otherwise standard actioner, and lifts it to a more emotional level.
Another great piece Rowan, thank you. "Not a lot of actors can work with just their chin" ...hmmm, I know it a much more modern film than you usually do, but that line made me imediately think that a retrospective of the 2012 Judge Dredd would make a worthy addition to the retrospective series! Is that film a worthy successor to this one in its themes? They share some DNA of course...I'd love to see your thoughts on it one day.
@Latest Obsession I feel like "Robocop" has the same kind of relationship with storytelling as the movie "Super Troopers". It is a very subtle parody of the institutions they represent, but also a very overt and over-the-top parody at the same time. I love both movies. Also, I kinda liked the new Robocop but only because I really like Joel Kinnaman and was happy to see him get a starring role. It could have been a lot better but at least he did a good job acting in it.
_Robocop_ is the best _Judge Dredd_ adaptation that exists. With it's tongue in cheek ultra-violence & political satire, it's fitting that Miner & Neumeier provided _2000 AD_ comics to Verhoeven as reference.
The difference there is that whereas Judge Dredd is an amoral character, Murphy/RoboCop is anything but. Dress fails in adaptations when he's treated as a hero.
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I was at the Dollar Tree and the Blu-ray of RoboCop was in the bin. I yelled "I'd buy that for a dollar" and disturbed a few people, but I was pretty proud of taking advantage of that moment.
Surely scholars in years to come will talk of this occasion.
That had to be done
If it was the last one in the bin and some other person was going to grab it, you could've also used the line "Your move creep", or "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" when you're down to your last dollar.
@@cocodojo too fargon funny!
Whahey!!!
I used to like this movie because of the cool sci-fi premise, as I've grown older I've come to appreciate the biting social commentary a lot more. Plus the soundtrack is ageless.
RoboCop is one of those rare stories that is somehow even more relevant now than when it was made. Amazon is literally an "omni consumer products" corporation, and it has divisions for AI and robotics, and it routinely works closely with the police doing things like giving them warrantless realtime access to Ring doorbell cameras. All that sort of thing was fictional in the 1980's.
It's a shame so few people really "got" what it was talking about back in the day.
I’ve been blasting the title theme regularly lately…fuckin love it
2 is just as good. Although the development of Murphy is a rarity in robocop. The filming techniques used to characterize him and his development as well as his perspective literally and within that narrative, isn't something very many filmmakers have the skill for in modern films. There's a reason robocop will be timeless but most moder films you forget about a week later.
The remake was better!
Eh?
...Eh?
I'll see myself out.
Paul Verhoeven is the Godfather of sci-fi action. I once wrote a letter to him, and he replied. He is an effin, awesome person.
What did you write him about? What was his response?
@@HealthySkepticism1775 Just before Hollow Man, almost 25 years ago, I was praising him on RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. He sent me a black and white image of himself on the set of Starship Troopers, and drew 3 boobs on himself with his Sharpie 🤣🤣. Talk about Last Resort 😁
@@cthewave9955
THAT'S AWESOME!
Fan-effing-tastic!!
Starship Troopers FTW!!!!
I cannot belive it took only 12 milion. The fine details on the art design were all over the place. All the characters had a unique charisma, even the smallest parts. The cast worked so well that I don't think that Ironside or Schwartzenneger could make the film any better. And the immersive tone of the whole movie in this cheap cyberpunk setting is unmatched in its generation.
Damn straight.
The whole "face search" sequence to identify Emil Antonowski was really cutting edge for its time. Pure sci-fi at the time, but apparently in use right now by police...just like with the black riot gear and face-shielded helmets for the OCP police force; another instance of Robocop pre-empting reality. :P
I'm pretty sure they ended up getting more money than that to finish it but he didn't mention it in this video. Probably more like 20 million total.
@@seeingeyegod plus the Ford Taurus becoming the go to police cruiser.
@@seeingeyegod $13.7 million according to a quick search
One of the more interesting characters in Robocop is Miguel Ferrer’s Bob Morton. You start out sort of rooting for him, because he is in competition with the definitely evil Dick Jones and he’s the underdog at OCP. It’s only when you listen that you realize that he doesn’t give a crap about the humans who might be in that suit. Not only does he tell his team to remove Murphy’s arm, but it was his orders that transferred cops to that beleaguered station as fodder for Bodecker and his ilk just to get more Robocop candidates into the pipeline. He richly deserved that grenade.
When that guy is killed by ed209 he brushes it off and says "Yesh, well that's life in the big city"
He and dick Jones are 2 sides of the same coin
You don't become a junior executive in the Robocop world with empathy..
I always had a theory that Bob morton sabotaged ed209 so it malfunctioned during the presentation
@@ashdonn6493 That makes too much sense to be a coincidence..
I always appreciated that the movie concludes that he’s only the lesser of two evils. Would have been so easy to go the ‘rotten apple’ route with Dick and presented Bob as the model, ‘moral corporate executive’. Glad they stuck to their guns and made sure they stayed on message.
Basil Poledouris was one of the best, very disctintive and a lot of his work can be listened by itself, only for the enjoyment of it.
Definitely. Conan, anyone?
@@Majere613 Conan the Barbarian has, perhaps, the finest soundtrack in cinema history. And saying that's not really hyperbole!
Red October for me.
Was 10 years old when I saw Starship Troopers. Poledouris's Klendathu Drop blew me away and I've been a fan of his work ever since.
Pouledoris was absolutely one of the best ever. Conan, Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers all had amazingly fabulous scores. All of them are bombastic and epic enough to have been written by a German composer! :P
A great movie that aged well along side me growing up. From a fun, cool action flick when I was a kid to a biting satire as I became older and more aware this is a movie I can always watch and gain immense pleasure.
I saw this as the 'B' movie at a 20 cent drive in movie night. This became my yardstick of film excellence, with Starship Troopers and Total recal in the same list.
Robo cop was chock-full of some of the most top tier character actors.
You’ve just made me realised. This is my favourite movie of all time. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.
I always thought that if Lewis had been given more to do, we'd be talking about her the same way we talk about Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor as an example of a kickass sci-fi heroine done well. Not that she isn't, but she doesn't get quite the chance to shine that the character and the actor deserves.
I really needed this! Thanks Rowan! Especially since the ROBODOC crew has been dragging us along for 6 YEARS.
I had the pleasure of sneaking into this movie with my best friend as a young teen. Even then it seemed so far past the usual 80's movies we had seen together. Damn those were the days.
this was my absolute fav movie as an 80's kid.
I already loved this channel for your Star Trek retrospectives, but now I love it even more, when you started to reference Star Trek everywhere, RLM style :)
This movie has aged so well throughout the years
Oh, man. One of my favorite movies ever. Was probably too young to see at the age of 5 or 6, but the movie has stuck with me all these years. I'm now 37 and I still love this one and it's one of my favorite movies.
I’ve always found it funny that it spawned a cartoon and toy line
I love this movie, as a kid I watched it over n over, but watching now as an adult I inderstsnd the plot etc more than I did,, love it, true classic and my all time fav movie
Rented this on VHS for a sleepover when I was 8 years old and been a fan ever since
I was 6 when I first watched this film. On home video (vhs), I watched it every night for a year. Its still my favourite film now, I'm not a fan of the sequels or the TV shows, but I still watched them. This is the one I give as an answer when people ask me what is the best film from my childhood
WTF???
@@TheDarkHour684 wtf what?
This movie eventually aired on ITV in the UK and it was hilarious how they dubbed over the swearing (and some of the violence). For example Bob Morton calls his boss an "airhead". Also the criminal in the store with the shotgun yells "Why me?" over and over as he shoots at Robocop. I still remember it 30 or so years later.
1987, holy smokes...I was about to get out of the Navy, and was only 6 years after I had left HIGH SCHOOL..Man, I am old. Oh well. When this came out, it was BIG for us military people. In the US Navy, and this MAYBE something you did not know, while we are out at sea, we got ALL the movies sometimes BEFORE they hit the theater. I mean really, at the time, who are we going to tell, we were in the middle of the Ocean. I remember THIS movie because every guy, in every what we call berthing compartment (where we slept and lived) was in front of the TV. I think they played it 4 times in a row so EVERYONE on the ship, that might of been on duty and missed it could see it. It was one of those special movies EVERYONE had to see... and see multiple times. I can't even count how many times I have seen it, but I have fond memories with my Navy buddies watching it... Good Times.
Can't disagree with anything you have said. Well done. You for me captured the very reasoning behind why I loved and still love this movie. And is such a classic
I can still clearly remember watching Robocop in the small cinema of a passenger ferry between somewhere in Denmark (Copenhagen, maybe?) and London, UK. It was such an incredible experience, and even then in my teenage youth in the summer of 1988 (we didn't get US movies immediately over here back then) and my own inherent joy for action movie carnage, I could still pick up on a lot of the social satire of the film.
Such was the strength of the direction, the script, and the acting. Not to mention that fabulous score, chills still travel down my spine when I hear that throaty synth sound when Murphy sees his own face for the first time after becoming Robo reflected in that dented, dusty piece of metal. That whole sequence never ceases to move me.
This is the strength of Robocop, it's not just a schlocky B-type action movie like say, Arnold's Commando or whatever (even though it has plenty of that!), it has onion layers upon onion layers underneath the surface. And stellar actors everywhere. I mean - who can forget Keva Rosenberg, Unemployed Person?! :D
I don't think Robocop will ever cease to be the greatest action movie, in my view. It has such tremendous heart, and soul. Dang, now I gotta go watch it again! lol
One of favorites, watched on vhs. First time I watched it, it was quite an experience. Recommended for tech geeks
All of Paul Verhoeven’s sci fi movies are so fun because when you watch them when you’re younger, you can get kickass action movies but when you get older, you can appreciate the layers and satire to them.
It's great to look back at the films of my childhood and (mostly) adolescence and gain a new appreciation for them. Back then, I credited the actors and director, but with time it's clearly apparent that every film involves numerous influences and this particular film was an exceptional team effort.
Great Video RJC but I really worry for this video because the rights holders of Robocop are infamous for copyright claims against simple UA-cam Videos about it. I really hope I'm wrong but good luck regardless
Another great video. Thanks for the awesome content.
Starship Troopers is my favourite Paul Verhoeven movie, I have the movie, the Roughnecks The Starship Troopers animated series that is a mesh between the movie and the Heinlein book, the Japanese two animated movies, I really love the satire that is more relevant now at days more than ever.
great review of this classic!
So many themes in this movie, as well as body horror, and deciding what being human is. As you mentioned, the emotional peak of the movie, other than the fight with Boddicker near the end, is the scene where he uses his old home to realize who and what he was, and relives the tragedy of what he is all over again. What an incredible and still somewhat underrated movie. One of two genius movies by Verhoeven, Starship Troopers being the other bookend to the themes explored here. Both are harsh parodies and social critiques of culture.
To me you can't go wrong if you want a action filed 80's triple feature with Robocop, The Terminator and Predator! You may have different shows but that's my keep the popcorn coming film night
A real classic. When I first saw this movie, like many others from this era, It blew my mind. That doesn't happen nowadays.
I can’t say I liked the 2014 remake, but I respected it for at least trying to do its own thing rather than copying everything from the original.
I liked the design of the 2014 Robocop but it was just okay
@@andersonrusnell3102 funnily enough, the sleeker design was what tipped me off they weren’t doing the same satire as the original, even before it properly came out. RoboCop being chunky and clunky is part of the satire, he’s built by the lowest bidders as a rush-job to try and dethrone a different, better-funded project. So the visible joints and seams really sells that to me.
They aren't the lower bidders, in fact during Murphy's transformation you see they're able to save his arm which would've been cheaper but Morton insists on full body prosthesis. Incidentally the reason the suit looks that way was because when he 1st put it on Peter Weller could barely move so they started cutting pieces from the joints, so you're right it ended up being part of the satire although that wasn't the original intention. Peter Weller describes the movements he prepared as stacatto and snake like, but because of limitations became more of a small tank.
"Thank you for not smoking". That scene still makes me chuckle. As do the TV adds. Sunblock 5000 indeed.
Such good review! *MWAH* (chef's kiss)
I can recall the movie in its utter entirety, I have not had to watch this movie since the mid-1990s. At most I just need to hear the music and I'm good.
That early robot costume has a Judge Dredd helmet.
Your reviews are fantastic! Thank you for the wonderful overview of one of my favorite films! Great action but also a lot of heart... and terrific satire of corporate America (which doesn't feel that far from reality today).
I remember audience members chuckling during the trailer.
Oh, no... I NEVER forget Basil Poledouris.
His original Conan the Barbarian soundtrack is the best soundtrack EVER created for any movie or series. Bar none. It's epicness put into notes. ;-)
still waiting for A Big Trouble In Little China Video!! a near perfect film in my book
Verhoeven is a director who really needs to be recognized for his one-ers. They are subtle, but I would put them up against DePalma's and Scorsese's one-ers any day of the week.
Clarence, Dick/Cohegan, and Hans, are the best 80s villains EVER!!!!! (Robocop, Diehard, Total Recall) Basil’s Conan, Robocop, Hunt for Red October, and Flight of the Intruder are AMAZING SCORES!!!
Wow, that's basically Dredd there at 9:15, I guess they dialled back the 2000AD influence, kinda glad for that.
The bootup screen music of RoboCop 3 on SNES is a jam and a half,
Just wanted to share that lol
I can never get enough of the praise for Robocop. IMO, it's the sort of thing that budding film makers should study extensively. I'm 41 and saw it as a kid and ad I've got older it's just become better and better. I've mentioned it to older people who saw it as adults in the day and none of them really understood the undertones.
They saw it as a big dumb action film, often thinking it was for kids (hence why I was allowed to watch it!)
I love Robocop. It's a perfect movie.
I always loved that bit in Spaced where they Pegg and Frost build their own robot. Edgar Wright directs the whole scene just like the one in which Robocop comes online.
my only real criticism with this film is that we didn't get more time with murphy before he died. meeting his family at their home. this could have been 5-10 minutes before he arrives at the station on his first day.
This is next to T2 a perfect movie in my own rating. I still think R2 is not too bad, def not as bad as 3.
Love this movie and it has remained one of my top films since I first saw it 35 years ago :)
I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts on the miniseries and the live-action TV series. I feel like a lot of people prefer the miniseries for keeping the gritty ultraviolence of the first movie, but I believe that the regular series stays closer to the metacommentary of the movie, despite the veneer of family-friendly sanitization and slightly silly additions. I don't think that the miniseries has nearly as much going on underneath the grimdark angst and explosions.
This is my favourite ever...
Cox was a fantastic villain/foil in Stargate SG-1.
Great review. One of my favourite movies of all time - remember watching it in the 80’s. It’s a shame that Robo2 missed the satirical and character evolution mark. I’m not even going to mention Robo3…
I'd buy that for dollar! Another excellent retrospective.
Quite a lot of the major cast members appeared on star trek shows and movies
I may be prejudiced because I'm Dutch, but I like ALL of Verhoevens films.
Yes, even Showgirls.
I saw Robocop in the theater and it blew me away. Hilarious, serious, sarcastic.
Conan probably has my favorite score of every movie ever ;)
50 % man, 50% machine, 100% cop.
Cronenberg Robocop would have been interesting.
Great review! Yet, I can't help thinking that you sound like the Critical Drinker's older, sober brother.
Robocop is so good
Some one in the future will edit these films so that this, blade runner, alien and outland are all in the same Weyland-verse. lol
"Thank you for not smoking"
Im confused why this and the Superman movie got part 1s but no part 2?
Miguel Ferrer also appeared in the Star Trek franchise as the Excelsior First Officer in Star Trek 3 The Search for Spock.
Funnily enough the title RoboCop put me off from seeing it at the cinema when it first came out. A decision I regret to this day!
Phil Tippett! Incredible artist but definitely the world's worst dinosaur supervisor.
7:01 Robert Picardo had hair?!
Innerspace will shock you!
Finally somebody does it
Just a brill film....
When he drives through the police tape at the hostage scene... You know who's in charge.
Keep him talking ...
I'd buy that for a dollar
I can only imagine what Robocop would've been like if it'd been directed Cronenberg!
probably very disturbing.....then...very good in another way.
my favourite too. a masterpiece. the sequels are weak and so disappointing.
Funny you should refer to RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers as a "loose trilogy" of Paul Verhoeven-helmed sci-fi films, as there are more than a few online fan theories that have popped up in recent years about these movies being parts of a Paul Verhoeven Sci-Fi Cinematic Universe. Of course, I never really noticed any of these glorified headcanons appearing on the interwebz until the MCU became fairly well established...
BTW does this mean that Basic Instinct, Showgirls, and Hollow Man make up the PVSFCU prequel trilogy? Just putting it out there...
I always had a personal narrative that Clarence was probably a teacher who oneday just snapped and turned to crime. Maybe he wiped out a couple of kids in the process.
Robocop 2 isn't bad... I thought they kinda nailed it...
It's like gremlins 2... Not as good as the first one, but fun to watch.
"Fun to watch."? They erase Weller's memory.
I thought it was such a downer.
Barely got through it the first time.
Every time it pops up on tv I try to get into it- but the awful writing and plotting just turn me off.
To me Robocop 2 is to Robocop like TMNT 2 to the original one.
I always loved the sound RoboCop made when walking and that thumps sound of his feet hitting the ground
Have you seen Robodoc? They show exactly how they made that sound.
I have always lived the sound, the way he walks. It surprised me how they did it.
@@B33FY2011 no I haven't but thanks for the info I'll check it out right now. That thump thump of his walk was just perfect for him. It really showed the viewers, even if they didn't realise it, js5 how mechanical he was and how heavy.
@@B33FY2011 yo mate I'm half way through the first part of the documentary and this is awesome I jus5 wanna say thanks again for recommending it
I worked for a computer games magazine in the late 80's-early 90's and we were invited to Pinewood Studios for a screening of this movie (a computer game tie in was planned so I think that's why we were invited). To this day it is still one of my favourite action movies. I'd buy that for a dollar 😄
Which magazine did you used to work for?
@@TheDutchGhost I worked on Crash magazine in Ludlow, it was fun being paid to play ZX Spectrum games all day.
@@dragonmac1234 I never read it but I do know of it and I also know it was quite popular.
I think Robocop on the ZX Spectrum was also well received.
Did you know that Crash was 'revived' in a form?
It now focuses on reviewing newly made Indie games as well as oldies of the ZX Spectrum.
@@TheDutchGhost Yes, I have heard that Crash has been revived for the modern day (I think Zzap 64 our Commodore 64 sister magazine also received a revival). It's good to know interest in the ZX Spectrum is still there.
@@dragonmac1234 My brother used to have one back in the day and when I was young I played games like Jet Pac and Psst! on it.
By my first home computer was the MSX2, and later on I moved on to console gaming before I switched to the PC.
But these last twenty years I developed an interest in retrogaming.
Games on old home computers I had played but also games that I never had the chance to play.
And while looking into this I also discovered that there was quite an active retro developer scene for home computers like the ZX Spectrum, C64, Amiga and Atari ST, and other home computers.
I have been playing a number of newly made games on the emulators such as Aliens Infestation, Dead Zone, Castlevania Spectral Interlude, Power Blade: Shadow of Delta, Rocky Memphis - The Legend of Atlantis, Shadow over Hawksmill.
I do wonder how you and the others would have reacted if some of these titles from the last ten years had been released on the Speccy during your review days.
There's this wonderful camera trick Verhoeven uses with RoboCop - when we first see him as a cyborg, the camera tends towards frog's eye view angles, emphasizing his power and superiority. But as he slowly regains humanity, the camera moves up more and more until it mostly stays around or even above him. And then in the board room...frog's eye view again. But it's _Murphy's power,_ not the cyborg's.
Great observation, now I'm gonna go watch it again just to see this
does the same with his voice. it starts with a strong robotic effect and as the movie goes on it fades. at the end when he says "Murphy" it's gone
This is kind of stuff that regular ppl would never notice that makes me love film
Brilliant spot
And that's why films like Robocop are timeless. It's also not just perspective for Murphy's development, but framing, positioning, how much Murphy is seen, how he sounds when he talks, how he uses his voice when he talks, what he does with he walks, etc. Robocop, the entire time, is building to his humanity scene by scene and frame by frame and we watch that journey from start to finish. Most modern films lack the creativity and effort to make a character like that and give it the depth and respect Verhoeven did with Robocop. Which is one of the reasons why it will be timeless and the vast majority of modern films you forget a week later.
Nothing shocks me more than to learn that Ronnie Cox was known for playing kind fatherly characters.
And Kurtwood Smith was known for playing mostly nerdy characters.
They both play villains so well. 2 of my favourite movie villains ever.
Same here. Robocop was the first movie I saw him star….Total Recall being the second; two movies where he played ruthless villains
Ronnie cox was the only guy stating facts in Total Recall , “ you ‘ll be home in time for corn flakes”😂
You missed Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II?
The "news report" feature is one that Verhoven returns to in Starship Troopers, another movie which satirizes American society, violence, and capitalism.
There's even a bit of it in Total Recall near the beginning of the movie as well.
Compared to those who deal in "subversion of expectations" in today's Hollywood, Verhoeven did a truly intelligent subversion with Starship Troopers. Robert Heinlein's book was a more serious take on militarism and criticisms at the time called it "fascist" because military service was a prerequisite to voting in the world of the book. Considering when it was written and Heinlein's military experience, it is a product of it's time.
Verhoeven took that concept, dialed it up to 11 (the sweet spot for satire, 10% beyond believability), and created a master satire of a fascistic, militant society. I remember the howling of book purists about the subversion of the themes, but I think time has shown that both stand on their own merits. I loved Heinlein's book and I love Verhoeven's movie. It is truly subversion done correctly. Brilliant film!
Many actors who played in RoboCop ineeed also played guest star roles in Star Trek series and films including Peter Weller himself as John Frederick Paxton in Star Trek Enterprise's two parter Demons and Terra prime!
Yet again a very nice retrospective! Really enjoyed watching!👍🏻
The Old Man was the co-pilot/wingman alien from The Last Starfighter.
Kurtwood Smith and Ronnie Cox are both so amazing in this, and in Trek.
Annorax was a truly tragic hero, and Captain Jellico went easy on Riker.
Nobody mentioned Miguel’s part as the Excelsior helmsman in The Search for Spock
This movie is a masterpiece.
I showed it to a friend about a year ago who thought it would probably look outdated and too "80's"...
he considers it one of the best movies ever made.
tbh, it's amazing how well this movie holds up even today.
At the age of 10, I loved it for the violence.
At the age of 20, I loved it for its political commentary
At the age of 30, I loved it for its satire
At the age of 40, I just love it, all of it, every last detail
Paul Verhoeven is my favorite Director and RoboCop is up there as one of my favorite movies ever. I love this film. It really captured the era of the Reagan 80s and I feel it’s starting to resonate again today.
I liked the gun Robocop used .
That "f!kin gun" with that burst mode when fired is simply awesome.
I think it's a heavily modified Baretta , but I don't know for sure .
Great 80's scifi masterpiece !
M93R, known in canon as the Auto 9.
Its the unlimited Magazine that is most amazing.
Imagine hearing that thing at a firing range
I have always seen Robocop as Deathlok meets Judge Dredd. Both are fine satires in their own way.
Cheers Rowan. An excellent Essay. Muchly appreciated. Robocop could have been a disaster in the hands of a lesser Director. Fortunately, we have one damn fine Film to celebrate.
What I find interesting is the original screenwriter had a pretty clear vision of what he wanted his story to tell but constantly had a challenging up hill battle to convince EVERYONE (studio execs, the director, actors) that this wasn't some goofy direct to video bargain bin action movie shlock but a action movie with some very deliberate messages and social commentary
@@edkwon Beautifully said. Cheers.
Oh man the Verhoeven trilogy is the best trilogy. Basil Poledouris and him are every bit as great as Lucas and Williams.
This is nearly a perfect film and one of my favorites since I was a kid. The only thing that ever bothered me was the scene where Robocop saves the woman from those two animals. They cut the end of the scene way too short. They should’ve held on to her face for just a few more seconds. That would’ve given us more time to see her realization that she’s pouring her heart out to a machine and not a man. I’ve always felt like they missed a great emotional opportunity there.
The scene when the criminals are torturing the main character is deeply horrific. The acting is horrifically good, the shock of it is depicted horrifically well. It made it nice to watch the toxic waste guy suffer. That's how I remember it. This is after they reduced it to R rating? Wow. ED-209 fan though.
I thought this film was on par with the original Terminator. I never consider it in the same breath as Blade Runner and the like. Even Total Recall and Starship Troopers are in a different class. Terminator like Robocop has the same great musical score, casting and directing talents on display. Like Robocop, the only part of Terminator that did not age well was the stop motion--even the revamped version. While Murphy is not much of a comparison with either Sarah or the Cyberdyne 101, that is what separates the two films. Like Sarah, Murphy does have to FIND himself once the situations engulfs them. I did not see much of a comparison between Kyle and any of the Robocop side characters--not even Lewis--I do think that it is Nancy Allen's portrayal of Lewis that, like Michael Biehn's portrayal of Kyle, that brings the heart to what would otherwise be little more than an action picture. When Kyle tells Sarah that he 'came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have.' You feel it, feel the connection across time that he must have felt when the chance came to volunteer for the mission. Lewis had only one good scene like that, and it too--more so even than Murphy's return home--sweeps into an otherwise standard actioner, and lifts it to a more emotional level.
Another great piece Rowan, thank you.
"Not a lot of actors can work with just their chin"
...hmmm, I know it a much more modern film than you usually do, but that line made me imediately think that a retrospective of the 2012 Judge Dredd would make a worthy addition to the retrospective series!
Is that film a worthy successor to this one in its themes? They share some DNA of course...I'd love to see your thoughts on it one day.
That one earlier mock up of the RoboCop suit looked a lot like the Dredd helmet. 9:15
Yeah not I M DA LAAAWW
It would have to be the Karl Urban film to be a worthy addition. The Stallone JD is really bad but the sets looked a lot like the comics.
@Latest Obsession I feel like "Robocop" has the same kind of relationship with storytelling as the movie "Super Troopers". It is a very subtle parody of the institutions they represent, but also a very overt and over-the-top parody at the same time. I love both movies.
Also, I kinda liked the new Robocop but only because I really like Joel Kinnaman and was happy to see him get a starring role. It could have been a lot better but at least he did a good job acting in it.
Bruce Campbell managed it.
_Robocop_ is the best _Judge Dredd_ adaptation that exists. With it's tongue in cheek ultra-violence & political satire, it's fitting that Miner & Neumeier provided _2000 AD_ comics to Verhoeven as reference.
The difference there is that whereas Judge Dredd is an amoral character, Murphy/RoboCop is anything but. Dress fails in adaptations when he's treated as a hero.
In the 2020s, this movie feels more like a current documentary and that's a sad indication of how far we have fallen.
I’d say Idiocracy crossed with Demolition Man would be more accurate