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Robocop (robotic police officer film)

Started by St_Eddie, June 03, 2018, 03:29:52 AM

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St_Eddie

I'm halfway through rewatching it for about the billionth time.  It's a great bunch of lads and make no mistake.  I'd buy that for a dollar, etc.

The first film is nigh on perfection, in my opinion.  The second is inferior but still brilliant fun.  The less said about the third installment, the better.  What say you, creep?

itsfredtitmus

Had a funny little Robocop rc toy that shot out funny little styrofoam discs from its mouth


St_Eddie

I'm now 2/3rds of my way through my rewatch of Robocop (robotic police officer film).  It's bloody marvelous, it is.  The soundtrack is one of the best ever and Clanace Bodicer is a right little shit.  I'm just coming up to Emil doing his best impersonation of Toxie.  Lovely stuff.

Quote from: itsfredtitmus on June 03, 2018, 03:58:12 AM
Had a funny little Robocop rc toy that shot out funny little styrofoam discs from its funny little mouth

Fixed that for you.

Gregory Torso

I also rewatched Robotic Police Officer Film quite recently (having not seen it since I was about 12), and was pleased that it holds up well (barring some dodgy cgi like that end scene when Dick Jones is machine gunned out a window, and his arms grow long and gibbonlike as he falls). I spent a wonderful afternoon in its company with a bottle of white rum and some tangerines. Those days are gone now.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Gregory Torso on June 03, 2018, 05:06:00 AM
I also rewatched Robotic Police Officer Film quite recently (having not seen it since I was about 12), and was pleased that it holds up well (barring some dodgy cgi like that end scene when Dick Jones is machine gunned out a window, and his arms grow long and gibbonlike as he falls)...

That's a terrible special effect, to be sure but it isn't CGI.  After all, Robocop (robotic police officer film) was released in 1987, when digital effects were still in their infancy.  It's a practical effect; a miniature, to be precise.  I suspect that the ridiculously long arms are a side-effect of the camera lens which they used to film said miniature.

Quote from: Gregory Torso on June 03, 2018, 05:06:00 AM
I spent a wonderful afternoon in its company with a bottle of white rum and some tangerines. Those days are gone now.

Ah, but you'll always have the memories (and the memories of the subsequent hangover).

Gregory Torso

You're right, of course, no CGI. I kind of love the jerky Harryhausenesque ED209 stumbling around. Thought that was the coolest thing ever when I was a kid.

St_Eddie

Quote from: Gregory Torso on June 03, 2018, 05:32:09 AM
You're right, of course, no CGI. I kind of love the jerky Harryhausenesque ED209 stumbling around. Thought that was the coolest thing ever when I was a kid.

Hell, even as an adult, I still think that it's the coolest thing ever.

New Jack

I had Robotic Copper on just last week. Considering the papers reckon we will be swarming with AI Terminators, it only makes sense to expect a Robotic Police Officer also.

It's a solid watch, the villains are drawn well, it's got a couple layers, good gore. I miss the use of media, the satire... The products, the cheery news announcers talking about horrible deaths, the crapsack world.

The affectionate parody is quite funny if you've not seen it millions of times already

Mantle Retractor

Bitches leave.

One of my favourite films of all time, undoubtedly one of the greatest films of the 80s, and unquestionably the greatest robotic police officer film ever committed to celluloid.

Despite being desensitized to screen violence (from growing up watching films like this) I still, even on my 300th rewatch, find Murphy's death acutely fucking cruel and disturbing.

Also nice to see Albert and Leland from Twin Peaks in earlier roles.

An endlessly quotable masterpiece. I can't hear the word 'glitch' in everyday conversation without chuckling to myself.

thraxx


I saw this on a pirate VHS in 1987 when I was 10 and i loved it. It riled me then and it still does that they could and should have made a Dredd film that was this good. On a recent rewatch I was struck at what a bleak and brutal film it is. The parody film is hilarious, just perfect - the best bit is the cgi locker room scene with all the squatting naked po-po.

Sebastian Cobb

Can't have this thread without the tv dubbed version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-y1PAUtv3k&t=9s


Has anyone seen the TV series? I bought the dvd by accident thinking it was the film. Didn't even watch it.

It's a cracking film and no mistake.

Also have extremely fond memories of the Amiga game, which was the first one I played when I woke up Christmas morning to find that shiny new (in reality second-hand and dirty beige) A500 set up in the living room.

I stayed up late to watch the TV series when it debuted on ITV and even my tiny child's brain was baffled by how terribly they had done what seemed like an idiotproof concept.

buzby

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 03, 2018, 05:17:42 AM
That's a terrible special effect, to be sure but it isn't CGI.  After all, Robocop (robotic police officer film) was released in 1987, when digital effects were still in their infancy.  It's a practical effect; a miniature, to be precise.  I suspect that the ridiculously long arms are a side-effect of the camera lens which they used to film said miniature.
It looks like it, though the sculpt for the puppet of Ronny Kox looks like the arms are a bit out of out of proportion too:
https://youtu.be/6HgF4kq4j50?t=4m2s
I think the real problem is that they didn't have the budget to do a motion-controlled dolly zoom falling rig. It probably would have been better if Phil Tippett had been given the shot instead of Rocco Gioffre (who was mainly a matte painter), but he was too busy animating the ED209 shots I expect. Of course, the shot was perfected in live action using an overcranked camera and an arrested fall rig over a bluescreen a couple of years later in Die Hard.

The nickel-plated Desert Eagle Dick Jones uses in that shot (and was used by Mr Kinney in the ED209 boardroom demo) was originally going to be the Robotic Police Officer's weapon, but it looked too small in his hand once the costume was completed. They switched to the Auto-9, built from a Beretta 93R, a selective fire (in that it fires single shots, 3-round bursts or fully automatic) version of the Beretta 92 pistol that had to be specially imported from Italy as they are illegal in the US.

The TV series (and the third film with it's PG rating) should be erased from existence. At least the Aliens animated series got strangled at birth. There's some films that you just can't turn into a family friendly TV franchise.

Speaking of the third film, I had a pirate VHS copy of it about a year before it eventually came out. Orion went bankrupt and the film's release was delayed for a year until Orion's assetts were bought out

bgmnts

Fucking love Robocop. Although I dont really think Miguel Ferrer needed to be in the film at all, the only point of his character is to die in a really cool way. It is really cool, though.

gmoney

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on June 03, 2018, 10:47:45 AM
Has anyone seen the TV series? I bought the dvd by accident thinking it was the film. Didn't even watch it.

No but I did watch 3 of the 4 Prime Directive films that some Canadian company made when they somehow ended up with the rights. They are very, very boring. In fact the only notable thing about it was the guy playing RobertCop had a big nose which made we wonder how he squeezed the helmet over it.



The original is truly one of the most enjoyable films I've ever seen. I had the chance to see it at the Prince Charles Cinema last year, and it was a wonderful experience to see a crim get shot in the bollocks on the big screen.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: St_Eddie on June 03, 2018, 03:29:52 AM
The first film is nigh on perfection, in my opinion.  The second is inferior but still brilliant fun.  The less said about the third installment, the better.
Finally, something we can agree on.

buzby

Quote from: gmoney on June 03, 2018, 11:49:08 AM
No but I did watch 3 of the 4 Prime Directive films that some Canadian company made when they somehow ended up with the rights.
Made by Fireworks Entertainment as quick cash in to use the rights before they expired which they aquired though the purchase of Skyvision (the Canadian company who bought the TV rights from Orion when they were desperate for cash) who made the original TV series).

BeardFaceMan

Alright, im gonna say it, did anyone bother with the remake?  i cant think of a more pointless idea, I steered well clear. Just how bad was it?

biggytitbo

I'd weirdly never seen this robotic police officer film until a few weeks ago and it really is as good as it's reputation suggestion.

BlodwynPig

Robocop? Robocrap more like. Guinea-Bissau Robocop is much better.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on June 03, 2018, 12:42:23 PM
Alright, im gonna say it, did anyone bother with the remake?  i cant think of a more pointless idea
I haven't watched it and I've heard it's not much (Robo) cop, but (heretical as it may be) I don't think the idea is inherently pointless. As a satire, there's surely plenty of material in today's world for a new version to sink its teeth into. I've always thought District 9 was a worthy spiritual successor.

Has anyone read Frank Miller's comic based on his original script for Robocop 2? He seems both the perfect and worst possible choice to write one of these.

BeardFaceMan

Yeah but the remake wasnt a satire was it, it more of a generic pg13 action flick? Stripping away the satire and the humour and the extreme violence is what renders the remake completely pointless. I agree theres a lot they could have done with a remake that was more in keeping the original spirit of the film, but this really did feel like one of those remakes where they had a generic action film, decided the name 'Robocop' had enough name recognition that they could make a profit, and then put the two together with as little effort as possible. A 100% money grab with zero artistic merit, as making a good film was not the point of the exercise.

colacentral

Maybe a top 5 film for me, perfect from start to end.

Ends on a high note too - bad guy dies because he got fired, "Murphy," credits. Makes its point and gets out without any bollocks.

spamwangler

Great film - I feel like Tokyo gore police makes a great double bill, with it, a partner in grubby crime. Might start a thread on spiritual sequels and double bills actually

itsfredtitmus

Quote from: spamwangler on June 03, 2018, 03:02:40 PM
Great film - I feel like Tokyo gore police makes a great double bill, with it, a partner in grubby crime. Might start a thread on spiritual sequels and double bills actually
do it please

itsfredtitmus

crazy thunder road? burst city? hardware? i can't think of anything else

actually...
the new dredd


Fishfinger

Quote from: Mantle Retractor on June 03, 2018, 10:36:59 AM
Also nice to see Albert and Leland from Twin Peaks in earlier roles.

Miguel Ferrer said he was never out of work after appearing in Robotic Police Officer Film. "Thank god for that robot movie!" he said, and he always made time for people who wanted to interview him about it. I think that's pretty sweet.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth


Fishfinger

Over 2 hours of Robocop podcast goodness, including an interview with the aforementioned Mr Ferrer: http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2011/06/episode-16-robocop.html

Listened to it once yonks ago, but iirc it was great.