RoboCop

RoboCop is a 1987 Cyberpunk film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film features Peter Weller, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer and Ronny Cox. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan, in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg, otherwise known as "RoboCop".

RoboCop explores larger themes regarding the media and human nature in addition to being a big budget action film. It has spawned merchandise, two sequels, four television series and two comic book adaptations.

Plot

The film is set in a dystopian near future, in Detroit, Michigan. Violent crime is out of control, and the city is in financial ruin. The city government contracts the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to fund and operate the Detroit Police Department, in effect privatizing it. OCP is not interested in rebuilding "Old Detroit" but rather replacing it with a modern utopia called "Delta City". Before this construction project can begin, however, OCP needs to end crime in the city, but knows it can't rely on an already undermanned police department.

At an executive meeting OCP Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) presents the new law enforcement droid ED-209, which he believes will end crime in Old Detroit. The demonstration quickly goes awry when ED-209 fails to recognize that the OCP volunteer dropped his weapon, as commanded by the droid. The unarmed executive unsuccessfully tries to flee and is gunned down. Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) uses the opportunity to propose the RoboCop program directly to the head of OCP, the Old Man (Daniel O'Herlihy), who accepts. As a result, Morton immediately earns the hatred of Jones.

Meanwhile, Detroit police officers Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) and Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen) pursue a crew of thugs during an armored car robbery. Later, inside an abandoned steel mill, Murphy is captured, tortured and shot in the head by the notorious Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his men. After being pronounced dead, Murphy's brain and face are subsequently rebuilt into a cyborg, and he is dubbed "RoboCop." RoboCop patrols the city and proves extremely effective at stopping violent crime. Morton's overwhelmingly successful project propels him to an OCP vice presidency, but Dick Jones warns him that his humiliation won't go unanswered. Boddicker, who has been secretly working for Jones, arrives at his mansion and murders Bob Morton on Jones' orders.

As time passes, RoboCop begins to experience memories from his previous life and grows determined to hunt down Boddicker and his gang. Boddicker is arrested by RoboCop following a gunfight in a cocaine refinery. In desperation, Boddicker announces that Dick Jones is supposed to be protecting him. After attempting to arrest Jones for aiding and abetting a fugitive, RoboCop learns of Directive Four, which prevents him from arresting any senior OCP executive. After Jones boasts of his crimes, RoboCop is severely damaged by an ED-209 droid and a police SWAT team. However, he escapes with the help of his former partner, Anne Lewis.

Jones frees Boddicker and, after ordering him to destroy RoboCop, he promises to make him the new crime lord of Delta City. Boddicker's gang members, rounded up by RoboCop, are released when the police force goes on strike. Supplied with military weapons by Jones, they follow RoboCop to the same abandoned steel mill in which the gang murdered Officer Murphy. In a final showdown, RoboCop and Lewis kill Boddicker and the gang. The battle leaves RoboCop damaged and Lewis seriously wounded.

RoboCop proceeds to the OCP headquarters and reveals evidence of Jones' crimes to the OCP board of directors. Jones tries to take the CEO hostage, but as he starts making demands, the Old Man fires him and invalidates his protection under Directive Four. RoboCop immediately shoots Jones, sending his body flying through the boardroom window. When the CEO asks for his name, Robocop smiles and replies, "Murphy."

Production details

RoboCop was written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. Edward Neumeier stated that he first got the idea of Robocop when he walked past a poster for Blade Runner. He asked his friend what the film was about and he replied saying, "It's about a cop hunting robots". This then sparked the idea for him about a Robot Cop.

Allegedly, while the two were attempting to pitch the screenplay around Hollywood, they accidentally got stuck at an airplane terminal with a high-ranking movie executive for several hours. Here they were able to warm him up for the project and thus set into motion the chain of events which eventually became RoboCop the movie.

RoboCop marked the first major Hollywood production for Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. Although he had been working in the Netherlands for over a decade and directed several films to great acclaim (e.g. Soldier of Orange), Verhoeven moved away in 1984 to seek broader opportunities in Hollywood. While RoboCop is often credited as his English language debut, he had in fact previously made Flesh & Blood in 1985, starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was for RoboCop, however, that Verhoeven would rise to the international spotlight.

On the Criterion Edition audio commentary (available on both the laserdisc and DVD versions) Verhoeven recalls that, when he first glanced through the script, he threw it away in disgust. Afterwards, his wife picked the script from the bin and read it more thoroughly, convincing him that the plot had more substance than he originally assumed. Repo Man director Alex Cox was offered to direct before Verhoeven came aboard.^[1]

The character of RoboCop itself was inspired by Judge Dredd^[2] as well as the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man (one of these comic books can be seen during the convenience store robbery, though oddly, the issue - #142, January 1981 - is not only anachronistic for the movie's setting, but was several years old when the movie was made). Iron Man was conceived by Stan Lee as the alter ego of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist working as a military contractor. During the original run of the comic, Iron Man was mostly occupied battling communism. In this light, RoboCop is seen as a subversive take on this classic Marvel character. Although both Neumeier and Verhoeven have declared themselves staunchly on the political left, Neumeier recalls on the audio commentary to Starship Troopers that many of his leftist friends wrongly perceived RoboCop as a fascist movie. However, on the 20th Anniversary DVD, producer Jon Davison referred to the film's message as "fascism for liberals" - a politically liberal film done in the most violent way possible.

In several articles and interviews previously published and also on the DVD commentary to the film, Paul Verhoeven revealed that, despite not being a Christian, he immediately saw parallels in the story of RoboCop with that of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In the commentary, Verhoeven goes on to defend the graphic death of Murphy as a necessity to make the resurrection as RoboCop gain dramatic weight, and the aversion of the audience to the villains greater. Four years earlier, Verhoeven had made the movie The Fourth Man, which relies heavily on Christian symbolism.

A running joke within RoboCop is a popular, but inane TV show with the catchphrase "I'd buy that for a dollar!", which people in the film's future universe find humorous. The star is the goofy Bixby Snyder (S.D. Nemeth), who is somewhat reminiscent of Benny Hill. Neither the name of the show nor the character are ever revealed in the movie, although girls are heard to greet him with "Bixby!" and "Happy birthday Dave!" On the DVD commentary, Edward Neumeier comments that somehow the explanation & history of this television show never made it into the script. A deleted scene from the DVD finally reveals the show's name to be It's Not My Problem!, which is also a reference to one of the films major themes of greed and personal satisfaction.

Casting

Paul Verhoeven initially considered Rutger Hauer, whom he had worked with on most of his films, as well as Michael Ironside, for the role of RoboCop. Allegedly Arnold Schwarzenegger was at one point in talks to do the film, but Verhoeven eventually dismissed all three on the basis that the bulky RoboCop costume would require a light-built actor to work with. Peter Weller was subsequently cast as Murphy/RoboCop.

In the commentary, Verhoeven explains his choice to cast Kurtwood Smith and Ronny Cox as the central villains. Ronny Cox was an actor who until then was primarily known for "nice-guy" roles such as fatherly figures, and similarly Kurtwood Smith was cast against type as a more intellectual type of gang leader; Smith was originally brought in to read for both Clarence and Dick Jones.^[3] Verhoeven comments that the look of Clarence Boddicker with the glasses reminded him of Heinrich Himmler.

The principal cast of RoboCop:

• Peter Weller — Officer Alex Murphy / RoboCop
• Nancy Allen — Officer Anne Lewis
• Ronny Cox — Richard "Dick" Jones
• Kurtwood Smith — Clarence Boddicker
• Miguel Ferrer — Robert "Bob" Morton
• Dan O'Herlihy — The Old Man
• Paul McCrane — Emil Antonowsky
• Ray Wise — Leon Nash
• Jesse D. Goins — Joe Cox
• Calvin Jung — Steve Minh
• Robert DoQui — Sergeant Warren Reed
• Felton Perry — Donald Johnson
• Lee de Broux - Sal

In addition, the secretary of OCP executive Dick Jones (whom Boddicker lasciviously hits on) is played by Joan Pirkle, the real-life wife of Kurtwood Smith. Television personality Leeza Gibbons has a small role as news anchor Jesse Perkins. Paul Verhoeven himself has a small cameo during the arrest of Leon in the nightclub scene; there is one brief close-up of him dancing maniacally as Leon is being dragged away by his hair.

Filming

Filming began during the summer of 1986 and lasted from August 6 until mid-October. Interestingly, the scenes depicting Murphy's 'death' were not filmed until the following January (1987), some months after principal shooting had ceased. Many of the urban settings of the movie were filmed in downtown Dallas, Texas due to the futuristic appearances of the buildings. The front of Dallas City Hall was used as the exterior for the fictional OCP Headquarters, combined with extensive matte painting to make the building appear taller.

Peter Weller had prepared extensively for the role using a padded costume (supposedly, development of the actual RoboCop suit was three weeks behind schedule). By the time shooting was underway and the costume arrived on set, however, Weller discovered he was almost unable to move in it as he had anticipated, and required additional training to get accustomed. Weller later revealed to Roger Ebert that during filming, he was losing three pounds a day due to sweat loss while wearing the RoboCop suit in +100°F (+38°C) temperatures.^[4] Peter's personal assistant, Todd Trotter, was responsible for keeping the actor cool in between takes with electric fans and, when available, large ducts connected to free-standing air conditioning units. The suit later had a fan built into it.

Vehicles

The 1986 Ford Taurus was used as the police cruiser in the movie, due to its then-futuristic design.

One of the Taurus's competitors at the time, the Pontiac 6000, is parodied in the movie as the "6000 SUX". The 6000 SUX itself was based on a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass with extensive bodywork. Commercials advertise the SUX as "an American tradition" with a fuel efficiency of 8.2 miles per gallon. In early production, it was to be powered by jet turbines; the exhaust of the turbine is still visible above the rear license plate of Clarence Boddicker's SUX in chase scenes. The 6000 SUX was designed by Gene Winfield of Winfield Rod & Custom, while Chiodo Brothers Productions fabricated and animated the dinosaur puppet in the 6000 SUX commercial. The dinosaur itself was animated by Don Waller, who also had a cameo in the same sequence, reacting to the rampaging creature in a tight close-up.^[5].

The newly-released Merkur XR4Ti makes a small cameo appearance as an executive vehicle when RoboCop is delivered to the precinct.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack score for the movie was composed by Basil Poledouris (1945 - 2006), who used both synthesized and orchestral music as a mirror to the man-versus-machine theme of the movie. The score alternates brass heavy material, including the memorable RoboCop theme and ED-209's theme, with more introverted pieces for strings, such as during RoboCop's home-coming scene. The soundtrack is available on CD and has been reissued and remastered several times in recent years. The theme song also made its way into the arcade and NES RoboCop video games.

In the Nightclub scene of the movie, the song "Show Me Your Spine" by P.T.P. was played. P.T.P was a short lived side project consisting of members of the band Ministry. However, this song was not available in any official form and could only be heard in the film. It was eventually released in 2004 on a compilation album called Side Trax by Ministry.

Rating

The movie was originally given an X rating by the MPAA in 1987 (The rating which replaced X, NC-17, did not yet exist). To satisfy the requirements of the ratings board, Verhoeven trimmed blood and gore from the most violent scenes in the movie, including the malfunctioning of ED-209, Murphy's execution (where his entire right arm is severed by a shotgun blast and a final overhead shot of Lewis sobbing over Murphy on the blood-soaked floor), and the final battle with Clarence Boddicker. Verhoeven also added humorous commercials throughout the news broadcasts to lighten the mood and distract from the violent aspects of the movie. The film was re-evaluated and given an R rating. The original version was included on the Criterion Collection laserdisc and DVD of the film (both now out of print), the 2005 trilogy box set and the 2007 anniversary edition, the latter two were released by MGM and are classified as unrated.

Regarding the cut scenes, Verhoeven stated in the 2007 anniversary edition DVD that he had wanted the violence to be 'over the top', in an almost comical fashion (the executive that is killed by ED-209, for example, and the line about calling a paramedic soon after his demise, was meant as black comedy). Verhoeven also states that the tone of the violence was changed to a more upsetting tone due to the cuts requested by the MPAA, and that the cuts also remove footage of the extensive animatronic puppet of Murphy just before he is executed by Boddicker.

Reception

RoboCop opened in American theaters on July 17, 1987. The film was a commercial success and grossed over $8 million in its opening weekend and almost $54 million during its domestic run, making it the 16th most successful movie that year.^[6][7]

The film received mostly positive reviews. On the Rotten Tomatoes site, it has an 85% freshness from critics, with the following consensus: While over-the-top and gory, Robocop is also a surprisingly smart sci-fi flick that uses ultraviolence to disguise its satire of American culture.^[8]

Robocop was nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing and an Academy Award for Sound. It won the Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly named it the #14 greatest action movie of all time.^[9]

The film is considered now among many film scholars to be a masterpiece of subversive cultural criticism, and is often cited amongst several other films in Verhoeven's "Hollywood work", such as Starship Troopers.

At its release, British director Ken Russell said that this was the best sci-fi movie ever made since Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).

Themes

RoboCop explores larger themes regarding the media and human nature in addition to being a big budget action film; the philosopher Steven Best wrote an essay on some of this content.^[10]

In the Criterion Edition DVD commentary track, executive producer Jon Davison and writer Edward Neumeier both point to the decay of American industry from the 1970s through the early 1980s. The abandoned Rust Belt-style factories that RoboCop and Clarence Boddicker's gang use as hideouts demonstrate this theme. Massive unemployment is prevalent, being reported frequently on the news, as is poverty and the crime that results from economic hardship.

The concept of dehumanization is also represented in the title character. Murphy is killed in the line of duty and rebuilt as a cold, mechanized, and violent entity. Although he later seems to regain some of his humanity, his ruthlessness in dealing with criminals is quite outside the boundaries of reasonable use of force employed by the police. His methods are, however, amazingly effective against the criminal elements of the city, with the movie depicting crime decreasing dramatically where RoboCop is operating.

In contrast to the theme of dehumanization is the theme of regaining one's humanity. Although officer Murphy has become "RoboCop", during the last sequence of the movie we find that, despite being a product of OCP, his basic core of individuality has not been lost. The OCP CEO says, "Nice shooting, son, what's your name?" RoboCop smiles and replies, "Murphy." It is now clear that RoboCop is no longer just a programmed and manufactured amalgam of flesh and robotics, but a human being with sense of self.

Another theme is the sense of justice finally being brought to vicious and remorseless criminals. The criminals brutally mutilate and then execute Murphy as well as many other cops and innocent citizens and are involved in drug trafficking, murder, and prostitution. A key point is that when the police go on strike, all the criminals are released from prison, despite the number and severity of the crimes they were charged with. This shows that the judicial system is unable to effectively contend with criminals, and the only way for the citizens of Detroit to be truly safe is when Murphy "deals" with them. The film shifts between three groups of characters-- the Detroit police, the Boddicker gang (whose 7 members are killed off at different points in the film), and the corporate executives at OCP.

Director Paul Verhoeven, known for his heavy use of Christian symbolism, states in the documentary Flesh and Steel: The Making of Robocop (featured on the Robocop DVD) that his intention was to portray Robocop as a Christ figure. This is represented in the horrific death of Murphy (crucifixion), his return as Robocop (resurrection), and one scene near the end of the film where Robocop is seen walking over water.

Sequels, spin-offs, and attractions

Due to the enduring popularity of the character, there have been a number of RoboCop spin-offs, sequels, and attractions. They are:

• Two feature film sequels, RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3, were made. Both movies were based on a story by Frank Miller, but were less successful financially and critically.
• A series of licensed video games for various arcade and home console systems. See: RoboCop computer and video games and Robocop versus The Terminator.
• Two animated television series, RoboCop: The Animated Series in the 1980s, and RoboCop: Alpha Commando in the late-90s.
• A live-action television series in 1994, RoboCop: The Series.
• RoboCop: The Ride – SimEx-iWerks (formerly iWerks Entertainment) opened RoboCop: The Ride around the world at its various iWerks Motion Simulator Theaters, amusement parks, and casinos in the winter of 1995 . The "Turbo Ride", as it was called, was a "ride simulation" synchronizing hydraulically-activated seats with an over-sized screen displaying the projection, putting the audience right in the middle of the movie action. The ride focused on you assisting RoboCop riding a souped-up police motorcycle on a mission to save the mayor of Detroit from the clutches of the vicious Cyberpunk ROM and his gang of villains. In the latter part of the ride the bike would then convert into hover mode and would fly through the skyline of New Detroit using rockets that jettisoned from the back sides of the motorcycle. Though not as impressive or technical-savvy as other iWerks attractions at the time, due to the enduring popularity of the character the ride was very popular amongst children and teenagers and especially in foreign markets outside of North America. The ride was a mixture of motion picture film and computer animation which lasted approximately 4:00 minutes, the cost was $5.00 USD to ride at pay-per-ride theaters. The ride was removed from the iWerks theaters in the North American market in 1998.^[11]
• A four-part television mini-series, RoboCop: Prime Directives, in 2000.
• Comic books published by Marvel, Dark Horse Comics and Avatar Press which, along with containing the further adventures of RoboCop, also included titles such as the speculative crossover RoboCop vs. The Terminator (which was also converted into a video game and almost into a movie) and Frank Miller's RoboCop, a graphic novel limited series of Miller's rejected original script for RoboCop 2.
• In 1989, Toei Company created a series similar to, and based on, RoboCop, called Kidou Keiji Jiban. They did the same in 1993 with Tokusou Robo Janperson.

2010 film

Sony Pictures (Screen Gems division) was working on a new RoboCop film in late 2005. No details were revealed other than the unofficial (and confirmed) announcement. In November 2006, Bloody Disgusting reported that the RoboCop remake had been halted.^[12]

In March 2008, however, RoboCop was mentioned in an MGM press release^[13] regarding franchises it would be focusing on in the future. An MGM poster displayed at the Licensing International Expo of June 2008 read, "RoboCop coming 2010".^[14] The studio has met with Darren Aronofsky to discuss the possibility of his directing the film.^[15]. Aronofsky was confirmed as the director during G4's live coverage of Comic-Con. This new film is not expected to be a sequel, but rather a rebooted version.

References

External links

• RoboCop at the Internet Movie Database
• RoboCop Archive
• Criterion Collection essay by Carrie Rickey
• Detailed Comparison between R-Rated and Unrated Directors Cut

American films by year Actors · Directors · Animation · Cinematographers · Composers  · Editors · Films A–Z · Producers · Screenwriters 1890s · 1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 · 1904 · 1905 · 1906 · 1907 · 1908 · 1909 · 1910 · 1911 · 1912 · 1913 · 1914 · 1915 · 1916 · 1917 · 1918 · 1919 · 1920 · 1921 · 1922 · 1923 · 1924 · 1925 · 1926 · 1927 · 1928 · 1929 · 1930 · 1931 · 1932 · 1933 · 1934 · 1935 · 1936 · 1937 · 1938 · 1939 · 1940 · 1941 · 1942 · 1943 · 1944 · 1945 · 1946 · 1947 · 1948 · 1949 · 1950 · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 · 1958 · 1959 · 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 · 1969 · 1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 · 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 · 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009