I think, "Bitches, leave," is more iconic than "I'd buy that for a dollar." Also ED209 is ridiculously bad; what kind of brain dead engineer build an urban combat robot that cannot navigate stairs?
The dark humour in this film is always perfectly timed and never feels out of place. The social commentary is also really humorous. A truly great film and an 80's classic.
Oh my man, you haven't seen House of a Thousand Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and many other movies then.. it is kind of gross though.
I like to tell people my ED-209 story when they watch RoboCop the first time: I saw this movie opening weekend with some friends in Hollywood. They had a full-size ED-209 roped-off in the lobby. We got as close as possible to it, marvelling at its size and detail. After the movie, we were practically hugging the walls to keep as far away as possible on our way out.
I feel like the sound-design in this movie never gets the praise it deserves, the way ED209 growls like a lion when aggressive and then squeals like a pig when distressed is awesome and weird in a way only 80's films were.
yep and the sound effects for robocop's movements (and in the voice) combined with weller's wonderful mime-work helped make robocop such a legendary character
It's actually the noise a deer makes when it's distressed. You almost never hear it because being a prey animal, deer are usually killed quickly by predators, or the kill is too far away for any sound to be picked up. But there are youtube videos showing them making the sound. Why that sound? I have no idea. But this is the same guy that presented the idea of human eyes popping out of their sockets in Mars' atmosphere to the audience.
I wish they never remade it. The new version doesn't hold up as well. As of course remakes seldom do. I try not to blame the actors or even the budget for the reasons why it wasn't as good. Mostly the director and writer wouldn't as effective as the original film was.
If she hadn't answered "yeah you know me" I might have cried Really think Peter Weller doesn't get enough credit for this performance. He manages to stay on just the right line of showing and withholding emotion. The way he stops Lewis coming up behind him with that soft "leave me alone"... that actually gets me sometimes EDIT: Also the wry, "they'll fix you. They fix everything"
Peter Weller should have been more of a force in Hollywood. I heard in an 80's interview that he hated the attitude of so many people in Hollywood at that time. He felt very out of place there. Which is why he chose to do smaller films. That allowed him to still act and not deal with too many egos from actors and directors. He was also a college professor at Syracuse University for a time while getting his Master of Arts degree there.
You showed your wife the directors cut, what a great man you are, I also showed that version to my mother, she said that time "I don't remember it to be that bloody" when mr Kinney is shot by the ED-209.
To this day, I wonder how ED 209 was supposed to *apprehend* someone. Notice how Murphy's voice loses it's mechanical tone as he regains his humanity. By the end of the film, his voice is completely human.
@@happyapple4269 And Dick outright said it didn't matter if it worked or not. They were going to make their money selling it to the government. Where something doesn't have to work.
You f people stop suggesting stupid lame movies from the f 80s... who are the people who suggest this?? Some 40 to 60 year old loser lonely men??? Stop it you weirdos ...There are only some good movies from the 80s... everything else is crap. There are way better movies from the 90s, early 2000 and some even after 2010 ...
my favourite villain is probably emil.. his ark is just horrifying.. he goes from having a terrible motorcycle accident to having his new car blown up to his skin melting off to having his organs liquified all over a car 😂
Dick's death was the most satisfying, and entertaining, with those weirdly long arms flailing as he fell. This originally received an X rating for violence. The conference room shooting scene went on for another 30-90 seconds (I forget how much longer, exactly, but it was a lot longer) and left the guy even more of a bloody mess. Once that was edited down they got an R rating. One thing Peter Weller liked about the suit was that he could wear headphones under the helmet, so he was frequently listening to music on his Walkman during filming. If I remember correctly, in the warehouse scene when he first goes after Clarence he was listening to "Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel.
When I was growing up and my parents were going to a dinner party or something, we'd stop by the video store to rent something for me to watch. When i rented Robocop, my mom came into the living room as they were leaving right at the first car chase. "Oh! This is just like the westerns I watched growing up!" Bobby goes through the windshield. "Maybe not exactly like them"
Weller is such an underrated actor in terms of his physicality. His training as a mime shows here. The gun spinning thing was actually his idea- it's an actual part of his skill set. As far as bad guys, Clarence. Menacing but also not a mastermind type. And now, when I see That 70s Show, I hear "can you fly, Eric?".
I love the glasses for Clarence, which are an aesthetic touch from director Paul Verhoeven as an allusion to Heinrich Himmler, giving him a unique sort of evil presence.
I liked how Dick Jones said the ED-209 was programmed for "urban pacification", but it couldn't do stairs. I guess they expected a lot of open street and parking ramp encounters lol.
Its size would have precluded it from going inside many buildings. Dick Jones was looking to sell it to the military. Cue the cash falling from the skies.
My initial train of thought is that they wouldn't 'need' to go up and down stairs as this would allow felons to kite them away. Delta City looked like a three dimensional enough city that every 'floor' would be outfitted with multiple of them. If someone jumped down stairs to hide fro them, they'd have another one to deal with instead.
I love that you admit you would look down as well! :D "I'll buy that for a dollar!" is the dumbest line ever... that I have been repeating since 1987. :D
Rob Bottin did the make-up effects for Robocop. You've seen his amazing practical effects work before in John Carpenter's "The Thing" and other classic 80's sci-fi/horror films. The original design for Robocop's suit was more like Judge Dredd's from the comics, it was changed for legal reasons. Great reaction guys!
You f people stop suggesting stupid lame movies from the f 80s... who are the people who suggest this?? Some 40 to 60 year old loser lonely men??? Stop it you weirdos ...There are only some good movies from the 80s... everything else is crap. There are way better movies from the 90s, early 2000 and some even after 2010 ...
"Oooooo Arnold" - Mrs. Movies Reaction hasn't begun yet and tears of joy are already in my eyes. You are the best! Oh and Yes.. Mr. Movie sure does knows how to pick them.
You: "that looks like Red" Me: "that looks like the bad guy from Robocop" Lol the benefits of my dad letting me watch whatever violent adult themed movies I wanted when I was still single digits in age 😂🤣 Also, notice the irony...their answer to crime is a cyborg that destroys the city as much as Stallone in Demolition Man hahaha freakin politicians and executives 🤣 But common sense aside, I grew up in this era of movies and I still love this shit!!! P.S. I laughed my ass off at "That's no way to talk to Jesus"
24:10 “He’s like River.” This is the weird Goldilocks moment when someone hits on an outstanding, insightful reference that couldn’t possibly have been achieved by watching things chronologically but strikes home to those who did.
While there’s a ton of good choices, this is so so easily my favourite action film of the 80s. Great sound design, great effects, and the satirical TV stuff is pitch perfect. Two very disparate things always stuck with me: that awesome bass drone during the store robbery scene that drops after the clothesline into the fridge. Perfectly timed eargasm material. And melty toxic waste Emil remains to this day one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen.
13:43 The driving scenes had to be shot with Peter Weller wearing just the upper part of the Robocop costume because he couldn't fit in the driver's seat with the full costume. 22:30 Because director Paul Verhoeven is Dutch and the director of photography is German, they didn't realize how offensive the term "b1tch" is to Americans, so they continually referred to these two actresses as "the b1tches" as they directed the scene, and Kurtwood Smith and Miquel Ferrer were laughing their heads off between takes. Frank Miller's "Robocop vs. Terminator" graphic novel mini-series actually makes ED-209 kind of lovable. It describes it as "ED-209. Not very smart, but very hard working, and very sincere." Fun fact: the cops in this movie wear Responder tactical boots by Rainier Sports. I used to own a pair. Very comfortable and great ankle support. Clarence is my favorite villain in the movie - I liked his swagger and the fact that Kurtwood Smith explained that Clarence saw himself as a revolutionary, not just a criminal. Emile's death getting partially dissolved by toxic waste then splattered by the car is my favorite death.
This movie traumatized me as a kid. The level of brutality and violence and gore was something my lil’ 8 year old eyes had never seen 🤣 The 80s were a special time, that’s for damns sure. But I feel I’m mostly well adjusted now at age 40
Same here. I was 8 when I saw it. Back in the late 80’s. Remember for years I would have dreams about Alex Murphy coming out of the Robocop suit and he was healthy and had all of the limbs.
Right there with you I watched this movie being way to young and the part of the guy in toxic waste kept me awake for months same as the Murphy death scene I still have trouble watching those parts because of that even now I am much older
The only thing that gets me every time, having lived in Dallas for several years, is how you can look (and fall) out of an office window in Detroit onto a downtown Dallas scenery...
Even though ED-209 has some flaws, he's still awesome and is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture! The actor playing Dick did a great job with the character who's more of a typical higher up corporate villain you would mostly see in the cyberpunk-genre, but Kurtwood Smith really nails the role as Clarence Boddicker, his performance is really memorable! Btw, the secretary in purple actually became Kurtwood's wife ;) =)
I saw this in the theater in high school. I loved it! The cars the police use were the next year model Ford, so they looked futuristic, because no cars were shaped like that at the time, and they were not available yet. I always loved how well Kurtwood Smith played his character, it felt good to hate and love a villain that much.
I am so jealous! I was only seven when this movie came out, but I sure as hell saw it in 1988 with my dad! LOL. This film is in my top three, but I would have loved to have been a teen (or a TWEEN) when this was released.
I saw RoboCop when I was 6yro. I loved it then, I still love it now. My comfort movie, my first hero. I love the theme of the man trapped in the machine. I love Murphy so much.
This is the first R rated movie i ever went to see atvthe theater,imagine my 17 year old self seeing so Much violence on a big screen ,fond memories :)
You f people stop suggesting stupid lame movies from the f 80s... who are the people who suggest this?? Some 40 to 60 year old loser lonely men??? Stop it you weirdos ...There are only some good movies from the 80s... everything else is crap. There are way better movies from the 90s, early 2000 and some even after 2010 ...
The Future Of Law Enforcement! Several actors were considered for the lead: Armand Assante Arnold Schwarzenegger Michael Ironside Rutger Hauer Sylvester Stallone, but they all turned it down due to their equally large frames. Later Weller was cast and lost 10 lbs a day from wearing the suit. The stop motion animation effects were done by Phil Tippet, whom did VFX work for Star Wars, and JURASSIC PARK as he won Best Visual Effects for both films
Just like Michael Biehn with Kyle Reese, NO ONE could have embodied Alex Murphy or Robocop quite like Peter Weller (who was also awesome in 'Sceamers').
Fantastic film, memorable villians, top-notch satire, great one-liners, and entertaining comic-book type violence. The only scene that is genuinely disturbing is the killing of Murphy of course. And the whole issue of what remains of Robocop's humanity lends the moral/emotional dimension.
The one I’ve been waiting for since it was announced. This is one of my all time favorite films since childhood. This movie is the reason I became a huge Verhoeven fan. According to the making of documentaries, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered to be RoboCop but his body size alone would have made the robo suit much huger, as to why the filmmakers went with a slim actor such as Peter Weller.
2:16 "What year are we in?" It is the year nineteen eighty-future, where artificial hearts are mass-produced by Yamaha, and small-business downtown storefronts are lined with brand new analog TVs. This movie is so '80s, even the male news anchor is wearing a suit with shoulder-pads.
Coincidentally, Arnold was originally cast as Robocop but had to be replaced because they had trouble getting him into the Robo suit. When they did get him in, it just looked too weird considering his buff physique.
Arnold wasn't originally cast. The suit wasn't made until Weller already got the role, since it would have to be tailor made for the actor. Arnold was busy with Commando, early on during pre-production of RoboCop. Also, RoboCop originally was meant to be a Judge Dredd film, but copyright and other legal issues forced the change, and an entirely new screenplay had to be written.
29:39 There is a type of putty in the special effects business known as "Modeling Putty" or "Mehron Putty," as Mehron makes a cubic ton of the stuff and is one of the biggest makers of it. What they did was have Peter Weller wear a special type of bald cap that was glued to his skin so that it didn't move, and went over his hair, ears, and down to his collar. They then put a silicon prosthetic, namely the head circuits and neck, which you can see if you look closely at the moment you finish asking how they did the effect is obviously hand painted and fits tight to under his chin. From there, they built up a "flare" of "skin" using the putty and shaped it over parts of the prosthetic that had ridges meant to hold the putty, and then applied some serious blending skills on the putty with makeup to match his natural skin tone. The same type of material and blending effects are in use today, which is why some actors need to be at the makeup trailer at like 3 or 4 AM for an 8 AM start as they need to give the makeup people enough time to build the makeup day after day. The two biggest examples of putty, blending, and prosthetics I can think of in recent times are Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Harkonnen from Dune, and both Dave Bautista as Drax and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique from GotG and X-Men respectively. In fact, JLaw had to be at the makeup trailer at 2 AM for 8 AM starts when she had full body shots to do, as it took 6 hours to get her into the skinsuit, color and blend her face, and then place each scale of her makeup one at a time, in exact positions. It's one of the reasons she bowed out of the X-Men movies after Dark Phoenix as it was taking a toll on her mentally and physically.
Great reactions, guys! I especially like the River reference! Favorite villain death, Dick Jones. Because he's, well, a Dick. The one thing I can never get over is how different Kurtwood Smith is between Clarence Boddiker and Red Forman. And he does a great job in both roles.
There's actually two actors in this movie that are in Dexter. Ronny Cox played the Tooth Fairy serial killer and Peter Weller played the private investigator Liddy.
That was a lot of fun. Been waiting for you to do one of the classics Mom's kind of settled in. Was watching her face for any reaction to Lewis pounding the miscreant at the beginning of the movie...nothing. She's officially an old hand now. Maybe it's not "I'll be back," but I laugh every time I hear "Your move, creep," or "Stay out of trouble." :)
I always loved the implication that somebody working at OCP literally sat down and decided to program ED-209 to make weird noises in specific situations and downloaded crap like lion's roars and babies crying into its memory banks. Since I was a kid and watched this movie for the first time back in the day, I've often wondered what other batshit crazy sounds it had available.
It's meant to be metallic screeching, not the actual noise of a pig or lion. They couldn't computer generate sound effects in the 80s so in most cases they had to use natural sounds and filter/combine them.
Fun fact: the secretary around the 28:50 mark is actually the actor who plays Clarences wife in real life, they met on set and have been together ever since. Can't wait for saving private ryan reaction
@@MrsMovies glad you finally got to watch it. I honestly think it's the greatest film ever made, there's so many great films that I've seen but SPR just stands out on how real the film feels
4:42 - Funny you should say that. Phil Tippet, the effects artist that did the stop motion animation for The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, did the stop motion animation for RoboCop. 10:38 - Apparently, Murphy speeds away from his house every morning in reverse. 21:51 - Again, funny you should say that. That's his Friendship in Mortal Kombat 11.
What made this movie so great? Mimes! No one was more surprised than me. A great mime created the movements used for Robocop and brought to life a pile of fiberglass costuming.
I do a lot of loading trucks and lifting heavy stuff in my line of work. So when something is particularly difficult to move, I will say "Dead or Alive, you're coming with me" to pump me up.
Arnold starred in a different dystopian sci-fi action satire, The Running Man; there are numerous comics and videogames that have RoboCop face the Terminator, including the latest Mortal Kombat; RoboCop uses a modified Beretta 93 burst fire pistol, and the villains use Barrett M82 .50BMG rifles
Love this film--cool that you watched the unrated cut. Peter Weller actually did have to take off the lower half of his robo suit in order to fit in the police car. 22:06-22:07 director Paul Verhoeven cameo, filling the frame as crazy dancing dude.
Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi action trio (Robocop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers) were brilliant film making. All three were infinitely quotable meme fuel. All three were visceral and disturbing nihilistic dystopias, loaded with social commentary. If you notice, all three ended up spawning sequels, remakes and/or other products. They're extremely creative.
Trivia: - 35:03 Dick Jones death was done with a stop motion puppet. Actor Ronny Cox was too old for the stunt himself and a stunt double wouldn't look convincing, since the movie used lots of stop motion anyway. - The RoboCop suit was so hot and heavy that Peter Weller was losing 3 lbs a day from water loss. Eventually, an air conditioner hose was installed in the suit. - Because the hands of the RoboCop suit were made of foam rubber, the car keys would bounce off of Peter Weller's hand every time he attempted to catch them. The production took up to 50 takes and an entire day's worth of filming before finally getting the shot right. - In the hostage scene at the city mayor office, as RoboCop is walking toward the roomthe infrared heat vision mode was actually executed using fluorescent body paint on (nude) actors and a black light. Paul Verhoeven says that he thought this technique would be cheaper than getting an actual infrared spectrometer camera.
Indeed, and when they figured out kids loved it, they made Robocop 3 aimed at kids, by removing all the bits kids loved. Who knew kids loved gorey violence? Those guys didn't.
gotta love how it takes multiple viewings to catch all the details/info this movie has to offer. like the "malfunction", sabotage, and so much more. Love how the wife has the most honest reactions ive ever seen for a 1st time watching. all the best to this channel.
I love the fact that the kryptonite of ED-209 is stairs, just like the Daleks from Doctor Who...maybe in a future movie with that robot he can fly like the Daleks did in New Who!?! Bootlicker is the best villian with Dick next IMHO.
'The Old Man' probably looks (or sounds) familiar to fans of 80s sci-fi and horror. Dan O'Herlihy had previously played Conal Cochran in Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch and also played Grig (Alex's alien co-pilot) in The Last Starfighter. Apparently the guy had an acting career going all the way back to the 1950s and was actually nominated for best actor for Robinson Crusoe in 1954. Just some tangential movie trivia BS.
Yeah, I remember him from The Last Starfighter. Good flick, that was. BTW, back then, the space battle scenes were created by what was then the most powerful computers in the world. 10 years after that, you could get that much computing power in an ordinary computer sitting on your desktop, and 10 years after _that,_ you could get it on your phone.
The Original Screenplay, Setting and Robocop Character was Based on a 2000 AD Comic Strip Called "Judge Dredd". In the Future the Police were Replaced by a new form of Law Enforcement called "Judges". They were Cops that were also Judge, Jury and Executioners, and their Best One was Judge Joseph Dredd. He Only took his Helmet off Twice during the Entire Series... Once wearing a Face Changing Disguise, and the Other was Qhen he Finally took "The Long Walk (Retirement).. But only Part of his Face. They Kept changing enough about the Judge Dredd Script until they Came up with "Robocop". The 1995 version (with Stallone was a Campy, Over-The-Top "Adam West version of" Batman Compared to the Comic, but the 2012 version of "Dredd" was more in line with the Comic 2012's "Dredd "is Also a Good Movie to check out.
RoboCop's Prime Directives-Serve the public trust" "Protect the innocent" "Uphold the law" "On weekends, do The Robot and the Thriller dance to get funky with his bad self". 😂
I love that the comedy relief in this movie ranges from fairly sharp satire (corporate greed, '80's consumerism, etc.) to straight up goofy (the commercials, ED-209's floppy toes). There's also elements of superhero comics like a tragic backstory of how he got his powers, plus the coolest looking Ford Taurus police cars that probably ever existed. Robocop is both timeless and absolutely a product of its time, right down to the Robocop toys and Saturday morning cartoon based on a film that had to be edited down to an R from an NC-17 for violence. The '80's!