My stepdad took me to this film when I was a kid in the 80s. I loved every minute of it, and on the way home he was laughing in the car.."We better not tell your mom what you saw today". Not only was this a great film but a bonding moment between my stepdad.
A great movie - too bad that everything coming afterwards has absolutely sucked. The so-called sequels, the comics, the TV series (live-action and animated) are all garbage. GARBAGE. Unrecyclable garbage. What should have come afterwards? More emphasis on RoboCop's humanity. This video mentions the lack of romance between Anne Lewis and Murphy/Robo. However, the sequel should have had some romance - between Robo and another woman. She's a technician at OCP, who goes along with RoboCop being a machine, but little by little she realizes there is humanity within the hardware. She secretly meets with him and helps draw out his human side. Eventually they become lovers. This being such a dark series, though, something horrible has to happen to her, which will prove for once and all that RoboCop is indeed human, all too human. More machine fights? Robo's sweetheart can be the one to go toe-to-toe with whatever ED-209's successor is. She uses some heavy equipment, maybe a backhoe or heavy-duty forklift, to battle the mechanical menace, and though she wins the duel she is terribly mangled. Does she live? Does OCP rebuild her?
This story and movie is so multi dimensional 1) satire at its best 2) incredible acting 3) incredible characters 4) appeals to the inner geek 5) appeals to the inner kid who loves gory movies 6) it’s for those who want to think deeply about movies 7) it’s for those who don’t want to think deeply about movies It’s so underrated and original!
Too bad the sequels were pure garbage. The emphasis should have been on Robocop regaining more of his humanity. And there should have been some romance - not between him and Anne Lewis, but between him and somebody who works at OCP - maybe a background character who appeared in the first film, somebody who is seen only once or twice. She eventually realizes there is a human soul within the hardware, and encourages him to stand up for himself. She also uses her computer skills to help Robo/Murphy stay a jump or two ahead of the OCP ratbags. And because of the milieu, she will have to face extreme danger - and demonstrate her willingness to sacrifice herself--
"They'll fix you..." "They fix everything..." one of my favorite lines in the film, and one that could easily come off as ironic were it not for Weller's delivery, somewhat lamenting the manner in which Murphy himself was "fixed".
I love the delivery of this line, too. You can hear a kind of defeat in his voice ... like fixing everything isn't necessarily a good thing. He's still not sure who (what) he is at this point, and he's worried about Lewis becoming like him. I think this is what makes the final scene -- "What's your name? -- so powerful.
@@Tim_the_Enchanter - There's a deleted scene showing Lewis recovering in hospital, the implication being that before taking on ED-209 and Dick Jones, Murphy's first priority was to get her to the ER before she was too far gone to save (and possibly have to go through what he went through).
One thing I wanted to add about Clarence's character is his glasses. They're unstylish, and the last thing you'd expect to see on a villain as ferocious as Clarence. In lesser hands, Clarence would have probably been portrayed physically as a brute, but Kurtwood Smith's bespectacled, middle aged, balding bad guy brings a sense of believably and normality to his character. I've also read in interviews with Verhoeven that he actually thought Kurtwood's glasses added a sense of banal evil to his character, because the glasses reminded Verhoeven, who is Dutch, of Himmler's glasses. So, the glasses were also a personal touch for Verhoeven in what he associates "evil" with.
A short-sighted criminal in a Hollywood blockbuster!? I wouldn't buy that for a dollar! But Verhoeven insisted on the look and I'm glad in the end he had his way. Ruthless, hot-headed but also intelligent and with leadership skills. Although he based Bodicker partly on Himmler I read he never said that to Smith while shooting so that he would construct his own character, without influencing him too much.
Not to forget he was (compared to some cast members) shorter, more balding and lesser built. Not your average Hollywood lead in many ways. He wasn't a "sexy" bad guy in any way (Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man for example). Boddeker was VERY real in that sense. Add to that the talent...
@@ElDerpy Even creepier is Clarence looks like a normal guy. Many people can pass for ordinary Joes and Janes, yet they commit unspeakable acts of cruelty in secret. Most often, it is against their own family. The majority of abuse victims know their abusers.
Thing is that makes him realistic, look at most serial killers to top ten most wanted in your city or across the country and not all fit the look or one would think...I mean look at 5 6 Pablo Escobar
@@Ometecuhtli - I recently saw a video where Clarence's intelligence was discussed, and apparently that was very much the intent. The usual trope would have Dick Jones hiring a gang of thugs as muscle; Clarence completely subverts that - he's a vicious, amoral sociopath, but he's neither a stereotypical "thug" nor an unstable psychopath with delusions of grandeur. He's not only sane, intelligent and methodical - he's also made a conscious decision to be the way he is and takes pleasure in it - that's what makes him so dangerous and frightening. Cain in the sequel feels like a cartoon character by comparison.
I don't remember another movie that in the last word spoken shows the final step the hero does to complete his journey, the way he says his name is "Murphy" brings Robocop to a full circle in his quest to regain his humanity. Genius.
I REMEMBER ASKING MY MOTHER TO GET ME THIS FOR CHRISTMAS WHEN I WAS 7 YRS OLD, SHE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE 18 CERTIFICATE RATING WAS AND WE WATCHED IT ON XMAS MORNING. HER FACE WAS A PICTURE. CERTAINLY A CHRISTMAS I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER :-)
I remember watching it on VHS with my parents at my uncle's house when I was five. The movie scarred me for sure with how violent Murphy's death was and the acid bath. It was my first time seeing boobs too, haha. I remember asking my parents why that guy in the police locker room had a saggy chest.
Ahhh dude the “DUFF DUFF DUFF” thudding sounds! As a kid me and my mates used to pretend to be Robocop we’d move like him making the sounds as we walked! 😂 good times indeed!
Things that made this movie epic, no particular order: Poledouris' music especially as Murphy is wheeled into hospital. The decision to spend a huge chunk of budget on the Robo suit. Verhoeven's 'outsider' perspective enabling the satire to cut deep, and the Hollywood tropes to lay low. The casting director doing an amazing job in general, but especially landing Weller and Smith. Peter Weller not only taking a role seriously where the motivation is: "You are a robot, your personality is a dead man, you wear a mask and can only emote with your mouth.", but also nailing the performance. Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox, Dan O'Herlihy and Nancy Allen superb supporting performances. A script so tightly wound that there are barely any throwaway lines. A clever, unique and intriguing take on the 'Frankenstein' theme by the writers.
Without Paul Verhoevan the film probably would have been a disaster or a silly cult film at best. This film actually gets better and better as time goes by.
Yep. Some of us who were kids/young teenagers in the 80's were definitely scarred for life. Also, the way parents just let us run wild without a care in the world, wtf. I'm surprised I came out of that decade alive, lol 😁
@@anneblubaugh58 What? Murphy gets his limbs blown off, a bad guy gets melted in nuclear waste, the company guy gets shot to pieces by the giant robot, etc. But a sex scene was not okay to watch? Okaaaay 😁
Just as long as they forget the "sequels," the "remake," and everything else that has come since. Nothing captures the spirit of the original movie - or continues the story properly.
When I was a kid in the eighties me and my buddies would go to the video store every weekend. Unless there was something new and amazing we’d just rent Robocop over and over and it never got boring. That theme tune is seared into my mind.
The anticipation of seeing him was huge the sneak peek on the tv then the back view while hearing the thud thud of his walk … masterpiece. A work of art… genius
The gun spin was a brilliant little bit of story telling to give a glimpse into the kind of father Murphy was. Side note: I can quote that movie verbatim.
My brother and I have been quoting each other lines from the movie for years. Every few months we'll start a texting chain out of the blue. It's our favorite movie of all time .
I showed this movie to my fairly moderate Catholic family at grandma’s house, with all my aunts and uncles over for a Sunday dinner. While there were moments that bothered them (co-ed changing room) (brutal boardroom “glitch”) (Lewis: “sorry chief, I f@cked up”. my uncle: “no way. Never” 😂😭), they all loved the movie, because it’s a great movie at its core. It’s kind of sad when I mention it as one of my favorite films, people’s reactions are automatically “oh you’re into those kinds of movies...” but the few that are willing to watch it always come back to me surprised and with high praise. It should’ve stayed a stand-alone film. On a side note, the 2014 film was an interesting take on the concept, I enjoyed it for what it was, but it was another completely unnecessary remake of a much better film it could never hope to beat.
Frank Miller, the comic book guy wrote the second or third movie but it was changed by the movie process where they constantly change scripts. It would be interesting if that script was bought off and made into comic book. The original script was probably good. The concept could've had good sequels. I can't see why not. The people in charge seemed to be the problem. Verhoven probably had nothing to do with them as well.
@@MicahMicahel I heard they made a comic out of his original script and it’s actually worse than what became Robocop 2, just super cheesy and not taken seriously like the first. I know people like to think the creators are always great and that studios ruin everything, but I think this time it was the other way around…. :/ But I agree, the story could’ve had great sequels. The tv shows were goofy but had some good ideas. In the world of reboots and late late sequels, I could see a great sequel being made now. With an aged Murphy.
One of my all-time favourite films, genuinely flawless execution of a fantastic set of ideas. Of all of the spectacular practical effects, I think Murphy's unmasked face (while a little more low-key) might actually be my favourite. It holds up so well, and it's a perfect balance of human and horrifying, without going too far in either direction to make it distracting. Among the many, many mistakes of the remake, I think leaving Joel Kinnaman's face more or less completely normal was one of the worst from a design perspective. Made him look far too much like just a regular guy wearing a big armoured suit.
Completely agree. In the original Murphy looked pretty horrifical. He looked like a scifi Frankenstein monster. It was perfect! Those scenes where he is looking at his reflection in the glass. He looks terrible, but at the same time Louis tells him it's good to see him again. And the top notch makeup / effects add so much to the scene. Great film making! I feel like the remake is just trying to make him look cool. I hate that. Yeah they tried to shock us showing he was just a head, lungs and one hand, but I think losing your mind / humanity is much more impactful.
@@williamcronshaw5262 Great point. His face would look like Freddy Kruger. I think shooting him looked so much more brutal, and personal in regards to the guys standing there pulling the trigger and laughing.
scarsunseen24 it’s rapidly becoming clear to me how much I love this movie too. It makes me very curious about Verhooven’s pre English language stuff from before he came to America.
Robocop and Starship Troopers are basically twin films. In my mind they will always be a double feature and essentially occupy the same universe for me. Same Director Same Writer Same Composer Same Director of Photography Same Aspect Ratio The films even share common members of the VFX team in Phil Tippett and Craig Hayes.
@@U2QuoZepplin A good place to start would be his break out debut in the Netherlands 'Soldier of Orange' based on a true WWII story starring Rutger Hauer. www.imdb.com/title/tt0076734/
Actually the decay started in the 1950's, the city was based around car manufacturing and yet this was the era that shipping containers became standardizes and outsourcing slowly began. Blacks moved in because of falling property values, not as a cause, real-estate agents took advantage of racial animus then and encouraged white flight but this was not the initial cause.
It's Verhoeven's Hollywood masterpiece. Basic Instinct is his underappreciated psychological meta thriller, Starship Troopers his great sci-fi satire but Robocop mixes satire, political commentary and religious metaphor in a tight, funny, shocking and massively entertaining action film that delivers equally and is equally satisfying in all of them. For me Verhoeven is the unsung Hollywood director who should be in the same conversation as Cameron, but far more interesting in what he brought to the big budget genre picture. Good call.
You just reminded me of the campaign to get a Robes statue put up in Detroit. Its happening, bro. www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a30521657/robocop-statue-detroit/
I just watched this movie for the first time at 30 years old…one of the best movies I’ve seen. Also seen the 2014 version and it definitely pales in comparison to the 1987 version. Paul Verhoeven is such a visionary filmmaker.
Boddicker was actually likeable as a villian as he was so light hearted as a mass murderer and criminal and so quick to think and always has the upper hand.
My Big Brother took me to see Robocop back in ‘87 & we were both blown away. When the movie ended the entire audience applauded. One of the best movies ever made! I freakin love it! Awesome spot on video!
Everyone made fun of me because "I'm a nerd and RoboCop is my favorite movie". But now that RoboCop is in Mortal Kombat 11, a game that all the "cool kids" *cough cough* play in my school everyone is asking me about it.
The effect that baffles me to this day is robocop without the visor, I to this day cannot see where wellers face stops and the prosthetics begins.. Even the metal back of his head, I can't see where the real back of his head would fit.. It has to be one of the best makeup jobs of all time
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has always been amazed by this. As I was watching it two nights ago, I tried to get to the bottom of it. Apparently they needed to bald cap him, then a two part prosthesis was done: the back half with all the cybernetics and a prosthetic makeup of basically what can be described as the outer parts of his face on top of his own face that was blended together. THAT right there is arguably the BEST special FX make-up of all Time because it was so unique that it was near unexplainable
This is the movie answer when someone asks me "What is the best movie in the world". I remember when i was watching it as a kid. Now i feel both nostalgic and proud when i watch it.
I remember I was pretty scared to see it cause I thought it was going to be super gory. Turns out it was freakin awesome! The reason why the first one worked so well was because it had the perfect mix of comic book crazy with just the right touch of reality.
The lead actor and actress of this film, Peter Weller and Nancy Allen, have the SAME Birthday as me. They both, along with Kurtwood Smith and Director Paul Verhoeven, all share the same Astrology sign as me(Not that I am very invested in that sort of thing) I've always loved this movie and finding out those little pieces of trivia only enhanced the sort of connection I feel I have with the film.
Or if the movie was made today the scene where robo shoots through the dress and hits the guy in the nuts well today there is a good chance that the dude looks like a lady
Cheers Dan that was splendid. I went to see Robocop in Feburary 1988 at the Odeon Cinema in Nottingham. So blown away by it I went the very next day to see it again. I kept the ticket stubs..."Come quietly or there will be...trouble"
It would come on a lot on HBO when i was a kid. I really enjoyed the movie even after the 2nd time. Also Arnold and Van Dam.. Action movies in 80s and 90s were pretty good.
I always remember an interview with the lead from the remake talking about how happy he was that the mask was removable so he could have an easier time emoting. on the other hand, Peter Weller went to Mime school to learn how to emote just through movement. now there is a real actor.
All of the music in robocop matched every scene to a T, the music during certain scenes is what made you sad or make you feel as if you knew murphy and made you said for everything he was going through, best music for a movie in history
You know how everyone has that one movie that they would call a masterpiece, and youtube is inundated with videos by people calling subjectively terrible movies objective masterpieces, well--ROBOCOP IS A MASTERPIECE. FIGHT ME!
Clarence Boddicker to this day is still one of the most realistic, sadistic, ruthless villains ever put on screen. The realistic part is important. I never doubt for a second this character's capacity for violence. Smith knocked it out the park. And i love that he's a Tigers fan. I can just see him at a game with his glove in his lap, wearing one of those giant foam hands, and munching on a hot dog.
This is a wonderful vid Dan! Robocop is one of my favs too. It wasn’t until I went back and watched it as an adult and producer that I realized all of the dark comedy elements and nuance behind the brutal and gritty action. I also love the practical effects aside from the ED-209 animations.
@@FitPorsot Technically I know I have seen it, but can't recall ANY details of the story. The only thing I do recall is Samuel L. Jacksons character. I would like to believe he does not really exist. He is just a corporate Max Headroom who exists solely to feed propaganda to the masses to tell them how to think and feel.
@@BreetaiZentradi Fred Warren Thats exactly what i think. Its just like in that other Sam Jackson movie, "Matrix", where he tells Neo "what if i told you that everything you think you knew its a lie"
The most compelling and interesting part of RoboCop for me is the blurring of the line between man and machine, between RoboCop and Murphy. First he's Murphy, then he's RoboCop, then he's a combination of both. Similar to what you touched on in points 8 and 14. I found that aspect so interesting in fact that I actually made a 10 minute video essay talking about exactly that...
I saw this when it first came out.....I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, puke or wind my wrist watch!! Such an eye opener to a young mind and absolutely awesome! Still fucking brutal all these years later! Totally stood out in its time and still does today! Epic.
7 year old me was not ready to see someone wearing a bullet proof vest shot one hundred times, have his arm blown off and shot in the head. That's still one of the most brutal scenes of all time! Love this movie though
I was 8 years old when this movie came out. I stood in line for an hour to see it with my friends. My parents didn't know that I went to see it. But unfortunately the theatre would not sell us a ticket because of our age. We waited until the VHS came out and watched it several times. My dad loved it.
For some reason this popped up in my feed today. I raised and eyebrow and thought "Sure, why not!" By the end I knew I had to rewatch Robocop immediately! I've seen it a couple of times, including when it first came out, but it's probably been a couple of decades since the last viewing. Your insights were spot on imo. There's a certain nostalgia factor watching a movie from the 80's but it was much more than that. This is a really fantastic movie, nostalgia aside. Everybody does great work, but Peter Weller just kills it. And the Verhoeven satire aspect is super in tune and and plays well, even after all these years. It's a cut above of what a studio like Canon might have done if they had acquired the property. THis movie has a point of view and artistic merit, and it delivers the over the top action, gore and thrills that the genre demands. Thanks Dan!
One of my all time favorites!! A joy to watch with my son. He’s so excited that Robocop is coming to Mortal Combat!! I’ve never seen the remake!! Some movies were never meant to be remade!!
The thing with Robocop, Aliens, Jaws, all those films in the 80s & 90s is that they did so much with the budget they had to create interesting films whether they be great or not so great. Directors had to come up with ideas to shoot a scene without the use of CGI which i agree is being too reliant on these days. There was way more creativity back than compared to now which is too 'manufactured' i feel.
There are other good actors but really cannot see anyone else pulling it off for 10 years and closing off with endgame( I am ironman ). It's worth the wait.
Great video. Love all the points you make. I wonder if you would do something on the redeeming features of Robocop 2, I know the endings a mess but that opening is so good. One nitpick though, Matt painting isn't a lost art. I'm literally in the middle of one with this on my other screen. It's just digital now and thanks to color grading they are usually so good most people can't tell when they are there. I'm Very tired of this widespread bias amongst critics who often never talk to vfx professionals. It rubishes millions of hours of hours of craft that's put into thousands of films, is ignorant of how films are made and ignorant of the fact that the big names in digital are the same people who worked practical once upon a time.
Great video I also still love this movie from my childhood and can appreciate the additional depth the movies has as an adult. Very underrated. Good work.
Fantastic video! Bravo! This was a really great analysis of this amazing film. There's more nuance in 5 seconds of this movie than in the last 10 years. It really sad how far film has fallen. There's no new ideas, franchises ruined, everything rehashed. Subscribed!
I was about 10 or 11 when the movie was released on VHS; cardboard cutout outside the video stores. I remember promising myself then that the day I turn 18, I was buying Robocop. As it happens, I got to see it way sooner and what an impression it made on me. One of my favourite movies ever. So smart.
I am thankful to my parents that they let me watch it this movie when I was a kid. It was on tv at the end of the 90s when I first saw it and I loved it. I still love it.
not uncommon news blog tend to make big deal of stuff that already happen. .. the first *name your group of choice* that appear film. Hollywood do a lot of untrurthful hyperbole to promoted there films and/or social cause
