RoboCop

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This article is about the film. For the video game, see RoboCop computer and video games. For the character, see RoboCop (character).
RoboCop

Film poster
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Produced by Jon Davison
Written by Edward Neumeier
Michael Miner
Starring Peter Weller
Nancy Allen
Dan O'Herlihy
Ronny Cox
Kurtwood Smith
Miguel Ferrer
Music by Basil Poledouris
Cinematography Sol Negrin
Jost Vacano
Editing by Frank J. Urioste
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date(s) July 17, 1987
Running time 103 Min
Director's Cut
Country United States
Language English
Budget US$13,000,000 (estimated)
Followed by RoboCop 2 (1990)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile
Ratings
United States:  R

RoboCop is a 1987 action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film features Peter Weller, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Nancy Allen, 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 a "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, a television series and a comic book adaptation.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In Detroit at an indeterminate, near future time, the world is not exactly dystopian, but news reports from Media Break (slogan: "Give us three minutes, we'll give you the world!") indicate that wars, pollution, terrorism and violent crime have become worse. In Detroit, violent crime has reached the point that cop killings are routine, and the police force is preparing to walk out on strike. The city has contracted megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to operate the police department, in effect privatizing it. "Old Detroit has a cancer. That cancer is crime," proclaims OCP's Chairman of the Board (Daniel O'Herlihy). OCP's plans are to replace "Old Detroit" with "Delta City", and crime must be eliminated before the construction project can begin. Part of the plan is to find a way to replace the Detroit police with machines, with several projects in the works and the idea to market an eventual success for military contracts as well. OCP Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) demonstrates to the corporation's board of directors the prototype of the "enforcement droid", ED-209. The "glitches" haven't been worked out, however; an eager young executive volunteers for the demonstration and is brutally gunned down when ED-209 malfunctions. Taking advantage of Jones' failure, Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), who had been developing the rival "RoboCop" project, pitches his program directly to the chairman, who decides it has more merit than completing the ED-209. All the Robocop project needs is a human candidate.

Fortunately for Morton, police officer Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller), one of Morton's "prime candidates", is savagely murdered while trying to arrest a gang led by Clarence J. Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). Murphy is pronounced dead in the hospital, and his body is rebuilt by OCP as the prototype for a cyborg police officer, with the hardware of a robot and the "instincts" of a policeman.

When RoboCop goes online, he spectacularly stops crimes throughout Detroit, using extreme methods bordering on police brutality. His function is built on "prime directives" written into his core programming:

  1. Serve the public trust
  2. Protect the innocent
  3. Uphold the law
  4. (Classified)

Morton's success earns him an OCP vice presidency, as well as the enmity of Jones, who has lost lucrative military contracts with the cancellation of the ED-209. After a confrontation in the executive washroom, Jones arranges for Boddicker to kill Morton at his house.

Meanwhile, RoboCop is slowly recovering the memory of his previous life (starting with the moment he was shot to death by Boddicker and his gang). After being recognized by his former partner, Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), and by a member of Boddicker's gang, RoboCop reconstructs the information about his identity as Alex Murphy, then starts to pursue his assassins. After arresting Leon Nash (part of the gang and Clarence's right hand man) at a nightclub, he learns of a cocaine deal involving Boddicker. He raids the factory, killing the heavily armed workforce and Steve Minh, who had accompanied Clarence and Joey (who ends up getting knocked out). He then arrests Boddicker, and is on the verge of killing him when Boddicker admits that he works for Dick Jones of OCP and manages to appeal to RoboCop's sense of duty and respect for the law.

After dropping off Boddicker at the precinct HQ, RoboCop proceeds to the OCP Building, but when he tries to arrest a surprisingly undisturbed Jones, Directive Four is triggered and RoboCop starts malfunctioning. Jones then admits to Morton's murder and tells Robocop about Directive Four: Any attempt to arrest a senior officer of OCP results in immediate shutdown. Jones calls in his ED-209 to finish off the job. Despite severe damage, RoboCop escapes, as ED-209 cannot navigate the stairwell to follow him. In the OCP garage, however, a large number of police with orders to destroy him are waiting. Lewis rescues him after the officers open fire. With her help, RoboCop partially repairs his robotic body, sheds his non-functional helmet and relearns how to use his gun manually.

Concerned with RoboCop's recording of Boddicker's admission, Jones arranges for the release of Boddicker and his remaining gang members. Enticed by promises of power, Boddicker agrees to destroy RoboCop. Jones provides him and his men with military weapons - high-powered rifles and explosive ammunition (the Cobra Assault Cannon) - and a tracking device. The gang tracks RoboCop and Lewis back to the abandoned mill where the gang had originally "killed" Murphy.

Anne Lewis and 'Murphy' are alerted to their attackers' arrival when Boddicker and what's left of his gang ride in; Joey is taken by surprise and shot by Murphy. A dangerous shootout and car chase begins; Emil is horribly disfigured by toxic waste while trying to hit Murphy with his van, while Officer Lewis forces Clarence off into a ditch, killing Emil in the process. Murphy arrives, gun in hand, just as Boddicker guns down Lewis.

Leon reaches the control booth of a large crane while Clarence distracts Robocop by pretending to give in, only to be horrified to find out that Robocop is prepared to kill him. However, Leon dumps a load of scrap metal on him just before Robocop fires. Lewis manages to get Clarence's dropped rifle and kill Leon. Clarence tries to destroy Robocop by driving a metal pole through his body, but Murphy stabs him in the neck with his key-spike, killing Clarence. Although Murphy is damaged and Lewis is seriously wounded, he remarks, "They'll fix you...They fix everything."

RoboCop, battered and injured, returns to OCP headquarters, where Jones is again attempting to pitch ED-209 to another board of directors meeting. Another ED-209 is guarding the building, but Robocop easily dispatches it with Clarence's Cobra rifle. RoboCop walks into the meeting with the intent to arrest Jones but admits that Directive Four stops him. Jones takes the chairman hostage after RoboCop plays back the recording of his admission of killing Morton. The chairman solves the dilemma by firing Jones, which terminates his protection under Directive Four. RoboCop shoots Jones, who crashes through a window and falls to his death.

After the shooting, the chairman says to the former OCP product, "Nice shooting, son. What's your name?" Satisfied that he is considered a human first and a robot second, RoboCop smiles and replies, "Murphy."

[edit] Production details

[edit] Origins

RoboCop was written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. 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.[citation needed]

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 story satirizes Reaganomics and the consumerism of the eighties era, with OCP presented as a massive corporate hulk that controls citizens' lives on all levels of society. Almost no distinction is made between the conduct of top level executives and street criminals, as both are seen occupied with drugs, corrupting society and talking the same catch phrases while conducting their shady affairs ("good business is where you find it").[2]

The character of RoboCop itself was inspired by Judge Dredd[3] 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 nod to one of the films major themes of greed and personal satisfaction.

[edit] 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 and prepared for the role by studying bird movements in a padded baseball suit.[citation needed]

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.[4] Verhoeven comments that the look of Clarence Boddicker with the glasses reminded him of Heinrich Himmler.

The principal cast of RoboCop:

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.

[edit] Filming

Filming began during the summer of 1986 and lasted from August 6 until mid-October. 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.[5] 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.

[edit] Vehicles

6000 SUX advertisement.
6000 SUX advertisement.

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.[6].

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

[edit] Soundtrack

 

Robocop theme

Soundtrack's main theme, composed by Basil Poledouris.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

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 until it was eventually released in 2004 on an album called "Side Trax" by Ministry.

[edit] 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.[7][8]

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.

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.

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.

[edit] 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.[9]

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 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 Old Man 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.

Another theme is the sense of justice finally being brought to vicious and remorseless criminals. The criminals mercilessly 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 lawyers, probably controlled by ruthless corporate executives, are able to release criminals within hours or days, 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.

[edit] 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 (similar to Star Tours at Disneyland with a screen about a quarter of the size of an IMAX). 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.[10]
  • 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 Frank Miller's RoboCop, a graphic novel limited series of Miller's rejected original script for RoboCop 2.
  • Remake of the original RoboCop - Sony Pictures (Screen Gems division) was working on a remake of RoboCop in the winter of 2005-2006. No details were revealed other than the unofficial (and confirmed) announcement. A source from Bloody-Disgusting.com wrote that the RoboCop remake was halted as of November 2006 because Sony felt it was too soon to re-make a film that's barely 20 years old. However, a recent update at Aint It Cool News.com announced the remake would be released in 2010. Photos were published from a New York licensing show.
  • In 1989, Toei Animation created a series similar to, and based on, Robocop, called Kidou Keiji Jiban. They did the same in 1993 with Tokusou Robo Janperson.
  • In March 2008, Robocop was mentioned in an MGM press release [11] regarding franchises it would be focusing on in the future.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Alex Cox Interview with The Onion
  2. ^ Essay: RoboCop, Now and Forever
  3. ^ Interview with Paul Verhoeven by Xi-Online
  4. ^ Villains of Old Detroit featurette. RoboCop 20th Anniversary DVD.
  5. ^ Roger Ebert reviews RoboCop 3
  6. ^ FX Credits
  7. ^ Box office receipts for RoboCop
  8. ^ USA Box Office rankings for 1987
  9. ^ Dr. Steven Best, PhD - Robocop: The Crisis of Subjectivity (1987)
  10. ^ http://www.robocoparchive.com/info/ride.htm
  11. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a96320/mgm-lines-up-robocop-red-dawn-remakes.html

[edit] External links

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July 19, 1987 – August 2, 1987		 Succeeded by
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