The Corner Penthouse

Arrow Video recently released RoboCop (1987) on 4K UHD in Steelbook packaging. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Detroit in the not-too-distant future. Heroic cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is gunned down in the line of duty, only to be resurrected as RoboCop - a cybernetic mix of spare human parts and Motor City steel, and the latest defense against crime designed by the all-powerful OCP Corporation. As RoboCop's memories of his former life as Murphy resurface, only his ex-partner (Nancy Allen) stands beside him to fight against the vicious thugs responsible for his death, as well as a nefarious top-level OCP executive orchestrating the chaos from above.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:43:14 for the Director's Cut and 1:42:53 for the Theatrical Cut. Both cuts are in full Ultra HD. The movie has been rated R. Audio languages include English (several mixes). Subtitle languages include English SDH.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

The first 4K UHD disc contains the Director's Cut and the lion's share of the content. All extras are in HD (or upscaled to HD), except the Production Footage, which my player reports as being in full 3840x2160 4K resolution.

• Audio Commentary - by Paul Verhoeven, executive producer Jon Davison and co-writer Ed Neumeier. This was originally recorded for the Theatrical Cut and re-edited in 2014 for the Director's Cut.
• Audio Commentary - by film historian Paul M. Sammon.
• Audio Commentary - by fans Christopher Griffiths, Gary Smart and Eastwood Allen.
• The Future of Law Enforcement (16:51) - A 2019 interview with co-writer Michael Miner.
• RoboTalk (32:08) - A 2019 conversation between co-writer Ed Neumeier and filmmakers David Birke and Nicholas McCarthy.
• Truth of Character (18:26) - A 2019 interview with Nancy Allen.
• Casting Old Detroit (8:20) - A 2019 interview with casting director Julie Selzer.
• Connecting the Shots (11:06) - A 2019 interview with second unit director Mark Goldblatt, who has a long history with Paul Verhoeven.
• Analog (13:10) - A 2019 featurette with Peter Kuran and Kevin Kutchaver discussing the special visual effects.
• More Man Than Machine: Composing RoboCop (12:04) - A 2019 piece which focuses on composer Basil Paledouris and includes comments from Jeff Bond, Lukas Kendall, Daniel Schwieger and Robert Townson.
• RoboProps (12:50) - A 2019 tour of the collection of Julien Dumont.
• 2012 Q&A with the Filmmakers (42:37) - Features Paul Verhoeven, Jon Davison, Ed Neumeier, Michael Miner, Nancy Allen, Peter Weller and Phil Tippett.
• RoboCop: Creating a Legend (21:12) - An archival featurette detailing the making of the film.
• Villains of Old Detroit (17:01) - An archival featurette focusing on the bad guys.
• Special Effects: Then & Now (18:23) - An archival featurette.
• Paul Verhoeven Easter Egg (0:38) - A look at Paul Verhoeven's cameo in the film.
• Deleted Scenes (2:52) - The four scenes are "OCP News Conference", "Nun in the Street Interview", "Topless Pizza", and "Final Media Break".
• The Boardroom: Storyboard with Commentary by Phil Tippett (6:04)
• Director's Cut Production Footage (11:38) - Raw dailies from the Director's Cut.
• Theatrical Trailer 1 (1:38)
• Theatrical Trailer 2 (1:23)
• TV Spots (2:05) - Three different spots.
• Image Galleries (all in HD) - "Production Stills" (108 images), "Behind the Scenes" (83 images), and "Poster & Video Art" (55 images).

The second 4K UHD disc contains the Theatrical Cut and the Edited-For-TV Cut, along with some content directly related to these cuts.

• Audio Commentary - by Paul Verhoeven, executive producer Jon Davison and co-writer Ed Neumeier.
• Isolated Score Track: Original Score - Basil Paledouris' original score for the film.
• Isolated Score Track: Theatrical Mix.
• Edited for Television Version (1:35:16) - Has alternate dubs, takes and edits of several scenes.
• RoboCop: Edited for Television (18:35) - Compiles alternate scenes from two edited for television versions, including outtakes that have been transferred in high definition from unearthed 35mm elements.
• Split Screen Comparison: Theatrical Cut vs. Director's Cut (4:02)
• Split Screen Comparison: Theatrical Cut vs. TV Cut (20:16)

I have to point out that despite that wealth of materials, the old MGM/Fox Unrated Director's Cut Blu-ray includes three vintage featurettes that were not ported over by Arrow: "Flesh & Steel: The Making of RoboCop" (2001) (36:55), "Shooting RoboCop" (1987) (7:59), and "Making RoboCop" (1987) (8:01). I have no idea why Arrow left these three things out, since they were pretty complete, otherwise.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

The front of the Steelbook case features the iconic movie poster image of RoboCop standing by his car, and the back cover shows RoboCop in front of a Delta City billboard aiming his pistol at a bad guy.


Inside, the two discs are overlapped on the right, while the liner booklet is stored on the left. (The 44-page collector's booklet features essays by Omar Ahmed, Christopher Griffiths, and Henry Blyth; along with movie photos.) Underneath it all is a photo of ED-209 inside the OCP boardroom with its sights set on one of the executives.


[ NOTES ]

Arrow Video has released RoboCop on 4K UHD and Blu-ray in a few different sets, each containing the same two discs (the only difference is the video resolution) with all of the same special features. 4K UHD - Steelbook and Limited Edition. BLU-RAY - Steelbook and Limited Edition. There is also a Director's Cut Blu-ray release that leaves out the second disc (the one with the Theatrical and TV Cuts). The Steelbook releases contain the 40-page booklet and two discs in the Steelbook case I reviewed above. The Limited Edition sets include an 80-page booklet (the same essays plus a 1987 Fangoria interview with Rob Bottin and archive publicity materials), six double-sided postcard-sized lobby card reproductions, and a dual-sided fold-out mini-poster, with everything housed in a sturdy slipcase. The mini-poster, and the reversible case artwork, feature the original poster artwork on one side and newly-commissioned artwork on the other.

If you want a more complete set of special features, you'll need to pick up the old MGM/Fox Unrated Director's Cut Blu-ray for these three vintage featurettes that were not ported over by Arrow: "Flesh & Steel: The Making of RoboCop" (2001) (36:55), "Shooting RoboCop" (1987) (7:59), and "Making RoboCop" (1987) (8:01).

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the sequels and the spin-offs: RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop 3 (1993), and the remake RoboCop (2014). There was also a 22-episode live-action series in 1994 starring Richard Eden and Andrea Roth, which Liberation Hall is releasing on Blu-ray and DVD in a few weeks. As mentioned in my review, the Blu-ray crops the picture from 1.33:1 (4:3) into 1.78:1 (16:9). From what I've read, the DVD retains the original TV aspect ratio but adds blackness to the sides so as to reformat the image into widescreen. Although neither of these techniques are ideal, the DVD would be preferred for retaining the proper aspect ratio.

As if that wasn't enough, there was a second live-action series in 2001 entitled RoboCop: Prime Directives. Page Fletcher plays RoboCop in this miniseries which consists of four 95-minute episodes that are available individually on DVD: "Dark Justice", "Meltdown", "Resurrection", and "Crash and Burn".

Finally, there were also two animated series: RoboCop (1988) (12 episodes) and RoboCop: Alpha Commando (1998) (40 episodes). Neither series has been officially released on DVD or Blu-ray here in the United States. Monsterland Media does have an unofficial 3-disc Blu-ray set that collects both series in their entirety. I don't own it, so I can't comment specifically on it, but I did review the Monsterland Extreme Ghostbusters set, so that review should give you an idea as to what to expect from this set.


This item has been provided by Arrow Video for review on this site.