Customer Reviews

Robocop Trilogy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has more and better extras than the Criterion Edition of the first Robocop. This set is a hell of a lot cheaper and on top of that you get Robocop 2. Errr and Robocop 3 (which we all know is a crappy one). You get a cool little 6 page book inside that talks about really cool things about the Robocop franchise/films that you never knew. Highly Recommended.

If I were to review each movie individually: Robocop 1 would get 5 stars for the sci-fi story line and the use of comedy. Robocop 2 was a good attempt to recapture the fun in the first movie but falls short with the moral drum beating about the sins of drugs. Robocop 2 gets 4 stars. Robocop 3 is why I called this review - one movie too many. This movie at best is only a 2 star movie. That is why I give the box set only a 3. If it would have left the third movie out and instead gave a disc of more special features, this could have been easily a 5 star set

It's been a while since I've seen Robocop, so I picked up this DVD set.
Robocop 1 is such a great movie! Watching it now is a lot better than it was when I watched it as a teenager. It was great back then, but there was so much that I didn't pick up. Watching it now from a man's prospective is a totally different experience.

The version of Robocop 1 in this set is the "un-rated" version. I would definitely keep it away from children. Some of the scenes are a lot more gory and grusome than they were in the "R" rated version (A LOT MORE!) and on it's own, this version is hard to find. Robocop 3, on the other hand, is more family oriented and only rated PG-13. The violence from the previous movies has been toned down quite a bit and there is no use of the "F" bomb. It's a nice movie, but it does not have the same feel of the other two(or actor. Peter Weller chose not to return.)

These movies have aged well because they were ahead of there time when they came out. A great DVD set and a purchase that I don't regret!

Some of the reviews of this film are superb and will tell you why this original directors cut of Robocop is so terrific. The Anamorphic Widescreen is clear, crisp and the sound is perfectly surround.

Robocop 2 is great and satisfying and has great action and truly horrid bad guys.

Robocop 3 is sappy and silly... but it's fun to see as a curiosity just the same... but the real treasure here are the first 2 films and the lush packaging and extras. This is well worth the price. LOVED IT!

The director's cut of Paul Verhoeven's thrillingly original satire Robocop is included in the ROBOCOP TRILOGY (MGM). In Irv Kershner's sequel, the adventures of the cyborg are greatly intensified. Underrated and much criticized upon its theatrical release, this action-filled, morally-centered follow-up tale takes deadly aim at a society that sanctions the drugs and pop culture crap that's aimed at 12 year olds.

The third title in the series no longer stars Peter Weller and is borderline silly with a flying Robocop and none of the fierce satirical force of its predecessors.

I was skeptical about this when I first saw it at the store, as I already owned the fantastic Criterion edition DVD. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new MGM unrated version found in the Trilogy boxed set is well worth it. So here is a review for people who already own the Criterion disc and are wondering if they should shell out their hard earned cash for this newer DVD.

Here are the differences I found between the new disc and the Criterion one...

PLUSES:
a.. Anamorphic widescreen. The Criterion disc was not anamorphic. As a result, the picture on the MGM disc is a lot less pixellated than the Criterion one. The color is also more saturated.

b.. New sound mix. The Criterion disc was mixed in Dolby surround. The new mix is in Dolby 5.1, and they obviously had fun remixing it. The surrounds are split and very directional. The sound is really an improvement in every way (see (d)).

c.. It's the same unrated cut that was on the Criterion disc.

d.. They fixed some of the excrutiatingly bad sound edits that were on the Criterion disc. Although Criterion had re-edited the violent footage back into the movie, they neglected to remix the sound for those moments, ie. they didn't remix the sound to blend the new footage. On the new MGM disc, they FINALLY fixed this. Now the new footage sounds like it was SUPPOSED to be there.

e.. As one reviewer mentioned before, the director's commentary on the MGM disc is new and completely different than the one on the Criterion disc (ie. don't throw away your Criterion disc).

f.. We finally have the sequels in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 5.1. This is a plus or a minus depending on if you enjoy them or not! Although it would have been nice to have a longer version of Robocop 2, as Frank Miller has alluded that huge chunks of that movie were edited out of the final version.

g.. The new MGM version of Robocop also has some good documentaries and other curiosities for you to peruse (only on the unrated cut). These are NOT available on the bare-bones theatrical DVD that MGM has out for individual sale.

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MINUSES:
a.. The picture is a bit darker on the MGM disc than on the Criterion disc.

b.. The director's commentary was recorded when they were watching the theatrical cut of the movie, so it is oddly funny (and a bit distracting) that they will be commenting, "remember how we had to cut out the more violent shot of...." when we at home are actually watching the footage that they are talking about.

c.. If you don't like the sequels, it sucks to be you, because the only way to get the unrated cut of the first movie is to buy the boxed set.

d.. Don't really know if this is a minus or not as I'm not 100% sure what Verhoeven's intention was. The Criterion disc is framed at 1.66:1, and the new MGM disc is framed at 1.85:1. As it is, Criterion tends not to mess around. I'd wager that it's supposed to be projected at 1.66:1. Either way, 1.85:1 still looks pleasing.

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All in all, more pluses than minuses I wager. I found that the new version has everything the Criterion one had, and it presents it in a more pleasing manner (sound, picture, extras, etc..). If you're a fan, I think this would be right up your alley.

The one thing that doesn't seem to be getting any fanfare, with the new release of this trilogy from MGM, is the fact that the first movie, is in fact, the UNCUT DIRECTOR's CUT, that was presently, till now, only available on the out of print (and pricey) Criterion version of this DVD.

Oddly enough, even the new trilogy packaging and extras, don't go out of their way to press, what you'd think would be a GREAT selling point, almost as if the decision to use the directors cut, was a last minute thing.

Funny enough, even the commentary (which, unfortunately, is NOT the commentary present on the Criterion disc) was made, with the director and crew, watching the theatrical version of the movie, as they keep referring to this fact, and discussing the deleted scenes, EVEN as we, the viewers, are watching the very scenes that they are saying are missing in this version. It also amazes me, as to how they managed to sync up the commentary to the cut film, over top of the uncut film, without any lag or dead spots, where the cut scenes are replaced, but they did it.

One thing that MGM did fail in though, is that they placed back in the cut scenes, but didn't bother to colour correct, or do anything, to make the scenes run seamlessly, as you can always spot the new scenes, by the sudden loss of quality in the picture, which, in itself, is another reason that you'd think that MGM would have indicated that this was the uncut version, and explained (as most movies that add in extra scenes, but don't bother trying to fix them up) that the extra scenes have not been cleaned up, so that the viewer doesn't think that the film has glitches, or that MGM's quality is inconsistent (as the overall picture quality is pretty descent, except for the extra scenes, that is).

Another complaint about the new set, is the stupidly constructed fold out packaging, as it boggles my mind, as to why they couldn't just use the new, slim DVD cases, in the box set slip cover, instead of the "Road Map-like" fold out, that you get.

You technically need a whole kitchen table to open the set up on, just to extract one disc from the set.

BUT, that said, for the money, this set is VERY good, and definitely worth getting.

Or is it just me? :)

What I find disturbing on Amazon.com and most other DVD sites is the lack of information about a release's format. All three ROBOCOP films are finally in Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1. This is the first time Robo 2 and 3 get anamorphic releases, so for me, this alone was worth the cost, since I already owned the definitive Criterion Robocop. This is a slightly better release, however, in that it has some featurettes and trailers. It's great to finally watch Robo 2 (and the slightly sillier Robo 3) in Anamorphic Widescreen on my 65" HDTV, and in DD 5.1! While Robo 1 is still the best of the three, by far, don't discount Robo 2 and 3 for they have their moments too.

When Robocop was release in Malaysia, it was a hit. I enjoyed the movie (and at that time, I don't even know who is Paul Verhoeven) a lot. Title maybe corny, but what makes a hit is the story involve and the violence.

Years later, two sequels came (Robocop 2 was a more action packed oriented without direction rather than the 1st movie while Robocop 3 was an excuse of making a sequel of the sequel) by and I have watched both with dissapointment. And I never thought the movie was written what used to be my favorite comic book writer Frank Miller. Dissapointment it is.

Well, comes the DVD Robocop Trilogy set. And yes, I bought it with curious reasons because its cheap. After viewing the classic, this is one edition that you have to get because you can't find a Director's Cut version of 2 scenes that was editted out because its VERY VIOLENT. Plus the 4 deleted scenes, 3 featurettes, storyboards & more is what gives the classic worth paying for, even though Robocop 2 & 3 suck.

But to buy all 3 together with the price that is given? I'll buy that for a dollar... well, if only it is for a dollar.

Only for the fun of enjoying the cult hit series.

What else can you say about the Robocop series except... WOW!
The Lord of the Rings movies? The Original Star Wars trilogy? The Godfather saga? The James Bond films? They all look like the Police Academy series compared to The Robocop franchise! Robocop burst onto the movie scene in the 1980's and the film world has never been the same. Robocop revolutionized the way people looked at sci-fi cinema. It blazed a new trail in special effects, direction, editing, storytelling, and acting. Robocop tells the Story of Murphy, a cop who is nearly killed only to come back as: ROBOCOP. Half robot, half cop, Murphy (now Robocop) comes back to deal out death and destruction (not to mention JUSTICE! ) to those that prey on the innocent. Not since Charles Bronson kicked bad-guy butt in the Death Wish movies has such an awesome hero graced the movie screen. The best thing about the Robocop movies is that unlike most movie series, such as the Lord of the Rings films, thes movies actually got BETTER with each film. Robocop 3 is easily one of the best three-quels of all time. So, the next time you're sad or depressed, or just want to see some of the best Science Fiction/Action-Adventure movies of all time pick up this dvd set and watch yourself some... Robocop!!!!!!!!