It’s hard to think that it’s been 35 years since the future of law enforcement blasted onto Cineworld cinema screens, but to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the sometimes black-humoured movie from director Paul Verhoeven, RoboCop (1987) came back to the big screeing with a 4K director’s cut to celebrate the movie’s release.
It’s the film that a lot of us still love today, with its story of a good cop (Peter Weller) who is murdered by criminals, in possibly one of the most gruesome cop killings in a movie in the 80s, who is then pieced back together as an unstoppable crime-fighting cyborg, who is tormented by the memory of his death and in turn goes out for revenge.
RoboCop (1987) – The Original Metal Bad Ass!
Sadly the remake wasn’t a patch on the original, see my review here, last night it was time to go back to the 1987 original and see how the movie was originally done, yes there are those differences in the new version, but for me, and this is just my personal choice, I still prefer the original.
With its 18 certificates, RoboCop (1987) was one of those movies that had people amazed by the violence at the time, the film became a cult movie and spawned 2 sequels, sadly on RoboCop 2 was with Peter Weller in the main role, there was also a couple of TV Series, Robocop and Prime Directives.
But let’s face it, the sequels paled in comparison to the first movie, they lacked the feel that the 1987 movie had, the fresh idea of a cop brought back as a machine was wearing thin and the audiences just loved the first that much that the other seemed like a way of making cash for the studio.
So looking back to 1987, we salute Paul Verhoeven for the original version and yes he may have been criticised at the time for the violence, but RoboCop has stood the test of time and is still appreciated by the fans of the now cult classic.
With Hollywood inevitability of making remakes, it was a sure thing that RoboCop would be “rebooted” for the modern-day audiences, but unlike the original with its 18 certificate, 2014 has got a 12A, seriously, I kid you not!
Advice For Film Fans! (I’d buy that for a dollar!)
My advice is to grab a copy of the original 1987 version of RoboCop, it’s cheap enough these days as a box set of the movies on Blu-Ray, mine was only £5 when I got it, it’s a cult classic that has to be seen to be appreciated.
RoboCop (1987) 4K Director’s Cut
Those of us that saw the movie back in 1987 will have a love for the theatrical cut that we were treated to, this Director’s Cut is the one that many of you who never saw the movie on the big screen will know about the cut as it’s usually the one that is on the Blu-ray releases of RoboCop, there are some extra extended scenes that increase the violence and gore, plus a slight comedy element that during my screening had a good few fans laughing loudly.
I have to say that the Director’s Cut of RoboCop is my favourite and I do prefer it over the original theatrical cut, the 4K release on the big screen did look good, yes there are grainy moments, but let’s not forget that when the movie was shot back in the 80s it was shot on film and not digital, but the 4K restored release look and sounds good.
Forget all the modern usage of CGI in movies, the original was old school, even down to ED-209 being filmed in stop-frame animation, yes folks, this is a film that is a big fave in my film collection and it was fantastic to see RoboCop (1987) back on the big screen, I do hope that Cineworld will bring us more special anniversary releases soon.
Special thanks go out to Cineworld for treating us Cineworld Unlimited Members with a free regular popcorn to enjoy during this one of screening.
Still the future of Law Enforcement!
Movie title: RoboCop (1987) 4K Director's Cut
Movie description: In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Date published: August 3, 2022
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 42m
Director(s): Paul Verhoeven
Actor(s): Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy
Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Summary
It’s hard to think that’s it’s 35 years already since I last saw RoboCop on the big screen and I have to say that it’s great to have seen it return to the big screen to celebrate its 35th Anniversary.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
