Courtesy: Arrow Video
Fans of Orion Pictures’ classic science fiction action flick Robocop will get a special treat early next year with the release of the Director’s Cut of the movie on Blu-ray. Scheduled for release on Feb. 11 through Arrow Video, this latest re-issue of the 1987 classic is a presentation that will appeal to the movie’s most devoted audiences. That is due in large part to the bonus content featured this time out. It will be addressed shortly. The general presentation of the movie adds to that appeal and will be addressed a little later. The movie’s average price point is money well spent by the noted audiences. It will be addressed later, too. Each item noted is crucial in its own way to the whole of Robocop: Director’s Cut. All things considered, they make this latest presentation of Robocop a must have for the noted audiences.
Arrow Video’s forthcoming Blu-ray re-issue of Robocop is the best treatment of the classic sci-fi action flick to have seen the light of day so far. It is a presentation that will appeal easily to the movie’s most devoted audiences. That is due in no small part to the re-issue’s collective bonus content. Featured in this release are a series of new bonuses focused on the movie’s soundtrack, its creation, the preservation of its props and its cinematography (and other new bonuses) along with archived extras, such as an Easter egg presentation about Director Paul Verhoeven’s appearance in the movie, deleted scenes and more. The new bonus features give audiences much to appreciate in their own right. Audiences learn in the new bonus “Creating Robocop” a lot of new information. One of the most intriguing tidbits that audiences learn through this feature, which finds the movie’s co-writer Michael Miner discussing the movie’s creation, is that the movie originally received an “X” rating from the MPAA. That was largely because of the excessive blood, gore and violence. Miner explains that he and the movie’s other creative heads had to make a lot of changes just to get the movie down to an “R” rating. That would explain the reasoning for presenting this Director’s Cut. It gives audiences Robocop in its original, unedited format. Miner also discusses during his feature, the plot elements incorporated into the script, such as predatory capitalism, workers’ unions and the sociological aspect of the story. As if that is not enough, he also reveals that if not for director Paul Verhoeven’s wife, the movie might never have even become a reality. That will be left for audiences to discover for themselves.
The discussion on the movie’s soundtrack, another new addition to this release, finds a variety of figures discussing the attention that composer Basil Poledouris gave to the movie’s soundtrack. Audiences learn that Poledouris went to painstaking efforts to make sure that the movie’s orchestral composition worked not just as an extra to the story, but as part of the story. It is explained that he made sure the music would rise and fall precisely with the story’s action right down to the second. The respect shown to Poledouris for his work on the movie’s soundtrack, coupled with the explanations of the time and effort put in to the soundtrack’s creation gives audiences a whole new appreciation for this aspect of the movie.
The discussion by Robocop “super-fan” Julien Dumont on his reasoning for collection adds its own share of interest in that it is not just another profile of a movie’s super-fan. Dumont points out in his interview that he collected the props not just from Robocop, but its sequels, too, and that he collected them not for himself, but to preserve the legacy of those who took part in the trilogy’s creation. He even points out that some of the items he has collected reside today, in a cinema museum in France for everyone to see. That is proof positive that he is not just a super-fan. Rather, it shows that he is a super-fan who wants to share his love of the Robocop trilogy with everyone. That shows a real love and respect for the work put in by those responsible for the creation of Robocop and its sequels. He even has the script from Robocop, and points out the final scene that is presented in the final product is not the original ending. The original ending is actually featured as one of the deleted scenes, which are also featured in this release.
The original final scene of Robocop actually finds Murphy’s partner, Officer Lewis, recovering from her wounds in a hospital bed, being interviewed by the press. That scene cuts to the news anchors who are used throughout the movie, offering support to law enforcement. It’s just one of the deleted scenes featured with the movie’s re-issue. It adds a new touch to the movie’s presentation. When the deleted scenes, which are previously released, are coupled with the rest of the movie’s new and archived extras, the whole of the bonus content makes this re-issue more than worth the money paid for the presentation. That item – the re-issue’s price point – will be addressed later. Before touching on that item, the actual presentation in the Director’s Cut of Robocop will be addressed.
As noted previously, audiences learn through one of the new bonus features included with the re-issue, Robocop actually received an “X” rating because of its blood and gore. One of the deleted scenes shows there was actually some female nudity, too. One scene was one of the media breaks, this time featuring two topless women making pizza in an advertisement, and the host even taking advantage of both women. That scene obviously is not in the final cut, but the blood and gore incorporated into the original cut is here, complete with Murphy’s hand being shot off, a bullet being shot through his head in the “torture killing” scene. There is also a scene with one person being run over and killed late in the movie, as well as lots more blood, gore and violence. Simply put, the presentation of Robocop that audiences get here is the original vision for the movie. That means audiences get in this cut, Robocop as it was originally meant to be seen, explicit content and all. Keeping that in mind along with the expansive bonus content featured with the re-issue, the collection of all that content gives audiences that much more to appreciate.
The collective primary and secondary content featured in the forthcoming Director’s Cut of Robocop goes a long way toward making this latest re-issue of Robocop a positive addition to the home library of any of the movie’s fans. Keeping in mind how much content the Director’s Cut of the movie offers the noted audiences, it makes the presentation’s average price point relatively affordable.
The average price point of Robocop: Director’s Cut is $31.75. That price was obtained by averaging prices listed at Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Books-A-Million. It was not listed at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the time of this review’s posting. The least expensive of the listings — $26.42 – was at Amazon and Walmart while the most expensive listing was at Books-A-Million. That retailer’s price listing for the product was $49.95. Best Buy and Target each listed the movie’s Director’s Cut at $27.99. While Best Buy and Target might not have had the lowest of the price listing, they still came in below the average price range. Books-A-Million’s price listing proved to be the only listing the topped that number. To that end, separate listings of less than $30 and an average listing of just over $30 is still relatively affordable and money well spent by those who are true devotees of Robocop. Keeping this in mind, the average price point of Robocop: Director’s Cut proves to be its own positive within the bigger picture of the re-issue’s presentation. To that end, that price point and content come together to make the whole of this re-issue a positive for any longtime fan of Robocop.
Arrow Video’s forthcoming Director’s Cut reissue of Robocop is a presentation that succeeds greatly in its effort to entertain the most devoted fans of this classic action flick. That is due in large part to the bonus content featured with the movie. Between the new content and the archived interviews and other items, the expansive bonus content offers audiences much to appreciate. The content is also available on the standard Blu-ray re-issue that was released Nov. 26, also through Arrow Video. The full, unedited cut of the movie, which is far more explicit in its content than the theatrical version adds to the appeal for the noted audiences. That collective primary and secondary content comes together to make the movie’s average price point, which is in itself affordable, that much more appealing to audiences. Each item noted here is important to the whole of Robocop: Director’s Cut. All things considered, they make the movie’s presentation a strong new offering from Arrow Video that will certainly appeal to plenty of Robocop fans. Robocop: Director’s Cut is scheduled for release on Feb. 11, 2020 through Arrow Video. More information on this and other titles from Arrow Video is available online now at:
Website: http://www.arrowfilms.com
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