Robocop Trilogy

Robocop Trilogy

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Movie Reviews of Robocop Trilogy

Movie Review: Even better than that fantastic Criterion edition
Summary: 5 Stars

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 />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 />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.

Summary of Robocop Trilogy