It is hard to imagine a major studio franchise more schizophrenic in nature than the ROBOCOP films. While the second and third entries in the series had the unenviable task of following up Paul Verhoeven’s damn near perfect first film, they have their own idiosyncratic elements and some diehard defenders. Those defenders should be happy to learn that ROBOCOP 2 and ROBOCOP 3 are being given deluxe Blu-ray releases from the ever-prolific folks at SCREAM FACTORY on March 21st, 2017.
While ROBOCOP 2 was missing the layered script of Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner and the deft satirical touch of Verhoeven behind the camera, it did gain a nasty, cynical script by Frank Miller & Walon Green that director Irvin Kershner turned into an over-the-top, grand guignol piece of gory mayhem. Returning stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen lend some heart to the grisly proceedings and Tom Noonan makes for a memorably crazed villain.
The ROBOCOP 2 Blu-ray comes loaded with extras, many of which are new and exclusive to this release:
New: 2K scan of the inter-positive
New: Audio Commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon
New: Audio Commentary with the makers of “RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop” documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen
New: Corporate Wars: The Making of ROBOCOP 2 – featuring new and vintage interviews with director Irvin Kershner, producer Jon Davidson, cast members Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Galyn Görg, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin and author/CG supervision Paul M. Sammon (32 minutes)
New: Machine Parts: The FX of ROBOCOP 2 – featuring Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, Craig Hayes, Jim Aupperle, Kirk Thatcher, Paul Gentry, Don Waller, Justin Kohn, Randal Dutra and Kevin Kutchaver (31 minutes)
New: Robo-Fabricator – an interview with RoboCop armor fabricator James Belohovek (9 minutes)
New: Adapting Frank Miller’s ROBOCOP 2 – an interview with comic book writer Steven Grant (6 minutes)
New: OCP Declassified – a collection of rare archival production and behind-the-scenes videos including interviews with director Irvin Kershner, actors Peter Weller, Dan O’Herlihy and a look at the filming of some deleted scenes (46 minutes)
Theatrical Trailer
Teaser Trailers
TV Spots
Deleted Scenes Still Gallery
Still Galleries (behind-the-scenes photos, stills, posters and lobby cards)
While the idea of Fred Dekker, director of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS and THE MONSTER SQUAD, taking on ROBOCOP 3 sounds like a terrific idea, the results were mixed. With Orion Pictures going through bankruptcy, Dekker lacked the large budget that Verhoeven and Kershner had been given and he was further hamstrung by the loss of Peter Weller in the titular role and the demands of a PG-13 rating—which is honestly a terrible idea for a ROBOCOP film. That said, there is something goofily entertaining about the film, making it worth checking out for completists.
Even with its status as the limp end to the trilogy, the ROBOCOP 3 Blu-ray is still loaded with several new extras for fans:
New: Audio Commentary with director Fred Dekker
New: Audio Commentary with the makers of “RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop” documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen
New: Delta City Shuffle: The Making of ROBOCOP 3 featuring director Fred Dekker, actors Nancy Allen, Bruce Locke, producer Patrick Crowley, cinematographer Gary Kibbe and production designer Hilda Stark (38 minutes)
New: Robo-Vision: The FX of ROBOCOP 3 featuring Peter Kuran, Phil Tippett, Craig Hayes, Kevin Kutchaver and Paul Gentry (12 minutes)
New: The Corporate Ladder – an interview with actor Felton Perry (11 minutes)
New: Training Otomo – an interview with actor Bruce Locke and martial arts trainer Bill Ryusaki (8 minutes)
New: War Machine – an interview with RoboCop gun fabricator James Belohovek (9 minutes)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Both discs are available for pre-order from SCREAM FACTORY.
Tags: frank miller, Fred Dekker, Paul Weller, Robocop 2, Robocop 3, scream factory
No Comments