RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit in the near future, RoboCop centers on police officer Alex Murphy (Weller) who is murdered by a gang of criminals but revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products as the cyborg law enforcer RoboCop. Unaware of his former life, RoboCop executes a campaign against crime while coming to terms with the lingering fragments of his humanity.
Principal photography began on August 6, 1986, on an $11 million budget. Jost Vacano was the cinematographer, after working with Verhoeven on Soldier of Orange. Verhoeven wanted Blade Runner production designer Lawrence G. Paull, but Davison said he could afford either a great production designer or a great RoboCop costume – not both. William Sandell was hired. Monte Hellman directed several of the action scenes.
RoboCop was filmed primarily on location in Dallas, with additional filming in Las Colinas and Pittsburgh. Verhoeven wanted a filming location which suggested the near future. Detroit was dismissed because it had many low buildings, many brownstones and Victorian-style buildings. Neumeier said that it was also a union city, making it more expensive to film there. Detroit made a brief appearance in nighttime, stock aerial footage at the beginning of the film. Chicago was dismissed for aesthetic reasons, New York City for high costs, and California because according to Davison, Orion wanted to distance itself from the project. Dallas was chosen over Houston because it has modern buildings and older, less-maintained areas where explosives could be used. The filming schedule in Dallas was nine weeks, but it soon became clear that it would take longer. Based on filmed footage, Orion approved the schedule extension and a budget increase to $13.1 million. The weather fluctuated during filming; Dallas in summer was often 90 to 115 °F (32 to 46 °C), and the weather in Pittsburgh was frigid.
RoboCop’s costume was not finished until some time into filming. This did not impact the shooting schedule, but it denied Weller the month of costume rehearsal he had expected. Weller was frustrated with the costume; it was too cumbersome for him to move as he had practiced, and he spent hours trying to adapt. He struggled to see through the thin helmet visor and interact with (or grab) objects while wearing the gloves. Weller fell out with Verhoeven and was fired, with Lance Henriksen considered as a replacement; because the costume was designed for Weller, however, he was encouraged to mend fences. Mime Moni Yakim helped Weller to develop a slower, more deliberate way of moving. Weller’s experience in the costume was worsened by the warm weather, which made him sweat off up to 3 lb (1.4 kg) per day. Verhoeven began taking prescription medication to cope with stress-induced insomnia, and he filmed scenes under the influence.
He often choreographed scenes with the actors before filming. Improvisation was also encouraged, because Verhoeven believed that it could produce interesting results. Smith improvised some of his character’s quirks, such as sticking chewing gum to a secretary’s desk and spitting blood onto the police-station counter: “‘What if I spat blood on the desk?’ ... [Verhoeven] got this little smile on his face, and we did it.” Neumeier was on set throughout filming and occasionally wrote additional scenes, including a New Year’s Eve party after seeing some party-hat props and a news story about the Strategic Defense Initiative platform misfiring. Verhoeven found Neumeier’s presence invaluable, because they could discuss how to adapt the script or location to make a scene work.
Verhoeven gained a reputation for verbal aggression and unsociable behavior on set; Smith said that he never yelled at the actors, however, but was too engrossed in filming to be sociable. Cox and Allen spoke warmly of Verhoeven. Weller spent his time between filming with the actors who played his enemies (including Smith, Ray Wise and Calvin Jung), who maintained healthy lifestyles that supported Weller in his training for the New York City Marathon.
A number of locations in and around Dallas were used in production. An office in Renaissance Tower was used for the OCP interior of; the company’s exterior is Dallas City Hall, modified with matte paintings to appear taller. The OCP elevator was that of the Plaza of the Americas. The Detroit police station’s exterior is Crozier Tech High School; its interior is the Sons of Hermann hall, and city hall is the Dallas Municipal Building. Scenes of Boddicker’s gang blowing up storefronts were filmed in the Deep Ellum neighborhood. One explosion was larger than anticipated; actors can be seen moving out of the way, Smith had to remove his coat because it was on fire, and the actors involved received an additional $400 in stunt pay. The Shell gas station that explodes was in the Arts District, where local residents unaware of the filming called the fire department. The scene was scripted for flames to modify the sign to read “hell”; Davison approved it, but it does not appear in the film. Miner called it a disappointing omission.
The nightclub was the former Starck Club. Verhoeven was filmed demonstrating how the clubbers should dance, and used the footage in the film. Other Dallas locations included César Chávez Boulevard, the Reunion Arena and the parking lot of the Crescent. The final battle between RoboCop and Boddicker’s gang was filmed at a steel mill in Monessen, outside Pittsburgh. Filming ended in late October 1986.
Verhoeven emphasized violence throughout the film, making it so outlandish that it became comical. Censorship boards believed that it was too extreme and several scenes were shortened or modified to receive an acceptable theatrical rating. RoboCop was a financial success upon its release in July 1987, earning $53.4 million. Reviewers praised it as a clever action film with deeper philosophical messages and satire, but were conflicted about its extreme violence. The film was nominated for several awards, and won an Academy Award and a number of Saturn Awards.
RoboCop has been critically reevaluated since its release, and it has been hailed as one of the best films of the 1980s and one of the greatest science fiction and action films ever made. The film has been praised for its depiction of a robot affected by the loss of humanity, in contrast to the stoic and emotionless robotic characters of that era. RoboCop has continued to be analyzed for its themes such as the nature of humanity, personal identity, corporate greed and corruption, and is seen as a rebuke of the era’s Reaganomics policies. Its success created a franchise: the sequels RoboCop 2 (1990) and RoboCop 3 (1993), children’s animated series, live-action television shows, video games, comic books, toys, clothing and other merchandise. A remake was released in 2014.
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