RoboCop

"Part man, part machine, all cop."

1987 1h 42m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 6,003

ActionThrillerScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

“Part man, part machine, all cop.”

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Cast

Peter Weller
Officer Alex J. Murphy / RoboCop
Nancy Allen
Officer Anne Lewis
Dan O'Herlihy
The Old Man
Ronny Cox
Dick Jones
Kurtwood Smith
Clarence Boddicker
Miguel Ferrer
Bob Morton
Robert DoQui
Sgt. Warren Reed
Ray Wise
Leon Nash

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writers: Michael Miner, Edward Neumeier
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "RoboCop Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Verhoeven, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank J. Urioste shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Weller and Nancy Allen and Dan O'Herlihy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Part man, part machine, all cop.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Verhoeven directs. Jost Vacano behind the camera. Basil Poledouris scores. Frank J. Urioste cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "RoboCop Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Paul Verhoeven, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Basil Poledouris. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Frank J. Urioste shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter Weller and Nancy Allen and Dan O'Herlihy carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Part man, part machine, all cop.".
9IMDB entry: tt0093870 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "experiment", "cyborg", "crime fighter", "dystopia".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jost Vacano
Original score: Basil Poledouris
Editing: Frank J. Urioste
Production design: William Sandell
Costume design: Erica Edell Phillips
Makeup / hair: Margaret Prentice
Sound: Carlos Delarios
Stunt coordinator: Gary Combs
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $53,424,681
Return: 411% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: RoboCop (1987)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

RoboCop Collection

RoboCop is a 1987 American cyberpunk action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, and Ronny Cox. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan, in the near future, RoboCop centers on police officer Alex Murphy who is brutally shot to death by a gang of criminals and subsequently revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) as a superhuman cyborg law enforcer known as "RoboCop". Collection includes 2 sequels.

Also by

Paul Verhoeven

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-03-18
★ 8/10
Ahhh, 1987, what a year for cinema. Not the least of which is Paul Verhoeven's incredible feat of practical effects engineering: RoboCop. This is one of those older movies where I can totally confirm for you, my love for it is in no way rooted in nostalgia. I didn't watch RoboCop for the first time until 2013, when I was starting up my third decade of life. It's a phenomenal example of the period, but its also a great movie on its own. Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite.
John Chard2019-05-12
★ 9/10
They'll fix you. They fix everything. On his first day out on the streets of Detroit, Officer Murphy is brutally killed by known thug leader, Clarence Boddicker. Scientists at OCP are able to use what remains of Murphy's body and build a new heavily armed cyborg police officer, one that could rid the streets of crime forever. Paul Verhoeven has been called many things in his career, bonkers, challenging and visionary, here with his first perceived block buster American feature, he showcases all of those things. Robocop on the page (and with its title) looked like your average run of the mill sci-fi shoot them up, with its basic premise not exactly oozing originality either. But Verhoeven had screenwriter's Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner in his corner, and they came up with a superior script to fully realise his vision. That Robocop is a satirical critique of totalitarianism and corporate corruption is now a given. Yet it wasn't at first evident to the summer block buster crowd, but Robocop has stood up well to critical re-examinations and the depth digging that so many have afforded it. So with the script he wanted in place, Verhoeven utilised his memories from childhood, where his Netherlands home was taken over by a stomping German army, and added in the destruction factor, with no amount of technical expertise as well. Verhoeven paints an unhinged portrait of this Detroit (actual location shoot was parts of Texas), with skew whiff angles and bizarre twists lining the picture, the special effects even today looking tremendous. Robocop is extremely violent, especially in the directors cut that's now widely available, but even during the most wincing scenes, it stays brisk and sparky, and on his side is that his characters are as inhuman as the title protagonist is!. Thus the fusion of berserker sci-fi and human realism sits easy with the viewer, with the result serving notice to what a fine director Verhoeven can be. Peter Weller dons the Robo suit (enduring agony for weeks on end apparently) and does what is required, and Nancy Allen kicks buttocks as Murphy's partner, Anne Lewis. But it's with the unsavoury characters that Robocop gains its acting kudos. Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer and a wickedly vile Kurtwood Smith dominate proceedings, helped immeasurably by the nature of the script. Verhoeven is thought to be a hard character on set, demanding much from all involved, even driving the normally amiable Weller to thoughts of violence against his director. But few, if any of those involved in Robocop can now say the final result wasn't worth it, because between them they made a genre classic. 9/10
JPV8522019-11-21
★ 9/10
Seen this several times over the years and still holds up well, story and satire wise, though certainly some of the effects were dated (in particular the death of one character falling out a window). Other than that, an entertaining and bloody 1980s action-thriller, where the sequels and a remake, and certainly the third entry, could not touch. Would like to think the proposed RoboCop Returns will succeed where other failed, but don't hold out much hope. 4.25/5