RoboCop
1987 American science fiction action film by Paul Verhoeven / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 and 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.
RoboCop | |
---|---|
Directed by | Paul Verhoeven |
Written by |
|
Produced by | Arne Schmidt |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jost Vacano |
Edited by | Frank J. Urioste |
Music by | Basil Poledouris |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $13.7 million |
Box office | $53.4 million |
The film was conceived by Neumeier while working on the set of Blade Runner (1982), and he developed the idea with Miner. Their script was purchased in early 1985 by producer Jon Davison on behalf of Orion Pictures. Finding a director proved difficult; Verhoeven dismissed the script twice because he did not understand its satirical content, until he was convinced of its value by his wife. Filming took place between August and October 1986, mainly in Dallas, Texas. Rob Bottin led the special-effects team in creating practical effects, violent gore and the RoboCop costume.
Verhoeven emphasized violence throughout the film, making it so outlandish that it became comical. Censorship boards believed that it was too extreme, however, 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.
In a near-future dystopia, Detroit is on the brink of social and financial collapse. Overwhelmed by crime and dwindling resources, the city grants the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) control of the Detroit Police Department. OCP senior president Dick Jones demonstrates ED-209, a law-enforcement droid designed to supplant the police. ED-209 malfunctions and brutally kills an executive, allowing ambitious junior executive Bob Morton to introduce OCP's chairman ("the Old Man") to his own project: RoboCop. Meanwhile, officer Alex Murphy is transferred to the Metro West precinct. Murphy and his new partner, Anne Lewis, pursue notorious criminal Clarence Boddicker and his gang: Emil Antonowsky, Leon Nash, Joe Cox and Steve Minh. The gang ambushes and tortures Murphy until Boddicker fatally shoots him. Morton has Murphy's corpse converted into RoboCop, a heavily-armored cyborg with no memory of his former life. RoboCop is programmed with three prime directives: serve the public trust, protect the innocent and uphold the law. A fourth prime directive, Directive 4, is classified.
Reassigned to Metro West, RoboCop is hailed by the media for his brutally-efficient campaign against crime. Lewis suspects that he is Murphy, recognizing the unique way he holsters his gun (a trick Murphy learned to impress his son). After experiencing a nightmare of Murphy's death during maintenance, RoboCop encounters Lewis, who addresses him as Murphy. While on patrol, RoboCop arrests Emil, who recognizes Murphy's mannerisms; this furthers RoboCop's recall. RoboCop then uses the police database to identify Emil's associates and review Murphy's police record. He recalls further memories while exploring Murphy's former home, his wife and son having moved away after his death. Elsewhere, Jones gets Boddicker to murder Morton as revenge for Morton's attempt to usurp his position at OCP. RoboCop tracks down Boddicker's gang and, after a shootout, brutally interrogates Boddicker until he admits working for Jones; he cannot kill Boddicker, however, as that would violate his prime directives. RoboCop attempts to arrest Jones at the OCP Tower, but Directive 4 is activated: a fail-safe measure to neutralize RoboCop when he acts against an OCP executive. Jones admits his culpability in Morton's death, and releases an ED-209 to destroy RoboCop. Although he escapes, RoboCop is attacked by the police force on OCP's order and is badly damaged. He is rescued by Lewis, who brings him to an abandoned steel mill to repair himself.
Angered by OCP's underfunding and short-staffing, the police force goes on strike; Detroit descends into chaos as riots break out throughout the city. Jones frees Boddicker and his remaining gang, arming them with high-powered weaponry to destroy RoboCop. Boddicker's men are quickly eliminated at the steel mill, but Lewis is badly injured; RoboCop, trapped under steel girders, kills Boddicker by stabbing him in the throat. RoboCop confronts Jones at the OCP Tower during a board meeting, revealing the truth behind Morton's murder. Jones takes the Old Man hostage and is fired from OCP; this nullifies Directive 4 and allows RoboCop to shoot him, causing Jones to crash through a window to his death. The Old Man compliments RoboCop's shooting and asks his name; he replies, "Murphy".
- Peter Weller as Alex Murphy / RoboCop: A Detroit police officer murdered in the line of duty and revived as a cyborg[1]
- Nancy Allen as Anne Lewis: A tough and loyal police officer[2]
- Daniel O'Herlihy as "The Old Man": The chief executive of OCP[3]
- Ronny Cox as Dick Jones: The Senior President of OCP[4]
- Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker: A crime lord in league with Dick Jones[1]
- Miguel Ferrer as Bob Morton: An ambitious OCP junior executive responsible for the "RoboCop" project[1][5]
In addition to the main cast, RoboCop features Paul McCrane as Emil Antonowsky, Ray Wise as Leon Nash, Jesse D. Goins as Joe Cox and Calvin Jung as Steve Minh, members of Boddicker's gang. The cast also includes Robert DoQui as Sergeant Warren Reed,[6][7] Michael Gregory as Lieutenant Hedgecock, Felton Perry as OCP employee Donald Johnson, Kevin Page as OCP junior executive Mr. Kinney (who is shot to death by ED-209) and Lee de Broux as cocaine warehouse owner Sal.[6][7][8]
Mario Machado and Leeza Gibbons play news hosts Casey Wong and Jess Perkins, respectively,[6][7] and television-show host Bixby Snyder is played by S. D. Nemeth.[6][9] Angie Bolling and Jason Levine appear as Murphy's wife and son.[6] RoboCop director Paul Verhoeven makes a cameo appearance as a dancing nightclub patron,[10][11] producer Jon Davison provides the voice of ED-209,[5] and director John Landis appears in an in-film advertisement.[6] Smith's partner, Joan Pirkle, appears as Dick Jones's secretary.[10]
Conception and writing
RoboCop was conceived in the early 1980s by Universal Pictures junior story executive and aspiring screenwriter Edward Neumeier.[lower-alpha 1] A fan of robot-themed science-fiction films, Star Wars, and action films, Neumeier had developed an interest in mature comic books while researching them for potential adaptation.[12][15][16] The 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner was filming on the Warner Bros. lot behind Neumeier's office, and he unofficially joined the production to learn about filmmaking.[12][14][15] His work there gave him the idea for RoboCop: "I had this vision of a far-distant, Blade Runner–type world where there was an all-mechanical cop coming to a sense of real human intelligence".[12][14] He spent the next few nights writing a 40-page outline.[12]
While researching story submissions for Universal, Neumeier came across a student video by aspiring director Michael Miner.[10][13][14] The pair met and discussed their similar concepts: Neumeier's RoboCop and Miner's robot-themed rock music video. In a 2014 interview, Miner said that he also had an idea called SuperCop.[10][12][14] They formed a working partnership and spent about two months discussing the idea and two to three months writing together at night and over weekends, in addition to their regular jobs.[lower-alpha 2] Their collaboration was initially difficult because they did not know each other well, and had to learn how to constructively criticize each other.[18]
Neumeier was influenced to kill off his main character early by the psychological horror film Psycho (1960), whose main character was killed early in the film. Inspired by comic books and his experience with corporate culture, Neumeier wanted to satirize 1980s business culture. He noted the increasing aggression of American financial services in response to growing Japanese influence and the popularity on Wall Street of The Book of Five Rings, a 17th-century book about how to kill more effectively. Neumeier also believed that Detroit's declining automobile industry was due to increased bureaucracy. ED-209's malfunction in the OCP boardroom was based on Neumeier's office daydreams about a robot bursting into a meeting and killing everyone.[12][16][19] Miner described the film as "comic relief for a cynical time" during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, when economist "Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys ransacked the world, enabled by Reagan and the Central Intelligence Agency. So when you have this cop who works for a corporation that insists 'I own you,' and he still does the right thing—that's the core of the film." Neumeier and Miner conceived the in-universe news and advertisement "Media Breaks" that appear throughout RoboCop, and a spec script was completed by December 1984.[10]
Development
The first draft of the script, RoboCop: The Future of Law Enforcement, was given to industry friends and associates in early 1985.[lower-alpha 3] A month later, Neumeier and Miner had two offers: one from Atlantic Releasing[17] and another from director Jonathan Kaplan and producer Jon Davison with Orion Pictures.[13][20] An experienced producer of exploitation and B films such as the parody Airplane! (1980), Davison said that he was drawn to the script's satire.[12][13][20] He showed Neumeier and Miner films—including Madigan (1968), Dirty Harry (1971), and Mad Max 2 (1981)—to demonstrate the tone he wanted. After Orion greenlit the project, Neumeier and Miner began a second draft.[21]
Davison produced the film with his Tobor Pictures company.[22][23] Neumeier and Miner were paid a few thousand dollars for the script rights and $25,000 between them for the rewrite. They were entitled to eight percent of the producer profits upon release.[17][24] Davison's contacts with puppeteers, animators, and practical effects designers were essential to Verhoeven, who had no prior experience with them.[13] The producers discussed changing the Detroit setting, but Neumeier insisted on its importance because of its failing auto industry.[12] The connection between Clarence Boddicker and Dick Jones was added at Orion's suggestion.[12]
Kaplan left to direct Project X (1987), and finding his replacement took six months; many prospects declined because of the film's title.[lower-alpha 4] The project was offered to David Cronenberg, Alex Cox, and Monte Hellman; Hellman joined as second-unit director.[17][25][28] Miner asked to direct, but Orion refused to trust a $7 million project to an untested director.[12][29] He declined the second-unit director position in order to direct Deadly Weapon (1989);[12][21] Orion executive Barbara Boyle suggested Paul Verhoeven—who had been praised for his work on Soldier of Orange (1977) and his first English-language film, Flesh+Blood (1985)—for director.[12][13][21] Verhoeven looked at the first page and rejected the script as awful, stalling the project.[10][13][21] Boyle sent Verhoeven another copy, suggesting that he pay attention to the subtext.[12] Verhoeven was still uninterested until his wife Martine read it and encouraged him to give it a chance, saying he had missed the "soul" of the story about someone losing his identity.[10] Not fluent in English, Verhoeven said that the satire did not make sense to him;[10] the scene that attracted his attention was RoboCop returning to Murphy's abandoned home and experiencing memories of his former life.[1][10]
Davison, Neumeier and Verhoeven discussed the project at Culver Studios' Mansion House.[12] Verhoeven wanted to direct it as a serious film; Neumeier gave him comic books to explain the tone they wanted, including 2000 AD with the character Judge Dredd.[12][21] Neumeier and Miner wrote a third draft based on Verhoeven's requests, working through injuries and late nights; the 92-page revision included a subplot about a romantic affair between Murphy and Lewis.[11][12][21] After reading it, Verhoeven admitted that he was wrong and returned to the second draft in search of a comic-book tone.[12][21][30]
Casting
Six to eight months were spent searching for an actor to play Alex Murphy / RoboCop.[13][26] Arnold Schwarzenegger,[13] Michael Ironside,[31] Rutger Hauer, Tom Berenger, Armand Assante,[25] Keith Carradine and James Remar were considered.[21] Orion favored Schwarzenegger, the star of their recent success The Terminator (1984),[25] but he and other actors were considered too physically imposing to be believable in the RoboCop costume; it was thought that Schwarzenegger would look like the Michelin Man or the Pillsbury Doughboy.[13][26][31] Others were reluctant because their face would be largely concealed by a helmet.[26] Davison said that Weller was the only person who wanted to be in the film.[26] The low salary he commanded was in his favor, as were his good body control from martial-arts training and marathon running and his fan base in the science-fiction genre after his performance in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984). Verhoeven said he hired him because "his chin was very good".[25][29][26] Weller spent months working with mime Moni Yakim, developing a fluid movement style with a stiff ending while wearing an American football uniform to approximate the finished costume.[10][32] Weller said that working with Verhoeven was his main reason for choosing the role over appearing in King Kong Lives (1986).[15][33]
Stephanie Zimbalist was cast as Murphy's partner Anne Lewis, but dropped out because of contractual obligations to Remington Steele (which had been canceled in 1986, but was revived because of its popularity).[lower-alpha 5] Her replacement, Nancy Allen, thought the film's title was terrible but found the script engrossing. Allen was known for her long blonde hair, but Verhoeven wanted it cut short so the character was not sexualized. Her hair was cut eight times before the desired look was achieved.[37] Allen undertook police-academy training for her role, and sought advice from her police lieutenant father.[37] Verhoeven encouraged her to act masculine and gain weight, which she accomplished by quitting smoking.[11]
Kurtwood Smith auditioned for Boddicker and Jones. He was known mainly for television work, had not had film success, and saw RoboCop as a B-film with potential.[10] The character was scripted to wear glasses so he would look like Nazi Party member Heinrich Himmler. Smith was unaware of this, and interpreted it as the character having an intelligent and militaristic front to conceal being a "sneering, smirking drug kingpin".[10] Ironside was offered the role, but did not want to be involved with another special effects-laden film or play a "psychopath" after working on Extreme Prejudice (1987).[25][31][38] Robert Picardo also auditioned for the role.[39]
Ronny Cox had been stereotyped as playing generally nice characters, and said that this left the impression that he could not play more masculine roles.[40] Because of this, Verhoeven cast him as the villainous Dick Jones.[41] Cox said that playing a villain was "about a gazillion times more fun than playing the good guys".[42] Jones, he said, has no compassion and is an "evil [son of a bitch]".[40] Miguel Ferrer was unsure if the film would be successful, but was desperate for work and would have accepted any offer.[15] The Old Man was based on MCA Inc. CEO Lew Wasserman, whom Neumeier considered a powerful and intimidating individual.[12] Television host Bixby Snyder was written as an Americanized, more-extreme version of British comedian Benny Hill.[10] Radio personality Howard Stern was offered an unspecified role, but turned it down because he thought the idea was stupid (although he later praised the finished film).[43]
Filming
Principal photography began on August 6, 1986, on an $11 million budget.[44][45] Jost Vacano was the cinematographer, after working with Verhoeven on Soldier of Orange.[22][45] 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.[12][37] William Sandell was hired.[46] Monte Hellman directed several of the action scenes.[47]
RoboCop was filmed primarily on location in Dallas,[10][45][48] with additional filming in Las Colinas and Pittsburgh.[8][45][49] Verhoeven wanted a filming location which suggested the near future.[45] Detroit was dismissed because it had many low buildings, many brownstones and Victorian-style buildings.[26][45] Neumeier said that it was also a union city, making it more expensive to film there.[50] Detroit made a brief appearance in nighttime, stock aerial footage at the beginning of the film.[16] 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.[26][45] Dallas was chosen over Houston because it has modern buildings and older, less-maintained areas where explosives could be used.[45] 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.[32][44][51] The weather fluctuated during filming; Dallas in summer was often 90 to 115 °F (32 to 46 °C),[26][37][52] and the weather in Pittsburgh was frigid.[10]
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.[lower-alpha 6] 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.[10][25][53] He struggled to see through the thin helmet visor and interact with (or grab) objects while wearing the gloves.[53][54] 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.[25] Mime Moni Yakim helped Weller to develop a slower, more deliberate way of moving.[15] 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.[26][32] Verhoeven began taking prescription medication to cope with stress-induced insomnia, and he filmed scenes under the influence.[55]
He often choreographed scenes with the actors before filming.[56][57] 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."[10] 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.[10][12][21] Verhoeven found Neumeier's presence invaluable, because they could discuss how to adapt the script or location to make a scene work.[45]
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.[10] Cox and Allen spoke warmly of Verhoeven.[37][58] 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.[15]
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.[lower-alpha 7] The OCP elevator was that of the Plaza of the Americas.[48][60] 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.[60] 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.[10][45] The Shell gas station that explodes was in the Arts District,[48][60] where local residents unaware of the filming called the fire department.[1] 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.[10]
The nightclub was the former Starck Club. Verhoeven was filmed demonstrating how the clubbers should dance, and used the footage in the film.[10][11] Other Dallas locations included César Chávez Boulevard, the Reunion Arena[60] and the parking lot of the Crescent.[50] The final battle between RoboCop and Boddicker's gang was filmed at a steel mill in Monessen, outside Pittsburgh.[lower-alpha 8] Filming ended in late October 1986.[64]
Post-production
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An additional $600,000 budget increase was approved by Orion for post-production and the music score, raising the budget to $13.7 million.[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 10]
Frank J. Urioste was the film's editor.[65] Several pick-up shots were filmed during this phase, including Murphy's death, RoboCop removing his helmet, and shots of his leg holster.[66] After the OCP boardroom scene in which RoboCop calls himself Murphy, another scene revealed that Lewis was alive in a hospital before showing RoboCop on patrol. The latter scene was thought to lessen the former's triumphant feeling, and was removed.[67][68] Verhoeven wanted the in-film Media Breaks to abruptly interrupt the narrative and unsettle the viewer. He was influenced by Piet Mondrian's art, which featured stark black lines separating colored squares.[10] Peter Conn directed many of the Media Breaks, but "TJ Lazer" was directed by Neumeier.[69]
RoboCop's violent content made it difficult to receive an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which restricted the film to viewers over 17 unless accompanied by an adult. It initially received the more-restrictive X rating, limiting the film to those over 17.[10][25][70] Although some reports suggest it was refused an R-rating eleven times, Verhoeven said that the number was actually eight.[10][25] The MPAA took issue with several scenes, including Murphy's death and ED-209 shooting an executive.[51][65] The violent scenes were shortened and Media Breaks were added to help lighten the mood; Verhoeven recalled that one reviewer was confused by their jarring appearance in the film, and complained that the projectionist had used the wrong film reel.[10][25]
The MPAA also objected to a scene of a mutated Emil being disintegrated by Boddicker's car, but Verhoeven, Davison and Orion refused to remove it because it consistently received the biggest laughs during test screenings.[13][71] Verhoeven made the violence comical and surreal, and believed that the cuts made the scenes appear more (not less) violent.[10][25] He said that his young children laughed at the X-rated cut, and audiences laughed less at the R-rated version.[10][51] According to Verhoeven, people "love seeing violence and horrible things".[51] The film is 103 minutes long.[72]
Basil Poledouris composed the film score after working with Verhoeven on Flesh + Blood.[5] The score combines synthesizers and orchestral music, reflecting RoboCop's cyborg nature. The music was performed by the Sinfonia of London.[73][74]
Special effects
The special-effects team, led by Rob Bottin, included Phil Tippett, Stephan Dupuis, Bart Mixon and Craig Davies.[lower-alpha 11] The effects were very violent because Verhoeven believed that that made scenes funnier.[10][25] He compared the brutality of Murphy's death to the crucifixion of Jesus, an effective way to evoke sympathy for the character.[10][65][71] The scene was filmed at an abandoned auto-assembly plant in Long Beach, California, on a raised stage that allowed operators to control the effects from below.[77] To show Murphy being dismantled by gunfire, prosthetic arms were cast in alginate and filled with tubing that could pump artificial blood and compressed air. Weller's left hand, attached to his shoulders by velcro and controlled by three operators, was designed to explode in a controllable way so it could be easily put back together for repeat shots.[77] The right arm was jerked away from Weller's body by a monofilament wire.[19][77] A detailed, articulated replica of Weller's upper body was used to depict Boddicker shooting Murphy through the head.[71][77][78] A mold was made of Weller's face using foam latex that was baked to make it rubbery and flesh-like, and placed over a fiberglass skull containing a blood squib and explosive charge. The articulated head was controlled by four puppeteers, and had details of sweat and blood. A fan motor attached to the body made it vibrate, as if shaking in fear. The charge in the skull was connected to the trigger of Smith's gun by wire to synchronize the effect.[79]
Emil's melting mutation was inspired by the 1977 science-fiction film The Incredible Melting Man.[80] Bottin designed and constructed Emil's prosthetics, creating a foam-latex headpiece and matching gloves that gave the appearance of Emil's skin melting "off his bones like marshmallow sauce".[80][81] A second piece, depicting further degradation, was applied over the first. Dupuis painted each piece differently to emphasize Emil's advancing degradation. The prosthetics were applied to an articulated dummy to show Emil being struck by Boddicker's car. The head was loosened so it would fly off; by chance, it rolled onto the car's hood. The effect was completed with Emil's liquified body (raw chicken, soup, and gravy) washing over the windscreen.[81] The same dummy stands in for RoboCop when he is crushed by steel beams (painted wood).[81] Verhoeven wanted RoboCop to kill Boddicker by stabbing him in the eye, but it was believed the effort to create the effect would be wasted due to censorship concerns.[82]
Dick Jones's fatal fall is shown by a stop-motion puppet of Cox, animated by Rocco Gioffre. The limited development time forced Gioffre to use a foam-rubber puppet with an aluminum skeleton instead of a better-quality, articulated version. It was composited against Mark Sullivan's matte painting of the street below.[82][83] ED-209's murder of OCP executive Mr. Kinney was filmed over three days. Page's body was covered with 200 squibs, but Verhoeven was unhappy with the result and brought him back months later to re-shoot it in a studio-built recreation of the board room. Page was again covered in over 200 squibs and plastic bags filled with spaghetti squash and fake blood. Page described intense pain as each squib detonation felt like a punch.[8] In the cocaine-warehouse scene, Boddicker's stuntman was thrown through glass panes rigged with detonating cord to shatter microseconds before he hit.[84] Gelatin capsules filled with sawdust and a sparkling compound were fired from an air gun at RoboCop to create the effect of ricocheting bullets.[85]
RoboCop
Bottin was tasked with designing the RoboCop costume.[10][13][86] He researched the Star Wars character C-3PO and its stiff costume, which made movement difficult.[86] Bottin was also influenced by robot designs in Metropolis (1927), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951),[16][65] and several comic-book superheroes.[87][88] He developed about 50 designs based on feedback from Verhoeven (who pushed for a more machine-like character),[87][89] finally landing on a sleek aesthetic inspired by the work of Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayama.[90] Verhoeven admitted his unrealistic expectations after reading Japanese science-fiction manga; it took him a while to realize it, which contributed to the costume delay.[10]
The scope of the RoboCop costume was unprecedented, with its design and construction exceeding cost and schedule.[26][45][78] The costume took six months to build with flexible foam latex, semi-and completely-rigid polyurethane, and a fiberglass helmet.[26][87][91] Moving sections were joined with aluminum and ball bearings.[91] The costume is supported by an internal harness of hooks, allowing for sustained movement during action scenes.[78] Seven costumes were made, including a fireproof version and costumes depicting sustained damage.[92] Reports on their weight vary from 25 to 80 lb (11 to 36 kg).[lower-alpha 12] RoboCop's gun, the Auto-9, is a Beretta 93R with an extended barrel and larger grip. It was modified to fire blank bullets, and vents were cut into the side to allow for multi-directional muzzle flashes with every three-shot burst.[96]
ED-209
To budget for ED-209's development, Tippett developed preliminary sketches and hired Davies to design the full-scale model which was constructed with the help of Paula Lucchesi.[75] Verhoeven wanted ED-209 to look mean, and thought that Davies' early designs lacked a "killer" aesthetic. Davies was influenced by killer whales and a United States Air Force LTV A-7 Corsair II. He approached the design with modern American aesthetics and a corporate-design policy that he believed prioritized looks over functionality, including excessive and impractical components. He did not add eyes, thinking that they would make ED-209 more sympathetic.[97] The fully-articulated fiberglass model took four months to build, cost $25,000, stood 7 feet (2.1 m) tall, and weighed 300 to 500 lb (140 to 230 kg).[98][99][100] The 100-hour work weeks took their toll and Davies minimized the detail of ED-209's feet, since he did not think they would be shown.[101] The model was later used on promotional tours.[99][100][102]
Davies spent another four months building two 12-inch (30 cm) miniature replicas for stop motion animation.[103] The two small models allowed scenes to be animated and filmed more efficiently, which saved time in completing the 55 shots needed in three months.[103] Tippett was the lead ED-209 animator, assisted by Randal M. Dutra and Harry Walton.[13][100][104] Tippett conceived ED-209's movement as "unanimal"-like, as if it were about to fall over before catching itself.[100] To complete the character, the droid was given the roar of a leopard. Davison provided a temporary voiceover for ED-209's speaking voice, which was retained in the film.[105]
Other effects and designs
RoboCop contains seven matte effects, mainly painted by Gioffre. Each matte was painted on masonite. Gioffre supervised on-site filming to mask the camera where the matte is inserted, and remembered having to crawl out from a five-story-high ledge to get the right shot of the Plaza of the Americas.[106] The burnished steel RoboCop logo was developed using photographic effects that supervisor Peter Kuran based on a black-and-white sketch from Orion. Kuran created a scaled-up matte version and backlit it. A second pass was made with a sheet of aluminum behind it to create reflective detail.[64] RoboCop's vision was created with hundreds of ink lines on acetate composited over existing footage. Several attempts had to be made to get the line thickness right; at first, the lines were too thick or too thin.[107] Assuming that thermographic photography would be expensive, Kuran replicated thermal vision using actors in body stockings painted with thermal colors and filmed the scene with a polarized lens filter.[108] RoboCop's mechanical recharging chair was designed and built by John Zabrucky of Modern Props.[109] The OCP boardroom model of Delta City was made under the supervision of art director Gayle Simon.[110]
The film's police cars are 1986 Ford Taurus models painted black.[49] The Taurus was chosen because of its futuristic, aerodynamic styling for the vehicle's first production year. The car was intended to feature a customized interior that would show graphical displays of mug shots, fingerprints, and other related information, but the concept was considered too ambitious.[13][64] The 6000 SUX driven by Boddicker and others was an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, modified by Gene Winfield and based on a design by Chip Foose. Two working cars were made with a third, non-functional one that was used when the vehicle exploded.[111] The 6000 SUX commercial features a plasticine dinosaur animated by Don Waller and blocked by Steve Chiodo.[111]