Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. This evening: the justice of the future according to Paul Verhoeven.
Influenced by his experience on the set of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), in which Harrison Ford chases androids, screenwriter Edward Neumeier embarked on writing RoboCop alongside Michael Miner.
In a corrupt dystopian society plagued by serious crime, officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is brutally murdered during a police intervention. He is brought back to life by the OCPa, a large military-industrial and commercial conglomerate who transforms him into a robot-policeman. As he wages a brutal campaign against crime, he perceives lingering fragments of his lost humanity, leading him to investigate his past existence…
The project was proposed to several famous directors in Hollywood, including David Cronenberg and Jonathan Kaplan, before landing in the hands of Dutchman Paul Verhoeven. Convinced by his wife, who points out the satirical aspect of the story, the director accepts.
Like Terminator – produced by the same company, Orion Pictures – the film features a soulless cyborg cop, an ultra-violent futuristic society and revolutionary special effects for the time. So many elements that make it a real masterstroke.
Released in 1987, RoboCop was a surprise financial success, grossing $53.4 million in North America on a budget of $13 million. In France, it achieved 1.6 million admissions.
Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop with Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy…
From 16 years old
Tonight on Arte at 8:55 p.m.