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RoboCop: TV Edit HD Restoration
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Genre:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1987
Original Running Time:
103
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
100
Time Cut:
3
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
This is an edit of RoboCop that attempts to recreate the heavily censored Network Television presentation in HD. The movie is cropped and pan-and-scanned to 4:3 like old TV broadcasts, and there are fade in and outs every 15ish minutes to emulate where commercial breaks would be. Swears are replaced with less offending words like "freaking", "forget", "bonehead", and "bologna". Violence is heavily trimmed down and cut as well, for example, Clarence swerves around Emil near the end instead of running him down.
Intention:
I love this movie so much, and I had been fascinated by the TV edit for as long as I had it recorded on a VHS. A little over a year ago I saw a local airing with the alternate TV footage, haphazardly inserted. I thought to myself "I could definitely do this better," and started working on it.
Additional Notes:
Please note that although I used the 4k Blu Ray as the main source, the alternate TV footage came from a handful of different sources, analog and digital. Due to the age of some of the video and audio used for the TV footage (some coming from upscaled 480i broadcasts or even a 30+ yr old VHS), video quality (and audio on track 2) is not 100% HD throughout.
While the movie's frame rate is technically 25fps, much of the alternate footage was 29.97fps. So even though the MKV runs 29.97 fps, the bulk of the movie is 25fps just with repeated frames.
Other Sources:
2014 R1 Uncut Blu Ray (base)
2006 Recalled Sony Blu Ray - Theatrical Cut
2002 Special Edition Region 4 DVD - Both TC and DX as well as outtakes
1988 Full Screen Image Laserdisc - Theatrical Cut
1988 Orion VHS -Theatrical Cut
RoboCop Soundtrack - Music from the Motion Picture
ABC Network TV Broadcast from 1991 VHS
WGN America TV Broadcast from 2010 VHS
Comet TV Broadcast from 2017 DVD
THIS TV Broadcast from 2018
"ROBOCOP (1987) Alternate Scenes from TV version" - Youtube Video uploaded by YT user Orville Joder Jr
"Robocop 1991 ABC Sunday Night Movie Intro" - Youtube Video uploaded by YT user Sean Mc
2006 Recalled Sony Blu Ray - Theatrical Cut
2002 Special Edition Region 4 DVD - Both TC and DX as well as outtakes
1988 Full Screen Image Laserdisc - Theatrical Cut
1988 Orion VHS -Theatrical Cut
RoboCop Soundtrack - Music from the Motion Picture
ABC Network TV Broadcast from 1991 VHS
WGN America TV Broadcast from 2010 VHS
Comet TV Broadcast from 2017 DVD
THIS TV Broadcast from 2018
"ROBOCOP (1987) Alternate Scenes from TV version" - Youtube Video uploaded by YT user Orville Joder Jr
"Robocop 1991 ABC Sunday Night Movie Intro" - Youtube Video uploaded by YT user Sean Mc
Special Thanks:
The Legacy Collection
Workprint Collectors
The Workprint Collection
Members of the Fanedit Forum
Workprint Collectors
The Workprint Collection
Members of the Fanedit Forum
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features
This edit has 3 audio tracks:
1) ITV UK edit. - This is the main track with the highest quality
2) ABC US Broacast -The ABC edit is slightly different and features different takes of some of the lines so they are inserted. Audio that overlapped from this and ITV uses ITV audio since it's better quality.
3) Current US Broadcast - Virtually Identical to ITV, but every instance of "freaking" has been removed, as well as the music under Murphy's death.
It also starts with the original ABC bumper, remade shot for shot in HD. I even remade the music in MUSEscore
1) ITV UK edit. - This is the main track with the highest quality
2) ABC US Broacast -The ABC edit is slightly different and features different takes of some of the lines so they are inserted. Audio that overlapped from this and ITV uses ITV audio since it's better quality.
3) Current US Broadcast - Virtually Identical to ITV, but every instance of "freaking" has been removed, as well as the music under Murphy's death.
It also starts with the original ABC bumper, remade shot for shot in HD. I even remade the music in MUSEscore
Editing Details:
While the audio was based heavily on the ITV version, the video was based more on the ABC version, since it has more creative visual edits. There are many TV edits of this film, so it's kind of a mish mash of different versions, that uses as much alternate footage as possible.
Video and audio were edited separately.
Many language cuts were made by muting the middle audio channel that had the dialogue. Sometimes edits had to be edited for the movie's environment, like Ron Miller yelling "Don't mess with me" out the window of town hall.
Over the years RoboCop has undergone many color corrections. Some of the TV edits reflect this, many modern TV versions have a blue tint and the alternate footage has a slapdash blue filter. The 4k blu ray is the closest to the original color, so some footage had to be color corrected to match. Sometimes frame by frame. There were also television station logos on some of the footage that had to be either matted or cropped out.
Old footage from VHS and Laserdisc had overscan on the edges, so they had to be cropped on all sides slightly.
I had to re-edit the movie's score in some places because there were so many cuts in a row (such as the factory shoot out). Foley was also used in some places where music was replaced, TV footage often used the on set audio, so sound effects had to be added.
Video and audio were edited separately.
Many language cuts were made by muting the middle audio channel that had the dialogue. Sometimes edits had to be edited for the movie's environment, like Ron Miller yelling "Don't mess with me" out the window of town hall.
Over the years RoboCop has undergone many color corrections. Some of the TV edits reflect this, many modern TV versions have a blue tint and the alternate footage has a slapdash blue filter. The 4k blu ray is the closest to the original color, so some footage had to be color corrected to match. Sometimes frame by frame. There were also television station logos on some of the footage that had to be either matted or cropped out.
Old footage from VHS and Laserdisc had overscan on the edges, so they had to be cropped on all sides slightly.
I had to re-edit the movie's score in some places because there were so many cuts in a row (such as the factory shoot out). Foley was also used in some places where music was replaced, TV footage often used the on set audio, so sound effects had to be added.
Cuts and Additions:
There are FAR too many changes to list here. I have a detailed line by line legend of what has been changed and added and what is on all 3 audio tracks here: https://pastebin.com/W9Z52EeF
User reviews
3 reviews
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
9.0(3)
Audio Editing
8.7(3)
Visual Editing
9.7(3)
Narrative
10.0(3)
Enjoyment
10.0(3)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Up front, I will say this: I missed "bitches leave." One of the great line deliveries in the history of motion pictures and it's just gone. Kurtwood Smith would not stand for this.
On the plus side, I loved literally everything else about this cut. As much as I can't get enough of Robocop in its original form, I've always thought that the subversiveness of the concept would have worked better in a slightly less over-the-top, hard-R setting, allowing younger viewers to better have their minds blown by a Franken-zombie who fights back against his omnipresent corporate masters. Plus, having the intense violence occur just off-screen allows the viewer to imagine the horrifying violence on their own, which only adds to its power.
Besides aesthetic reasons, the network-TV version is how I first watched this fine piece of sci-fi cinema, so it worked for me on a nostalgic level, which I suspect is the primary point. Nevertheless, this might just be my go-to Robocop version from now on. I might even try splicing in some mid-90s commercials, just to see how well they sit next to the terrifyingly dystopic creature that is Mary Hart, newsanchor.
On the plus side, I loved literally everything else about this cut. As much as I can't get enough of Robocop in its original form, I've always thought that the subversiveness of the concept would have worked better in a slightly less over-the-top, hard-R setting, allowing younger viewers to better have their minds blown by a Franken-zombie who fights back against his omnipresent corporate masters. Plus, having the intense violence occur just off-screen allows the viewer to imagine the horrifying violence on their own, which only adds to its power.
Besides aesthetic reasons, the network-TV version is how I first watched this fine piece of sci-fi cinema, so it worked for me on a nostalgic level, which I suspect is the primary point. Nevertheless, this might just be my go-to Robocop version from now on. I might even try splicing in some mid-90s commercials, just to see how well they sit next to the terrifyingly dystopic creature that is Mary Hart, newsanchor.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
R
Overall rating
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
For most kids growing up in the early 90s, this mad hatchet-job was their first introduction to Paul Verhoeven's violent masterpiece; and I'm very pleased to say that the editor has done a masterful job at recreating it in all its ridiculous glory. Whilst not at all impressed at the time, it was such a pleasure to revisit the bad dubbing, censored violence and alternate scenes, which made this version the legend that it has rightly become. The overdubs are pretty much exactly as I remember them from the ITV version and include everything from the hilariously bad "why me" to the obviously inserted "airhead" which became the nadir of bad TV censorship. The cuts for the most part are excellent, there are one or two places where the soundtrack falters as swearing is either dubbed, or omitted, but it's barely noticeable against the brilliant whole. If you remember this version with fondness (or rage), or even if you just want to laugh at the kind of thing we had to put up with back then, I seriously recommend you give this version a try!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
S
Overall rating
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This is a great TV-format that calls back to the good old days of strict censorship that plauged (or highly amused) fans of gripping r-rated dramas back in the day. The insertion of the censored language is more or less masterfully done, it even includes the censored version of the locker room scene with the CGI bra. The video quality sometimes switches between clear and fuzzy but these technical hurdles are due to the source material and used for the sake of the overall immersive experience. This edit is a treat and I had a great time with it.
Z