WSo8M: (7) Robocop v. (10) The Untouchables

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Samatha Baker Division, Fort Arnold regionals

(7) Robocop


(10) The Untouchables

[metirish]

Out of the polls so far this was the one that I struggled with, I remember enjoying both these movies.

[MFS62]

I can stop channel surfing and stop to watch the rest of RoboCop.
Can't do that for the Untouchables. In fact, I'm rooting for him to let the kid go down the stairs in the baby carriage.

Later

[Guest AG/DC]

Two buddy-cops-in-the-midst-of-corrupt-society movies. I think the mayor is on the take in both.

[Guest themetfairy]

Robocop isn't my kind of movie. I'll go for Elliot Ness.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

To me, the Untouchables was a bold entertaining flick but almost too stylish, and too much of a showcase for Connery and DeNiro. Yet the accountant steals the whole flick out from under them, go figure.

RoboCop on the other hand is easy to overlook for how excellent its production is, from the sound he makes when he walks to its black humor, to the characters -- one slimeball after another, and even to its messages of what it means to be human and the similarities between corporations, cops and criminals. Not a great ending, and diluted by shamefully bad sequels but I think it's a classic and gets the vote!

[Vic Sage]

UNTOUCHABLES is classic Hollywood craftsmanship; ROBOCOP is an over-the-top comicbook movie.

A close call. But...

GO, ROBO, GO!!

[metirish]

I was going to ask whatever became of Peter Weller but he's doing just fine.

From his Wiki bio

Weller holds a Masters Degree in Roman and Renaissance art, and is an occasional lecturer at Syracuse University on the subjects of Hollywood and the Roman Empire.[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Weller

[dgwphotography]

Vic Sage wrote: UNTOUCHABLES is classic Hollywood craftsmanship; ROBOCOP is an over-the-top comicbook movie. A close call. But... GO, ROBO, GO!!

I agreed with this until the last line....

[Guest AG/DC]

Robocop was well-crafted and original in vision and style.

The Untouchables was well-crafted and not.

[Guest cooby]

robocop

[Benjamin Grimm]

Untouchables.

[Vic Sage]

Robocop was well-crafted and original in vision and style. The Untouchables was well-crafted and not.

I think that's a little unfair. They're both derivative, just from different sources.

DePalma is a film school geek whose films, like the Coen Bros, are always about other films (mostly hitchcock, but not exclusively). UNTOUCHABLES is self-consciously about Hollywood filmmaking, and its cliamx is a homage to the "odessa steps" sequence from Eisenstein's POTEMKIN.

Paul Verhoven's ROBOCOP, however, is derived from other media, from cyberpunk fiction to anime like "8th Man" (which was the basis for the movie's story) and the Japanese superhero series "Uch� keiji Gyaban" (the first of Toei's "Metal Hero" series) was the basis for RoboCop's design. Comic books like IRON MAN were influential as well, as well as recent SF of that period, like BLADERUNNER (which was the film that inspired the screenwriter originally) and TERMINATOR. Other derivations: Robocop's musical theme is the same five-note motif used in the score of Bride of Frankenstein; the repeated line 'I'd buy that for a dollar!' comes from Cyril Kornbluth's short story 'The Marching Morons', which is a similar satire of commercial culture.

I will agree that ROBOCOP is original in blending many non-Hollywood influences into its overall vision. It feels strikingly modern compared to the old-fashioned qualities of UNTOUCHABLES. But i think one can overstate its "originality' by ignoring its pop culture influences.

[Guest AG/DC]

I'm writing of the originality of its vision and style and execution to the medium. I happily acknowledge its extra-media sources.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Guest

[metsmarathon]

this one is tough. i love the untouchables. but i think i'm unfairly allowing the pitiful sequels to affect my love for robocop...

with either, i cannot skip them when i surf their wave. just with robocop, i hafta doublecheck the channel guide to see if i'm wasting my time or not with an awful sequel.

have i mentioned that the robocop sequels are awful?

hmm...

alright, i think i'm gonna settle on the untouchables. the tommy guns get me every time.

[Fman99]

I vote for Robocop due to the always excellent Kurtwood Smith. That guy is gold, Jerry, gold!

[dgwphotography]

I think The Untouchables wins just on the train station shootout alone...

[soupcan]

Robo.

[Elster88]

Meh.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I am declaring a winner at 10 am

[Guest AG/DC]

15-12, Robo.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Final score 15-12 Robocop