Great Shots: Robocop

I like Paul Verhoeven's Robocop -- always have.  It's the second R-rated movie I ever saw in a theater (following Brian De Palma's The Untouchables), and I recall seeing it with an attitude of considerable skepticism.  The TV commercials looked ridiculous -- the cheesiest B-movie nonsense.  I'm not sure what I expected when I took my seat in the Berkshire County movie theater way back in 1987, but certainly not the brutally violent, viciously satiric, hilariously funny sci-fi action whirlwind that followed.  I staggered out of the theater two hours later feeling dazed, dazzled, and slightly traumatized.  I can't count the number of times I've watched it in the two-plus decades since.

I've always viewed the career of Verhoeven with some frustration.  I haven't loved any of his films since Robocop, though Black Book is probably his most successful recent effort.  Starship Troopers has its adherents, but I could never quite get on board with that film.  Basic Instinct and Showgirls?  Essential signposts of 1990s Hollywood culture, perhaps, but not particularly good movies in my judgment.  Earlier efforts like Soldier of Orange and Flesh and Blood are more interesting.  I've yet to see his 1983 Dutch effort, The Fourth Man, but have heard good things about it.

What I will say about Verhoeven is that when he's on, he's extremely on.  Like many of the best directors in the Hollywood style, he has a deep understanding of how to combine blocking and camerawork to create propulsive scenes that emphasize what's going on in the story at a given moment.  Placed in service of a dense, brilliant screenplay such as Ed Neumeier provided for Robocop, Verhoeven's directorial chops (aided by cinematographer Jost Vacano) could be utilized to their fullest.  I've always admired the following shot from the beginning of the conference room sequence.  Long, bravura steadicam shots were becoming increasingly common in the 1980s, and many directors used the new device to wonderful effect -- consider Martin Scorsese's famed "Copacabana shot" from Goodfellas, or the shot of Jake LaMotta entering the ring in Raging Bull.  De Palma, too, became addicted to elaborately choreographed, impossibly long steadicam shots as his career progressed.  What I like about this particular shot, though, is its relative modesty.  It's beautifully executed, but never becomes a case of camerawork for camerawork's sake.  And it flows along so rapidly and confidently that you may well not notice you've just witnessed an amazing single-take shot until subsequent viewings later on.

A note: there are spoilers below.  If you haven't seen Robocop, please go see it.  If you have Netflix, you can stream it (as of this writing).  It's one of the essential science-fiction films, one of the essential 1980s films, and I can't say enough good things about it.

 

1. We begin in a wide composition, tracking backward as Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) and his fellow junior executives approach the conference room.  They're discussing Bob's Robocop program, and Bob's frustration that company politics may prevent it from ever seeing the light of day.  At this point the screenplay's not only setting up the idea of Robocop, but also the corporate rivalry between Bob and his higher-up, the reptilian Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), whom we're about to meet.

 

2.  Shot's tighter now, essentially a walking-and-talking 3-shot as Bob, Johnson (Felton Perry), and unfortunate rookie exec Kinney (Kevin Page) -- who has about three minutes left to live -- continue their conversation.

 

3. Shot continues in this vein, as poor Kinney pipes up to Bob Morton about how Jones is "a real shark."  Bob, as you can see by his expression, is in no mood to hear about it.

 

4. As Bob wheels around to give Kinney a piece of his mind, camera begins to favor Johnson, whose eyeline anticipates the future camera movement.  He sees Dick Jones and The Old Man (Dan O'Herlihy) approaching, and utters a warning to Bob.

 

5. Camera focuses on Johnson as it executes a rapid pan to the right.  You can see the characters in the background are blurred, indicating the rapidity of the pan.  This is some very skillful steadicam operation.  It's also an example of what, in film school, we were told was called "person-to-person" shot construction -- essentially, you use the movement of a character to motivate the camera movement and to justify its switch from one location or perspective to another.  You often see this in restaurant scenes where the camera follows a waiter before picking up the action at a particular table.

 

6. Camera has now abandoned Johnson and picked up Jones and the Old Man, who are in mid-conversation about Jones's ED-209 robot-policeman project.  Camera begins tracking in the opposite direction -- from right to left -- in order to accommodate the movement of Jones and the Old Man.  Note also that the reverse in screen direction, with exquisite subtlety, underscores the opposition between the two groups of characters we have thusfar met: the ambitious Young Turks versus the entrenched Old Guard.

 

7. Shot continues in the same vein, but note the extreme precision of the blocking: Miguel Ferrer is now standing in just such a spot so that we can glimpse this fleeting moment of Bob warily observing his nemesis walking by.

 

8. Still a 2-shot, but camera is circling around to the other side of the conference table as Jones and the Old Man prepare to take their seats.

 

9. Now seated, the Old Man begins to speak, and camera tracks backward, ever widening to reveal the size of the table and the number of executives arrayed around it.  This is corporate power in all its manifest glory, the shot seems to say: this is where the Big Shots make the decisions that drive the fates of ordinary people.

 

10. Shot's wider now, steadicam operator still walking back, and in the left of the frame we begin to see the model of Delta City.

 

11. The Delta City model comes fully into the foreground as the Old Man is discussing its impending construction.  Gleaming hope for the future?  Corporate boondoggle?  Unattainable mirage of a promised paradise that will never be? Delta City is all of those things, and the model's pristine whiteness emphasizes its unreal qualities.  On this powerful image, the shot ends, and Verhoeven goes into more conventional coverage for the remainder of the scene.

You'll often find that even the most accomplished directors still end up resorting to standard over-the-shoulder/master-shot coverage once they dig into the meat of a scene's dialogue, but the introduction to a scene often provides an opportunity to show off a bit.  Verhoeven, here, achieves the tactful feat of flexing his own directorial muscles while remaining absolutely loyal, moment-to-moment, to what is happening in the story.  In this, he's in the tradition of great Hollywood craftsmen from Michael Curtiz to Steven Spielberg, who subordinate themselves to the narrative but still manage to make their scenes feel ineffably cinematic.

Comments

[Roberto]

I'm surprised that you don't mention Total Recall in your description of Verhoeven's movies. Was that omission intentional? It seems a logical point of comparison to Robocop for a number of reasons, even if you don't like it as much as I do. Otherwise, nice write-up.

[Gordon Cameron]

Hi, thanks for your comment! The omission of Total Recall was indeed a slip of the mind -- I'd agree that it's a good one to compare with Robocop, along with Starship Troopers. I confess I'm not a fan of Total Recall, though it has its moments, and might merit another viewing, as I haven't seen it in many years.

I've got some more Robocop analysis coming soon, so be sure to check back!

[Roberto]

I thought as much, since you were so specific in your references to the other films. Keep up the good work.

[xtien]

I love this feature Gordon. Your breakdown here is superb. I'm itching to jump on Netflix and just watch this part, but I haven't seen the film in so long I'm gonna hold off and watch the whole thing when I get a chance.

I look forward to you doing more of these.

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I confess I'm not a fan of Total Recall, though it has its moments, and might merit another viewing

[James]

The omission of Total Recall was indeed a slip of the mind

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[Supriya]

Does it have to be campy though? The oriagnil was campy and that's what I disliked so much about it. The actual book is a classic cornerstone of Sci-Fi in my opinion, and I don't think the book is campy at all. It's just a little dated in style because of when it was written. Although I guess it's possible that people in the future will talk like it's the 50s still .

[Manna]

the 1987 movie Robocop, one of Kurtwood Smith’s finest roles, have been pneotiiting the city to build a RoboCop statue in honor of the movie. The movie was set in the near future when crime was rampant in the city and

[Eva]

The 1991 series shwoed up in two sporadic waves, which was an odd change after a decade of 24-month long releases, but every character turned out to be a winner. It was the last great year of the line for me. As for the figure, I always liked the '86 version of Sci-Fi and wished his helmet had been removable, so this was a welcome move on Hasbro's part. I could see the '91 body doubling for Flash as well since there are resemblances. The weapons are his only weak spot. This was also the start of the spring-loaded missile launcher era, but at least Sci-Fi didn't get stuck with one of the bulkier ones found on most Battle Corps figures later on.

[Tim]

Funny that you should find Total Recall worth withcang. I think I've watched it several times which means it works for me. The final scenes are a bit ridiculous but the so is the entire story! Robocop was great fun when it came out and even the sequel wasn't too bad (perhaps becuase they did the outside shots in Houston so I could say I know where that is! to anyone who would listen).But Basic Instinct is the best of all and not because of Sharon Stone or Michael Douglas but because of the supporting roles each and every one a memorable piece of the puzzle.

[Ronaldo]

I have NEVER seen the opening to this movie! I alawys thought it started with Russell in the truck. When it started I thought this was a director's cut. This movie is so fleshed out with multiple storylines going on it feels very kinetic. Gang tensions, mythology seem correct which makes this film feel meaty and somewhat grounded in Hollywood reality. I'm not sure how deliberate the dialog is supposed to be but unlike truly horrible scripts (looking at you, Flash) the dialog worked among itself. It's not flowing conversation but it seems imperative to the way the movie unfolds.I'm halfway there with you, Ibbott; Kim Cattrall, somewhere in the 90s, took a turn for me. I LOVED her in this movie and others at this time (*ahem* Mannequin *ahem*).Randy, it was a trucker's mullet, totally. Also, it's a TEC 9 not an MP4 (which I think you meant an MP5) that Burton carries. The TEC DC-9 is a semiautomatic pistol (automatically reloads, but will only fire one round per trigger pull).Comment on the brake trope: in Quantum of Solace, James Bond jumps out of a window onto a bus to reach the building on the other side. He needs the bus to stop to reach the other side and the driver does indeed lay on the brakes, like a normal person would do when something hits him/her.Watching Flash Gordon, when they ripped off the glasses of the one (with the wires sprouting out of the eye sockets) and they all shorted out and died, they fell over one by one it reminded me of the Buddhas in this film.For years I thought this was based in China which made me wonder how/why Burton was there (moreso, how was his truck there?!). Because of that, since China is huge, I thought the title was a play on how epic the trouble was. After realizing it was Chinatown it made the story much more interesting. This is a tale of gods and curses, mythology and martial arts. And it all happens in a tiny burg in California. I find it a nice melding of ancient and current (clearly represented by Burton) ideologies. The movie has alawys stuck out to me, as far as the romance goes, that the guy doesn't end up with the girl. It leaves a wanting from the viewers but it does show a bit of chivalry from ol' Jack Burton.Also, I from time to time put a laundry basket on my head while washing and pretend I'm one of the Three Storms. Cue the 80s lightning!

[Tori]

Sorry guys, but I feel like this one kind of went over your heads. Maybe I'm way off base, but I'd always inretpreted the film as being intentionally and very obviously campy. In particular, Jack Burton's caricature of the unstoppable action movie hero was brilliant.My feeling was the one good thing he does with the knife throw was total luck. He constantly blusters because he's got this image of himself as this old school badass, but when he tries to be a hero, he sucks at almost every thing he attempts to do. He's so self-absorbed, he doesn't realize other more talented people have to constantly carry his stupid ass.Another thing, the werewolf creature and exploding guy were just more ways to throw off the viewer's expectations. You see the werewolf and think it's going to be some sort of killing machine, yet it's primary act is to repeatedly run away. With the bodyguard, he runs in and sees dead Lo Pan and you think, Oh man, he is going to just go nuts on Jack. Instead he temper tantrums himself to death and explodes into harmless garbage.@ Randy Man, I thought it was pretty over the top to say that John Carpenter's body of work is essentially a pile of shit, whether the statement was meant in jest or not. I don't know what your list of favorite films consists of, but the more I listen to Film Sack, the less I think you actually enjoy watching films.

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