RoboCop [4K Ultra-HD] [Limited Edition] [Blu-ray]

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It's more vivid and vibrant than ever before, but tastefully done so as not to look revisionist, with some of the best elements coming subtly ( Robocop's own silver-grey titanium alloy suit has this wonderful purple pearlescent twinge to it). There isn’t much in the way of panning, but certain sound effects are placed discretely in the rear speakers. Sign up to receive daily breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis, deals and more from the world of tech.

Although clarity is strong with excellent balance and separation between the channels, dynamics and acoustics seem a bit restrained and limited with almost no movement into the upper ranges. The Director’s Cut comes from the same master, but the lower generation materials used to complete it are still present as the original negative trims are now considered lost.

The various opticals used to present the TV broadcasts within the film, as well as the stop motion effects sequences, are obviously less refined. Verhoeven's peerlessly exciting and kinetic visuals were matched by a sharp script, iconic cast and exceptional special effects by Rob Bottin (The Thing) and Phil Tippett (The Empire Strikes Back).

Fine lines and objects are distinct and well-defined throughout, except for the few optical effects with the ED-209 droid and a couple of badly aged segments, which is all understandable and forgivable. A quarter of a century later, the story of business corruption and greed governing society while citizens wallow in oblivious passivity via mindlessly moronic TV programming has become an ominously surreal revelation.unlike anything anybody had ever seen before, and, really, unlike anything anybody would ever see again. Courtesy of Arrow Video, the 80s cult action classic transfers to 4K Ultra HD as a two-disc collector's package with an impressively beautiful Dolby Vision HDR presentation of both versions of the film and an awesome Dolby Atmos track. They're not lengthy bits nor are they overly distracting because they're so brief, but they're there just the same. The film stars David Naughton and Griffin Dunne, as American tourists David (Naughton) and Jack (Dunne), who are savaged by an unidentified creature while on a hiking trip in northern England. Unaware of his former life, RoboCop executes a brutal campaign against crime all the while his humanity is slipping away.

Doing some disc flipping, this release is certainly sourced from the same 4K restoration and presented in the original 1. Granted, this is noticeably more pronounced and thicker during the optical effects with the ED-209 droid, and those same sequences have not aged well, looking comparably soft and poorly resolved. The future of law enforcement meets the ultimate high-definition experience - now remastered on Blu-rayT for flawless sound and spectacular image quality! Director Paul Verhoeven hadn't really made his mark in Hollywood, and took a bit of persuading to do the movie, with neither him nor his cast of misfits really certain as to what would become of it, turning in a modestly-budgeted and extremely taut 103 minute thriller which would end up being one of the greatest movies of all time.

There are also roughly three minutes of D eleted S cenes while The Boardroom includes storyboards with audio commentary by Phil Tippett. The last few years, Arrow has been issuing classic films on Blu-ray and then following up those releases with 4K editions that use the same 4K scan as the Blu-ray but don’t include high-def discs in the package. I took my RoboCop figure to friggen school as a six-year-old and popped off those caps on the playground!

The re-release also includes Mary Shelley and The Creation of a Monster, a new documentary featurette exploring the origins and evolution of the Frankenstein story, featuring contributions from Gothic specialists David Pirie, Jonathan Rigby and Stephen Volk. Likewise, primaries appear more full-bodied and animated, bathing the visuals in that classic gaudy 80s energy, and secondary hues are bolder with improved variation, furnishing the action with a good deal of warmth. Not a massive shift, but just enough extra refinement to say this isn't 100% the exact same presentation as the 2014 disc - just the same restoration with a newer encoding that does offer up some slight advantages.

Days later, David awakes in a London hospital to find his friend is dead – but that’s just the start of his problems. It's to Peter Weller's amazing credit and talent, providing the needed emotional gravitas, that the character feels genuine and reminds us of the human element involved.