Flesh + Steel: The Making of 'RoboCop'

'Flesh + Steel: The Making Of 'RoboCop' (2001)', a play on words of director Paul Verhoeven's earlier 'Flesh+Blood (1985)', offers a behind-the-scenes insight into the making of 'RoboCop (1987)'. Presented as a talking-head documentary, this featurette - available on certain home-video releases of its subject - includes some interesting stories and a handful of on-set clips and images. With interviews from Verhoeven, writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, executive producer Jon Davison, production designer William Sandell, cinematographer Jost Vacano, stop-motion animator Phil Tippett, visual effects artist Craig Hayes, composer Basil Poledouris, and even so-called "RoboCop Expert" Paul Sammon, the piece touches on various aspects of the picture's tumultuous development process. With mention of most key actors, including Peter Weller and Nancy Allen, and an honest look at the harsh realities of production, the affair feels like an honest retrospective that provides plenty of unique insight into the real-life struggles behind its iconic focus. It sounds like a pretty tense time that nobody really enjoyed, but at least it resulted in a classic movie that has stood the test of time. Verhoeven, in particular, is an interesting interviewee, his no-filter approach providing plenty of insight into his distinct thought process and his concept of RoboCop being an "American Jesus". Although the short isn't as in-depth as it could have been, it acts as a nice companion to the main event and feels relatively fulfilling as far as behind-the-scenes retrospectives go. It certainly isn't a full meal all of its own, but it's a suitable side dish that may just make you appreciate the main course that bit more. For what it is, it's pretty good.

At last a dvd documentary worth its salt. Far better than the usual run of the mill crap churned out overnight by overzealous studios looking to capitalize on dvdhounds. Of course most of the credit must go to the original film itself, which is more relevant today than when made. Nothing revealed however that Cinefantastique didn't cover already back when the film originally came out.

"Very entertaining" As making-ofs go, there have been some exhaustive entries ("Blade Runner", "Aliens"). But "Flesh and Steel" hits all of the important notes and keeps it a tight 36 minutes. Comprehensive, but succinct. It's a nice target to hit. And they interview crew members from all walks of production (excepting cast members, but there are other documentaries for that), notably Paul Sammon, Phil Tippett and Paul Verhoeven. You never hear about the troubled production like you do with other movies like "Blade Runner", "Apocalypse Now" or "The Shining", so some of the juicy stuff herein concerns the miserable filming conditions; the awful Summer heat, scheduling panics and Weller's troubles with the suit. But it's all part of the nuts and bolts of "RoboCop", which this feature does a great job highlighting.

Fantastic stuff.

8/10