RoboCop Blu-ray Comparison

The "fun" part of collecting your favorite movies on disc is dissecting the A/V Presentation. Since LaserDisc, high-end video formats have been promoted for offering your favorite films with the best image and sound quality possible. Well - as we know with past experience that's just not the case. Blu-ray offered some impressive titles early on, but there were quite a few that dropped the ball leaving fans wondering why they even bothered to upgrade from DVD - let alone the thousands of dollars spent on new A/V equipment. One of the most controversial home video releases has been Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi masterpiece RoboCop. 

This one saw half a dozen questionable releases on DVD alone before it arrived on Blu-ray in 2007 from Fox/MGM with a resounding and very expensive "Thud." Prior to that there supposed to be another Blu-ray release from Sony but it was so bad it was pulled from the market before it could get wide distribution - even though a few discs slipped out. Then in 2014 we finally got the 4K sourced remaster we've long been hoping for approved by Verhoeven himself. Then in 2019, Arrow gave the film the genuine Limited Edition treatment with an ever so slightly brightened transfer sourced from the same 2014 remaster. 

For this Blu-ray Comparison Video, we're going to showcase the MGM/Fox 2007 disc, the MGM/Fox 2014 disc, and the 2019 Arrow Video release. 

As you can see there's a pretty big difference from the MGM/Fox 2007 disc and the MGM/Fox 2014 disc and less so with the 2019 Arrow Video release. The Arrow presentation is slightly brighter, maybe a little bluer in a couple of scenes, but that's it. The Arrow Video release has the advantage of offering both cuts of the film along with hours of excellent bonus features. If you can find the Limited Edition or the SteelBook - that's your best way to go.