HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...
science-fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, mutants, i ...
directed by
Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Go ...
and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by science-fiction author
Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...
, the film's plot follows Achilles, one of the "robot jox" who pilot giant machines that fight international battles to settle territorial disputes in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. After producer
Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...
approved Gordon's initial concept, the director approached Haldeman to write the script. Gordon and Haldeman clashed frequently over the film's tone and intended audience.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
finished in Rome in 1987, but the bankruptcy of Band's Empire Pictures delayed the film's release in theaters until 1990. It earned $1,272,977 in domestic theatrical gross, failing to return its production cost. ''Robot Jox'' received negative critical response and little audience attention upon its first theatrical run. The film has been released on various home video formats, most recently on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
in July 2015.


Plot

Fifty years after a
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
, mankind is decimated and the surviving nations—the American western-influenced Market and the Soviet-Russian-influenced Confederation—have agreed to outlaw traditional open war. In their place, disputes are settled with gladiator-style matches between giant robots operated by pilots called "robot jox" who are contracted to fight ten matches. The Confederation champion is Alexander, who has killed his last nine opponents thanks in part to a spy in the Market leaking information to the Confederation. The Market's champion, Achilles has won nine fights and will fight his final match against Alexander for the territory of
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. Achilles is supported by robot designer "Doc" Matsumoto and strategist Tex Conway, the only jox to win all ten of his contract fights. As Achilles gets the upper hand in the match, Alexander launches a rocket fist at him. The projectile goes out of control and heads toward the bleachers. Achilles intercepts the projectile but his robot takes the full force of the impact and is knocked into the crowd, killing over 300 people. The referees declare the match a draw and order a rematch, but Achilles, shaken by what happened, declares this was his contractual tenth match and announces his retirement. He goes to live with his brother Philip and his family, and finds he is publicly branded a traitor and a coward. Meanwhile, a new jox is chosen to face Alexander, a genetically engineered "gen jox" named Athena, who is the first female jox. Worried for Athena and attracted to her, Achilles returns to the Market and agrees to fight Alexander again, infuriating Athena. As Achilles' robot is rebuilt, Matsumoto refuses to divulge any knowledge of its new weapons so it cannot be leaked by the spy, and Conway confides in Achilles he believes Matsumoto is the spy. Conway confronts Matsumoto in his office. Matsumoto reveals he has analyzed Conway's final fight and deduced that the "lucky" laser hit Conway claims allowed him to defeat a clearly superior opponent was in fact deliberately aimed; Matsumoto accuses Conway of being a Confederation agent. Conway confesses and shoots Matsumoto, who secretly records the deed as part of the mission briefing. Conway informs the Market leadership that Matsumoto was the spy. On the day of the fight Athena drugs Achilles and steals his jox suit to commandeer the robot. Unable to stop the fight once she takes the field, the Market decides to support her. While watching Matsumoto's briefing on the robot's new weaponry, the footage of Conway killing Matsumoto is played and Conway jumps down the robot's elevator shaft to his death. Alexander takes the field against Athena. Athena takes the early advantage, but Alexander overpowers her and incapacitates the robot. The fight is declared in Alexander's favor and referees order him to stand down. Achilles arrives on the field and takes over the robot from Athena while Alexander smashes the referee hovercraft; the two jox stand to continue the fight. Both robots take to the air and a short space battle ensues. Alexander critically damages Achilles' robot, forcing him to crash land and flee for cover to the arm of Alexander's robot Athena sliced off earlier in the fight. Achilles hotwires the arm to launch its fist at Alexander, destroying his robot. Alexander emerges from the wreckage and the two battle with poles before Achilles finally convinces Alexander a match does not have to end with the death of a jock. Alexander throws down his weapon, and they salute each other with the jox's traditional "crash and burn"
fist bump A fist bump, also known as a bro fist, power five, a spud, or also commonly known as a safe is a gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high five. A fist bump can also be a symbol of giving respect or approval, as well as companionship ...
.


Cast

* Gary Graham as Achilles / Jim * Anne-Marie Johnson as Athena * Paul Koslo as Alexander * Robert Sampson as Commissioner Jameson * Danny Kamekona as Dr. "Doc" Matsumoto * Hilary Mason as Professor Laplace *
Michael Alldredge Dennis Michael Alldredge (April 13, 1941 – December 19, 1997) was an American film and television actor. He played Frank Foley in the short-lived drama television series '' Almost Grown''. He also played Bill Graham in the miniseries '' V ...
as "Tex" Conway *
Jeffrey Combs Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the ''Re-Animator'' film series (1985–2003) and portraying multiple characters in the ''Star Trek'' universe, most notably the ...
as Spectator / Prole #1 * Michael Saad as Spectator / Prole #2 * Ian Patrick Williams as Phillip *
Jason Marsden Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the ...
as Tommy * Carolyn Purdy-Gordon as Kate * Thyme Lewis as Sargon * Gary Houston as Sportscaster * Russel Case as Hercules *
Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Go ...
(uncredited) as The Bartender


Production

Director
Stuart Gordon Stuart Alan Gordon (August 11, 1947 – March 24, 2020) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Go ...
stated that the initial inspiration for ''Robot Jox'' came from the Japanese ''
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' toy line:
While there have been animated cartoons based on these giant robots, no one has ever attempted a live-action feature about them. It struck me that it was a natural fantasy for the big screen–and a terrific opportunity to take advantage of the special effects that are available today.
When Gordon initially approached producer
Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...
with the concept, Band said the film would be too expensive for his studio, Empire Pictures, to produce. Band changed his mind, however, and asked Gordon to create a demo reel of
stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...
test footage with special effects artist David W. Allen. The footage impressed the film's potential backers, and eventually became the film's opening title sequence. Initially budgeted at $7 million, the film was to be the most expensive film Empire Pictures had ever produced. Science-fiction author
Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...
wrote the screenplay for the film and co-wrote the story with Gordon. The two met when Gordon was hired to film a four-part adaptation of Haldeman's novel ''
The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the N ...
'', but when funding for the project was cut, Gordon instead directed a stage adaptation of the book, which Haldeman also wrote. Two years later, Gordon asked Haldeman to work on a science fiction adaptation of the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
''; the idea would form the basis for what eventually became ''Robot Jox''. Haldeman claimed his and Gordon's visions for the film clashed; the former wanted a dramatic, serious science fiction film while the latter wanted a more audience-friendly, special effects-driven action film with stereotypical characters and stylized pseudo-science. In a one-and-a-half-page outline, Gordon inserted other elements into the plot, including the film's
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
-era themes. Haldeman wanted to title the film ''The Mechanics'', but Gordon insisted on ''Robojox''. According to Haldeman:
I would try to change the science into something reasonable; Stuart would change it back to
Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre was a ...
stuff. I tried to make believable, reasonable characters, and Stuart would insist on throwing in clichés and caricatures. It was especially annoying because it was a story about soldiers, and I was the only person around who'd ever been one.
Several times, Haldeman feared that this clash would lead to him being dropped from the project, but the film's producers sided with him during pre-production. Haldeman wrote that Gordon later recognized that the author was "writing a movie for adults that children can enjoy" while Gordon had been "directing a movie for children that adults can enjoy."
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
on the film began in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in January 1987 and ended in April. During filming, the producers brought in Haldeman to work with the film's principal actors. Afterwards, Allen began to produce the film's special effects sequences.
Ron Cobb Ronald Ray Cobb (September 21, 1937 – September 21, 2020) was an American–Australian artist. In addition to his work as an editorial cartoonist, he contributed concept art to major films including '' Dark Star'' (1974), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ...
helped design the robots for these scenes. Allen chose to film these sequences at El Mirage lake bed in
San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...
, due to its bright skies and unobstructed panoramic view; however, weather elements frequently delayed filming.


Release

Although originally scheduled for release in 1989 (a
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...
, written by science fiction author Robert Thurston, was published that year), the film's theatrical run was initially delayed until April 1990 due to Empire International Pictures' bankruptcy during production. After more delays, Triumph Films released the film to theaters on November 21, 1990. When it peaked in its second weekend at the 13th spot, it grossed $464,441 in 333 theaters, averaging $1,394 per theater; it eventually earned a domestic total gross of $1,272,977. Its limited run in theaters prompted science fiction writer
Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of '' The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fict ...
to remark that "''Robot Jox'', a movie with a screenplay by Joe Haldeman, was supposedly released this year, but if it played through Philadelphia at all, it must have done so fast, because I never even saw a listing for it, let alone the movie itself."


Soundtrack

Frédéric Talgorn, who had previously composed the music for the 1989
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
''
Edge of Sanity Edge of Sanity was a Swedish death metal band that, alongside Opeth, is commonly regarded as being the first to fuse extreme metal styles like death metal, death and black metal with progressive rock. The group was founded by Dan Swanö in 1989 ...
'', wrote the orchestral film score for ''Robot Jox'', which was performed by the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. Since Prometheus Records reissued the soundtrack in 1993, it has received generally high acclaim. An editorial review by '' Filmtracks.com'' stated that "Talgorn's usual strong development of thematic ideas is well utilized in rather simplistic fashion in this film, perfect for the contrasting characters and their underdeveloped dimensions."


Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
released the film on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
and
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
formats. In October 2005,
MGM Home Entertainment MGM Home Entertainment LLC (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of the American med ...
released the film on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
. Though the cover still includes the film's theatrical PG rating, the version of the film included contained violent scenes that were cut from the North American release to avoid a PG-13 rating. The 1998 film '' Robo Warriors'' was marked in some foreign territories as ''Robot Jox 3: 2086 Apocalypse''. In October 2014,
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
announced that the company would release the film on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
Disc in the summer of 2015. The disc included two
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
tracks: one featuring director Stuart Gordon and another with special effects artists Paul Gentry, Mark Rutherford, and Paul Jesel. The disc also included various behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as trailers and archival materials. Reviewers for ''Blu-ray.com'' and ''Hi-Def Digest'' recommended the disc for fans of the film. On June 27, 2023, Arrow Films released their new 2k restoration from the film's original negative on Blu-Ray as part of their "Enter the Video Store: Empire of Screams" boxset.


Reception and legacy

''Robot Jox'' received little media coverage during its initial release, but the professional critics who did review it rated it poorly, noting the film's struggle to find a balance between adult and child audiences. By the time the film was released, its Cold War themes had become less relevant to United States audiences and the popularity of ''Transformers'', which the filmmakers had intended to capitalize on, had diminished. ''
The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'' wrote that the film "spreads its dubious resources across the world, dealing with the already dated power-mad rivalry between America and the U.S.S.R. for domination." Haldeman was generally unsatisfied with the movie, later writing that "it's as if I'd had a child who started out well and then sustained brain damage." Academic criticism was somewhat more positive, with film scholar J. P. Telotte writing:
While a recent film like ''Robot Jox'' (1990) ... revels in exploring the technical complexities of its central conceit—nations warring vicariously through giant robots piloted by gladiator-type "jockies"—it repeatedly emphasizes how much of the human has been surrendered to the technological and concludes with its chief antagonists abandoning their mechanical mounts to live in peace. ''Robot Jox'', though, is just one of a great many such films to depict the attractions and promises of science and technology as essentially fictions, dangerous illusions from which we eventually have to pull back as best we can if we are to retain our humanity.


Later response

Since its initial release, ''Robot Jox'' has attracted a minor cult following of devoted fans and influenced various elements of popular culture. American
industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...
band
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
the sound of the screaming crowd from the end of Achilles' battle with Alexander in the film for their song "The Becoming" from their 1994 album '' The Downward Spiral''. In February 2012, Cinema Studies Student Union showed the film at
Innis College, Toronto Innis College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Toronto. It is one of U of T's smallest colleges in terms of size and the second smallest college in terms of population with approximately 2000 registered students. It is lo ...
as part of a "cult film triple bill", and in August, the
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the film, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...
locations in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
held special midnight screenings of a 35 mm copy of the film. Critical reception to the film has also improved. In Directory of World Cinema (2009), Alex Fitch praised Gordon's work in 2010, citing ''Robot Jox'' as an example of how Gordon "can mix satire with special effects to great aplomb." Writing for ''
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...
'' in 2012,
Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction – both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula'' at the age of eleven & ...
noted that Gordon's style gave the film "a pleasantly uncluttered comic-bookish look", while Haldeman's influences could be seen "in his distinctive blend of military-hardware expertise and anti-war attitudes". After the trailer for
Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...
's film ''
Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...
'' was released in December 2012, online critics and bloggers began to revisit the film, noting the similarities between the two films. ''
Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'' writer Clarie Suddath noted that ''Pacific Rim'' was "a mash-up of the 1980s B-movie film ''Robojox'' and ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' on steroids". In 2014, Gordon stated that ''Pacific Rim'' was like "
déjà vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
", expressing that if he had done a sequel to ''Robot Jox'', it "would have been robots fighting aliens".


Notes


References


External links

* * *
The Making of ''Robot Jox''
– Includes special effects production stills {{Stuart Gordon 1990s American films 1990 animated films 1990s English-language films 1990 films 1990 independent films 1990 science fiction action films American independent films American science fiction action films American dystopian films American post-apocalyptic films Empire International Pictures films English-language independent films Fictional giants Fictional robots Films directed by Stuart Gordon Films shot in California Films shot in Rome Films using stop-motion animation Mecha films Films scored by Frédéric Talgorn 1990 science fiction films English-language science fiction action films