Changes: Judge Dredd (1995 film)

Revision as of 12:31, 26 June 2019

Judge Dredd is a 1995 live-action, big budget adaptation of the 2000 AD flagship character. The film whilst mostly being its own story has certain plot points from various Dredd storylines, predominantly "The Day The Law Died", as well as "The Judge Child", "The Return of Rico" and "Block Mania".

Due to logistics of how movies are marketed with stars like Sylvester Stallone, the character removes his helmet for a large portion of the film.

Plot Summary

In the 3rd millennium, much of Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland. The majority of humanity resides in huge Mega-Cities, where the traditional justice system has been replaced by a corps of Judges whose role combines those of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner. The most dedicated "Street Judge" in Mega-City One is Judge Dredd, who assists Judge Hershey in ending a block war. Herman Ferguson a hacker recently released from prison, is caught in the firefight and hides inside a food dispensing robot, only to be arrested by Dredd and sentenced to five years' imprisonment for tampering with city property.

Rico Dredd, a former Judge turned psychopathic murderer, escapes from prison and reclaims his Judge's uniform and "Lawgiver" gun as well as a decommissioned combat robot. A news reporter critical of Dredd is soon murdered, and Dredd is the chief suspect. Hershey acts as Dredd's defense lawyer in a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Dredd's mentor Chief Justice Fargo and Judge Griffin. Dredd is found guilty based on DNA evidence: The Lawgiver encodes the DNA of the wielder onto each round fired, and the DNA from the murder weapon matches Dredd's. Fargo steps down as Chief Justice, asking as his last request that the Council spare Dredd's life. Dredd is sentenced to life imprisonment while Fargo embarks on his "long walk", a tradition in which a retiring Judge ventures into the "Cursed Earth" wasteland "to bring law to the lawless". Griffin, who freed Rico and had him frame Dredd for the murder, succeeds Fargo as Chief Justice and instructs Rico to sow chaos throughout the city.

Dredd finds himself seated next to Herman Ferguson on a transport ship to the Aspen Penal Colony . While passing over the Cursed Earth the ship is shot down by the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic Mutant scavengers who capture Dredd and Herman. A squad of Judges tracks Dredd to the Angel Gang's camp and a battle ensues. Fargo arrives just in time to save Dredd's life, but is mortally wounded by Mean Machine Angel. Before dying, Fargo reveals the secrets of Dredd's past: Dredd is the result of the Janus project, an experiment in genetic engineering intended to create the perfect Judge. DNA from the Council Judges was combined to create two clones, Dredd and Rico.

Both were given artificial memories of childhood, and they became close friends. However, while Dredd became the ideal Judge that the Council hoped for, Rico's personality twisted and he instead became the perfect criminal. Dredd was forced to judge Rico guilty for murdering civilians, but instead of being executed Rico was sent to Aspen by Judge Griffin. Since he and Rico share the same DNA, Dredd deduces that Rico framed him for the reporter's murder. Fargo concludes that Griffin is trying to reactivate the Janus project, and begs Dredd to stop him.

Back in Mega-City One, Rico creates panic by assassinating 108 Judges in two days. Griffin uses this to convince the Council Judges to unlock the Janus files, but when they refuse to reactivate the program he has Rico kill them. Arriving immediately after this, Dredd and Herman are accused by Griffin of murdering the Council. They evade the Judges and seek help from Hershey, who has been investigating Dredd's past. Dredd tells her about the Janus project, and the trio head to the Janus laboratory at the Statue of Liberty.

Rico betrays Griffin, having the robot kill him, and replaces the DNA for the Janus clones with his own. Herman uses his hacking skills to save Dredd and Hershey from the robot. Rico orders his clones activated prematurely, but they are incomplete and unable to stop Dredd. Dredd pursues Rico to the top of the statue, and after a final struggle sends Rico falling to his death. Central, the city's controlling supercomputer, has recorded the entire event and broadcasts the information, clearing Dredd's name. The remaining Judges ask him to become the new Chief Justice, but Dredd turns it down, preferring to remain a Street Judge.

Cast

Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd
Armand Assante as Rico Dredd
Rob Schneider as Herman Ferguson
Jürgen Prochnow as Judge Griffin
Max von Sydow as Chief Justice Fargo
Diane Lane as Judge Hershey
Joanna Miles as Judge McGruder
Joan Chen as Dr. Ilsa Hayden
Christopher Adamson as Mean Machine Angel
Scott Wilson as Pa Angel (uncredited)
Phil Smeeton as Link Angel
Ewen Bremner as Junior Angel
Peter Marinker as Judge Esposito
Angus MacInnes as Judge Silver
Mitch Ryan as Vartis Hammond
Bradley Savelle as Judge Hunter
Alexis Daniel as Judge Brisco
Mark Moraghan as Judge Monroe (uncredited)
Balthazar Getty as Nathan Olmeyer
Maurice Roëves as Miller
Ian Dury as Geiger
James Earl Jones as Narrator
Bebe Neuwirth as the voice of Central (uncredited)

Merchandise Gallery

Production

Reception

Certain elements of the film were altered from the comic series, but it still failed to find wide mainstream appeal and as a result was a critical and commercial disappointment.

Thirteen years after the release of Judge Dredd, Sylvester Stallone discussed his feelings about the movie in an issue of Uncut magazine in 2008:

“I loved that property when I read it, because it took a genre that I love, what you could term the 'action morality film' and made it a bit more sophisticated. It had political overtones. It showed how if we don't curb the way we run our judicial system, the police may end up running our lives. It dealt with archaic governments; it dealt with cloning and all kinds of things that could happen in the future. It was also bigger than any film I've done in its physical stature and the way it was designed. All the people were dwarfed by the system and the architecture; it shows how insignificant human beings could be in the future. There's a lot of action in the movie and some great acting, too. It just wasn't balls to the wall. But I do look back on Judge Dredd as a real missed opportunity. It seemed that lots of fans had a problem with Dredd removing his helmet, because he never does in the comic books. But for me it is more about wasting such great potential there was in that idea; just think of all the opportunities there were to do interesting stuff with the Cursed Earth scenes. It didn't live up to what it could have been. It probably should have been much more comic, really humorous, and fun. What I learned out of that experience was that we shouldn't have tried to make it Hamlet; it's more Hamlet and Eggs..."

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 |writer         = Carlos Ezquerra<br />John Wagner<br />Steven E. de Souza<br />Michael De Luca<br />William Wisher Jr.
 |producer       = Beau Marks<br />Charles Lippincott
-|cast           = Sylvester Stallone<br />Armand Assante<br />Diane Lane<br />Max von Sydow<br />Rob Schneider<br />
+|cast           = [[Sylvester Stallone]]<br />[[Armand Assante]]<br />[[Diane Lane]]<br />[[Max von Sydow]]<br />[[Rob Schneider]]<br />[[James Earl Jones]]
 |tagline        = One man is Judge, Jury, AND Executioner.
 |country        =  USA
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 |oscars         = None
 }}
-'''Judge Dredd''' is a 1995 American science fiction action film based on the strip of the same name in the British comic [[2000 AD]]. The film starred Sylvester Stallone, but received very poor reviews. The story has since been rebooted for the 2012 film [[Dredd (2012 film)|Dredd]].
+'''Judge Dredd''' is a 1995 live-action, big budget adaptation of the ''[[2000 AD]]'' flagship character. The film whilst mostly being its own story has certain plot points from various Dredd storylines, predominantly "[[The Day The Law Died]]", as well as "[[The Judge Child]]", "[[The Return of Rico]]" and "[[Block Mania]]".
+Due to logistics of how movies are marketed with stars like [[Sylvester Stallone]], the character removes his helmet for a large portion of the film.
 ==Plot Summary==
-In the 3rd millennium, much of Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland. The majority of humanity resides in huge Mega-Cities, where the traditional justice system has been replaced by a corps of Judges whose role combines those of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner. The most dedicated "Street Judge" in Mega-City One is [[Joseph Dredd]] (Sylvester Stallone), who assists Judge Hershey (Diane Lane) in ending a block war. Herman Ferguson (Rob Schneider), a hacker recently released from prison, is caught in the firefight and hides inside a food dispensing robot, only to be arrested by Dredd and sentenced to five years' imprisonment for tampering with city property. he's also surprisingly gay.
+In the 3rd millennium, much of Earth has become an uninhabitable [[Wasteland|wasteland]]. The majority of humanity resides in huge Mega-Cities, where the traditional justice system has been replaced by a corps of Judges whose role combines those of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner. The most dedicated "[[Street Judge]]" in Mega-City One is [[Judge Dredd (Sylvester Stallone)|Judge Dredd]], who assists [[Judge Hershey (Diane Lane)|Judge Hershey]] in ending a block war. [[Herman Ferguson]] a hacker recently released from prison, is caught in the firefight and hides inside a food dispensing robot, only to be arrested by Dredd and sentenced to five years' imprisonment for tampering with city property.
+[[Rico Dredd (Armand Assante)|Rico Dredd]], a former Judge turned psychopathic murderer, escapes from prison and reclaims his Judge's uniform and "[[Lawgiver]]" gun as well as a decommissioned combat robot. A news reporter critical of Dredd is soon murdered, and Dredd is the chief suspect. Hershey acts as Dredd's defense lawyer in a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Dredd's mentor [[Chief Judge Fargo (Max von Sydow)|Chief Justice Fargo]] and [[Judge Griffin (Jürgen Prochnow)|Judge Griffin]]. Dredd is found guilty based on DNA evidence: The Lawgiver encodes the DNA of the wielder onto each round fired, and the DNA from the murder weapon matches Dredd's. Fargo steps down as Chief Justice, asking as his last request that the Council spare Dredd's life. Dredd is sentenced to life imprisonment while Fargo embarks on his "long walk", a tradition in which a retiring Judge ventures into the "Cursed Earth" wasteland "to bring law to the lawless". Griffin, who freed Rico and had him frame Dredd for the murder, succeeds Fargo as Chief Justice and instructs Rico to sow chaos throughout the city.
+Dredd finds himself seated next to Herman Ferguson on a transport ship to the [[Aspen Penal Colony]] . While passing over the [[Cursed Earth]] the ship is shot down by the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic [[Mutant]] scavengers who capture Dredd and Herman. A squad of Judges tracks Dredd to the [[Angel Gang (Cannon Films)|Angel Gang]]'s camp and a battle ensues. Fargo arrives just in time to save Dredd's life, but is mortally wounded by Mean Machine Angel. Before dying, Fargo reveals the secrets of Dredd's past: Dredd is the result of the Janus project, an experiment in genetic engineering intended to create the perfect Judge. DNA from the Council Judges was combined to create two clones, Dredd and Rico.
+Both were given artificial memories of childhood, and they became close friends. However, while Dredd became the ideal Judge that the Council hoped for, Rico's personality twisted and he instead became the perfect criminal. Dredd was forced to judge Rico guilty for murdering civilians, but instead of being executed Rico was sent to Aspen by Judge Griffin. Since he and Rico share the same DNA, Dredd deduces that Rico framed him for the reporter's murder. Fargo concludes that Griffin is trying to reactivate the Janus project, and begs Dredd to stop him.
-Rico (Armand Assante), a former Judge turned psychopathic murderer, escapes from prison and reclaims his Judge's uniform and "Lawgiver" gun as well as a decommissioned combat robot. A news reporter (Mitch Ryan) critical of Dredd is soon murdered, and Dredd is the chief suspect. Hershey acts as Dredd's defense lawyer in a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Dredd's mentor Chief Judge Fargo (Max von Sydow) and Judge Griffin (Jürgen Prochnow). Dredd is found guilty based on DNA evidence: The Lawgiver encodes the DNA of the wielder onto each round fired, and the DNA from the murder weapon matches Dredd's. Fargo steps down as Chief Judge, asking as his last request that the Council spare Dredd's life. Dredd is sentenced to life imprisonment while Fargo embarks on his "long walk", a tradition in which a retiring Judge ventures into the "Cursed Earth" wasteland "to bring law to the lawless". Griffin, who freed Rico and had him frame Dredd for the murder, succeeds Fargo as Chief Judge and instructs Rico to sow chaos throughout the city.
-Dredd finds himself seated next to Herman Ferguson on a transport ship to the Aspen penal colony. While passing over the Cursed Earth the ship is shot down by the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic scavengers who capture Dredd and Herman. A squad of Judges tracks Dredd to the Angels' camp and a battle ensues. Fargo arrives just in time to save Dredd's life, but is mortally wounded by Mean Machine Angel (Chris Adamson). Before dying, Fargo reveals the secrets of Dredd's past: Dredd is the result of the Janus project, an experiment in genetic engineering intended to create the perfect Judge. DNA from the Council Judges was combined to create two clones, Dredd and Rico. Both were given artificial memories of childhood, and they became close friends. However, while Dredd became the ideal Judge that the Council hoped for, Rico's personality twisted and he instead became the perfect criminal. Dredd was forced to judge Rico for murdering civilians, but instead of being executed Rico was sent to Aspen by Griffin. Since he and Rico share the same DNA, Dredd deduces that Rico framed him for the reporter's murder. Fargo concludes that Griffin is trying to reactivate the Janus project, and begs Dredd to stop him.
-Back in Mega-City One, Rico creates panic by assassinating 108 Judges in two days. Griffin uses this to convince the Council Judges to unlock the Janus files, but when they refuse to reactivate the program he has Rico kill them. Arriving immediately after this, Dredd and Herman are accused by Griffin of murdering the Council. They evade the Judges and seek help from Hershey, who has been investigating Dredd's past. Dredd tells her about the Janus project, and the trio head to the Janus laboratory at the Statue of Liberty.
+Back in [[Mega-City One]], Rico creates panic by assassinating 108 Judges in two days. Griffin uses this to convince the Council Judges to unlock the Janus files, but when they refuse to reactivate the program he has Rico kill them. Arriving immediately after this, Dredd and Herman are accused by Griffin of murdering the Council. They evade the Judges and seek help from Hershey, who has been investigating Dredd's past. Dredd tells her about the Janus project, and the trio head to the Janus laboratory at the Statue of Liberty.
-Rico betrays Griffin, having the robot kill him, and replaces the DNA for the Janus clones with his own. Herman uses his hacking skills to save Dredd and Hershey from the robot. Rico orders his clones activated prematurely, but they are incomplete and unable to stop Dredd. Dredd pursues Rico to the top of the statue, and after a final struggle sends Rico falling to his death. Central, the city's controlling supercomputer, has recorded the entire event and broadcasts the information, clearing Dredd's name. The remaining Judges ask him to become the new Chief Judge, but Dredd passes the title over to Hershey, preferring to remain a Street Judge.
+Rico betrays Griffin, having the robot kill him, and replaces the DNA for the Janus clones with his own. Herman uses his hacking skills to save Dredd and Hershey from the robot. Rico orders his clones activated prematurely, but they are incomplete and unable to stop Dredd. Dredd pursues Rico to the top of the statue, and after a final struggle sends Rico falling to his death. Central, the city's controlling supercomputer, has recorded the entire event and broadcasts the information, clearing Dredd's name. The remaining Judges ask him to become the new Chief Justice, but Dredd turns it down, preferring to remain a Street Judge.
 ==Cast==
-*[[Sylvester Stallone]] as [[Judge Dredd]]
+*[[Sylvester Stallone]] as [[Judge Dredd (Sylvester Stallone)|Judge Dredd]]
-*[[Armand Assante]] as [[Rico Dredd]]
+*[[Armand Assante]] as [[Rico Dredd (Armand Assante)|Rico Dredd]]
-*[[Rob Schneider]] as [[Fergee]]
+*[[Rob Schneider]] as [[Herman Ferguson (Rob Schneider)|Herman Ferguson]]
-*[[Jürgen Prochnow]] as [[Judge Griffin]]
+*[[Jürgen Prochnow]] as [[Judge Griffin (Jürgen Prochnow)|Judge Griffin]]
-*[[Max von Sydow]] as Chief Judge [[Eustace Fargo]]
+*[[Max von Sydow]] as [[Chief Justice Fargo (Max von Sydow)|Chief Justice Fargo]]
-*[[Diane Lane]] as Judge [[Hershey]]
+*[[Diane Lane]] as [[Judge Hershey (Diane Lane)|Judge Hershey]]
-*[[Joanna Miles]] as Judge [[McGruder]]
+*[[Joanna Miles]] as [[Judge McGruder (Joanna Miles)|Judge McGruder]]
 *[[Joan Chen]] as [[Dr. Ilsa Hayden]]
+*[[Christopher Adamson]] as [[Mean Machine Angel (Christopher Adamson)|Mean Machine Angel]]
-*[[Balthazar Getty]] as Nathan Olmeyer
+*[[Scott Wilson]] as [[Pa Angel (Scott Wilson)|Pa Angel]] (uncredited)
-*[[Maurice Roëves]] as Miller
+*[[Phil Smeeton]] as [[Link Angel (Phil Smeeton)|Link Angel]]
-*[[Ian Dury]] as Geiger
-*[[Christopher Adamson]] as Mean Machine Angel
+*[[Ewen Bremner]] as [[Junior Angel (Ewen Bremner)|Junior Angel]]
-*[[Ewen Bremner]] as Junior Angel
+*[[Peter Marinker]] as [[Judge Esposito]]
+*[[Angus MacInnes]] as [[Judge Silver (Angus MacInnes)|Judge Silver]]
-*[[Peter Marinker]] as Judge [[Esposito]]
-*[[Angus MacInnes]] as Judge [[Silver]]
+*[[Mitch Ryan]] as [[Vartis Hammond]]
+*[[Bradley Savelle]] as [[Judge Hunter (Bradley Savelle)|Judge Hunter]]
-*[[James Earl Jones]] as Narrator
+*[[Alexis Daniel]] as [[Judge Brisco (Alexis Daniel)|Judge Brisco]]
-*[[Scott Wilson]] as Pa Angel
+*[[Mark Moraghan]] as [[Judge Monroe (Mark Moraghan)|Judge Monroe]] (uncredited)
+*[[Balthazar Getty]] as [[Nathan Olmeyer]]
+*[[Maurice Roëves]] as [[Miller]]
+*[[Ian Dury]] as [[Geiger]]
+*[[James Earl Jones]] as [[Narrator]]
+*[[Bebe Neuwirth]] as the voice of [[Central]] (uncredited)
+==Merchandise Gallery==
-==Reception==
+<gallery captionalign="left" navigation="true">
+MakingDreddCover.jpg|link=The Making of Judge Dredd|''[[The Making of Judge Dredd]]''
+The Art of Judge Dredd.jpg|link=The Art of Judge Dredd|''[[The Art of Judge Dredd]]''
+UK edition.jpg|link=|2000ad adaptation
+</gallery>
+==Production==
+===Reception===
 Certain elements of the film were altered from the comic series, but it still failed to find wide mainstream appeal and as a result was a critical and commercial disappointment.
@@ Line 79: / Line 98: @@
 ==Images==
-<gallery spacing="small" captionalign="left">
+<gallery spacing="small">
+JD Poster.jpg
+judge dredd.jpg
 Judge Dredd.jpeg
 .jpeg
 judge_dredd_1994_reference.jpeg
 </gallery>
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Judge Dredd''}}
+[[Category:Judge Dredd (1995 film)]]
+[[Category:Films]]

Changes: Judge Dredd (1995 film)

Revision as of 12:31, 26 June 2019

Contents

Plot Summary

Cast

Merchandise Gallery

Production

Reception

Trailer

Images