Judge Dredd (1995)

In a dystopian future, Joseph Dredd, the most famous Judge (a police officer with instant field judiciary powers), is convicted for a crime he did not commit and must face his murderous counterpart.

Director:

Danny Cannon

Writers:

John Wagner (characters), Carlos Ezquerra (characters)

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Rob Schneider

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Judge Dredd
Armand Assante	...	Rico
Rob Schneider	...	Fergie
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Judge Griffin (as Jurgen Prochnow)
Max von Sydow	...	Judge Fargo
Diane Lane	...	Judge Hershey
Joanna Miles	...	McGruder
Joan Chen	...	Ilsa
Balthazar Getty	...	Olmeyer
Maurice Roëves	...	Miller (as Maurice Roeves)
Ian Dury	...	Geiger
Christopher Adamson	...	Mean Machine (as Chris Adamson)
Ewen Bremner	...	Junior Angel
Peter Marinker	...	Judge Esposito
Angus MacInnes	...	Judge Silver

Storyline

In the year 2139, the Earth has changed into a virtually uninhabitable place called the Cursed Earth. All of the Earth's population have crowded into the cities across the planet, now known as Mega-Cities. The crimes in these Mega-Cities became so violent and so powerful, that the regular justice system was powerless to contain, then it collapsed completely. However, a new justice system came from the ashes, there were three justice systems in one (police, jury and executioner), they were called Judges. In Mega-City One (formerly, New York City), there was a Judge, named Joseph Dredd, who was the toughest and most stringent Judge in history. One day, he was charged with murder, and was tried and sentenced to life in prison because of it.

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Plot Keywords:

based on comic book | cult film | judge | police | police brutality | 

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Taglines:

One man is Judge, Jury, AND Executioner.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for continuous violent action

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

El juez

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,291,536, 2 July 1995, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,693,481

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$113,493,481

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures,Cinergi Pictures Entertainment,Edward R. Pressman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels) DTS SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jerry Goldsmith was originally scheduled to score the film, but due to scheduling problems had to drop out. However, as a favor to the producers, he wrote an original score for the film's original teaser trailer that has since been used on a number of other trailers. David Arnold was originally hired to replace him, but was himself replaced by Alan Silvestri because the producers felt he was too closely allied to director Danny Cannon.

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Goofs

Dredd tells Chief Justice Fargo that he is sorry about being brought up in front of a tribunal. However, later in the film, Dredd tells Fergie that he has never apologized.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the third millennium, the world changed. Climate, nations, all were in upheaval. The Earth transformed into a poisonous, scorched desert, known as "The Cursed Earth". Millions of people crowded into a few Megacities, where roving bands of street savages created violence the justice system could not control. Law, as we know it, collapsed. From the decay rose a new order, a society ruled by a new, elite force. A force with the power to dispense both justice and punishment. They ...

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Alternate Versions

The UK video version has been cut by almost 4 secs by the BBFC in three places. Two headbutts have been cut from the fight between Dredd and Mean Machine, as well as Stallone shooting an enemy right after he breaks free. A headbutt has also been cut from the fight between Hershey and Ilsa. The UK cinema version was uncut. A photograph in an SFX magazine article in 1995 showed Dredd shooting a Judge clone, but this scene isn't in the US or UK versions. This scene was also featured in the serialized comic strip adaptation of the film that was printed in Sunday Magazine in 1995.

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Connections

Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Street Fighter #1- Malibu (2011)

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Soundtracks

Need Fire
Performed by Cocteau Twins
Written and Produced by Cocteau Twins
Published by Cocteau Twins Publishing
Cocteau Twins appear courtesy of Capitol Records in the U.S. and Canada and Phonogram Records in the U.K.

User Reviews

My two penneth

Judge Dredd and 2000AD represent my childhood inspiration for all things creative, accumulating in my career in the creative industry (I still have a full set of early 2000ADs in my studio). So obviously the film holds very personal emotions for me and as such I have to admit that I had a negative bias from the start. Anyway enough about me.

The film started and I was very impressed with the visual effects and design. At first I thought Judge Dredd's uniform was way over the top, even more than the comic version. However after remembering the visual style of films like Flash Gordon (1980) I put that down to personal preference.

One of the problems is Sylvester Stallone's Performance. I am not one of Sly's detractors, I have enjoyed his performances in films such as Rocky, First Blood, Paradise Alley, Copland and even Demolition Man. However this performance bares no resemblance to the character of Judge Dredd.

Stallone's character lacks the authority and quiet confidence of Judge Dredd. Sly seems to have replaced these aspects with standing in a tough pose, looking intense and shouting were applicable. Needless to say I did not see the dark and gritty anti hero I was hoping for.

I realise that this is a tall order for any actor and Sly in not helped by the films biggest problem, the atrocious dialogue. Clichés and over dramatic speeches destroy any hope of realism.

My final comment... Judge Dredd's helmet.

This should stay on at all times. I know this seems superficial, but it is representative of certain aspects of Judge Dredd's personality. Firstly Dredd's lack of personal ego, secondly his almost robot like dedication, determination and 'perceived' invulnerability and thirdly Dredd's function as an executioner.

There, I feel a little better now I've got that off my chest. Cheers.