Judge Dredd (film)

''Judge Dredd'' is a 1995 American science fiction action film based on the ''2000 AD'' comics character of the same name. It is directed by Danny Cannon and stars Sylvester Stallone in the title role, a law enforcement officer in the crime-ridden futuristic metropolis of Mega-City One. The film co-stars Armand Assante, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Joan Chen, Jürgen Prochnow, and Max von Sydow. It was filmed entirely at Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom, and released by Buena Vista Pictures on June 30, 1995.

The film takes place in the year 2080 and depicts a dystopian world. Following an unspecified disaster that turned Earth into a "cursed" wasteland, the survivors established a corps of Judges whose role combines that of police, judge, jury and executioner. In ''Judge Dredd'', Dredd, one of the most dedicated Street Judges, has been framed for murder by his own half-brother — the psychotic Rico, who plots to take over Mega-City One with an army of superhuman clones. The film was produced by Charles Lippincott and Beau E. L. Marks, with a screenplay by William Wisher Jr. and Steven E. de Souza.

Reviewers criticized the film for its script and perceived lack of originality and faith to its source material, along with Stallone's acting. The film is often considered to be one of Stallone's worst films, but its visual style, effects, music score, stunts and action sequences were praised, and the film was nominated for four Saturn Awards. A reboot film, entitled '' Dredd'', was released in 2012.

Plot

By the 2080s, much of Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland. While some humans manage to survive in the barren "Cursed Earth", the majority of humanity resides in huge Mega-Cities with populations of tens of millions. To combat crime, the traditional justice system has been replaced by a corps of Judges whose role combines those of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner.

In Mega-City One, 2139, Joseph Dredd, one of the most dedicated "Street Judges", assists first-year Judge Barbara Hershey in ending a block war. Herman "Fergee" Ferguson, a hacker just released from prison, is caught in the firefight and hides inside a food dispensing robot. Dredd arrests Herman for destruction of property, and sentences him to five years' imprisonment. Rico, a former Judge, escapes from prison and returns to Mega-City One to reclaim his uniform and " Lawgiver" gun. He also finds and reactivates a decommissioned ABC Warrior combat robot.

Vartis Hammond, a news reporter critical of Dredd, is murdered, and Dredd becomes the chief suspect. Dredd is taken to a trial before a tribunal of Council Judges including Griffin and Chief Justice Fargo, his mentor. Dredd is found guilty as his DNA is found on the bullets used to kill Hammond (a feature of the Lawgiver is imprinting the user's DNA on each bullet, a fact apparently unknown by most Judges). To save Dredd, Fargo steps down as Chief Justice and, for his last request, asks the Council to spare Dredd's life. Dredd is sentenced to life imprisonment while Fargo embarks on the "long walk", in which a retiring Judge ventures into the wasteland "to bring law to the lawless". Judge Griffin, who freed Rico to frame Dredd for the murder, becomes Chief Justice and instructs Rico to cause chaos in the city.

Dredd is taken to the Aspen penal colony by airship, where he is seated next to Herman. However, the Angel Gang, a family of cannibalistic scavengers and bandits, shoots down the airship and brings Dredd and Herman back to their cave. A squad of Judges investigate the crashed ship and get to the cave, intent on killing any survivors, not rescuing them. Fargo arrives in time to save Dredd's life, but Mean Machine Angel mortally wounds him. A dying Fargo reveals that Dredd and Rico are the result of the Janus project, an experiment in genetic engineering intended to create the perfect Judge. Dredd deduces Rico framed him for the reporter's murder, using their identical DNA. Believing Griffin is trying to reactivate the Janus project, Fargo urges Dredd to stop him.

In Mega-City One, Rico terrorises the city and assassinates Judges in various ways. Griffin, intent on creating an army of Judges from his own DNA, uses the situation to convince the Council Judges to unlock the Janus files. After the Council Judges unlock the file, Griffin has them killed. Dredd and Herman sneak back into the city and meet with Hershey, who had also discovered the Janus project by herself. They go to the Statue of Liberty where the Janus laboratories are hidden. They encounter the ABC Warrior, who wounds Herman and captures Dredd and Hershey. Rico uses his own DNA as template for the Janus clones, then commands the ABC Warrior to kill Griffin. Herman, despite his wounds, disables the ABC Warrior as Dredd fights Rico, while Hershey fights his assistant, Dr. Ilsa Hayden. Rico activates his clones prematurely, but they fail to stop Dredd, and the swift clone activation ends up destroying the Janus laboratory. Dredd pursues Rico to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and a final struggle sends Rico falling to his death.

Having recorded the entire event, Central, the city's controlling supercomputer, broadcasts the information, clearing Dredd's name. The remaining Judges ask Dredd to become the new Chief Justice, but he refuses, preferring to remain a Street Judge.

Cast

Other actors include Maurice Roëves as Warden Miller, James Remar as the Block Warlord, Pat Starr as Lily Hammond, Lex Daniel as rookie Judge Brisco, Angus MacInnes as Judge Silver, Peter Marinker as Judge Esposito, Mark Moraghan as Judge Monroe, Louise Delamere as Judge Meeker, and Al Sapienza as Judge Gellar. Adrienne Barbeau provides the voice of the Hall of Justice Central Computer. James Earl Jones provides the narration to the film's opening text crawl.

Production

Development

Prior to production, the producer Edward Pressman had the script rewritten by Walon Green, Rene Balcer, and Michael S. Chernuchin. Early in development, Renny Harlin, Richard Donner, Peter Hewitt, and Richard Stanley were considered to direct the film.

Director Danny Cannon was hired on the strength of his previous film, ''The Young Americans''. Cannon was a long-time fan of the ''Judge Dredd'' comics. He created a mock-up poster for a ''Judge Dredd'' film that was published in Prog 534 of 2000 A.D. dated August 8, 1987. Cannon described his vision as "the ''Ben-Hur'' of comic book movies," and turned down an offer to direct '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'' to make the film.

Casting

Early in development, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for title role, before Sylvester Stallone was cast, even though Stallone had never heard of the character when he was cast. Cannon initially pursued Joe Pesci for the part of Fergie, but the actor turned it down.

Stallone and his co-star Armand Assante wore blue contact lenses to match von Sydow who plays their genetic 'father'. Assante deliberately mimicked Stallone's speech patterns to better reflect their characters' relationship as siblings.

Jürgen Prochnow, who played Judge Griffin, was coincidentally the longtime German-language dub actor for Stallone.

Design

The film's production designer was Nigel Phelps. ''Judge Dredd'' was his first feature film as sole production designer, he had previously worked on several high-profile music videos, and was a concept artist under Anton Furst